Downtown Church by Patty Griffin: A Review Monday, Feb 1 2010 

music and song of the week thisgaudygildedstage 8:59 pm

Last Tuesday I ordered my copy of Patty Griffin’s new CD (and for once I actually bought the CD rather than downloading the album from iTunes) Downtown Church, which NPR describes as “the equivalent of a slow walk into a field of wildflowers — a journey in which you look up at a bluebird sky and take a deep breath with your eyes closed.” I really like much of Griffin’s other music, and PJ and I had seen her in concert here in Athens with Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, and Buddy Miller not too long ago (and, PJ reminds me, we also saw her as the opening act for Lucinda Williams back in the 1990s when we lived in Knoxville).

Even though I generally like her music, I’ve never bought it before. Usually PJ buys it and I just listen to it. But I started listening to it on NPR and thought it was worth getting. Besides, if I didn’t like it I could always give it to him.

It turns out that I love this album. It’s already in contention for my favorite album of the year. It’s definitely a breathe of fresh air. I also agree with NPR that she’s produced “an album that’s so mesmerizing, it’s difficult to believe Griffin isn’t a card-carrying member of The Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville.” (Griffin recorded the album there about a year ago.)

Only two of the songs on the album are original; the others are all gospel classics or traditional tunes in the public domain. Not surprisingly, it’s the two original songs that I love most, “Little Fire” and “Coming Home to Me.” After much internal debate, I’ve selected the latter as my song of the week:

I love that, while this song is written from a God-like perspective, it can easily be transferred to other situations as well. For example, when I listen to this song, what I hear is a song from one lover to another, a reminder that whatever is happening in his life he’s always coming home to me, to my arms, to my love. And vice versa. In that way, it’s an incredibly moving and beautiful song.

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Nothing Really Matters, Love is All We Need Thursday, Jan 28 2010 

music and song of the week thisgaudygildedstage 10:38 am

This week’s song of the week is Madonna’s “Nothing Really Matters” from her 1998 album, Ray of Light. Here’s a clip of her singing it at the 1999 Grammy’s:

I’ve been looking for more than a song of the week since the beginning of the new year; I’ve also been looking for a theme for the year. Last year, my theme was “Here, Now, and Me,” which became a kind of mantra that helped me keep focused on what seemed most important: living in the now (rather than the past or future) and focusing on what it was I want out of life.

Since the new year is a time for resolutions and new commitments, I started looking for a theme that encapsulates what I’m thinking now. At first, I couldn’t find anything that felt right, but then I remembered Madonna’s song, which I’ve always liked. In fact, it’s one of my favorite songs from Ray of Light. I even bought the single when it came out.

So, I broke out the single and started listening to it in my car as I drove back and forth to work. The more I listened to it, the more it seemed to fit my mood and thoughts at this moment in several ways.

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Max Steele and How Naked Are We Going to Get? Friday, Jan 22 2010 

music and queer culture and song of the week thisgaudygildedstage 3:22 pm

It’s going to take a little explaining before I get to the point of this post, my song of the week, which is “How Naked Are We Going to Get?” by The Blow.

The other day I was watching episode 6 of Jeffery and Cole Casserole, which I missed when it was on T.V. I love their show (and their YouTube videos). While watching the episode, I started to wonder about one of the other actors in the show. His name turns out to be Max Steele, and, since he’s cute, I started surfing the web to see what I could find out about him: he’s a 24-year-old actor/musician/writer/go-go dancer/performance artist who lives in New York City.

My great envy in life is that I’m not a twenty-something gay performance artist type guy living in NYC. I’m sure part of it is the hipsterness of such a fantasized life. And part of it is the feeling that I wasted my early twenties being good in southeast Texas. Whatever its roots, I wish I were a twenty-something gay guy living in NYC surrounded by people making videos and making out with each other while drinking cheap red wine and listening to really cool music. Only slightly lower on my list of fantasy lives would be to be a mumblecore director, which would still involve living in NYC, making out with cute guys, and drinking cheap wine while listening to cool music! I’m starting to think that I need to do more with contemporary young queer culture in my next Lesbian and Gay Lit class–maybe turn it into a queer culture class or something.

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SotW: This Land is Your Land by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Thursday, Jan 14 2010 

music thisgaudygildedstage 3:18 pm

George Clooney’s new movie, Up in the Air, begins with a montage of airplanes taking off and landing behind the initial credits. I instantly fell in love with the song that playing during the montage, which is “This Land is Your Land” by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings:

I love their neo-funk sound, so I’ve made this song my song of the week.

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SotW: This Moment by Nic Chagall Thursday, Jan 7 2010 

music thisgaudygildedstage 12:10 pm

My song of the week is Nic Chagall’s “The Moment” featuring Jonathan Mendlesohn:

Chagall mostly does trance music; I’m not really familiar with his music. What drew me to this song was Mendlesohn. I love his track on the anthology Music with a Twist, a collection of tracks by GLBT artists. Every now and then I check to see if he has an album out. While checking on iTunes, I came across this single. There are also several great remixes on YouTube.

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SotW: When Love Takes Over by David Guetta Monday, Dec 28 2009 

music thisgaudygildedstage 3:43 pm

I’m closing out the year with one last song of the week, David Guetta’s “When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland. I’ve enjoyed listening to it on the radio for months, so I finally downloaded it from iTunes. It’s quickly become one of my favorite songs. Needless to say, it’s a great dance song, and I love Kelly Rowland!

The embedding for this video is disabled on YouTube, so just click here to see it.

 

SotW: Old Devil Moon by Cheyenne Jackson Tuesday, Dec 22 2009 

music and queer culture and theater thisgaudygildedstage 10:15 pm

This week’s song of the week is “Old Devil Moon” by Cheyenne Jackson. Last week we saw him in Finian’s Rainbow, and I can’t get this song out of my head. Here’s a clip of him singing it from the show:

I was slightly familiar with the song, since it’s become an old pop standard, but it had never really stood out to me before. Now it’s one of my favorite songs. I love its old-fashioned romanticism, and Jackson does a great job singing it.

It is a great song, but the main reason it’s impressed me so much is that I thought Cheyenne Jackson was a revelation in Finian’s Rainbow. The moment he first walked out on stage I gasped out loud at his hunkiness. The phrase that keeps coming to mind is, “What a man, what a man, what a mighty fine man!” I had read about him on gay blogs before, and I have to say everything I’ve read about him is true: he’s a total hunk!

He really fills out a pair of jeans. I once read that his thighs are amazing, and they are. But what stood out to me was that he’s hunky without looking like a gym queen. Not only is he handsome with piercing blue eyes, but he comes across on stage as unselfconsciously butch. Kind of like he’s been raised on a farm rather than in a gym. In fact, on stage he looked a little closer to normal than to a beefy gym queen, which makes him even sexier.

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SotW: New York by Paloma Faith Tuesday, Dec 15 2009 

music thisgaudygildedstage 3:48 pm

I hesitate to choose a song for song of the week that isn’t even out yet. But, PJ and I are spending the rest of week in New York City, so this song is just too good to pass up:

I have a weakness for British singers, and I have a feeling that I’m going to really like Paloma Faith.I love how this song sounds, and I keep expecting New York to steal my man too!

The video is great — I love the chorus part! I’ve asked a friend who will be spending two weeks in England to see if he can pick up the CD for me, since it’s not out here in the U.S. yet. How can anyone resist an album called Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?

In the meantime, PJ and I will be in New York until Saturday. We’ll be seeing South Pacific and a few other shows. We’re also planning another visit to the Tenement Museum and the Metropolitan Museum. And, as always, we’ll probably eat incredibly well! I’ll blog all about it when we get back.

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SotW: Time after Time by Margaret Whiting Wednesday, Dec 9 2009 

music thisgaudygildedstage 7:54 pm

Last night, PJ and I watched Julie and Julia again (this time on DVD). I love the movie — Meryl Streep is amazing!

This time, I was struck by the song that plays over the closing credits. So, I checked it out. It’s Margaret Whiting‘s “Time after Time”:

Whiting first came to my attention when I saw a documentary about Jack Wrangler. Wrangler had been a famous gay porn star in the 1970s and had branched out into straight porn before meeting Whiting. Despite his sexual orientation, if that’s even the right way to put it, he and Whiting married and by all accounts remained happily together until his recent death.

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SotW: Finally by Adam Joseph Thursday, Dec 3 2009 

music and queer culture thisgaudygildedstage 9:45 pm

My song of the week is Adam Joseph’s cover of “Finally,” which was originally sung by CeCe Penniston. It’s a classic song for drag queens and gay bars, so it’s a natural choice for Joseph to cover it. More importantly, it’s a beautiful ode to marriage equality.

The video features Lars Stephan, who is the guy getting out of bed at the beginning of the video. He’s also a photographer. I’ve followed his flickr photostream for a long time now. He primarily focuses on one subject: himself. While this might sound narcissistic, I don’t think it is. On the one hand, Stephan is gorgeous. If anyone should be the subject of photography, he should. On the other hand, I think his art is more an exploration of identify and the ways in which the physicality of the body and of location affect identity. (Warning: Some of his work is nude, so the links to his flickr page and blog aren’t entirely safe for work.) Stephan also has a blog, which is fun to read.

Adam Joseph’s rendition of “Finally” has really grown on me. At first, it seemed too different from the original, which is such a dance hit. But the more I’ve listened to it, the more I’ve fallen in love with it. By the way, his single “Faggoty Attention” is one of the greatest gay songs ever! I’m glad he’s gone another one — I hope this presages a new album soon!

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