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Author Topic: Queer Music  (Read 34902 times)

Feral

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RE: Queer Music
« Reply #15 on: February 27, 2007, 03:20:47 AM »

Quote from: "WShade"
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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Feral

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« Reply #16 on: March 22, 2007, 10:06:11 PM »

Chris Garneau

Says Stylus Magazine:

Quote
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 says:

Quote
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.

...

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 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.

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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Feral

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« Reply #17 on: March 24, 2007, 03:51:02 AM »

Jay Brannon is up for YouTube's Video awards. It rather looks like he's going to take third place in the Best Music category. Good for him.
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berto

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« Reply #18 on: April 06, 2007, 04:13:57 PM »

Proudly, loudly gay and on a major label? Sure!

Quote
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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Feral

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« Reply #19 on: April 06, 2007, 05:08:33 PM »

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,

Quote from: "Feral"
GLBT Label Music With a Twist Announces First Two Signed Artists

Quote
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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Feral

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« Reply #20 on: April 07, 2007, 05:36:37 AM »

Free Download: Firouz "Warchild"

Quote
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.
...
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 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. 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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Feral

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« Reply #21 on: April 08, 2007, 01:50:46 PM »

Jay Brannon finally got approved by iTunes, which means his "Unmastered" collection of songs can be bought there. 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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berto

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« Reply #22 on: April 10, 2007, 05:26:20 AM »

a quick peek (or is it a quick listen?) to the latest from Rufus:

Quote
Rufus Wainwright 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 (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 (leaked online today) "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" here (via Stereogum via Hard to Find a Friend). 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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Feral

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« Reply #23 on: April 15, 2007, 11:50:03 PM »

Defining the first same-sex station

Quote
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.

...

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.

...

"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."

...

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. There's a web site as well.

The Hidden Cameras require a bit more effort to listen to for most of us. They have a MySpace page and a web site though and they'll gladly sell you an album or six.
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berto

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« Reply #24 on: April 16, 2007, 01:01:35 AM »

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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vanrozenheim

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« Reply #25 on: April 16, 2007, 01:13:39 AM »

Quote
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.

Quote from: "Feral"
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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Feral

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« Reply #26 on: April 16, 2007, 09:12:40 PM »

Quote
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:

Quote
“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.

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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berto

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« Reply #27 on: April 17, 2007, 11:23:02 AM »

Rufus, Rufus, Rufus...

Some pix, with links to an interview, more pix, lotsa good stuff.
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berto

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« Reply #28 on: April 21, 2007, 11:10:03 AM »

Freddy doc to air on Logo...

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...

Quote
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...


******************

Got a question for Rufus?

Quote
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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Feral

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« Reply #29 on: April 22, 2007, 11:28:09 PM »

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:

Quote
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. Everyone else in the world gets to buy it from Chicks on Speed Records. It's pretty fun stuff.
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