FUFBUF
Global Gay Nation => Gay Identity - Queer as Volk? => Topic started by: Feral on September 10, 2006, 05:57:52 AM
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To celebrate the publication of 200 issues, GCN has posted 12 mp3 files of Irish queer bands. They're free. Give a listen (http://www.gcn.ie/200/).
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Alt-rocker Bob Mould and electronica whiz Richard Morel join forces for a record that gets everyone's freak on (http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid36460.asp)
Bob Mould first found renown as the singer-guitarist in punk trio Hüsker Dü, then fronting ’90s alt-rock faves Sugar. Richard Morel is a DJ-producer with A-list remix credits (New Order, Depeche Mode, Nelly Furtado). But putting either of these openly gay men in a neat little stylistic box? Impossible, especially after listening to the self-titled debut from their collaborative recording project, Blowoff.
The album kicks off with “Hormone Love,” a jolt of electric guitar and vocal harmonies reminiscent of ’60s acts like the Byrds, propelled by a sensual midtempo beat. From there, the dozen originals keep making twists and turns, moving through the slow and trippy “Lemonade” to the percolating “Saturday Night All the Time,” which layers husky singing over a low-slung, groovy melody that’s equal parts sinister and summery.
Now if, like me, you are quite old enough to know exactly what Hüsker Dü was, this is sufficient information. Otherwise, the Advocate's review of Blowoff is much longer.
Blowoff can be purchased direct from the artist here (http://stores.musictoday.com/store/dept.asp?band_id=1271&dept_id=9407&sfid=2).
If you insist, you can purchase it from iTunes (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=179581569&id=179581525&s=143441)as well.
Should you demand to hear at least some of the record before you purchase it, Mr. Mould will oblige (http://blowoff.us/index.html).
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While I wasn't paying attention, Peto (http://www.petoagogo.com/news.html)moved cross-country (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=12679152&blogID=144046346&Mytoken=3659C85A-7C51-4022-9A841D138FA7BDAD44196283) and has joined Spoilsport (http://home.comcast.net/~j.hetman/pages/Peto.html). For fans of Spoilsport (and I most certainly am one), this is what you might call A Very Good Thing. For fans of Peto-A-Go-Go (and I'm one of those, too) this is also A Very Good Thing.
Think of it as putting frosting on Pop Tarts, chocolate milk on your cocoa puffs, candy sprinkles on Krispy Kremes.
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GLBT Label Music With a Twist Announces First Two Signed Artists (http://www.mysocalledgaylife.com/usa/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2862&Itemid=65)
Sony Music Label Group U.S. / Columbia Records and Wilderness Media & Entertainment, the gay media and entertainment portfolio company owned by LOGO founder Matt Farber, have announced the first two signed artists as well as two compilation CDs to be released by Music With A Twist, the first major record label dedicated to identifying and developing lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) artists.
Music With A Twist's first two signed artists:
* The Gossip, a rock band based in Portland, Oregon, composed of lead singer Beth Ditto, guitarist Brace Paine, and drummer Hannah Blilie. Their music is raw, punk-inspired rebellious rock and roll, but with catchy hooks and the incredible power of Beth Ditto's unique lead vocals. The Gossip have developed a huge following based on years of touring, and recently landed the opening slot on the Scissor Sisters European tour.
* Kirsten Price is a talented new singer-songwriter musician, originally from the U.K. but now making her home in Brooklyn. She has a soulful voice that sounds like it comes from a smoky room late at night. Her songs are a creative fusion of rock, soul, and blues. She is equally adept at playing her songs on a piano or guitar.
Both of these artists will be recording their debut CDs to street in 2007.
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I'm gay and so are my mums (http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,4-2006530100,00.html)
DAN GILLESPIE, lead singer of THE FEELING, has come out of the closet in spectacular style.
And the group’s charismatic frontman has revealed he had a fascinating upbringing.
Dan explained: “I was brought up on the gay scene because my mum is gay and so is my uncle.
“I’ve been going to Pride marches since I was about four. We were a super right-on family.
“Not only did I have two lesbian mothers but my mum was in a wheelchair.
“We assumed the position of a kind of poster family for civil liberties organisations.
“There is a picture of me when I was six holding up a banner saying, ‘My mum’s a lesbian and I love her.’ It was at a Pride event and was used a lot in the newspapers.
“In the library at school there was a text book sociology students used that had the picture in it and a chapter on us.
“Most of the kids at school seemed to know I was gay a long time before I knew myself.
“I had a slightly effeminate air — and children are very intuitive, aren’t they? They spot things. It’s obvious, really. But none of my siblings are gay.”
Speaking of coming out, The Feeling’s single Love it When You Call is released on Monday — I think it’s got huge No1 potential.
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How odd it is that whenever someone dares to say that they are gay, some tabloid insists that they have "come out of the closet." Dan Gillespie-Sells has said so before, just not to the Sun, I guess. Some reports have it that it would be rather difficult for Mr. Gillespie-Sells to come out at all, since he was never really "in".
In any case, The Feeling has a website (http://www.thefeeling.com/)and a MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/thefeeling)page (what band doesn't these days?) should anyone care to hear them. It's pop... very old-fashioned, classic pop that might just get a lot of radio play.
Me... I'll wait for the house remix.
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Jay Brannon has two new tunes out. Both are featured on his web site (http://www.jaybrannan.com/page3.html), or you can watch them at YouTube here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUsAmX2bhIQ)and here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zveXDhEfPao).
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BTW, have you ever heard of Kids on TV (http://www.newmusiccanada.com/genres/artist.cfm?Band_Id=11775)?
They are Canadian, unabashedly queer, and apparently have a propensity to get nekkid on-stage.
Apparently they were just playing a CBC-sponsored concert the other night on the east coast, got nekkid and did "unmentionable things" on top of the CBC logo in the studio. LOL :D I laffed when I heard that! :D
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I had not, actually. Thanks for mentioning them. Experimental Punk Disco House Techno sounds just about right.
And a propensity for getting nekkid can't hurt.
http://www.kidsontv.biz/
http://www.myspace.com/kidsontv
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LOL. I liked the hankie code (http://www.kidsontv.biz/). :D
(Hmmm... you've gotta click into the website first before you can see it though, I guess... the URL above doesn't take you directly to it.)
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LOL
I remember that one. It's a re-invention of it though, not the original code from the 70s.
A benefit of Mozilla is that it will let you escape frames like that.
http://kidwithcamera.com/friends/kotv%2Dfinal/hankycode/content.html
PS... John Caffery, the bass player for KOTV, has a cameo in "Shortbus." I'm being stalked by musicians that appeared in "Shortbus."
Not that that's a BAD thing.
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Jay Brannon has two new tunes out.
Our boy has done it again. :) New YouTubage. Jay's profile (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=jaybrannan) now has five clips in it. One of the new ones, "Soda Shop," appeared in the film Shortbus and is already starting to generate cover-versions.
Somebody needs to sign this boy up to a label.
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Just ran across a good one. You might know it already, but it was new to me...
Glad to be Gay
Tom Robinson
The British Police are the best in the world
I don't believe one of these stories I've heard
'Bout them raiding our pubs for no reason at all
Lining the customers up by the wall
Picking out people and knocking them down
Resisting arrest as they're kicked on the ground
Searching their houses and calling them queer
I don't believe that sort of thing happens here
Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way
Pictures of naked young women are fun
In Titbits and Playboy, page three of The Sun
There's no nudes in Gay News our last magazine
But they still find excuses to call it obscene
Read how disgusting we are in the press
The Telegraph, People and Sunday Express
Molesters of children, corruptors of youth
It's there in the paper, it must be the truth
Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way
Don't try to kid us that if you're discreet
You're perfectly safe as you walk down the street
You don't have to mince or make bitchy remarks
To get beaten unconscious and left in the dark
I had a friend who was gentle and short
He was lonely one evening and went for a walk
Queerbashers caught him and kicked in his teeth
He was only hospitalised for a week
Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way
And sit back and watch as they close all our clubs
Arrest us for meeting and raid all our pubs
Make sure your boyfriend's at least 21
So only your friends and your brothers get done
Lie to your workmates, lie to your folks
Put down the queens and tell anti-queer jokes
Gay Lib's ridiculous, join their laughter
'The buggers are legal now, what more are they after?'
Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way
Get your own copy (http://www.filehosting.cc/file/20134/tom-robinson-band---glad-to-be-gay-mp3.html)...
(Just enter the 3-numbers at the bottom, click submit, it'll make you wait 31 seconds, then click on the green "Download File Now!" button to download it). :)
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Just ran across a good one. You might know it already, but it was new to me...
New to me as well.
The homepage of the old band: http://www.tomrobinson.com/trb/index.htm (http://www.tomrobinson.com/trb/index.htm).
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Well then, I'm glad I posted it. :)
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Hmmm...U Canuks have totally out-homoed us Yanks. Good Job. I love it when another country makes us feel stupid. Come to think of it, that's not all that difficult, is it?
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Chris Garneau
Says Stylus Magazine (http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/chris-garneau/music-for-tourists.htm):
Garneau doesn’t completely shed his skin, though. The singer-songwriter is gay, but adamant about never using his sexuality as a marketing ploy for his music. Therefore, he only broods along the periphery of the subject, such as in “We Don’t Try,” where he could be describing the taciturn relationship that frequently exists between parents and a child struggling with their sexuality: “And we’ll work everything out / Even all the stuff we don’t talk about.”
Strawberry Fire (http://strawberryfire.blogspot.com/2006/11/chris-garneau-music-for-tourists.html) says:
Chris Garneau is not for the faint of heart. His work, though utterly brilliant, may drain out any remaining happiness from your already bleeding heart.
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If there were any justice in this world Chris would be named solo artist of the year. Sadly, we'll all have to wait as his debut album Music for Tourists (produced by Duncan Sheik) won't be released until January 27th, you can however, preorder a copy from Absolutely Kosher Records now, and I highly recommend you do so. Right now.
Absolutely Kosher Records (http://www.absolutelykosher.com/garneau.htm) will sell you Mr. Garneau's new album. I'm given to understand that you can get it on iTunes as well. Then there's always Mr. Garneau's MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/chrisgarneau).
My two cents' -- like Rufus, only really sad, not acting sad. Or maybe like Jay Brannon with a piano instead of a guitar. If you have a leaky heart, it quite likely will drain any remaining happiness. If you are immune to happiness leakage, it's pretty sweet stuff.
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Jay Brannon is up for YouTube's Video awards (http://www.youtube.com/ytawards?name=ytamusic). It rather looks like he's going to take third place in the Best Music category. Good for him.
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Proudly, loudly gay and on a major label? Sure! (http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-0704040250apr06,1,831279.story?coll=chi-ent_music-hed)
Beth Ditto is not fashion-model skinny. She is brashly witty, ferociously loud, radically feminist and proudly, openly gay. She is in many ways exactly what the music industry doesn't want to sell: a personality that rips up the mainstream's patronizing notions about female entertainers, how they should look, what they represent, and what opinions they can voice.
Yet after seven years of exuberant record-making and touring in the punk underworld, Ditto and her band Gossip find themselves newly signed to one of the biggest purveyors of mainstream music: Columbia Records.
Gossip's inaugural release will be on Columbia's Music With a Twist subsidiary, advertised as "the music industry's pioneering first LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender) record label."
"I'm very pig-headed and stubborn," Ditto says with a charming Southern twang and a laugh when reached at her Portland home. "I thought there's no way I would be able to butt heads with these people on major labels. But we got approached about being on this all-gay label, the first time it's ever been done on a clear major. The people we met there weren't that much different from the people we met running the indie labels, and they basically said, 'Do what you do. We don't want to change you.'"
It's easy to understand why Columbia wouldn't want to mess with Ditto and her bandmates, guitarist Nathan Howdeshell and drummer Hannah Blilie. The band scored a hit last year with "Standing on the Edge of Control," a self-empowerment punk manifesto that filtered into the dance clubs with its addictive disco groove and a stentorian Ditto vocal worthy of Gloria "I Will Survive" Gaynor.
The track will kick off the inaugural Music With a Twist release, "Twist Revolutions," a compilation coming out April 17. The band releases its own album for the label later this year.
More @ link...
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I'm curious as to why all of a sudden the "Music with a Twist" label is being talked about as a Columbia project. Previously it had always been discussed in terms of the parent company, Sony. Anyhooo... as was noted elsewhere last November,
GLBT Label Music With a Twist Announces First Two Signed Artists (http://www.mysocalledgaylife.com/usa/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2862&Itemid=65)
Sony Music Label Group U.S. / Columbia Records and Wilderness Media & Entertainment, the gay media and entertainment portfolio company owned by LOGO founder Matt Farber, have announced the first two signed artists as well as two compilation CDs to be released by Music With A Twist, the first major record label dedicated to identifying and developing lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) artists.
Music With A Twist's first two signed artists:
* The Gossip, a rock band based in Portland, Oregon, composed of lead singer Beth Ditto, guitarist Brace Paine, and drummer Hannah Blilie. Their music is raw, punk-inspired rebellious rock and roll, but with catchy hooks and the incredible power of Beth Ditto's unique lead vocals. The Gossip have developed a huge following based on years of touring, and recently landed the opening slot on the Scissor Sisters European tour.
* Kirsten Price is a talented new singer-songwriter musician, originally from the U.K. but now making her home in Brooklyn. She has a soulful voice that sounds like it comes from a smoky room late at night. Her songs are a creative fusion of rock, soul, and blues. She is equally adept at playing her songs on a piano or guitar.
Both of these artists will be recording their debut CDs to street in 2007.
So now four months later they are still flogging the same event? This "Music with a Twist" thing has been around for some time with very little to show. I question Sony's commitment to the project, as well as their ability to pull it off. Weird, considering they seem to have every imaginable apparatus necessary for the project to be a success.
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Free Download: Firouz "Warchild" (http://www.arjanwrites.com/arjanwrites/2007/04/free_download_f.html)
Openly gay Persian singer Firouz turns some of his darkest memories into an inspirational message for everyone on his debut single "Warchild." Firouz came to Europe after leaving his beloved country of Iran to live a life of freedom. He now lives in Hamburg, Germany where he is a successful model, dancer and aspiring singer.
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Firouz is currently writing songs for his debut album that serve as a soundtrack to his memoir The Story of a Warchild. "Warchild" has been remixed and is available on iTunes (http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=mM24/TyyjJY&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewArtist%253Fid%253D21480108%2526partnerId%253D30) in the U.S. If you'd like to hear the original version of "Warchild" and more of Firouz' tracks, head over to his MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/firouzwarchild). More of my interview with Firouz soon. (A big, big thank you to Firouz for allowing me to post this track.)
Some comments floating around on the Interweb suggest that the remixed version available at ArjanWrites (there are actually two different remixes of Warchild available on iTunes) is inferior to Firouz's original on his MySpace page. Besides, his sultry good looks are ample reason to visit the page anyway. It wouldn't hurt to listen while gawping. Sadly, you may only stream the three songs on the MySpace page (as opposed to downloading them).
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Jay Brannon finally got approved by iTunes, which means his "Unmastered" collection of songs can be bought there (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=251143016&s=143441). Show the cutie some love and buy the songs -- it'll set you back a whole $3.96. Can you even buy a hamburger for that?
Incidentally, you'll pretty much trip over the soundtrack from Shortbus while you're at his page. It doesn't suck. Certainly the song by Jay is worth a buy, at least.
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a quick peek (or is it a quick listen?) to the latest from Rufus: (http://www.365gay.com/entertainment/news-gossip/nnn.htm)
Rufus Wainwright (http://rufuswainwright.com/default.asp) has always been pretty direct. He's generally frank in interviews, has been openly gay from day one, and comes clean with dirty laundry pretty happily. And, as he'd tell you himself, he can be a demanding diva. "I don't think I mince words on this album," Rufus says in the press notes for his forthcoming Release the Stars (http://music.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1282079.php/Rufus_Wainwright_returns_with_fifth_album_in_May) (due in May). "Whether it's America, or my best friend, or my lover, I'm specific about what my demands are." Trust. And if you've seen Rufus in concert, you know he's also funny and flip, and likes to make fun of his fussy self, too.
That's why I kind of think he's partly serious/partly just being intentionally overdramatic in his new single (http://buzzsugar.com/199902) (leaked online today (http://hardtofindafriend.blogspot.com/2007/04/new-rufus-wainwright.html)) "Going to a Town." In the tune, he sings poutily about how he's "so tired of America." He evidently wrote the tune really quickly, almost on a whim: "I wrote that in about five minutes. I remember distinctly that I was waiting to go to dinner and I had about twenty minutes to spare. I off-handedly said, 'I think I'll go down and f*ck around on the piano' and all of a sudden that song was finished. It sort of arrived. Those are always the best ones; they're from some nether region that you have no control over."
You can download "Going to a Town" (http://buzzsugar.com/199902) here (via Stereogum (http://www.stereogum.com/archives/005019.html) via Hard to Find a Friend (http://hardtofindafriend.blogspot.com/2007/04/new-rufus-wainwright.html)). Indeed, it's languid and mopey and melodic and lovely and self-indulgent. And Martha (his sis) is singing backup. If you love Rufus, you'll like it. If you're not a fan, this probably won't change your mind.
... BTW, there's also a pic of Rufus with his man at that first link. :)
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Defining the first same-sex station (http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/203205)
As of tomorrow morning, Toronto will get a chance to hear just what a gay radio station sounds like. Claiming to be the world's first commercially licensed radio station to specifically target the gay, lesbian and transgendered communities, Proud FM 103.9 hits the local airwaves at 6 a.m.
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And once they're on the air, what will they sound like? Gay artists such as Elton John and stereotypical gay-community favourites like Madonna and Cher will be part of the Proud playlist. But Torontonians hoping to hear prominent, catchy local queer acts – the church-folkies in Hidden Cameras and the Polaris prize-winning Final Fantasy come to mind – will probably be disappointed. The current promos don't make Proud sound all that different from stations like Mix 99.9, using the so-called "hot AC" format – uptempo pop for the adult-contemporary market.
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"Do we have to go `we're gay, we're gay, we're gay!' Wouldn't that be just as annoying as someone saying `we're straight, we're straight, we're straight!'" says James Collins, Proud's music director. "We all like the same music. It's not different – we might like a bit more kitschy stuff. We're a little more liberal than what the average station will play. Yes, we'll play more dancey stuff, and we're playing lots of openly gay artists and closeted gay artists, but it's just not discussed, like no one says we're playing Erasure, he's gay."
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For listeners, it's a chance to hear how different sexual orientations sound. Or to find out if it sounds different at all.
Color me disgusted. There is little I'm in the mood to say about this article today, other than that the last paragraph is completely false -- so false that I'm tempted to call it a deliberate lie.
This is most assuredly not a chance to hear how "different sexual orientations sound" (whatever that's supposed to mean). As described, it's unequivocally not an opportunity to find out if it sounds different at all. You see, they'd actually have to play gay music, music by and for gay people, in order for any assessment of that sort to me made. Instead, this station seems bent on demonstrating their skills at playing mainstream music. When you play nothing but mainstream music, claim it's gay music, and then further claim that gay music must sound just like mainstream music.... what utter nonsense.
Does a gay radio station have to go `we're gay, we're gay, we're gay'? Ummm... yes. Would that prove as annoying as someone saying `we're straight, we're straight, we're straight'? Ummm... no. Every other radio station in the country does just that day after day and it's not particularly annoying at all. This idea that "We all like the same music. It's not different – we might like a bit more kitschy stuff" is a strange one. I've been force-fed straight music all my life -- in abundance. Some of it is quite good and I would have to say that I like it. I've avidly sought out music by openly gay artists for several years now. Nearly all of these bands are unsigned or have small, independent labels. They would benefit greatly from even the exposure of being played on a radio station.
You may not get to listen to Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy on this so-called 'gay radio station,' but you can buy three of his albums on iTunes (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtist?id=121488050). There's a web site (http://www.reidtaheny.com/ff/read.html) as well.
The Hidden Cameras require a bit more effort to listen to for most of us. They have a MySpace page (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=70428228) and a web site (http://www.thehiddencameras.com/) though and they'll gladly sell you an album or six (http://killthe8.com/hiddencameras/pages/3637/index.html).
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I agree. I was dismayed -- but not really surprised -- when I read this same report linked over at enmasse. What, no focus on Johnny McGovern, or Kids on TV (to name just a couple? And, although I like a lot of straight acts, I would never say that gay music is just a slightly more "kitschy" version of straight music. I took it as a warning sign that Xtra was backing away from this project, and it appears that was a valid supposition.
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As of tomorrow morning, Toronto will get a chance to hear just what a gay radio station sounds like. Claiming to be the world's first commercially licensed radio station to specifically target the gay, lesbian and transgendered communities, Proud FM 103.9 hits the local airwaves at 6 a.m.
I dare to claim there were not a few other gay radio stations before this one to claim the status of the "first ever". Whoever wrote this article is entirely innocent in questions of gay culture, thus they should give the job to another scribling.
Does a gay radio station have to go `we're gay, we're gay, we're gay'? Ummm... yes.
Doesn't "gayness" define a gay radio station? To question this simple fact is alike foolish as to question the necessity of a French radio station to use French language in their programming. We could discuss about whether there can be a gay/straight classical music, but in the pop culture the difference is clear. The overwhelming majority of songs is dealing with love and broken hearts, and it is hardly possible to overhear the heterosexual or homosexual nature of the song textes. What they are attempting here once again is to feed us with the idea of a "general culture" as opposed to the "splittergroup subculture" -- where in truth a straight and a gay culture are existing side by side, though different in numbers.
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in truth a straight and a gay culture are existing side by side
Indeed so -- and always have.
One difficult peculiarity of gay culture is it's proclivity for appropriation. If one were to list the elements of gay culture that are creations unique to gays, that list would be short indeed. I can't tick off even one. But gay culture transforms and transmutes its appropriations, in the sense that Japanese culture owes much to the culture of China but is clearly and distinctly Japanese. To reference an article linked to on GRD's news page (http://www.campkc.com/campkc-content.php?Page_ID=512):
“More than a language, Polari is an attitude,” says Baker, one that demonstrates how gay men “reconstruct their world and themselves from new perspectives, making sense of experiences that have no existing labels in mainstream culture.”
We do this with everything, we all of us do this with everything -- it is 'essentially' gay. Quite unlike the husk of 'queer theory' that is conjured up by the word "reconstruct," this is a profoundly different thing. Some would call it a holy thing. In fact, a growing number of people say just that (http://www.radfae.org/).
There is ample gay music for a gay radio station to fill its broadcasts. Even this Toronto station's interest in playing music originating from Canada is no real impediment. The problem here is the station's insistence on being 'just like the straight stations.' Sadly, that makes them not a gay station.
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Rufus, Rufus, Rufus... (http://www.365gay.com/entertainment/news-gossip/nnn.htm)
Some pix, with links to an interview, more pix, lotsa good stuff.
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Freddy doc to air on Logo... (http://www.365gay.com/entertainment/news-gossip/nnn.htm)
I will not be able to watch this, having no access to "Logo", but apparently they will be airing a documentary about Freddy Mercury in about a week...
Freddie Mercury: Magic Remixed is a pretty awesome look back at the Queen-y rock star's life and his legacy. Folks like Elton John, George Michael and Robbie Williams (who goes on and on and on about Mercury) offer their two quid about how influential and fierce Freddie was. And better yet, the doc sheds light on Mercury's background, family life (he was Indian), and talks to his family members, which is pretty rad. You'll not want to miss hearing Freddie's little old lady mom talking about her nice son who morphed into one of the biggest gay idols and rock titans of all time.
The documentary airs in a week or so (Saturday, April 28th at 9pm) on Logo...
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Got a question for Rufus? (http://www.365gay.com/entertainment/news-gossip/bestg.htm)
This coming Wednesday, our very own associate editor Brian Juergens will sit down with Rufus Wainwright to talk about the songster's new album, his participation in the upcoming True Colors Tour with Cyndi Lauper, and whatever else you want to know about the pop star. If you've got a question you've been dying to get answered, drop us a line at editor@afterelton.com with RUFUS in the subject line. We'll choose the best and report back to you what Mr. Wainwright had to say!
Just in case anybody's.... y'know.... a huge Rufus fan, or anything....
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It seems more than a few people end up at Gay Republic Daily in search of KidsOnTV's European tour. It would be a sad thing if they went away disappointed. Here are the remaining dates:
25 Apr 2007 - AZ Conni --- Dresden, Germany
26 Apr 2007- Rote Sonne --- Munich, Germany
27 Apr 2007 - Crossing Europe Festival -- Linz,
Austria
28 Apr 2007 - Donaufestival -- Krems, Austria
w/ ESG, GANG OF FOUR, & FELIX KUBIN
29 Apr 2007 - Club Bordo (tbc) ---- Prague, Czech
Republic
30 Apr 2007 - Tsunami Club ---- Cologne, Germany
02 May 2007 - Le Theo ------------ Toulouse, France
04 May 2007 - Razzmatazz -- Barcelona, Spain
05 May 2007 - ELASTICO Flexiclub --- Madrid, Spain
KidsOnTV will be back in Toronto for an 'album release event' at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre on 25 May. This would be for the Kids' full-length album, "Mixing Business With Pleasure." Canadians get to buy it from Blocks Recording Club (http://www.blocksblocksblocks.com/). Everyone else in the world gets to buy it from Chicks on Speed Records (http://www.chicksonspeed-records.com/). It's pretty fun stuff.
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It seems more than a few people end up at Gay Republic Daily in search of KidsOnTV's European tour.
How do you know these things, Fer? Are you magic? :D
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shhhhhhhhh
yes
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hee-hee :mrgreen:
Anyways, Jake and the Sisters have a new video out... (http://uk.gay.com/article/5499)
The Scissor Sisters have just finished filming their new single Kiss You Off.
[...]
Ana Matronic takes lead in this Blondie-esque anthem to breaking up "I think it's one of the most polished and professional looking things we've ever done but don't hold that against us; it was so much fun to do. We hope you like it," says Ana Matronic.
Stills @ link...
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Towleroad has an interview with Chris Garneau (http://www.towleroad.com/2007/05/an_interview_wi.html). The lad only just released his debut album and there's already another in the works.
This is a good thing.
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Agitprop Records (http://www.agitproplovesyou.com/) is soon (though hardly soon enough for my taste) to back online. This is, in some quarters, Earth-shaking news. (OK, many of those quarters are in my own house, but there will surely be others.) Queer Control Records (http://www.queercontrol.com/) is new to the neighborhood, but I have a feeling they'll make themselves comfortable in short order. Chainsaw Records (http://www.chainsaw.com/) and Spitshine Records (http://www.spitshinerecords.com/home.html) are still around.
Never imagine that House and Trance is all there is to Gay music.
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Straight Radio Station Owner Energizes Gay Media Market (http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,113153.shtml)
Since hitting the airwaves nearly three years ago, Bayliss has charted a course for San Francisco's only independently owned radio station that has enabled it to turn a profit and become the most listened to dance/electronic radio station on the West Coast.
"The gay community, which makes up 15% of the San Francisco market and represents $670 billion in consumer spending, has a passion for dance music, but no one was playing it. So we launched Energy 92.7FM Pure Dance," said Bayliss. "We took an old-fashioned approach to our business model: local, live personalities and grass roots community involvement and went to work."
Bayliss and his team put together a radio line up of the hippest dance club music available with dynamic on-air personalities that today includes America's first all-gay morning radio show. Additionally, the Energy team began supporting local non-profits and taking an active role within the community. "We wanted to be the kind of station that not only played great music, but was there for the community 365 days a year," added Bayliss.
Anyone want to bet that the number one reason this concept wasn't put together by Gays is that "my orientation is just one small part of who I am"?
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Isn't that just pathetic....
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Well, yes and not so yes.
Mr. Bayliss and his radio station appear to be fine and good friends to the local Gay community. Hardly surprising in and of itself since it may be in his commercial interests to be seen as a fine and good friend to the Gay community. We do not have so many friends, good or otherwise, that having this one can in any way be a bad thing.
I'm just asking if anyone here assembled wishes to wager some imaginary pink dollars against the proposition that the number one reason this concept wasn't put together by Gays is that "my orientation is just one small part of who I am." For myself, I would have thought the idea of a radio station playing dance music was not a good one, even in San Fransisco. After all, the bulk of Gay-produced music seems to be in genres other than 'dance' and I'd have thought it a pretty good guess that the tastes of the Gay public would follow that trend. This is probably why Mr. Bayliss owns a radio station and why I do not. ;)
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I'm just asking if anyone here assembled wishes to wager some imaginary pink dollars against the proposition that the number one reason this concept wasn't put together by Gays is that "my orientation is just one small part of who I am."
Most probably you have right. But it's also very well possible that lots of gay people simply have no confidence in what they can do. You know, the "Straigh Man Desease" ... :roll:
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Oh Yeah!
This is a clear example of Straight Man Disease. All things must come from the straight man. After all, he rightly rules the world. Why would anyone dare to question this Divine Right? Everyone knows that Gay people can't do anything for themselves. Certainly not something so difficult as a profitable radio station. This we must leave to the Straight Man. He will take care of this and many other things for us if we only behave ourselves well and keep to our place.
Not that I regret having Mr. Bayliss as an ally -- to the contrary: I find he is a rare and precious thing.
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Oppose the mainstream: Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett (http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=2&STORY_ID=3247&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=2)
It's hard not to love Owen Pallett.
It's the music that gets you first. There is a fiercely compelling quality to the songs penned by the Toronto violinist. And once drawn in, small tastes of Pallett's personality — during live performances or radio broadcasts — has most listeners hooked. Deeply personable and amusingly self-effacing, the young musician is quite willing to spill his guts on all the biggies — whether music, sex, religion, cooking, pop culture and social theories.
Pallett's solo project Final Fantasy (a tribute to the Japanese videogame series of which he is a fan) eases in and out of melodramatic baroque pop. Amidst the swells of evocative strings, the lyrics are intimate, sometimes confessional and always part of a bigger concept.
Still, to dissect Pallett's music is hardly to do it justice. What it comes down to is this — somehow, despite the melodrama of the songs and Pallett's quavering voice, the music is touchingly beautiful.
[...]
Pallett believes that, like it or not, he is defined by his sexuality. The Final Fantasy sound, which is his appeal, has everything to do with being gay.
"I do have a theory," he says. "I think that the gayness of the artist is reflected in the art, whether or not it's political or sexy or has anything to do with gay sex. There will always be that whiff of anti-traditionalism."
Still, as many have said, being gay is not enough. But virtuostic ability plus the creativity of an untraditional life — is the key to Pallett's music.
Pallett's own music is the farthest thing from traditional and he likes it that way. And having toured internationally, Pallett is grateful that he lives in a country where his offbeat art really stands out.
"Canada is very privileged in the gay culture scheme of things. We're both accepting of homos and yet still pretty conservative, which, for gays and lesbians, is the perfect mix. I have this theory that one of the main goals of homosexuals is to be in constant opposition to the mainstream — to always remain counter-cultural. Right? So, Canada has it good for gays. We're accepted here and can marry. But at the same time, the culture is pretty conservative, with our try-hard-to-be-cutting-edge architecture and our pedestrian film scene."
[...]
Incredibly, the 2006 album, which took the eight schools of magic in Dungeons & Dragons and translated them into lyrical day to day phenomena, managed to win the 2006 Polaris prize. Many were not surprised. Pallet apparently was.
Chosen by music journalists the Polaris Music Prize is an award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. Pallett is still not reconciled to his win. "I don't think I really deserved to win and so I harbour strange, bipolar feelings about the experience. I'm not being self-effacing. I just can't believe that a roomful of people thought He Poos Clouds was better than Destroyer's Rubies."
Check out the sound... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O_yyEA72HE)
There's a mini-tour on:
Toronto.
(appearing with Do Make Say Think)
Harbourfront Centre.
Sun, Jul 1.
www.harbourfrontcentre.com.
Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Folk Festival.
Sat, Jul 7.
Sun, Jul 8.
www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca.
Ottawa.
Bluesfest — Black Sheep Stage.
Mon, Jul 9, 9:15pm.
www.ottawabluesfest.ca.
Calgary.
Folk Festival — Prince's Island Park.
Fri, Jul 27.
Sat, Jul 28.
Sun, Jul 29.
www.calgaryfolkfest.com.
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Pallett believes that, like it or not, he is defined by his sexuality. The Final Fantasy sound, which is his appeal, has everything to do with being gay.
"I do have a theory," he says. "I think that the gayness of the artist is reflected in the art, whether or not it's political or sexy or has anything to do with gay sex.
Clever lad. He's right, of course. Being Gay is not "just one small part" of who he is. It's who he is. That said, it is entirely possible to write music about the classes of magic users in Dungeons and Dragons (not that I've have recommended that) rather than croon about the bumpy boys of Chelsea and still have it be essentially Gay music. The gayness of the artist is reflected in the art.
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Crossing the continent for love: Antoine Bédard is Going Places (http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=4&STORY_ID=3274&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=2)
In 2005, at age 27, Bédard encountered the driving force behind his music — and his move to BC. "I fell in love with a boy and I moved to Vancouver for him," he gushes. "It was life-changing, that's for sure.
"The whole record was inspired by my relationship with my boyfriend," he continues. "The cheerfulness and the playfulness of the record come from this amazing relationship."
"Best Boy Electric," a boy-on-boy duet, narrates Bédard's romance. "It was a refreshing experience to sing along with another guy!" he says. The pop track's theatrical arrangements, redolent of musicals he admires, capture his childlike joy and refusal to take things too seriously.
"It was the first time ever that I allowed myself to be silly," he says. "I like laughing, and I didn't want to fake it by being intimate and tortured and serious."
[...]
For Bédard, to compose songs with an air of joy to them was a deliberate choice. "Real happiness is never represented anywhere. It's taboo to be happy... you're supposed to be miserable. There are serious things happening, I understand. But if you want your life to be happy, there's nothing stopping you."
"This record is about allowing yourself to be happy," he continues. "People keep things inside too [often]."
Bédard's writing comes from a more trusting, benevolent perspective. "I think people can find a lot of warmth and comfort in it, because that's how I felt when I was recording it."
[...]
Going Places.
Montag.
www.montag.ca.
www.myspace.com/montagmontag
.
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Toronto-based trangendered singer breaks new ground, but doesn't want his music to be seen as a 'gimmick' (http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid47253.asp)
The front man of Toronto rock band the Cliks bares a turbulent tapestry on his arm: a dragon leaping through flames and waves, two guns bearing wide wings, and the word “Survivor.”
“This is all to commemorate what I went through,” says Silveira, who is transgender. “Fifty percent of trans people commit suicide. I went to that place, and I know where that comes from. I felt so lucky that I got through it that this was to commemorate the entire ordeal.”
Silveira is the first out transgender artist to be signed to a high profile label, Tommy Boy’s gay-friendly imprint Silver Label. These days he is trying to build a career as he rebuilds his life as a biological female who identifies as male.
The Cliks were featured on the recent gay-oriented True Colors Tour, playing alongside Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, and Debbie Harry. This spring they released Snakehouse, an emotional, guitar-driven album. Their single “Oh Yeah” spent several weeks atop a musical countdown on Logo, the gay-themed cable network.
Performers who defy the status quo face a challenge: how to live up to the hype on an artistic level that their identities generate. Sometimes these acts rely on novelty alone for sales and popularity. Conversely, Silveira hopes his artistry will eventually outshine a gender identity considered edgy in the pop mainstream.
At first glance the singer, who declines to give his age, looks like a petite tomboy with stylish, cropped locks and thick, lush eyelashes. While shopping for sneakers in downtown Manhattan (”I love shoes, man,” he gushes), salesmen offer him women’s sizes even though he asks for men’s. Silveira knows he looks more female than male; on his records he sounds like it too. He sacrificed the male attributes hormones offer to maintain his singing voice. Instead, he underwent a double mastectomy to feel more comfortable in his skin.
“People are like, ‘How opportunistic of you. Is this a gimmick? Do you think it’s stylish to be this way?”’ he says of skeptics. “And I am like, ‘Yeah, I am really, really into having a double mastectomy for fashion.”’
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A discography for the pre-2005 Tommy Boy Silver Label is here (http://www.discogs.com/label/Tommy+Boy+Silver+Label). Post-2005 Silver Label offerings are listed here (http://www.discogs.com/label/Silver+Label).
"... the Cliks music kinda sounds like what might happen if Chrissie Hynde and the Murmurs Leisha Hailey fell in love, got Bowie to help out with insemination and gave birth to an indie rock love child. It's all kinda raw but sweetly melodic, with a ballsy cabaret swagger." -SARAH LISS, NOW Magazine (http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=22093&poll_id=&skin_id=&submission_id=)
I don't quite know what a 'ballsy cabaret swagger' is supposed to sound like, other than music-reviewer double-talk, but the rest of the description is dead-on. You can judge for yourself at the band's website (http://www.thecliks.com/). Naturally, they have a MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/thecliks)page as well (who doesn't?). Aficionados of Rock and Roll will probably find their tunes quite pleasant. Those who prefer their music to go "BOOM" won't.
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Ivri Lider (http://www.gaynewswatch.com/Page.cfm?PageID=22&SID=1949)
Singer Ivri Lider is a household name in his native Israel, having sold over 160,000 albums and being named Male Singer of the Year in 2005 by Israeli radio stations. Ivri recently contributed to the soundtrack for (and appeared in) the 2006 film, "The Bubble"; he performs a song entitled, “The Man I Love.” Somewhat surprisingly, considering his mainstream popularity, Ivri is also openly gay. He famously came out in 2002 and has stayed at the top since then.
(video @ link)
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Virtual DJ Radio (http://radio.virtualdj.com/programs/programs.php)
If you are a fan of gay dance music of ALL genres, this site is free. Mixed LIVE, 24 hours a day, several days out of the week by dj's from all over the world. I've become addicted. All you need is Media Player, Winamp, or Real Player and you're set for a continues streaming dj'ed session.
And you can go into the "Beatbox" and chat live with the djs and make requests.
DJs from Paris, Britain, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, US, Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Belgium...wow...it goes on and on...
Avoid Thursdays...they play rap music and dancehall on that day.
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Oh and Feral...
Thank you, thank you, thank you...for the above link for Tommy Boy. U made me very happy. Had forgotten to tell you that b4. I'm a HUGE Thunderpuss fan. And my oh my...the Sugar Babies 12".
Sugar Babies (later Sugar Reef) was an underground house music club here in the late 80s-early 90s (that's where they got their name).
Oh my...the memories...That should be a pussy-thumper.
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Avoid Thursdays...they play rap music and dancehall on that day.
I suppose it would depend on the specific artists. Enough rap and dancehall is vicious stuff that the entire genres have well-earned reputations. Still, there is Gay rap that is passable (even better once some kind soul has done a club remix of it) and even Gay rap that is almost good. Alas, I like music that goes "boom boom boom" and there just ain't enough pelvis for my taste in any of the rap I've heard. It doesn't suit my moods, and I can't imagine having a mood it would suit. Of course, my moods are by no means normal and I'm sure there are some people somewhere that would benefit mightily from Gay rap. I'm just not one of them.
Dancehall, on the other hand, has serious potential. I recall that a good portion of the initial outrage over dancehall was do to a certain amount of pique -- seems the 'mos in London found out just what they had been dancing to so vigorously in their own clubs. There was a rather tense afternoon a few years ago when one of my co-workers brought in a CD of it. After a world of assurances that there were no 'burn the 'mos' at all, nor even allusions to the word 'bang,' a good time was had by all. It was some seriously jamming stuff with beaucoup 'boom.' I'd still like to see a tribal remix (it's just not possible for there to be enough 'boom').
Anyway, it not being a Thursday, I'm off to listen to streaming radio :D
(Oh my... it's going Thumpa Thumpa -- I shall be there all evening!)
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Outmusic (http://www.outmusic.com/index.html)
Outmusic is a network of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered musicians and supporters. Performers, composers, lyricists, producers, recording artists, activists, promoters, press/media and even non-musicians who believe in LGBT music have joined Outmusic over the years.
Outmusic was founded in 1990 when a group of musicians met at Dan Martin and Michael Biello's East Village apartment to share music and experiences. This became the open mics, which are still held monthly in New York.
Since its founding, Outmusic has participated in the community in many ways. Some years the organization sponsored festivals, other years there have been compilation CDs or special events. Of course, through it all there have always been the open mics, where new and seasoned musicians still come together with goals not unlike the original sessions: to share music and experiences in a safe and welcoming space.
Go ahead and root around for awhile. You'll find some names you've heard before and more than a few that you haven't.
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I'm just not a rap music fan anymore. I like the old school rap. You know, when they sang about funky cold medinas, Michael Jackson being gay, and chicken that tasted like wood. Gangsta rap ruined it for me. And as far as dancehall, Jean Paul is about all I can stand and that's only because he's given me my first wet dreams in several decades.
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On the other hand...I just watched a wonderful documentary on the life of Frank Loesser. Yes, I live up to the stereotype--I'm a show tune queen!
So sue me, what can you do meeeeeeeeeeee....
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A really sweet new song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E_mqb0qTlQ) by Jay Brannon. You listen. Me... I'm going back to my music that goes 'boom.'
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Eric and Todd Dammann (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=49049418)
and let's not forget the videos (http://www.youtube.com/user/hendrixefd).