"Ex-gay" group calls hate crime laws "anti-ex-gay": "According to PFOX, hate crime laws protecting gays and lesbians themselves constitute hate crimes against ex-gays.
Because if you tell people that they can’t beat up people because
they’re gay, you discriminate against the people who beat up gay people
because they are gay! It is you who are committing the “anti-ex-gay hate crime,” because if people aren’t allowed to hate gay people, how will PFOX ever find any ex-gay people?"
Atlanta Eagle court hearing postponed a second time.
Malaysia bans Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno: "It's banned because the story is based on gay life ... There are a lot
of sex scenes. It's contrary to our culture."
NYT Consults blog on questioning teens: "In trying to understand sexual orientation, it can help a person to
think about who he or she has crushes on and fantasizes about being
with. A person doesn’t necessarily need to have a 'full' sexual
experience in order to understand his or her sexual orientation."
Billboards in Wisconsin highlight LGBT neighbors: "The campaign is a first in Midwest history to be translated to Spanish,
and one of the firsts across the country. Digital billboards will be
featured on major commuter freeway paths, which include ads in Ozaukee,
Racine, Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties. The accompanying websites,
GayNeighbor.org and MiVecinoGay.org, answers basic questions in Spanish
and English about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender (LGBT)
community and issues they face."
Graham Norton given warning about lesbian remark: "Norton, 46, and his programme team have now been warned about 'being
seen to endorse offensive sexual stereotypes' after a BBC investigation. This comes after a viewer complained about the remarks made about
an illustration of a jump suit invention, which showed a large woman
with short hair. The comic described the picture as showing a
'strange lesbian' and when asked what a lesbian looks like, he pointed
at the picture and said 'That!'."
The editors of Modern Tonic present a weekly music update here on Towleroad. The rest of the week, they scan the pop culture landscape for movie, TV, book and Web recommendations in their daily email.
FEATURED NEW RELEASES:
Kid Cudi (born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi) lent his space-age hip-hop skills to Kanye’s out-there 808s & Heartbreak. But where Kanye sounded lost in orbit, Cudi (pronounced “Cuddy”) is right at home. This brother from another planet shape-shifts hip-hop on his startlingly fresh debut Man on the Moon: The End of Day. Opener “In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)” — a slowed down mix of soul strings and spoken word — makes it clear this ain’t an old-school rap. From there the Brooklynite via Cleveland does some truly creative s**t — he samples OMD’s obscure “ABC Auto-Industry” for the hook of “As Simple,” he collaborates with Ratatat for the creepy-crawly “Alive (Nightmare)” and he whips a military beat over the apocalyptic jam “Sky Might Fall.” He may be an unlikely candidate for mega-stardom, but he’s not too weird for anyone who wants a glimpse into hip-hop’s future.
The Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado has never seemed more at home than she does on the warm, spicy Spanish-language Mi Plan. She borrows the best from rock en Español — upbeat choruses, high drama — and sings her heart out in the process. Flamenco guitars are slathered all over the title track. “Vacación” is mariachi reggae perfect for a beachside stroll in Cozumel. And “Silencio” is Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” with extra cheese, thanks to Josh Groban. Furtado has talked about the possibility of recording a Portuguese-language album in the future as well.
U.K. dance comes in all kinds of flavors — big beat, rave, techno, Eurodisco — and we love pretty much all of them. Yet what’s best about Simian Mobile Disco (aka James Ford and Jas Shaw) is that they’re not specialists. These greedy buggers love all things dance; their sophomore release Temporary Pleasure is a Whitman’s Sampler of sweet grooves and guest vocalists. Need a genuine disco rush? Check out Gossip’s Beth Ditto on the sultry “Cruel Intentions.” If you’re longing for a Hayzee Fantayzee-style island-hopping ditty, there’s “Pinball,” featuring Brooklyn’s Telepathe. And Jamie Lidell takes the Chemical Brothers to a sex club on the promiscuous “Off the Map.” That’s a lot of pleasure indeed, but SMD are selling themselves short if they think it’s only temporary.
U2 will release a remastered 25th anniversary version of The Unforgettable Fire on October 27. It will come in four configurations (vinyl, single CD, deluxe double CD and super deluxe box set) and will include B-sides, rarities, alternate versions, and previously unreleased songs, in addition to various physical extras in the deluxe versions.
Just when you think they can’t get more pretentious, power trio Muse drop an honest-to-goodness three-movement symphony to close out their supermassive rock record The Resistance. It’s prog-rock that’s also fantastically glam (first single “Uprising”), bluesy (“Undisclosed Desires”) and heavy (“MK Ultra”).
Gary Go follows Snow Patrol up the mountain to commercial bliss on his self-titled debut. Big emotions, bigger choruses, and an extra dollop of sincerity lift this Brit-popper’s open-hearted future hit “Open Arms” and the grandly romantic anthem “Engines.”
Yo, haters, give Scarlett Johansson a break. Break Up, her duets album with Pete Yorn, shows off her jazzy voice on standouts like “I Am the Cosmos” and the barroom blues of “Wear and Tear.” Gorgeous, (debatably) talented actress and she can sing. Okay, hate her, just don’t ignore her.
Marié Digby’s much more than that YouTube cover girl who remade Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (and Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” and Britney’s “Gimme More” and…). Her sophomore release Breathing Underwater is girl pop writ grand, catchy as hell and sure to grace a thousand TV and film soundtracks in the near future.
There have been a lot of cruel summers for the women of Bananarama. Big stars as an ‘80s trio, the duo-since-1991 are back with their Euro-disco import Viva. If their successors Sugababes and Girls Aloud can storm the charts, so can these elder-stateswomen.
Fever Ray: “Seven” The side project of The Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson, Fever Ray offers a creepy clip for this lingering lo-NRG electro track, featuring an old woman, a hairy-faced shaman and barnyard animals. Get a FREE DOWNLOAD of the CSS remix of "Seven" here.
Editors: “Papillon” From their forthcomingIn the Light and On This Evening, the Birmingham quartet add triumphant synths to their dark alt-rock on a song about escape where men run the night streets of a silent metropolis.
Young Soul Rebels/War Child: "I Got Soul" This charity single for the War Child organization re-imagines The Killers’ “All These Things That I’ve Done” with Pixie Lott, VV Brown, Tinchy Stryder and other U.K. up-and-comers.
Micachu & The Shapes “Turn Me Well” This songstress from Surrey dons mime makeup for an abstract clip of a minimally experimental tune that makes The Knife sound like Muse. From their debut Jewellery.
NYT: Pass ENDA. "People who believe in workplace fairness should lobby senators to get
on board. It is unacceptable that in a nation committed to equality
people can still be fired in more than half the states for being gay."
Taylor Swift speaks out about Kanye West incident: "Well, I was standing on stage because I was really excited because I had just won the award. And then I was really excited because Kanye West was on stage. And then I wasn’t so excited anymore after that...”
UK footballer Trevor Morley says gay rumors nearly ruined his career: "The rumours about me being gay killed me for a while. I’ve got nothing against gays – I now have friends who are gay – but it’s not nice to be called a homosexual when you aren’t one. How many times does Robbie Williams have to come out and tell the world he isn’t gay. The more you say it, the more people start to believe it’s true… It ruined my football for a while. I’d go out onto the field and hide. I didn’t want to be there."
Big spending predicted in Michigan by bigots hoping to block Kalamazoo's anti-discrimination ordinance: "Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan,
says Hoadley is a hired political gun who has the ability to raise a
quarter-million dollars and deliver a cadre of national volunteers..."
Iran to allow transsexual marriage? "The woman, named only as Shaghayegh, told Tehran's family court she
wanted to marry a school friend who had recently had a sex-change
operation to become a man, but was unable to obtain her father's
blessing, as legally required. Her father was summoned to court and
agreed to the union on condition that the male partner, Ardashir, who
was previously a woman called Negar, underwent a medical examination to
prove it would be a proper male-female relationship."
REPORT: South African runner Caster Semenya has no womb or ovaries. "Tests conducted during the world athletics championships in Berlin last
month, where Semenya's gender became the subject of heated debate
following her victory in the 800m, revealed evidence [of] both male and female sexual characteristics."
The NYT visits a revived Asbury Park, NJ: "As is often the case in a town in a process of renewal, gay men and
lesbians have a significant presence and deserve considerable credit
for the current reawakening."
Alan Cumming to release album: "The album title comes from the naturalization test I took to become a
citizen of the U S of A. In the test, there is a bit
where the man says a sentence and you have to write it down to prove
your prowess in English. My sentence was ‘I bought a blue car today,’
which initially I thought was really sweet and childlike, but on closer
examination I realized that it’s all about consumerism and gas
guzzling, which rather brilliantly encapsulates America’s financial and
energy crises in one fell swoop. [The album is] made up of songs and
stories about my ten years living in the states culminating in my
becoming a citizen."
Interview with Sacramento man who is trying to get a voter's initiative on the ballot in California that would ban divorce.
Fort Worth gay bar Stampede heavily damaged in fire:
"Then, just before 2 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, a fire broke out in a
storage area at Stampede and quickly spread to the rest of the
building, causing $60,000 worth of damage. The cause of the fire was
believed to be electrical, and authorities don’t suspect any foul play."
ACLU wants Survivor winner Richard Hatch freed from jail: "Lawyers for the ACLU of Massachusetts on
Wednesday sought the “Survivor” winner’s release from the Barnstable
County jail in Bourne. Hatch was taken into custody Aug. 18 at his
sister’s Newport home after giving TV interviews that the federal
Bureau of Prisons said it had not approved. He was serving home
confinement for failing to pay income taxes on his $1 million prize for
winning the first season of the show. He was convicted in Providence in
2006...The ACLU said Hatch has a right to criticize the government."
Florida Gay couple and lesbian couple battle for custody of child: "After considering arguments from both sides, Miami-Dade Circuit Court
Judge Leon Firtel on June 3 found Ray was nothing more than a sperm
donor. Because there was no contract before birth, he had 'no rights.'"
ESPN columnist LZ Granderson: Gay is not the new black. Pam Spaulding responds: "This nonsense about 'Is Black The New Gay,' just reached another plateau of bullcrap."
Bush's Justice Dept. blacklisted LGBT groups: "The Blade recently learned that among the blacklisted groups was
Immigration Equality, which focuses on LGBT-related immigration issues. Also blacklisted was the immigration project for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis."
Biological "blob" drifts for miles in arctic waters off Alaska: "It's certainly biological. It's definitely not an oil product of any kind. It has no
characteristics of an oil, or a hazardous substance, for that matter. It's definitely, by the smell and the makeup of it, it's some sort of
naturally occurring organic or otherwise marine organism."
Polish European Parliament leader under fire for homophobic remark made in 2000: "The latest row has been sparked by a short video clip available
online dated July 2000, in which Mr Kaminski - a member of Poland's Law
and Justice Party - uses the word 'pedal' to refer to gay rights
campaigners, in a TV interview. This is a derogatory Polish word for homosexual, usually translated into English as 'fag' or 'queer'."
Metropolitan Museum of Art "de-gays" blockbuster Model as Muse exhibit: "Room after room is shoulder to shoulder with over seven decades of
queer genius, showcasing the extraordinary visions of gay men whose
simultaneous status as sidelined outsiders and ultimate insiders,
dressing the planet's most visible women while their sexuality was
illegal, spurred them to perpetually reinvent not only what we wear but
how we live in the world. That's where art comes from and that's what
the museum ignores."
In loose order, some highlights from the service for Michael Jackson held today at L.A.'s Staples Center, which might very well go down in HIStory as the most-watched broadcast of all time. I thought it was more reserved and tasteful than it might have been:
Along with Elizabeth Taylor, Quincy Jones and Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross also bowed out of participating.
The entire highway was shut down to facilitate the transport of Jackson's body and the arrival of a fleet of A-listers. This was the largest public event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympics.
Jackson's brothers were wearing his trademark single gloves. Sister Janet cut a striking figure of grief alongside her parents.
Fans were not above shouting out, "I love you Michael!" and other things through any lulls in the program.
Corey Feldman arrived dressed like his former friend, just like he did when he was an adolescent.
Mariah Carey performed an emotional (or overwrought, depending on your taste) version of "I'll Be There." Will she be able to get away with releasing this version as a single?
John Mayer, who had nothing to do with Jackson, performed a mostly instrumental version of "Human Nature."
Jennifer Hudson belted out "Will You Be There," which ended with a haunting use of a recording of Jackson's own voice. This and Stevie Wonder's performance of "I Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" and "They Won't Go When I Go" might be among the program's artistic highlights.
The Rev. Al Sharpton's short eulogy proclaimed that Jackson had broken the color barrier, paving the way for Oprah Winfrey's and Barack Obama's success and said, "I want his children to know—wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with."
The Rev. Bernice King—daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and an avowed foe of marriage equality—spoke alongside her brother Martin Luther King III at the memorial, focusing on the healing power of his music when her mother, Coretta Scott King, was in ill health.
Gay-friendly Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), stating she represented the House in appearing and expressing her condolences and promoting a bill to recognize Michael Jackson's humanitarian contributions, strongly made the point that everyone in this country is innocent until proven guilty, an unusual reference to legal controversies that dogged Jackson.
Following an alternately raw, sad and funny remembrance by Brooke Shields, Jermaine Jackson delivered a surprisingly touching take on Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," which was covered by his brother in 1995.
Usher offered up his version of the prophetic "Gone Too Soon."
Director and collaborator Kenny Ortega presented a (maudlin, if I may) performance of "We Are the World" from the This Is It comeback show as performed by the show's troupe. (A blonde, white female sang Michael Jackson's part from the original song.) As the song progressed, Smokey Robinson (who'd spoken of his respect and affection for Jackson), sister LaToya and other celebrities joined in...as did his grieving children.
The final number in the concert memorial was "Heal the World," complete with another stageful of children.
The moment everyone will be talking about: Jackson's emotional 11-year-old daughter closed the service by saying, "I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine...and I just wanted to say I love him so much," before burying her face in Aunt Janet's arms.
Los Angeles is asking citizens to donate money to "help give Michael the world class memorial he deserves."
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