Planet Homo

Broadway Sings!

Gay Ballroom Dancing

The Sunday Los Angeles Times ran an article about Steve Valentine and Robert Tristan who want to take their unique version of ballroom dancing to the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne, Germany, later this year. The article, by Raha Lewis, can be found here. To see a video of the pair dancing, watch here.

Nhojj to perform at NYC Gay Pride

Nhojj will perform “The Gay Warrior Song” before tens of thousands of people lined up along the NYC Gay Pride Parade route on the Glo TV float. Glo TV is the first urban LGBT Television Network of its kind in the world. On June 19th Nhojj performed his new gay anthem in Providence, RI at their Rhode Island Pridefest; on June 20th at a church service at the historic St. Marks in the Bowery in the East Village section of New York; and on June 21st at an upper east side Manhattan awards ceremony—the 7th Annual Fresh Fruit Festival Awards at Jan Hus Playhouse. He received the Music Award of Distinction at the Fresh Fruit Awards. The awards honor outstanding performances and recognize community leaders whose achievements include supporting the arts and the LGBT community. Special honorees included the first openly gay NY State Senator, Tom Duane, Off Broadway legend and pioneering LGBT playwright Doric Wilson, and Under the Pink Carpet producer, Tony Sawicki. This marks the 2nd time Nhojj has won the award.

Adam Lambert New Video "If I Had You"

Watch This

The song is mellow and bluesy, with that distinct "Eastside oldies" vibe, like something you'd hear on an old Freddy Fender record. But the chorus of this track on the new Ozomatli album is sure to surprise any casual listener: "Gay vatos in love," the song goes. "Gay vatos in love." With it, the iconic fusion band whose sound is seen as representative of multicultural Los Angeles is arguably taking one of its most politically daring steps this year. The track that celebrates same-sex relationships -- and also deals with gay violence and denial -- is included in the group's fifth studio record, "Fire Away," which was released April 20. With its classic sound but sharply gay-friendly message, "Gay Vatos in Love" breaks into uncharted territory that borders on the music industry, politics, sexuality and Latino pop culture. "If the world can't understand," the song says. "Stand by your man." Raul Pacheco, one of the band's lead singers, tells La Plaza that there was "a lot of debate" within the band over how to approach the subject. How would the fans react? The media? The LGBT community? And what about Latin American and Latino listeners? In those communities, "vato" is generally understood as a term referring to a tough male from a tough neighborhood. "I think the hardest thing was, how do we present this in a way that's not a joke? And not a hammer either. Pretty much saying what the song says: 'Do your thing,' " Pacheco said. The band began putting together "Gay Vatos in Love" during the height of the Prop. 8 debate in California and while one of the band's members, Asdru, was working on writing music for a independent film project about a Mexican American gay gangster. "We bring in everything we're working on," Pacheco said of the band's writing process. "Asdru just had a chorus, and the producer heard that and said, 'You guys have to do a song about it.'" Read the entire story at the

Egypt: Elton not Welcomed

Egypt's musician's union on Sunday rejected plans for British singer Elton John to perform a private concert scheduled for May 18, because of his "controversial remarks attacking religions".

"How do we allow a gay, who wants to ban religions, claimed that the prophet Eissa (Jesus) was gay and calls for Middle Eastern countries to allow gays to have sexual freedom," head of the Egyptian Musician Union, Mounir al-Wasimi told DPA.

The pop superstar, 63, stirred controversy after his remarks to US celebrity news magazine Parade in February, where he said "Try being a gay woman in the Middle East - you're as good as dead", after saying he believed Jesus was "gay".

Al-Wasimi said that he has begun coordinating with security bodies to ban John's concert, saying that the union is the only body "authorised to allow performances by foreign singers in Egypt".

In 2008, Elton John performed in the United Arab Emirates to a crowd of more than 13,000 fans.

Although some human rights activists claim homosexuality is spreading in Egypt, the topic is a taboo in the country. In 2008, a lesbian scene in an Egyptian film set in Cairo's slums caused uproar.

In 2001, police raided a "gay" floating disco in Cairo. Around 20 of the 52 arrested were jailed for "habitual debauchery" and "obscene behaviour".

Dame Edna Puts A Ring on It

Pink Does Vegas in Grammy Act

If the Grammy Awards are a cultural weather vane, the winds seem to be blowing out of nowhere. Last nights 50 something awards ceremony started off with Sir Elton John and Lady Gaga performing "Poker Face" and "Your Song" in matching dirtied suits and glasses. Unfortunately, we would not see Elton or Lady again on stage. Which cannot be said of Taylor Swift, who seemed to dominate the evening and after a strange introduction by Mr. blandness himself, Ryan Seacrest, who suggested she was a heavy hitter in the lyric department, preceded into "Today was a Fairytale". Swift is 20 years old and 'Fairytale" seems exactly like the kind of song a 20 year old would write: "You've got a smile that takes me to another planet/Every move you make everything you say is right." Heavy. A real heavy hitter in the lyric department, Leonard Cohen, was given a lifetime achievement award, with a 12 second acknowledgment, as singer Pink took to the stage in a bathrobe and leapt into a swirling, burlesque Las Vegas act. Pink coyly dropped the robe to reveal a nude-colored bodysuit with silver spangles and white straps covering her naughty bits. She sang "Glitter in the Air" suspended in the air, sometimes upside down and twirling round, all the while spraying water onto the stage. By songs end she was pulled up from the abyss like a drowned rat and received a standing ovation.

Back on stage the ubiquitous Taylor Swift was overshadowing poor Stevie Nicks who on the second song was reduced to just tambourine. Swift, who looks like an angel, was predictably shocked each time (four, including album of the year) she won. She seems a little packaged, a little too good to be true and her music like a diet of cake frosting. And this may be the future of popular music, a music that is without edge or real danger and certainly as lyrically vapid as it can get.

And a big thanks to the producers of the Grammy’s that reminded us of what a television on its way out is like. The Michael Jackson tribute, in a tribute to Avatar is in 3-d. Most of America forgot to put their 3D glasses on, so we were treated to dizzying array of images that made little sense. The song, Earth Song, is beautiful nonetheless. The Jackson kids are marched out afterwards and in a Chris Matthews moment, one had to ask: who are the real parents of these children? The Jackson tribute did prove one thing: singers Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood and Smokey Robinson could not match the pure excitement of Michael Jackson's voice. There were a lot costumes, mostly futuristic, a lot of dancing, dancers, smoke, mirrors and spectacle, but little connection. The notable exception being Dave Matthew’s “You and Me” which with a total of 45 musicians built its way into an anthem-like ending.

Buju Banton

Buju Banton, the Jamaican reggae singer will not be attending Sunday's Grammy Awards, though his album, "Rasta Got Soul" is nominated for best reggae album of the year. Buju is in jail awaiting trial for cocaine charges. Now Buju is not a nice man and the fact that the Academy would nominate a person who has promoted the murder of gay people throughout his career, is simply weird. Buju's hatred of the gays began very early and has been relentless:

In 1988 (at age 15) song (re-recorded in 1992 when he was 18 years old), "Boom Bye Bye", contains lyrics inciting the torture and murder of gay men. In a news article on antigay attitudes New York Times reporter Kelefa Sanneh said the song is "a blood-curdling song with a low, lurching beat and a murderous chorus."

Banton was charged in connection with a 2004 incident in which he, as part of a group of about a dozen people, allegedly beat six men believed to be homosexuals, after forcing entry into a house in Kingston, near Banton's recording studio. One of the victims lost use of an eye in the attack. Charges against Banton were dismissed by the judge in the case in January 2006, for lack of evidence.
In 2007 Banton was allegedly among a number of reggae artists who signed a pledge, the Reggae Compassionate Act, to refrain from performing homophobic songs or making homophobic statements,[9] but he later denied that he had made any such commitment.
In 2009, due to an outcry around Banton's lyrics promoting attacks on LGBT people, promoters AEG Live and Live Nation, Inc. canceled their shows on Buju Banton's US tour.[11] Later, San Jose would follow suit, when his concert at VooDoo Lounge was canceled by the club's owners.

In October, 2009, Banton reiterated his homophobic views, saying, "This is a fight, and as I said in one of my songs, 'there is no end to the war between me and faggot' and it's clear." Following Banton's recent nomination for a Grammy Award, LGBT and human rights groups have mounted a protest and a petition was circulated by the groups Change.org and GLAAD.

Today that petition was published in Variety and can be seen here.

End of the Year Award is End of the World

Matt Alber : End Of The World from Matt Alber on Vimeo.

Afterelton, in their perennial Best Gay Videos of 2009, has Matt Alber at number one, with "End of the World" and we couldn't be happier. Others in the top ten include Single Ladies from the culture-rave hit GLEE, Lady Gaga, Jay Brannan, Mika, The Younger Lovers, Adam, Lambert, Levi Kries, RuPaul and Yehonathan.

via afterelton.com

And the Beat (Jackie Beat) Goes on

Jackie Beat's hilarious new song parody! video by Austin Young, starring Jackie Beat and Mario Diaz. http://www.jackiebeatrules.com '

Madonna's Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2010 AD Campaign

Perhaps in an attempt to distract us from her consistently poor impersonation of a British aristocrat, Madonna is getting back to her Italian roots in Dolce & Gabbana's Spring/Summer 2010 ad campaign. The spread (shot in Manhattan, not Milan) finally proves one of our longstanding theories: that she could make even doing the dishes look sexy. The pics were shot in November by photographer Steven Klein. This is not the first time Klein has collaborated with the "Queen of Pop". The two worked together on the photos used as part of her Confessions On A Dance Floor and Hard Candy albums as well as an art installation named X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS. Maybe that's how Klein was able to get Madonna with in three feet of carbs for this shoot.

via idolator.com

Bette Midler: Not a Cheap Ticket

Bette Midler is celebrating the arrival of 2010 with a special New Year's Eve performance of her Las Vegas extravaganza The Showgirl Must Go On.

Limited packages for the Showgirl's signature "Smug Mutha" experience, including a front row ticket to The Showgirl Must Go On, an autographed show program, a VIP escort into the theatre, two drink vouchers and the chance to meet and take a photo with The Divine Miss M. backstage after the show, are also available on Wed., Dec. 30 and Thurs., Dec. 31. The "Smug Mutha" experience costs $2,010 per person and is available at www.ticketmaster.com.

Bette ends her two-year engagement at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Jan. 31, 2010

I saw a blue car....

Seeing Alan Cumming: I Bought a Blue Car Today is a reminder that most of us live uneventful lives. The Tony-Award winning actor's one man cabaret show is a mix of song, banter and story that reveal what life is like for a man who gets to be in the Macy's Day Christmas Parade, receive a OBE, dance with Walter Cronkite and hang out in taxi's with Mika. It is somewhat surprising to hear that Alan Cummings refers to himself as bisexual—this show is testament to a completely gay sensibility as nearly every song and story has a gay angle to it. The show itself is composed of many ballads, some co-written by Lance Horne, but it is the showstopping Mein Herr (from Cabaret), which won Alan a Tony, that delivers the shivers. The plot hangs on the thin premise of Alan's arrival in America and his subsequent success. What is revealed and fascinating is some of the behind the scene stories about that success. For example, early on during his performances of Cabaret, famous celebrities would come back stage and he would have no idea who they were. It is in the same spirit that he decodes the ritual of leaving the stage at the end only to return for an encore. Throughout, he is charming and he reveals a man who is as surprised at his success as anybody.

The Greatest, Gayest Albums (of All Time)

 (In what has to be one of the most annoying tricks ever created Out magazine actually forces the reader to click through the gay 100. Fortunately, we have saved you the time, though the top 10 is by any measure pretty good, so here is the number one, gayest album of all time especially if you're over forty):
1 The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars David Bowie (1972)It’s ironic that an album with an opener forecasting Earth’s expiration and a closer tackling celebrity excess and self-destruction remains one of the most liberating, uplifting records of all time -- about as ironic as a straight man topping this list. Robust, swaggering anthems “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City” prove this space odyssey is far from morbid or apocalyptic, yet it is on standouts like the languid, gender-flirting “Lady Stardust” and brash come-on “Moonage Daydream” -- in which the singer asks for a ray gun to be placed to his head with almost masochistic glee -- that Ziggy and his Spiders really shine. When in the grand finale, “Rock ’n‘ Roll Suicide,” Bowie wails “Oh no love! You’re not alone!” over a sea of theatrical strings, you know he was singing for every exiled, dejected, sexually confused young kid who longed for a world of greater possibilities.“At a time when social and sexual taboos were just starting to break down, Bowie as Ziggy created a world where the possibilities were limitless. You could be whatever you wanted to be.”--Boy George

via www.out.com

Let the War Begin...

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 4, 2009-In response to the appalling Grammy nomination for Buju Banton, a performer whose music promotes the violent murder of LGBT people, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Chief Public Affairs Officer Jim Key issued the following statement:

"We're shocked that Buju Banton, a singer with a long record of performing a song that glorifies the murder of gay people, would be honored with a Grammy nomination, regardless of the artistic merit of any of his work.

Throughout his career, Banton has performed music that promotes a culture of violence against lesbian and gay people; he sings in "Boom, Bye Bye" that "faggots get up and run" when he comes, that "they have to die," and that he will shoot them in the head or "burn them up bad."

He is completely unrepentant, refuses to stop performing the song, and recently said, "There is no end to the war between me and faggots."

Banton's music has helped foster such an anti-gay culture in his home country of Jamaica-where several prominent gay activists and many other LGBT people have been murdered-that Time magazine recently asked, 'Is Jamaica the most homophobic place on Earth?' Banton himself was charged with a violent anti-gay hate crime.

It's an affront to LGBT people, and to all fair-minded people around the world, that Buju Banton was even nominated. We certainly hope the members of the Recording Academy will not bestow the prestigious honor of a Grammy on someone whose music promotes murder."

Eminem Elevator lyrics

Sorry Lance, Mr. Lambert and Aiken ain't gonna make it They get so mad, when I call them both fake it's All these fucking voices in my head I can't take it Someone shut that fucking baby up, 'for I shake it You're standing adjacent to Jason's last slut, they're facing Together makes 'em, a fucking bad combination I lashed at the doctor in my last operation Shoved the weiner snitzel up his ass, hopped away some- Body please stop the patient, get the cops to mase him Homie, I'm the shizer, pass doctor dre some I can't leave the game, I just can't walk away son No not-a now, not a chance, not today son I can't believe I leave for one brief second You pussy queef all over the rap game, naked And use a leaf to clean up the crap stains, feck it I just keep saying the same exact saying, check it

Beyoncé, Gaga Get Grammy Nominations

It’s "Single Ladies" versus "Poker Face" in a Grammy Awards smackdown.Nominations for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards were announced Wednesday night, with pop star Beyoncé topping the field with 10 nominations and gay fave Lady Gaga receiving five nods.According to the announcement from The Recording Academy, “Beyoncé topped the nominations with 10, Taylor Swift garnered eight, and the Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell, and Kanye West each earned six nods. David Guetta, Jay-Z and Lady Gaga received five each; and Colbie Caillat, Michael Giacchino, Kings Of Leon, John Newton, RedOne, Bruce Springsteen, T-Pain, and Keith Urban each received four nominations.”Beyoncé and Gaga will compete against each other in categories including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Find the complete list of nominees here. Winners will be announced on January 31.

via www.advocate.com

John Kelly is Joni Mitchell

In the event you have never seen John Kelly perform his homage to the master singer/songwriter, Joni Mitchell, he is performing his show, "Paved Paradise"  in New York City in June. Tickets available here.

Moore Not Less

Heard it and liked it. An album by Mandy Moore called Amanda Leigh is nothing less than a delightful stroll through pop music at its best. Inspired  by Joni Mitchell, Harry Nilsson and Carol King, Moore herself co-penned all 10 vocal tracks. Produced by fellow songwriter Mike Viola, Amanda Leigh is distinctly different from most of today's pop offerings: there are no vocal gymnastics, breathy phrasing or exhausting, repetitive electronic beats that remind us that programming has become part of the songwriting language. These are pop songs, catchy and immediate and sung with an innocence, and most importantly, memorable.

Vinyl History

“Mad About the Boy”  Camp Records  Hollywood, CA.  From the same folks that brought you “Homer the Happy Little Homo” and “Stanley the Manley”  The producers claim that the uncredited singers, musicians and arranger are all “well known Hollywood TV and screen personalities.”  Songs include “Make the Man Love Me,” “It’s So Nice to Have a Man Around the House” and “The Gentleman is a Dope” all sung by men of course! For more vinyl history visit here.

Why We Love Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle on Britain Got Talent
Uploaded by dwarthy

This is what they usually makes movies about (and surely they will); the unexpected moment that lifts us from our cranky cynicism to a tearful embrace of humanity and singer Susan Boyle surely does this. "Don't judge a book by its cover" would be the moral here, but it's more than that—for people of certain age it suggests that despite a culture vapidly youth-centric, there is talent and talent-in-waiting for many of us. American Idol (as opposed the British, which seems more democratic) has always had that wrong putting an age restriction on its contestants. It's hard to imagine what the prize is in displaying snotty, arrogant young people making a go at their dreams when dreams unrealized is by far the more compelling story—it may not be as pretty, but like Susan Boyle it touches in ways that are far more human and noble.

Adam Lambert

Ann Powers in the Los Angeles Times reports that American Idol contestant Adam Lambert may out himself singing Michael Jackson"s "In the Closet". Her report:

This week, the lucky 13 contestants in the latest top tier of "American Idol" begin the serious phase of competition with a dip into Michael Jackson's songbook. Jackson, who just has returned from isolation to announce a series of comeback shows, is the single biggest influence on the young R&B stars that many "Idol" strivers emulate, but he's also the ideal subject for what's turning out to be a rather strange season.

At the heart of his troubled legacy are the anxieties "Idol" also confronts, however mildly -- America's troubling history of racial divides and assimilation, and the sexual repression and need for release that is a basic subject of pop music itself.

There's been some joking on various websites that this year's most flamboyant front-runner, Adam Lambert, will perform Jackson's early '90s hit "In the Closet" as a response to recently leaked photographs of him kissing a man and dressed in glamour-queen drag. Jackson released the song just when his astounding musical charisma began to strain under the weight of his eccentricities.
Full story continues here.

Happy Valentine's

Yes it is.

http://www.obviousmag.com/

Are you a B Boy?

How the Economy Works

 

Like A Rainbow

Cyndi Lauper's True Color's Tour is a very gay experience. "The tour is a nonstop, five-hour music party with a message," Lauper says in a prepared statement. "So let's celebrate and have fun this summer while we spread the word to get out the vote and all become a part of the changes in this country." The tour features the B-52's, comic Wanda Sykes, Andy Bell of Erasure, The Dresden Dolls, The Cliks and a giggling host, Carson Kressley. Missing in action was the female equivalent of a bear, Rosie O'Donnell and Britney Spears. This was five and a half hour concert held in the lush fire-hazardous area called the Greek Theatre. An open-air theatre, the Greek is an intimate venue, and the setting was perfect for what was eventually to become a party.
The B-52s are America's answer to Abba. This is rocking feel-good music that is hard to sit still to. After thirty years, the band has lost none of its gloss. The members, all now in their 50s and 60s are energetic and the music seems strangely current. They sailed through the hits, Rock Lobster, Love Shack and the delightful, Roam, as Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson sang complex harmonies only to be eased by Fred Schneider's nasal sprechgesang (spoken-word) vocalese. Their music is ultimately West Coast borrowing images and sounds that reflect the bizarre mix of surf, modernism, retro and pop cultures.
In between "fashion expert" Carson Kressley hosted the show with some offbeat humor that often slipped into bad taste, though he managed to deliver a few very funny lines about giving a hand job with some expensive moisturizer.
The real star was Cyndi Lauper, who at age 54, was literally all over the place. The real secret of Cyndi Lauper is that she is a great singer; full of various styles and textures: she has musical range, charisma and most of all, energy. Many, many years ago, I did a cover photo shoot with Ms. Lauper, ironically, of her as Lady Liberty (see photo) for an anniversary in New York City.  I was putting on a record (yes dears, a record, vinyl) of Gypsy, and out of the corner came this big voice, it was Cyndi singing. She sang the entire “Everything’s Comin’ Up Roses”.  This was not the voice of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”; this was Broadway, Ethel Merman, it filled and rocked the room. And that is what she did last night, she rocked the house, she wandered up the aisles, shook hands, blew kisses, strummed a dulcimer or autoharp, a guitar and kicked ass on many a reinterpretation of her older songs. Her version of  “Time After Time” performed on an autoharp (reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You) seemed to consist of two chords and provided a lush foundation for her soaring vocals. This was a magical moment. She ended the show with the anthem “True Colors” as all the performers took to the stage and sang the song in unison as dozens of colorful balloons were released into the air.

Hot New Talent

Bryn Christopher is a 22 year old Birmingham, England born singer songwriter who is the composer of the spectacular song, "Quest", which was the music behind the montage of kisses on the Grey's Anatomy season ender. The song is inspired by his brother's army service in Basra and asks some relevant questions about war. Christopher has been touring England with Amy Winehouse and was recently signed to William Morris in America. Beautiful voice, beautiful face, Bryn Christopher is nothing less than fabulous.

The Ultimate Gay Bar

Summer Holiday

Just in time for the waning summer days comes a CD of music that brings back the lush vocals of Billie Holiday in a thoroughly modern sound. Billie Holiday remixed & reimagined  fulfills the promise indicated with last falls launch of Nina Simone, remixed & reimagined. Legacy Recording takes the great jazz vocalists and stirs them in to a convertible-worthy hour of soul, jazz and poetry.Remixers include Tony Humphries, DJ Logic, Charles Feelgood, Swingsett, Nickodemus & Zeb, Jazzy Nice, Organica, and features some of the best young musicians around today, including trumpet player Fabio Morgera (from the Grammy-nominated Groove Collective) and Lady Day Mecca (from the Grammy-winning Digable Planets). The end result is a collage of Holiday's unbearably sad vocals slipped into a modern groove that reinterprets such classics as Long Gone Blues, Glad to Be Unhappy and Trav'lin' All Alone. All of which is perfect for cocktail parties, romantic encounters and doing the laundry.
Available August 7th at amazon.com

Two Divas Making Music

From our correspondent in Palm Springs, Michael Davis, this tip to the extraordinary performance of Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Holiday at the BET Awards. And I am telling you...

Songs are like Tattoos

Monday, "A Tribute to Joni Mitchell" will be released. Featuring artists, k.d. lang, Elvis Costello, James Taylor, Prince, Bjork, Annie Lennox, Cassandra Wilson, Sufjan Stevens, Brad Mehldau, Caetano Veloso, Emmy Lou Harris and Sarah McLachlan, the tracks include Mitchell standards, Blue, River, A Case of You and Help Me among others. Joni Mitchell is a hard act to follow. Her songs are intensely personal statements about a time, or place, where she committed to song, both lyrically and musically some of the most challenging insights into relationships, self-examination and the world. Fortunately, these songs are sung by fans, deeply aware of both the limitations and excesses of covering another artists work.

Each artists brings something unique, and yet, the originals haunt even the best interpretation. Perhaps it is simply time and place, a context in which the original song is heard, like a first kiss that can never be restored, only remembered, these songs survive any imagination because the originals were that good. And that may be the thinking behind atributetojonimitchell.com, which presents a minutes worth of each song by each artist and the original by Joni Mitchell. Brilliant.

Among the treasures, Prince's inspired version of " A Case of You", Bjork's radical interpretation of "Boho Dance" and Cassandra Wilson's breathy, jazzy "For the Roses". One of the stranger aspects of the site is the ability to play both tracks at the same time. For example, playing both McLachlan's and Mitchell's version of "Blue" simultaneously reveals an odd but compelling duet. Mitchell's songs have always been about the lyric, much as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Laura Nyro. And it is the thing you listen to in this collection; how darkly personal lyrics can be heard fresh, made new, for everyone.

The CD will be available at Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. 

Sondheim at 77

Just keep moving on
Anything you do
Let it come from you
Then it will be new
Give us more to see...

Happy Birthday to Mr. Sondheim who turns 77 today. Described by the New York Times as "the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theater," he has created such masterpieces as Sweeny Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Pacific Overtures, A Little Night Music, and Into the Woods. Beginning with his collaboration with Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story, Sondheim distinguished himself as a lyricist with unusual sophistication and humor. Perhaps his greatest contribution to theater has been his unwillingness to simply conform; his subject matter has ranged from fairy tales to presidential assassins, the westernization of Japan to a murderous barber in the haunting form of Sweeney Todd. Currently in production, Tim Burton is directing Johnny Depp as Sweeny Todd in the film adaptation, due for release in December of this year.
The American musical would be quite different if Sondheim had not happened. While most of his shows have not been commercial hits like Cats, or Evita, they have challenged audiences, taking us further into the landscape of music that explores relationships, love, hate and all the things that make us human. 

Von Lee Smith: Blame It on His Youth

Introducing Von Lee Smith. A 21 year old native of Kansas City, he made a huge splash this morning on ABC's The View singing his version "And I am Telling You". A career that began with a You Tube posting (and this is one), Smith promises to be tomorrow's Sam Harris, even singing Sam's signature, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Cute, extremely talented, one can only wonder what the oppugnant Simon Cowell might say if Von Lee Smith made an appearance on "its-better-to-come-in second" American Idol. While a five octave-range is unique and gifted, and in men, it usually leads to theatrics, and Smith is not without his. What he creates in range, he lacks in emotion. It's all technique. But at 21, he has an entire world of emotion to explore, to be felt and finally, get it right.

Peter Wolf's Magical Position

Young British singer/songwriter Patrick Wolf has a new CD coming to America, The Magic Position. It has an American release date—May 1 on Low Altitude/Universal. To find out more about Patrick and his new CD, visit patrickwolf.com

50 Reason to Love Rock 'N' Roll

The March issue of Blender magazine will reveal its 50 Craziest Rock Stars Ever list, (You don't have to be crazy to be a rock star. But let's just say the world would be a far less colorful place without these 50 drug-addled, tantrum-throwing, Thorazine-gulping and/or just plain mad music maestros.) featuring a very predictable #1 spot for_______________. Only #50 is Sir Elton with this statement: "They can say I'm a fat old cunt, they can say I'm an untalented bastard, they can call me a poof, but they mustn't tell lies about me." The list is full of interesting facts and quotes like #4 Whitney Houston who said: "I make too much money to ever smoke crack."

Twist & Shout

"Twist Revolutions" is the initial album of new music and emerging artists from the U.S. music industry's first lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender label.
"Twist Revolutions" will serve as a launching pad for "some of the most vital and important new voices in the gay community," Music With A Twist/Columbia Records said in a news release Monday.
The collection, with tracks by The Gossip, Sara Bettens, Adam Joseph and Levi Kreis, among others, is scheduled for an April 17 release.
Music With A Twist, which launched in 2006, is a joint venture between Sony Music Label Group and Columbia Records. It is the first major record label dedicated to identifying and developing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender artists along with creating innovative music compilations with a gay "twist," the company said.

That's Entertainment

In the relatively long list of "things I wished I'd seen" the 1961 Carnegie Hall concert of Judy Garland might rank very high. From stories I have been told, the audience would not leave at the end of the concert....it was a twenty minute standing ovation.
Flash forward to 2006, and singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright performs at Carnegie Hall performing Judy Garland. Wrong coast, wrong time. But no worries. It's going to be put on film.
Lesbian uber-producer Christine Vachon (Boys Don't Cry, Far from Heaven) arranged to have the whole event filmed by Oscar-winning American Beauty director Sam Mendes.

Wainwright's loving tribute to the famous one-woman evening of vocal pyrotechnics features scads of classic signature Garland songs, from "Over the Rainbow" to "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" to "Stormy Weather."

The concert film should pop up in theaters everywhere in 2007.

Bark!celona

After 15 years of neglecting the stage, George Michael returned with a controversial stage show in Barcelona. With a large blow up balloon in the essence of George Bush, Michael then unzipped the trousers on the balloon to reveal a British bulldog nuzzling Bush's groin and wagging his tail. Other than the political note, the concert appears to have been a grand success, which we Americans, will never get to see.
While everyone is busy probing his political and sexual concerns, it is easy to forget that this is an extremely talented singer/songwriter.