SotW: Were the World Mine Friday, Jun 12 2009 

movies and music and queer culture thisgaudygildedstage 4:07 pm

Last night, PJ and I watched the movie Were the World Mine, a queer take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Tom Gustafson and starring Tanner Cohen as Timothy, a gay high school student who uses the recipe in Shakespeare’s comedy to whip up a love potion to make the boy of his dreams fall in love with him. I’ll use this post to offer a brief review of the film, but first here’s the video of the title song from the movie, which is my song of the week:

I really like how the film makers use Shakespeare’s play to create what also stands as a great queer-affirming song. And Cohen does a great job singing the song. I’ll post the lyrics and more about the movie after the break.

The movie is a nice gay fantasy. Timothy is a student at a private school. He’s constantly abused by the school’s jocks, the members of the championship rugby team. When the school’s English teacher (luminously portrayed by Twin Peaks‘s Wendy Robie) stages Dream for the senior play, Timothy and the jocks have to work together on it. (Timothy is cast as Puck.)

(more…)

 

SotW: Sick by Sam Sparro Wednesday, Jun 3 2009 

music thisgaudygildedstage 7:21 pm

I’ve been listening to Sam Sparro‘s music off and on for a couple of weeks now. Earlier this week, I finally downloaded the new album, Sam Sparro, from iTunes. “Sam Sparro” is the stage name for Sam Falson, an Australian musician who also happens to be gay. Admittedly, it was knowing that he’s gay that first attracted me to his music — I’ve found that I’m more interested in finding good queer music (or good music by queers) lately. Sam Sparro definitely fits with my current mood.

There were actually a few songs that I considered as song of the week. At first, I really liked “Black & Gold,” which also has a fun video. Then I got into “21st Century Life,” which is also catchy. But my favorite song off the album is definitely “Sick:”

I like this song’s rhythm and sound. It reminds me of good, queer ’80s music. I browsed YouTube to see what videos there were for this track, since Sparro hasn’t made a real video for it yet. I found a couple that I like for one reason or another.

(more…)

 

SofW: One by Adam Lambert Wednesday, May 27 2009 

music and television thisgaudygildedstage 5:42 pm

Even before reading about the latest controversy concerning Kris Allen’s unexpected victory in this year’s American Idol, I had seen that iTunes was featuring an “album” of Adam Lambert’s “Season 8 Favorite Performances.”After wavering a bit, I decided to download the album, and I’m glad I did. I really like several of the tracks, especially Lambert’s cover of U2’s “One”:

While I don’t vote for American Idol and therefore can’t complain too much about Allen’s winning the competition, I do watch it. Lambert was clearly the better performer, especially during the final show. I decided that purchasing his album was the proper way to show my support for Lambert.

(more…)

 

Sotw: Number 1 by Goldfrapp Wednesday, May 20 2009 

music thisgaudygildedstage 3:19 pm

After a long (and I really mean that) three-day week of interviewing for the potential new job, I was ready for a mini-vacation. Fortuitously, today PJ and I headed to Boston for the weekend. He’s attending the American Literature Association, and I’m just tagging along for the ride. While we were driving to the Columbus airport, Goldfrapp‘s “Number 1” came on the radio.I’ve heard the song a few times before and have always liked it. So, I’m choosing it for my song of the week.

Here’s the video, which is bizarre:

I’ll post the lyrics on the second page.

(more…)

 

SotW: Make It Mine by Jason Mraz Wednesday, May 13 2009 

music thisgaudygildedstage 12:44 pm

This week’s song of the week is Jason Mraz‘s “Make It Mine.” Here’s a live version I found on YouTube:

I chose this song for two reasons. First, I love Jason Mraz and the album this song is from, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. “I’m Yours” was one of my favorite songs from last year, and “Lucky” has already been a SotW this year.

Second, I’ve been looking for a song to listen to while I prepare for a very big week next week. I’ll be interviewing for an administrative position here at OU on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (mostly on Monday). I like to have specific songs as inspirations while I prepare for things like this and had thought about picking Jennifer Hudson’s “Invisible,” but that wasn’t quite doing it for me. Then “Make It Mine” popped up on my iPod last week, and I knew I’d found my theme song.

(more…)

 

SotW: Mykonos by Fleet Foxes Wednesday, May 6 2009 

music thisgaudygildedstage 7:59 pm

I don’t know anything about Fleet Foxes yet, but I ran across this song on iTunes and really liked it. So, I looked up the video on YouTube and really liked it too:

I definitely want to hear more of their music. Consequently, “Mykonos” is my song of the week. The lyrics are after the break.

(more…)

 

SotW: Just Another Summer by Yehonathan Thursday, Apr 30 2009 

music and queer culture thisgaudygildedstage 10:51 am

[I’m actually writing this on Sunday, May 3rd, because I didn’t have time to write it during the week, but I’m posting it as if it were written on the day I meant to post it.]

This week’s song of the week is Yehonathan’s “Just Another Summer”:

Yehonathan is an Israeli pop singer who happens to be gay (and totally hot!). He’s just now released English-language music in the U.S. “Just Another Summer” premiered on MTV this week. I especially love how out he is and that he’s foregrounding queerness in his videos. The beach shower scene in this video has to be one of the hottest moments ever in a gay video!

I ran across his music a few weeks ago by surfing YouTube. I’m also a big fan of Ivri Lider, another queer Israeli singer, and one link led me to another until I came to Yehonathan’s music, which is mostly dance music.

After I started listening to his music, I joined his fan page on facebook. A couple of weeks ago, I was surprised to have been added as a friend by Yehonathan too. He’s my second gay, Israeli celebrity friend — I’m also facebook friends with director Eytan Fox and his partner Gal Uchovsky.

I’ll post the Hebrew version of “Just Another Summer” after the break.

(more…)

 

Bea Arthur: What’ll I Do? Sunday, Apr 26 2009 

music and television thisgaudygildedstage 8:14 am

 

SotW: She Loves Everybody by Chester French Tuesday, Apr 21 2009 

music thisgaudygildedstage 6:27 pm

PJ just suggested that I listen to Chester’s French‘s “She Loves Everybody,” since he thought I’d like it:

I love it! And I love that he knows me so well! And I think this video is amazing. It has everything one could want in a video: cute boys and a kick-ass woman beating them to a pulp (in a humorous, feminist critique of the way in which women are often little more than eye candy in music videos — just in the way the persona singing the song treats the woman he sings about — it’s a great contrast between image and words)!

Chester French’s new album, Love the Future, came out today. After watching the video, I immediately bought it on iTunes. So far, I’m about a third of the way through the album and I like it a lot so far. According to wikipedia, they’re influenced by “classic British Northern Soul,” so no wonder I like them!

 

SotW: Try by Nelly Furtado Tuesday, Apr 14 2009 

music thisgaudygildedstage 6:26 pm

This week’s song of the week is Nelly Furtado’s “Try” from her 2003 album Folklore. Her label has disabled embedding on YouTube, but here’s a live version of the song that I really like:

I liked this album, though it didn’t do well in the U.S. Since then, Furtado has gone for a more mainstream appeal.(I mean this euphemistically.)

I think “Try” is a great song, and it really fits something that I’ve been thinking about this past week: in all of our relationships — with lovers, friends, parents, children, students, teachers — all we can do is try. Plus, I like it’s acknowledgment that “I’m all I’ll ever be” … “And that’s you, baby / This is me, baby.” (That last bit is my favorite part of the song.)

I think it’s important to see in all these relationships that we all are who we are. We need to see each other for who we are and accept each other on that level. If we can’t do that, then we need to get out of the relationship, whatever it is. We have to love or respect or deal with people (depending on the nature of the relationship) as they really are rather than as we want them to be. This month, I’ve really been trying to do this — to love PJ for who he is, not who I want him to be; to appreciate my friends for who they are; to accept my colleagues and students for who they are; etc. I’m trying to live in the recognition that I can’t change people.

The flip side of that is also accepting and loving an respecting who I am. This is me. Accept me as I am or leave me alone. Even though I can change myself, that process is slow and deliberate under the best of circumstances, and certainly no one else can change me. If someone wants to be in my life (or class or whatever), then s/he needs to come to terms with who I am rather than hope s/he can change me.

I do think these sentiments are freeing, as the song ends by saying. I’ll post the lyrics after the break.

(more…)

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »