Warning... this is an adult site. If reading or viewing things about what gay men do sexually with one another bothers you - you should not read this blog. This blog is a reflection of my adventures and thoughts. Some are fun, some not so pretty. I won't name names, or kiss and tell... but I will live to tell. And baby, trust me - I am gonna spill it all over your pretty little party dress. Enjoy!
Up first? Finally. At last. The Gaga we all love and adore - the one who takes us to the dance floor - is back! So get your disco shoes on baby girl, Lady Gaga is spinning pure industrial magic with the heart-pounding Abracadabra!
Then, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, we have Jennie with help(?) from Dominic Fike, mourning the loss of a love that shall be named, as she imparts the R&B chill down of Love Hangover.
And finally, it's the lovely and luscious Jourdin Pauline, looping it old-style with an insistent groove sure to light up your sweet tooth as she slow stirs the bubbling Sugar.
All in all, a trio of destined-to be-classic diva turns.
Spotlighting some newly-minted classic diva turns on the part of three of our faves, each ably assist by another artist of note.
I must say, you are in for quite the treat.
Up first? Miley Cyrus (channeling a vintage Jane Fonda look) with Pharrell Williams bringing us the cure as she burns her way through Doctor (Work It Out).
Then we have the fierce Charli XCX, making it rain panties with the help of pal Billie Eilish on the beat savvy Guess.
And finally, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars rip a page from the life of Tammy Wynette and George Jones in the achy-breaky Die With A Smile.
All in all, a trio of destined-to be-classic diva turns.
Midweek hump?
Feeling in the dumps?
Here's some music to make your heart jump!
- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque
Doctor (Work It Out) - Pharrell Williams & Miley Cyrus
As you may know, on Thursdays, Wonderland Burlesque does a series of posts about old movies, featuring movie posters. During the course of research, I fell in love with a particular type of poster art, enough so that I wanted to learn a bit more about the artist.
That's what I'll be sharing with you the next few Saturdays, as part of the Weekend Onesie series (which is rarely about a single image, so, not sure why I cling to that title).
I find his use of color and white space quite amazing and far ahead of his time.
Here's a bit of information (all cribbed from various sites) about the artist and samples of his work.
The Magic Of Burton Rice
American designer, illustrator, photographer, and poster artist Burton Rice is best known for his work creating posters for the Bluebird Photoplays division of Universal Pictures between 1916 and 1919. Little else is known about him.
He was an American native born in a Chicago suburb on April 15, 1894. Records show that he returned from France in 1917, when he was 23 years old, and again in 1924, aged 30. In 1943 his draft registration card showed him living in New York city, and self-employed.
Burton designed a wide range of products, but you might know him under a different name. When designing fashion pieces, he often used the pseudonym of Dynevor Rhys. No one knows why Rice did this. Some believe he wished to save his real name for fine art, but this was never confirmed. This change happened after his New York studio burned down in November of 1923. After the fire, Rice began submitting magazine covers as Dynevor Rhys.
In 1959, he returned to Chicago.
He died in Paris on April 4, 1977.
Through his years as a designer, Burton Rice produced many impressive pieces. His posters help capture an era. Through his work, we can better experience the time period.
Friday Fun posts always pose a problem: there are so many national holidays to choose from!
For today's post, I considered:
National Alcohol Screening Day - but the idea of a bunch of pictures of yours truly watching porn on my laptop, martini in hand, did nothing for me.
National Cherish An Antique Day - but something has to be 100 years old to qualify as an antique. I googled it. There are simply not that many centenarian gay guys getting naked on the internet.
National Chinese Almond Cookie Day - but... that's racist!
In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to those who are strikingly unique, one of a kind pioneers.
Or... they just have a knack for borrowing the good stuff.
I mean, hey... If you're going to borrow? Borrow from the best! Am I right?
And this lady? She has an eye for style - be it Bowie, Madonna, Cleo Lane, Lana Turner, Bette Midler, or Cher.
Well, it is, indeed, a talent. And one that has served her well.
Gaga is a thief? Naw. She's an empath - someone who is able to divine the very essence of what makes that something speak to the world. She absorbs. She regurgitates. She puts her own spin on it.
Make of that what you will. But it all comes from a very good place... a well-intentioned soul.
And her world? It is all-inclusive. Her fervent desire is, that through her, every individual will come to love and respect themselves; embracing themselves for who and what they are.
To do that? One must be courageous. And this one?
Baby, she was born that way.
The gospel according to her?
Well, here's three from the hip, dropping from her lips.
The topic? Being fearless.
“All that ever holds somebody back, I think, is fear. For a minute I had fear. Then, I went into my dressing room and shot my fear in the face...”
“Never be afraid to be kicked in the teeth. Let the blood and the bruises define your legacy.”
“You have to stop crying, and you have to go kick some ass.”
Lady Gaga Brings Human Warmth and Empathy To St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center
The Xcel Center played host Tuesday night to Lady Gaga’s artRAVE / artPOP Ball. It was her third trip to Minneapolis, but my
first opportunity to see her. The
boyfriend had mentioned wanting to see her around the holidays, so I snagged a
pair of tickets and slipped them in his Xmas stocking.
We
arrived two hours before the concert’s stated start, so had time to enjoy a
gnosh and a beer (yes, I drank a beer!) at Cosetta’s – a great Italian deli
where the people watching, on this particular night, was extraordinary – and there’s
a reason for that.
It’s due
to all the Little Monsters, diehard fans, who whirl about the edges of the
circus that is Lady Gaga. Some of these
club kids are as entertaining as the performer herself and add much to her
concerts’ atmosphere – while impacting the performance as well (more on that
later).
Being a
creature of the theater, I always show up at least fifteen minutes before show
time, which works for theater, but not concerts on this scale. There were two opening acts, both of which
out stayed their welcome.
The
first was an anime hologram of a tiny blue-haired female sprite who sang
Japanese pop songs which reveled in aping touches of American hair metal/arena
rock. She was flanked by two human female
dancers hidden behind scrims upon which various graphics were projected. I found it intriguing for about five minutes,
after which it became something of an annoyance.
Twenty
minutes later, a DJ who reminded me of Mayim Bialik (both the boyfriend and I
initially thought that it was Gaga in disguise), appeared and treated the crowd
to some old school trance music. She was
entertaining enough – cute, but, again, interesting and well-done as it was, I
had little tolerance for her onslaught of sound. I think you have to be ‘on’ something in order
to truly enjoy that kind of music, and the slight buzz that my single beer had
provided wasn’t cutting it.
After
she disappeared, we waited for what seemed like an eternity for the lady
herself to appear. At one point, I
actually asked the boyfriend if he wanted to leave, as I was not happy and he
seemed to be equally perturbed. For some
reason, my nerves were on edge. But he, wanted
to stick it out.
I’m
glad we did.
The
lady was worth the wait.
She was sexy and sweet, coy and transparent. She sashayed and prowled about the stage like a fashion empress. But above all else... she was human.
She
magically appeared on stage looking like a dime store tinseled angel, instantly
taking command of both the music and the crowd.
I was impressed – turns out, the woman can really sing.
Now,
the local critic from the Star and Tribune claims that she was lip syncing most
of the night, but I’m thinking that was not possible. Sure, as the show neared the end, she would appear
to allow the backing track/vocals to carry the occasional phrase, but
throughout the evening, her vocals were mixed way up front and seemed far too
throat-driven and fallible to be anything but live.
She
opened with several tracks from her latest CD, the unfairly derided ‘artPOP’ –
which is hardly the ‘flop’ the media has painted it. Sure, it hasn’t sold anywhere near as much as
its predecessor, 2011’s massive ‘Born This Way’, but then ‘artPOP’ would seem
to be a much more selfish, insular collection – lacking BTW’s broader appeal – in
other words, something strictly for her Little Monsters.
The
rest of the evening played out in three modes: songs from ‘artPOP’, greatest
hits, and what I would like to term ‘Lady Gaga plays Dr. Phil’.
The ‘artPop’
songs and hits went down easy. Lady G belted,
rasped and soared her way through the lot, with her voice shining particularly
well on the newer, more R&B influenced songs. It was only during some of the hits and the
last quarter of the show that she began to hold back a little. The hits seemed to suffer, but only because
her vocal technique and range has improved so dramatically and many of them hit
a mid-range where her she is no longer at her most powerful. Overall, I was impressed.
The
costumes and staging, which included a colorful octopus dress and giant inflatable
alien-looking flowers, were top notch, while the fleet of dancers that
accompanied her, wearing a barrage of equally impressive frocks, paraded,
pranced and worked it hard for the money.
The
choreography was fun – not as precise as Madonna’s army, nor were the routines
as athletic, acrobatic, or complex. Gaga’s
dancers seemed much more human – as in, real and flawed. Those occasional imperfections actually work
in the lady’s favor; their secret appeal lying in how mortal they are, as in,
it could be you up there!
This ordinariness
extended itself to their bodies. Madonna’s
minions were all muscle gods and goddesses or acrobatic super twinks, while
Lady G’s appeared much more diverse and average-looking – dancer’s bodies, to be sure - but there existed
less uniformity and a wider range of age.
This is an example of the frequent amateurish nature of much of Lady
Gaga’s visual output, a calculated strategy on her part guaranteed to make her
crew seem relatable.
This
empathy extends itself directly to her fan base. Enter, Dr. Phil.
Not
once, but twice she cooled the show down long enough to relate a fan’s personal
story. The first was about her friend, Emma, a fan Gaga met last year, here in
Minnesota. Seems Emma has spent her
entire life in a wheel chair, but has a better attitude than ninety-nine
percent of the people Lady G has ever met.
The fact that Emma was right there, on camera, on those big jumbo-tron
screens, helped create an intimacy that is rare in a venue the size of the Xcel
Center.
When a
fan happened to throw a teddy bear with a note attached onstage, Gaga, again,
stopped the show and read the entire note detailing the abusive relationship
that the fan’s sister had endured for years until she heard Gaga’s song ‘The
Queen’ and found the strength to leave.
The fan, again, on the big screens, tears streaming down his face, was
then invited backstage; another touching gesture and an example of how Lady G
is one smart cookie.
She already
knows the value of creating lifetime fans, ones that will buy tickets (she
acknowledged this and thanked those present repeatedly) and less than well received
CDs – a lesson Madonna has clearly forgotten.
Yes, such moments can come across as calculated, but only the most hardened cynic would term these gestures as anything other than genuine.
It all made for a
long evening, one that tested my patience for sure, but sticking around turned out to be
well worth it. Gaga delivered the goods –
not only for her Little Monsters, but the more casual fans as well. It was touching, it was fun… and it was
incredibly human.
