sgt. sass: somethin' to be proud of.

dl: SGT. SASS f/ MIRROR BOIYZ - Fags In Space (YSI)

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I came across a profile on a certain social-networking site with the following quote--"I prefer to think of gay culture as EM Forster and Stonewall instead of rainbows and self-destructive female celebrities." This quote stuck with me as I walked to lunch today and noticed all the restaurants and bars that dusted off their rainbow flags. The concept of gay pride has always made me slightly uneasy in the stomach, as I indicated two years ago on this very blog. My uneasiness wasn't dissipated when I briefly attended a mixer hosted by HX magazine (much love to Matthew) and heard a bad dance remix of Lindsay Lohan's "Bossy" blaring from the speakers. Why are my people listening to bad music by maybe lesbians when there's quality music being made within our community? This isn't a rhetorical question.

Now that I got that off my chest, this would be a perfect time to tell yall that my friends and favorite Philly-fag emcees Sgt. Sass will be performing at Sugarland tomorrow night, June 28th, at 11:45PM. I imagine that this would be the perfect way to spend your Pride weekend. Just remember these wise words from a homeless lesbian I once gave $20 to--"It's gay pride every day in New York City!"

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- SPACE IT - HYPE IT -

that's gay. literally.

Homosexuality is really gay. No seriously. It literally is.

I'm not sure how I feel about "pride" and what is interpreted as "gay culture". You wouldn't have seen me marching around in NYC today, but don't get me wrong...My people can do some okay things. However, gay men often misinterpret the meaning of "pride". Before we celebrate and dance around in man-thongs, I think we need to solve a few problems and tensions within the community, ok? Before we make others repect us, I think we need to respect one another. That's all I'm saying.

With that off my chest, let me continue with some music. In honor of gay pride, I will be bringing you some music from gay/lesbian/queer artists. They span across genres from hip-hop to country. Each song isn't necessarily about being gay. Does it really need to be?

• MATTHEW HEATH-FITZGERALD- Whiskey Lullaby: Mr. Heath-Fitzgerald is a family-lovin' man from Oklahoma who sings country music for a group of adoring fans. Only he's gay-married. It's like Brokeback Mountain only less depressing, less idealized, a lot cuter, a lot realer, and obviously more musical. Seriously though, if you don't believe it's cute, check out the photo of the married couple on his husband Jason Heath-Fitzgerald's page. CUTE. For country lovers, check out more of his music on the space. If you like what you hear, support the artist!!
• JONTE'- Make Up (video): Jonte' is essentially the polar opposite of Matthew Heath-Fitzgerald. He's campy. He's flexible. He's electro. He's...um, FABULOUS! Also, he's a gay black male semi-drag queen from New York. That's what I call opposites. Check him out on the space.
• GOD-DES & SHE- Mr. President: Everyone from Pink to Tupac Shakur to Bright Eyes have done songs for the president, but that's not the point. I found a copy of "Lick It" (available on iTunes), but I respect these ladies too much to post it. God-des is an out lesbian, and She just recently ventured into bisexuality. Honestly, I don't care what their orientations are. These ladies are talented. Unfortunately, "She" does not appear on this track, so I encourage you to head to the space and watch their video for the infectiously catchy "Love You Better" (which reached #1 on LOGO's Click List). She has an amazing voice.
• MIRROR BOIYZ vs. LEIF- I.R.L. (Leif remix): This is a brand new remix by the insanely gifted Leif. Leif is still in high school, and once I discovered this fact...I was floored. He is applying to my school, and if they don't accept him they are idiots. You may remember Leif from the first mixtape on this blog. If you liked what you heard back then, you should check out the full Arular Gone Glam project here. You should also friend him on the space before he gets more famous than your mom. OH, also The Mirror Boiyz are pretty good too, but I guess I'm biased. You can friend us here.
• NELLIE McKAY f/ K.D. LANG- We Had It Right: Nellie McKay is not a lesbian, but she's a gay-friendly vegetarian. That counts for something, right? Her album Pretty Little Head was presumably great. I say "presumably" because fucking Sony never released it! Sixteen of the 23 tracks have leaked including a duet with out lesbian performer K.D. Lang. The album also featured an amazing duet with Cyndi Lauper, her co-star in The Threepenny Opera. You should go see that if you're the kind of person who is into musicals. It also has Alan Cumming, who is gay and once hit on my friend. Since I can't recommend that you buy the album, either go see the play...or check out this live version of the gay marriage themed "Cupcake" (MP3). It includes a dedication to New Jersey's ex-governor Jim McGreevey. Word on the street is that Nellie is incredible live.
• JANIS IAN- My Tennessee Hills: Why does that name look familiar? That's right. Janis Ian = DYKE. (Mean Girls) The joke that most watchers of Tina Fey's theatrical masterpiece don't get is that the actual Janis Ian IS a dyke. If you listen hard enough, you can even hear Janis Ian's "At Seventeen" (MP3) playing in the background at some point in the movie. In other news, Ms. Ian was happily married to her domestic partner Patricia Snyder in 2003.
  

Honorable Mention:

• New Jersey rocker Josh Zuckerman
• "Bear pride" midwest rapper Bigg Nugg
• Internet superstar Jonny McGovern
• Overly raunchy Hirsute Pursuit
• American Idol contestant Jim Verarros
  
• Melissa Etheridge, Elton John, RuPaul, The Village People, Lesley Gore, Sinead O'Connor, Boy George, George Michael, Tegan & Sara, Michael Stipe, Liberace, Rufus Wainwright, and all the other obvious ones...

BLOGWATCH: Get the new Jessica Simpson "A Public Affair" at stars are blind. Check out some live tracks of new Radiohead material at i guess i'm floating, as well as a rare Modest Mouse track. Speaking of gays, ANTM's Kim Stolz is now a VJ on MTVU and has her own blog (link thanks to shitparade). Listen to acoustic tunes by We Are Scientists over at You Ain't No Picasso. Cop a b-side of The Go! Team covering Sonic Youth at i was there. Note that there's a remix of The Knife over at indiechristoph.

pdl: we all play happy, so let's all play "happiness", ok?

PdL does not stand for Punch-drunk Love. If you asked him what he stood for he'd tell you what he does not stand for---hate crimes...and the Pledge of Allegiance. If you were cool, you'd know that PdL stands for Perfidy de Licious, one half of the awesomely under-rated hip-hop duo The Mirror Boiyz (which I am totally unbiased about...of course). But you might not be cool...and that's why I'm here to help, because I'm SUCH a good friend.

On the proposed day of the world's end, PdL was featured on the lovely musical haven known as Fluxblog and everyone rejoiced in the sounds of "Happiness"...which goes to show you that one man can do a lot with a kazoo and a heart of gold. You can call it a summer jam or you can call it the jam of your life, but there's much more complexity existing beyond the sweet organ chords and catchy verse. Join me as I share the story...behind the music.

In spring of 2006, PdL was busy doing research for an ethnomusicology class at Wesleyan University. The final product of his readings and internet browsing was a song entitled "Shake that Bomb!" and a paper too, but that's not important. While developing "Shake that Bomb!", PdL came across samples of phone calls made on 9/11. He wanted to work the phone calls into the song by transforming samples from them into bass drums and snare drums. Once this was done, he liked the beat so much that he decided to use it for "Happiness". Are you offended? Are you appalled? Or are you still drawn in by the hypnotic glow the song offers? I vote the latter.

If "Happiness" becomes your jam of the summer, "Ambivalence" could easily become your token break-up jam...if you need one that is. The lyrics are quite simple, but the delivery captures the confusion you are left with at the end of a relationship. Pretending to be okay. Hating your ex. Reluctance to let go. These are among the themes hidden behind the electronic layers of de-Liciousness. Things we all go through and get over within a week or two once we recognize we can do much better. The song makes a blatant reference to the gay cowboy breakthrough film, Brokeback Mountain, but not in an annoying kind of way. It's nice to see that Mr. Licious hasn't forgotten his roots as an experimental gay rapper, taking the Notorious B.I.G.'s vocals and, um, making the late king of East Coast hip-hop sound like he's talking about gay sex. You read that right.

And how 'bout that bass line? It makes me feel like I'm back in church singing hymns in the choir. If you're not a disciple of PdL by the time those 3 minutes and 1 second pass, then we need to have a talk about what YOU stand for.

DOWNLOAD: PdL- Happiness
DOWNLOAD: PdL- Ambivalence

No album release date is set, but I will certainly keep you posted...by, er, posting.