Dogged Blog

Magical writing

It's amazing how much stuff I've written is just magically appearing even though I'm sick in bed and not capable of much more than these little intros to linkage.

I may have done permanent damage to my airways by going to the Rufus Wainwright concert in San Francisco last Friday, but damn he was good. But I did notice something a bit disconcerting about the audience:

Oh, Rufus Wainwright, how you sparkle.

Oh, audience who went to see Rufus Wainwright at the San Francisco Masonic Auditorium last Friday, what’s wrong with you?

I refer specifically to the absolute flat-boring way the audience was dressed. There were perhaps five of us wearing anything that could remotely be considered sparkly, except, of course, for Rufus and his band, who were appropriately blinding in their shininess.

And that’s why I want to know what’s wrong with the people of my city, especially my gay brothers who I once could count on not to go see a diva like Rufus wearing little zip-up track jackets and running shoes.

Full judgmental little rant and yes, a few words about the actual concert story here.

Friday iPod Challenge on Sunday: The maybe I should change the name of this challenge edition

I went to see Rufus Wainwright at San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium Friday night, and I'll have a review of that on Club Kingsnake Monday sometime. And I might have a few words about it on the AfterElton.com blog, too; I'm not sure yet. But for now, let's do a Rufus-inspired playlist of nothing but different versions of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" that are on my iPod:

• Hallelujah -- the original by Leonard Cohen, on Various Positions.   
• Hallelujah -- by U2's Bono  from Tower Of Song: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen, a tribute album. This one is odd and doesn't quite work for me, but he tried to do something different with it, and the background vocal is breathtaking.
• Hallelujah -- Jeff Buckley from Grace. This is the version that was played on West Wing.
• Hallelujah -- by John Cale. Rough, raw. Video here.      
• Hallelujah -- again by Leonard Cohen, a much later version with different lyrics, from Leonard Cohen Live In Concert. This is my favorite.   
• Hallelujah -- by k.d. lang, from Hymns Of The 49th Parallel, k.d.'s album of songs by Canadian songwriters.
• Hallelujah -- by Rufus Wainwright. Video here. Gorgeous. Someone told me this was on the Shrek    soundtrack, but I wouldn't know.  Also the Gray's Anatomy soundtrack, but again... wouldn't know. I hate that show. Rufus does a lot of Cohen covers.
• Hallelujah -- by Brandi Carlile. I saw her do this live in San Francisco . Her voice is beautiful, but the versions I found on YouTube were all pretty low quality.

There are a few other versions out there... did I miss one you like?

Friday iPod Challenge, the VIDEO EDITION, because I'm COMPLETELY INSANE

I have no spare time on my hands at all, and yet.... I did this. Enjoy. A whole new kind of random iPod ten.

I did what I always do, and set my iTunes to randomly shuffle my music -- and then this time, I posted each song with a video clip!

The list:

1. Melissa Etheridge and Jewel, "Foolish Games"
2. Marianne Faithful, "As Tears Go By"
3. Leonard Cohen, "Suzanne"
4. Kristine W, "Fly Again"
5. Gloria Gaynor, "I Will Survive"
6. Everything But the Girl, "When All's Well"
7. Dolly Parton and Melissa Etheridge, "Jolene" (Live)
8. Cocteau Twins, "Pearly Dewdrops Drops"
9. Caterina Caselli, "Perdono"
10. Erasure, "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A man after midnight)"

This is frighteningly addictive. Don't try it at home. Videos under the jump.

Friday iPod Challenge, on Saturday: How songful

I was ranting the other day on AfterElton.com that I have a thing against artsy films that don't tell a story or have compelling characters. I feel the same way about books. I certainly think filmmakers and writers should create whatever they want to create, and not worry about what I think; I'm all about the freedom of expression. But me and art films and literary fiction, not so much.

Along with liking stories, I like songs. When I interviewed him, I had to admit to Stephen Kijak, who made a brilliant and not at all "art film" biography of musician Scott Walker, that I, like other heathens among Walker's fans, don't care for his more experimental recent works. I suck. I freely admit it.

So, I have a playlist on my iPod called "Just Sing." It has a lot of songs that I love because they're, well, songful. So I set iTunes to randomly shuffle just that playlist, and here is a songful random ten:

1. Don't Let the Teardrops Rust Your Shining Heart by Everything but the Girl (ever so slightly biographical although I'm the "you"):

I used to drive all night for you
While the children were asleep
And as the dawn broke on your room
Back into my house I'd creep
Where my husband slept alone
Of course he must have known
But we always hide the truth
For fear of losing what we own

2. Deeper Well by Emmylou Harris (from the incredibly brilliant Wrecking Ball, an album Stephen Kijak turned me onto, so maybe he won't hate me forever):

I went to the river but the river was dry
I fell to my knees and I looked to the sky
I looked to the sky and the spring rain fell
I saw the water from a deeper well

3.  Angel of Harlem by U2:

Blue light on the avenue
God knows they got to you
An empty glass, the lady sings
Eyes swollen like a bee sting
Blinded you lost your way
Through the side streets and the alleyway
Like a star exploding in the night
Falling to the city in broad daylight
An angel in Devil's shoes
Salvation in the blues
You never looked like an angel
Yeah yeah...angel of Harlem

4. Hunter's Lullaby by Leonard Cohen

Your father's gone a-hunting
Through the silver and the glass
Where only greed can enter
But spirit, spirit cannot pass

5. Valentine's Day is Over by Billy Bragg

Thank you for the things you bought me
Thank you for the card
Thank you for the things you taught me when you hit me hard
That love between two people must be based on understanding
Until that's true you'll find your things
All stacked out on the landing
Surprise, surprise
Valentine's Day is over

6. Breakdown by Melissa Etheridge (lesbian couples never break up, we  just call each other at 3 am):

So you're having a breakdown
So you're losing the fight
So you're having a breakdown
And you need me tonight
I found my place in this downtown
Salt air and yellow street lights
So you're having a breakdown
And I'm driving and crying
Unraveled and flying
I'm coming to your breakdown tonight

7. The Moon and St. Christopher by Mary Chapin Carpenter:

Now I've paid my dues because I have owed them
But I've paid a price sometimes
For being such a stubborn woman in such stubborn times
Now I have run from the arms of lovers
I have run from the eyes of friends
I have run from the hands of kindness
I have run just because I can

8. Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

9. Crying by Roy Orbison and kd lang

I thought that I was over you
But it's true, so true
I love you even more than I did before
But darling, what can I do?
For you don't love me
and I'll always be
Crying over you, crying over you

10. A Rainy Night in Soho by the Pogues (I have never listened to this without crying. Never):

I'm not singing for the future
I'm not dreaming of the past
I'm not talking of the first time
I never think about the last

Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there's a light I hold before me
You're the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams

Okay. Ten songs. Not just music. SONGS. Gimme.

Friday iPod Challenge -- DID YOU MISS IT???

It's been a while since I did my iPod challenge, which requires an iPod not at all. Just use whatever program you have for managing your music files and get it to generate a list of ten entirely random songs and tell me what they are. The key is NO CHEATING.

I took the bottom ten, not the top ten, but it's totally random:

1. Nasty Girl (Peter's Reconstruction Radio Edit)  - Inaya Day
2. She's Lost Control - Joy Division
3. After All (Radio Pollution Mix by The Passengerz) - Delerium
4. Top of the World - Dixie Chicks
5. Ambition - Doves
6. Drive-In Saturday - David Bowie
7. The Sound Of Violence (Narcotic Thrust Remix) - Cassius
8. My Oklahoma Home - Bruce Springsteen & The Sessions Band
9. Let Him Fly - Dixie Chicks
10. Stupid Girls - Pink

Now your turn! Show me something I'm not expecting.

The big gay problem with the iPhone

I know everyone who reads this blog is aware that my love for my iPod is unhealthy knows no bounds. And it's probably my only entertainment-related obsession that Gina doesn't scold me about,  because Gina is the one who bought it for me.

Not long ago, I posted here that my dream electronic device was a combination of my cell phone, my iPod, and my laptop, and a number of people said, "Fear not! Such a device is at hand! It's called the iPhone and it will be all that and more!"

And it sort of is, except, you know, it's not, because this thing has EIGHT PATHETIC MISERABLE GIGS OF STORAGE SPACE ON IT.

Hello, Apple! Not only do I have 14 gigs of music on my 60 gig video iPod, I have 30 gigs... THIRTY GIGS ... of television shows on here! What exactly am I supposed to delete?

So, you can read my music woe review over here on club.kingsnake and my careful explanation of why this lack of storage on the iPod is a big anti-gay plot over here on AfterElton.com:

This is a serious issue, Apple. If I’m sitting in the waiting room at my vet’s office or getting a pedicure or on an airplane, and I’m struck with the sudden and uncontrollable urge to watch Xena and Gabrielle take a long, hot bath together, or Brian and Justin twirling around at the prom, I can’t do it.

Anything that interferes with the Xena is just wrong. So be very careful if you buy this thing.

Blues legend BB King

Clint over at club.kingsnake, who swore after SXSW that he was done, done with music blogging, caught BB King's Toronto show night before last. He got some incredible photos and reviewed the show:

B.B. sits down to play now, and this contributes to the intimate nature of his live show. He also spends a lot of time telling stories and interacting with the more jovial members of the audience. Between (and during!) songs we were treated to stories of boyhood trips to town, later trips where after a "beer and half" he'd venture across the tracks to see if the "white water" tasted different form the "colored water." B.B. can laugh now about the repercussions if he'd been caught on the wrong side of the tracks in the segregated south of the 1930s and 40s, but admits that at the time it was no laughing matter. The audience also sustained a good hearted ribbing when they failed to join in during "When Love Comes To Town," which was written for Mr. King by U2's Bono.

The evening's highlight for me was when the horn section left the stage and B.B., with the guitarist and bassist seated on either side of him, played some great blues and told more of his stories. The legend's guitar tone was to die for, and I loved watching him let loose on occasion with some delicious runs and his trademark otherworldly singing vibrato. "You Are My Sunshine" was incredible!

Full review and link to the photo gallery here. Show Clint he's doing the right thing to keep blogging about music.

Friday iPod Challenge, the "SHE LIVES!" edition

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: While I am indeed alive, I have no life whatsoever.

I don't even know how far behind I am on linking to stuff I've written, which I make at least some feeble attempt to keep track of here. I believe I wrote an article grading the cable networks on lesbian/gay visibility for AfterElton.com - I have the sole byline on it, but it was a collaborative effort with all the guys who are listed at the end as "contributing."

Then I boldy tread where no lesbian has gone before and wrote an article on the most groundbreaking gay male sex scenes on television. Apparently people actually like to read about sex, go figure.

So, I also blog over there on AfterElton... about the gaying of TV, about the glorious cheesy horribleness of Dante's Cove, about Hyatt Hotels not having the big gay love (I'm supposed to be following up on that story, but I had a three day headache and forgot),  about gay vampires on TV,  and a free movie about the history of queer cinema that you can download or watch online.

And next week I interview HGTV's David Bromstad.

So, that was the fluff. Now, for the substance. We had a live online panel discussion about the pet food recall with itchmo, petfoodtracker, thepetfoodlist, Gina, and me, over on pethobbyist.com. The transcript is here. It was wild, we had around 300 people come through.

If I listed all the blogging I've done on this subject at PetConnection in the last week, it would take up a lot of time I could spend more profitably shopping for shoes working, so I won't. Just believe me when I tell you, every time someone at the FDA speaks, my head explodes.

So, the iPod challenge. If you've actually read this far, well, just remember no good deed goes unpunished. Now I'm going to make you work.

You don't actually need an iPod. I just wanna know what you're listening to. I used to ask for a random playlist, but now I want the ten songs currently in heaviest rotation, or that you most recently played, on your mp3 or CD player, or heck, your tape deck or turntable, I am not a technological elitist.

Here are the last ten played songs on my iPod:

1. Baby's On Fire by Marc Almond (God, wasn't this on last week? I must like it)
2. Going to a Town by Rufus Wainwright
3. Caroline Says I by Lou Reed
4. Nessuno mi può giudicare by Caterina Caselli
5. Lover's Spit (Redux) by Broken Social Scene (this is the Bee Hives version with Leslie Feist singing)
6. Holiday in Cambodia by the Dead Kennedys
7. Coming Back to You by Leonard Cohen (I have no memory of listening to those two songs back to back; I can't believe I would have forgotten that)
8. Madam Butterfly (after "Un bel di vedremo" from "Madama Butterfly") by Malcolm McLaren
9. Glenview by Pansy Division
10. Boy (Acoustic) by Erasure

So, whatcha listening to these days?

Scott Walker article, review

On AfterElton, my interview with queer filmmaker Stephen Kijak and actor Gale Harold, about Kijak's new film, the music documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man:

You may never have heard of Scott Walker, but you've probably been under his spell — at least second-hand. After turning his back on U.K. pop stardom in the '60s when he split from his band, the Walker Brothers, at the height of their popularity, he started a solo career that moved ever deeper into experimentation and obscurity. Along the way, he brought the work of Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel into vogue and influenced artists including David Bowie (who executive produced the film), Brian Eno, Alison Goldfrapp, Sting, Dot Allison and a long list of other musical luminaries, most of whom couldn't agree fast enough to be interviewed for the documentary.

In a music-centric interview that lasted more than an hour, Kijak told AfterElton.com, "I read an article once that said Scott Walker is Judy Garland for the gays who grew up writing poetry and wearing black turtlenecks." He laughed, then went on more seriously: "Scott is the benchmark for living an alternative lifestyle. He is uncompromising against anyone telling him 'this is how it's supposed to be.' He has one vision of himself, and he's expressing it through music."

Walker's code isn't only for musicians, Kijak insists. "It holds for anybody, in any pursuit in life that you can in some way think of as creative — even the construction of your own identity."

Documentaries are my favorite kinds of films, just as non-fiction is my favorite kind of book, and I really loved this movie, which I reviewed for club.kingsnake after seeing it in Austin. Harold was the film's associate producer, which I believe is a technical film industry term for "obsessed Scott Walker fan who would do anything to see this project made." He's apparently in very good company - the list of musical luminaries who appear in this documentary is dazzling, and I'm just glad that I got to review the film for a music blog - although I'm still trying to figure out if the note I had from director Stephen Kijak calling me a "music nerd" was meant as a compliment or not:

(D)on’t see this film expecting an uber-cool alt/indie version of a VH-1 special. Scott Walker: 30 Century Man isn’t an industry “music bio.” It’s a film documenting what director (Stephen) Kijak called “the evolution of a songwriter over time.”

That evolution has covered a lot of territory, from his early years as a 60s UK boy band pop star, to his presence today as a composer of work so experimental and abstract it defies categorization. Scott Walker has crooned ballads to an orchestral accompaniment, and created percussion by thwacking a side of pork. He brought Belgian singer Jacque Brel into vogue with Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel and his still-iconic performances of Mathilde and Jackie. He entered the consciousness of a new generation of listeners with the stunning compilation Boy Child: The Best of Scott Walker 1967-1970. He’s influenced everyone from Lulu to David Bowie (who executive produced and appears in the film) to Sting to the Smiths to Brian Eno to Marc Almond to Radiohead to Pulp (he produced We Love Life, and Jarvis Cocker is all over the film) to Dot Allison, and dozens, even hundreds, of other musicians. And once you’ve seen it, there’s something else anyone who has listened to alternative/indie music in the last forty years will quickly realize: Even if you didn’t know Walker’s name, you’ve been listening to musicians influenced by him all your life.

Full review here.

Friday iPod Challenge - something new

I was going to sit down and take stock of the last two and a half months, during which I have had an average of 4 hours sleep per night and had perhaps one full day off.

In those two and a half months I've put on my fifth Chat Week event over at PetHobbyist.com, gone to Austin for the South by Southwest Conference and Festival, judged my first (unofficial) dog show, and found out that the poison in pet food is not, at the moment, some metaphorical hyperbole from a raw food fanatic, but a literal statement of fact.

I've interviewed dozens of bloggers, actors, filmmakers, musicians, veterinarians, politicians, and researchers. I've even been on television three times, on the radio more times than I can count, and had the website I contribute to recognized in a Senate hearing.

I was told by someone I interviewed that I ought to write a book, and heard from a literary agent who offered to help me make that happen.

I also believe I've identified how long it is you can go on nothing but caffeine and adrenaline. I'm going to try to take the weekend off. (All my friends, editors, and colleagues are laughing at me now.)

Which brings us to this Friday's iPod challenge. I'm tired of the random thing. Please list the songs currently in heavy rotation on your mp3 or CD player, or hell, on your turntable or tapedeck. Embrace the low tech.

Ten songs I couldn't stop listening to this week:

1. Deeper Well by Emmylou Harris
2. Privilege (Set Me Free) by Patti Smith
3. If You Go Away by Marc Almond
4. Baby's on Fire by Marc Almond & T-Total
5. Angel (Live at Lillith Fair) by Sarah McLachlan and Emmylou Harris
6. Mathilde by Scott Walker (I'm clearly having a Jacques Brel kind of week)
7. Caroline Says 2 by Lou Reed
8. Oh Jim by Lou Reed
9. Pale Blue Eyes by the Velvet Underground (and a Lou Reed kind of week, too)
10. Is Your Love in Vain? by Bob Dylan

I showed you mine, now show me yours.