Ok, first i have to admit, i was never the biggest fan of Savage Garden. After Darren Hayes went solo, the only song i heard was “Insatiable,” which i loved! Still, i didn’t buy the album. That was back in 2002. As far as i
knew, that was the last thing Darren Hayes did.
Today, i stumbled upon the video for the first single “On The Verge Of Something Wonderful” from his new album This Delicate Thing We’ve Made, about to be released in August. After seeing the video, i went to his website and immediately was COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY by two of his new songs, and i am now officially in love with Darren Hayes for the first time! The 2 songs i’m really excited about are “Who Would Have Thought?” and “Step Into The Light,” which has a seriously HOT bass line feels like a good fuck! (I also found videos for both of these on YouTube.) Also, be prepared to hear “Me Myself And (I)” in all the clubs.
The video shows Darren in a totally different light. He is the same age as me, and the maturity has not only done wonders for the sound of his voice, but also has given him fantastic spark and personality that i never saw in his face before! He’s also done with struggling with his image and is now apparently openly gay and proud, and it shows. He even has photos of his partner on his MySpace page, whom he recently married.
A lot of people who don’t know who Darren Hayes is are about to find out, and i fully expect him to begin a new career with this “debut” album.
Darren Hayes - “On The Verge Of Something Wonderful”
This band from England have created something very cool. Not only is Klaxon’s music incredible with its lush and hooky sound, but their music videos are bizarre and tons of fun to watch! They have 4 music videos, all directed by Saam Farahmand. My favorite one is for the song “Golden Skans,” in which the 3 members are transformed into futuristic fantasy warriors wearing nothing but ribbon. It’s pretty hot! It’s also visually captivating! Their other 3 videos are equally awesome, as is Saam’s website, which includes George W. performing New York, New York and a music video of a song being sung by a penis. (Yes, an actual penis!)
The main photo on their MySpace page shows 4 members. I don’t know if that means they have gained a 4th member or if they lost one.
My favorite thing about flying home from Cancun and Miami on American Airlines was getting to discover great Latin music that i would otherwise have never heard. This time, i discovered that Ricky Martin [drool] has an Mtv Unplugged album that was recorded live in Miami in August of 2006. You can see a lot of it on Mtv.com, but be aware, they mislabeled all the videos, putting the wrong song names on them. Oh well.
The true highlight for me is Ricky Martin [gasp, grunt] performing the song “Fuego De Noche, Nieve De Dia” which is about how the time between when a lover leaves in the morning and comes back at night feels like winter, and the time between when they come back and when they leave is like fire. I got tears in my eyes watching Ricky ["Fuck me baby!"] sing this song [to me and only me, his true love!] and feel it with his expressive, beautiful face that melts my heart! I wish i could find words to describe his voice, and his beauty, and the beauty of this song!
Ricky Martin frolicking almost nude on the beach with his “good friend.”
Ricky Martin “I Don’t Care” from the album Life. Fucking HOTTT!!!
I love Margaret Cho. In fact, the quote in the header of this blog, “Don’t lick my eye,” is a quote from one of her stand-up specials. This quote has become very personal to me because ever since we saw it, Paul has taken to licking my eye whenever possible, to which i always respond, (you get the picture.) We saw her live in Sacramento on her State of Emergency tour which would become Assassin, and she was fabulous! Now our favorite “fag hag” is doing new stand-up comedy onLogo, the gay television channel as host of the new series The Outlaugh Festival featuring a great lineup of gay comedians. Set your Tivo, or go to Logo online for showtimes and to watch and catch up on episodes. If you don’t know Margaret Cho, here’s your chance to check her out and laugh your ass off! If you really want to see Margaret Cho at her finest, buy the 3 disc box set of her first 3 comedy specials. Get it, watch it, and soon you, too, will be walking down the street with your friends yelling in a loud, obnoxious voice, “HI, my name is Gwen, I’m here to waaash your vagina!”
“Margaret is comedy’s most fearless superhero.” Mary Kaye-Schilling, Entertainment Weekly
“She makes Al Franken and Michael Moore look like Rush Limbaugh.” Kevin Nance, The Tennessean
“Brilliant. Over the edge. One of the funniest comedians in America. I laughed until the tears were running down my face.” Stephen Holden, The New York Times
“Outrageous! A one-woman comic army…with seemingly limitless wit at her command. She understands the power of humor to provoke thought and to liberate.” Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
“Grade: A- …gleefully, blasphemously invasive.” Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“Honest and raunchy enough to make even Richard Pryor blush.” Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune
“…the patron saint of anyone who has ever felt like an outsider.” The Washington Post
“…I can say without reservation that Cho’s “Notorious C.H.O.” is the best comedy concert movie I’ve seen since Cho’s previous concert comedy film, “I’m The One That I Want,” in 2000.” Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
“the Richard Pryor of her generation.” Sacramento Bee
“Exhilirates while it has you guffawing non-stop.” Brandon Judell, Detour Magazine
“It’s humor with a message (love yourself as you are) that doesn’t forget to be funny.” Curt Fields, The Washington Post
Well, in case you missed it, American Idol started yesterday. We are very excited. I’m crossing my fingers there will be a new Chris Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino, or Mario Vasquez discovered this year! Remember mario Vasquez? The incredibly beautiful curly haired boy with the smile that could break hearts and the voice of a seductive angel who disappeared from the show early last season and we all wondered what would become of him… well, he’s finally stepped out of the mysterious shadows! I wonder if they will mention him on the show, or even bring him on as a guest. That will be interesting! I hope they do!
…Says it all!!! Here’s more from Scissor Sisters for the hell of it, and i saved the best for last. This is the dirtier and longer version of the video for “Filthy Gorgeous” directed by John Cameron Mitchell who was Hedwig in the Hedwig and The Angry Inch film and also created the character and directed the film. This is not the version on Mtv or You Tube and contains nudity. It is not the original version, however. Apparently the original versions shows an oral sex scene and can only be seen on pay sites.
Featuring Jake Shears tongue-kissing a hot brunette guy who also licks his armpit, (there’s lots of gay kissing actually,) Jake getting his bare ass spanked, ass fondling ;-), naked breasts, (titts if you’re filthy, bosoms if you want to make me giggle,) a hot hula-hooping golden drag queen, a flying blow-up doll, this video is… exhilarating? intoxicating? steamy? Hottt?! Yes.
The Bee Gees are back! (Well, their sound is back.) Brought back by 2 bands: Scissor Sisters (a gay band who i think emerged from the gay club scene, and who’s name is a lesbian sexual position,) and Under The Influence Of Giants, (or UTIOG, from Los Angeles)
Scissor Sisters’ “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing” Has a feel that is part “Jive Talkin’ ” (1975) and part “Night Fever.”
UTIOG’s “Mama’s Room” and Scissor Sisters’ “Comfortably Numb” are much more “Stayin’ Alive.” (They didn’t like usin’ the letter ‘g’ back then.)
So what prompted this return to disco? I’m not sure. Perhaps it was what was happening in the New York gay clubs, or it could be a response to The Killers‘ first album which brought back the 80s sound of New Order and Dead Or Alive in 2004 with the album Hot Fuss, and the instinct to reach further, (back in time in this case.) By this logic, we should fully expect to see in the next 2 years a return of sounds from the 60s, right? Sounds crazy, i know, but 3 years ago, who would have believed that the BeeGees sound would make a resurgence?! Scissor Sisters also dabbled in the late 80s sound along the way; their song “It Can’t Come Quickly Enough”, (my favorite song from their debut album,) has a very definite Erasure vibe. Of course, Christina Aguilera has already thrown a monkey wrench in the works by taking us back to the 30s, so who knows where we’re headed next??? For all i know, we could be in for a return to Bach just like we did back in the late 60s! I imagine some important music exec riding around in a time machine and every once in a while he decides to hit the “random shuffle” button just for kicks! It will be interesting to see what emerges next. There are some artists who are definitely pushing further into the future, like Nelly Furtado (with Timbaland and others), (who i’ll write about next,) and Justin Timberlake. (Timbaland, Timberlake… try to say that 3 times fast!)
Scissor Sisters “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing”
Under The Influence Of Giants “Mama’s Room”
Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (from before Mtv)
Bee Gees “Night Fever”
Scissor Sisters “Laura” I had to throw this one in for 2 reasons: Number one, Jake Shears has a rocking body, and 2, i think it’s hysterical that the beginning of this song sounds exactly like the beginning of “9 to 5″ by Dolly Parton from the movie of the same name.
I just read on a gay news blog today that Warsaw, Poland has plans to erect a 4.5 foot pink triangle monument in the middle of the city in memory of the thousands of gay men killed by the Nazis in the concentration camps in the 1930s and 1940s. (Read about the history of gays in Nazi Germany.) To my surprise, i discovered that they are not the first. This memorial in Berlin made of pink granite was unveiled last month (?) and reads, basically, “killed, silenced.” Apparently there was a pink triangle “monolith” erected in Montevideo, Uruguay, (possibly in 2005?) but i cannot find photos of it. It is said to be inscribed, “To honor sexual diversity is to honor life.” (The translation was bad. I wonder if it was a temporary monument. If anyone could help me, thank you in advance. Leave a comment.) In 2003, San Francisco built Pink Triangle Park. I never knew it existed until today, and i’ve lived less than an hour from San Francisco all my life. It has a monument made of 15 granite pillars which together form a large triangle viewable from the big rainbow flag at Market and Castro. (Wow, how many times have i been there and never knew!) This “Homomonument” park in Amsterdam, 1987,consists of 3 large triangles. (I think that was the first one. Go Amsterdam!)
San Francisco also has a tradition of installing large temporary pink triangle monuments. There will be one installed on Saturday June 23rd for the 2007 LGBT pride parade this year on Twin Peaks. If you would like to be a part of it, maybe meet some great people and see some celebrities, check out The Pink Triangle website for more info.
The reason i wrote this post is because we have to remember what bigotry, ignorance and hatred can lead to. Yes, things have changed, but people are still being killed for being gay, and some of the killers are struggling with their own homosexuality. They are repressed and angry and lashing out against the thing they are afraid of. We can’t stop educating until they no longer have to be afraid.