Feeling French

Last night, for lack of anything to watch, I put on some music videos by Mylene Farmer, a sort of French Madonna/Kylie I have been into since 1993 or so, when I first heard her music in Paris. Watching this video, by director Luc Besson (and the Michael Jackson killed by a cross bit is so random!), I had a sort of flood of nostalgia. Back in the 1990s I became smitten with France, I was so attracted by its culture, men, food, film, the list goes on. I befriended any French transfer student I could at my college (which I had just graduated but had many friends still attending). Alas, now France is so expensive I haven't been back in about 3-4 years, plus my travel obsessions have taken me to Asia and other parts of the world. I don't go so crazy for France anymore, but in another life, coulda worked out well.

Funny enough, Mylene lived in NYC for a spell, and bathed in anonymity. She used to go to Moby's Teany shop. I spotted her once uptown in a restaurant but thought I was crazy: "what would Mylene be doing here???" Darn.

L

Religulous

I saw an advance screening of Bill Maher's RELIGULOUS tonight.

He's going to be in a loooottttt of trouble when it comes out.

And everyone should see it. It's almost too snarky in places, in fact it is (it's basically Borat meets Michael Moore), and unfair with the editing, but Bill really does challenge the folks he meets and his thesis - that organized religion leads intelligent people into illogical and dangerous/hateful behavior and decisions - is hard to argue with.

I'll be interviewing Bill next month and can't wait. There's a section of the film that addresses ex-gays....

L

Another Gay Sequel: The Clap!

Another Gay Sequel opens soon, and this music video from Perez Hilton - "The Clap" - is pretty darned funny (and looks great!). Perez has a role in the film, which is uber-outrageous. Meanwhile, check out his video!

L

BearCity in Philly!

The BearCity staged reading went over very well at the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Amazing to think it will be an actual film playing the festival a year from now (updates to that end soon!)...

Here is a link to photos from the reading, shot by Gail Kamenish.

Thanks again to the wonderful cast, stage director Fritz Brekeller, and everyone at PIGLFF and TLA!

L

Sex and the Sh*tty

My friends and I have been obsessed with this absurd commercial for a few years now. Clearly they were going for "Sex and the City," yet the dialogue is completely unfunny, not witty, so low rent. I picture the actors sitting around between shots going, "oh my god, you know, we're all so good we could totally be like another Sex and the City. Someone needs to do another show like that with US!" And then they fought over who gets to be Carrie, etc. This is some seriously funny/tragic low-rent stuff, and you have to watch it 100 times and quote every line. Look at how the "Charlotte" girl is going to America West air! And they are all sharing a single salad! Not even salads for all of them. Oh - and for the record, the car service ain't anything special. I recently was in a cab and we were being held up by a bad Carmel driver in front of us, the driver dangling his cigarette out the window as he smoked.

Amazing!

L

A Postcard from David Sedaris

I received a postcard today from David Sedaris. I interviewed him last month, and as always it was a delightful, funny chat. That I made him laugh hysterically imbued me with a sense of pride. I won't post what he wrote in the postcard, except to say it was pretty funny, too.

The interview I conducted is appearing in various edits across the country, amongst them NYC's HX and Chicago's Windy City Times, the latter of which is essentially uncut from my draft. Enjoy!

L

My Provincetown Story...

Last week/end I attended the Provincetown International Film Festival in Ptown, Mass. Wow is all i can say about this gorgeous resort town. OK, I can say more than just wow and in fact did on the Advocate's blog, Advocate Insider. Here's the story!

L
PS - Yes, that's Tarantino I photographed...

BearCity - the Movie

OK, the image you see here is the first logo/graphic for BearCity, a feature film in development with TLA Releasing. It's a romantic comedy set in NYC's Bear scene - think "Sex and the City" with fur!

I have co-written, and will be co-directing, the script with Doug Langway (Raising Heroes), and we are staging a public reading at the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on July 19th. Do check out the full PIGLFF program at www.phillyfests.com starting Monday, June 23rd.

Our Facebook fan page is up - please do join us!

Incidentally, we are currently holding auditions, so if you're a cub/bear/musclebear, or a boyish twink type who looks around 20 years old, drop a line to bearcity@sharpleft.com.

L

KL-O-Rama (and Borneo)

I'm back from Kuala Lumpur and Borneo... quite a trip. Here's a tiny taste!

L

Sweet Little Ditty

This should give your ears a little treat. It's "Sonar" by Belanova, one of the bands I mentioned in my Kylie International piece for The Advocate. It's so Kylie. It's so catchy! Holy cripes! No real video, though - so suffer the lame graphics and then go to iTunes and buy everything Belanova has.

L

Proud About Pride

The Advocate's annual Pride issue is on stands, and it's got a whole lotta Lawrence: my photo and a blurb on the contributor's page, my Out on the Street conducted in Stockholm, and my whopping Pride Guide (which includes four mini-destination travel bits for Sri Lanka, Stockholm, Reykjavik, and Mexico City). Grab that issue up!

L

Hong Kong and Macau O' Rama

Tokyo's KinKieS

I'm back from Hong Kong, and was very happy to find the first DJ Mix CD from Tokyo's KinKieS waiting for me. A three-person DJ/recording artist collective, they're picking up steam, and I'm really loving their original track "Tokyo Arcade Mode." Since I'm a technotard haven't figured out how to upload an mp3 yet, but here is the link to their MySpace where you can give it a virtual spin.

More to come!

L

Hong Kong Postpunk

I head to Macau/Hong Kong this coming weekend, and I'm pretty psyched. It's one of my favorite cities in the world. If I was a geographic polygamist, New York, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, and Tokyo would be my wives/husbands.

Last time I visited HK in late 2006, I discovered The Yours, pretty much the only postpunk/shoegaze/alt-rock band in the whole country (which is dominated by sappy Cantopop). Think My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus & Mary Chain as major influences, with plenty of fuzzy guitar. Dreamy stuff! Here's the video for their song, "Tasteless."

L

If You Like Kylie, Try These Artists

My article on international artists Kylie fans should check out is up at The Advocate's website. Check it out, check out the artists, and do let me know what you think of them! Any fave from the bunch I recommend?

L

Scenario Rock

That awesome French band Scenario Rock has a new CD out. Of course, no sign of it on iTunes USA. So I guess Amazon.fr here I come.

This band seriously needs to get on VICE Records, stat!

Here's the video for one of their first album's songs. I'm so hot over it. Still! Thanks to Kodai in Tokyo, by the way, for turning me onto them.

L

South Park ASAP

I really hope the South Park guys are working on an episode addressing Neanderthal-esque Sally Kern and her fanatical behavior. She's almost like one of the protagonists of Quest For Fire, but not as rational. Do you think dinner is her dipping her finger into a raw egg and sucking it, dipping it back, repeat, etc.?

L

Mariah N' Me

Now that Mariah Carey has a new album coming out, it seemed like a good time to yank out this feature I did on her last one. I've heard so many wacky stories about Mariah over the years, it was fun to finally chat with her. She seemed pretty forthcoming... Anyways, enjoy!

L


Free At Last

By Lawrence Ferber

What makes a superb crossover pop/dance/r&b/hip-hop album? An artist with one-of-a-kind personality, phenomenal vocals, excellent production, talented guest contributors, and that sparkly quality the hip-hop kids (and now the Oxford English Dictionary!) call “bling-bling.”
“I would say there definitely is ‘bling’ in the album,” admits Mariah Carey, amused. She’s discussing her latest and possibly greatest album, The Emancipation of Mimi (Island Def Jam). With production/vocal contributions from Jermaine Dupri, The Neptunes, Kanye West, Twista, Snoop Dogg and Nelly, and Carey’s unmistakable voice arranged and textured in fresh new ways, the album represents a superb 21st century reinvention of the seven-octave performer. And yeah, it’s just bursting with jewelry-like bling-bling. “I like bling,” Carey laughs. “It’s got a certain quality that when you put it on it lights up the moment.”
Carey has plenty of work to do today, yet the earthy and forthcoming diva happily made time for a “gay” interview. “There was a time when all I was allowed to do was go to gay clubs,” she recalls, “because my quote-unquote husband was so afraid of me being around straight people.” But back to The Emancipation of Mimi. A year and a half in the making, the album’s catchy, Jermaine Dupri-produced first single, “It’s Like That,” is already burning up the charts and dance floors. David Morales has performed his club magic on the track and an upcoming nine-minute remix of “Say Somethin’.” Other upbeat album standouts include “Shake It Off,” the playfully 80’s-ish pickup ditty “Get Your Number,” and smooth super-blingy “To The Floor.”
“This is very much like a party record,” Carey says. “Since the time I was in junior high the process of putting on makeup and getting ready to go out… those are the moments you want to put on a record and get excited [about] whatever it is you’re gonna do. I wanted to make a record that was reflective of that.”
Yet The Emancipation of Mimi is balanced out by a generous handful of ballads and downtempo numbers, many of which deal with heartbreak, bad relationships, and cheating lovers. “In some ways I feel the songs flow together really well,” Carey insists. “Like you’re going out, you’re coming down from going out and then another song picks you back up.”
As on all of her previous albums, Carey co-wrote every song on Emancipation. So where did all those breakup songs come from? “Past experiences darling,” she laughs. “You try to take those moments and channel them into something because if not you just become bitter!”
“Shake It Off” takes a playful approach to bitterness – and, more specifically, a cheatin’ bad apple - with lyrics like “I gotta shake you off/ just like a Calgon commercial.” “That’s probably one of my favorite songs on the album,” she admits. “Shake it off can apply to anything. Whatever personal dramas we go through, put that song on and you lose the anxiety or intensity of the moment. I’ll listen to that song when I’ve just come out of an annoying meeting. I gotta shake this off.”
The Emancipation of Mimi isn’t a concept album per se, but it definitely sees Carey, whose closest friends and family call her Mimi, shaking off what audiences have come to expect. “It’s more the record I always wanted to make type of a thing,” she notes. “Everyone expects [an album title] like Rainbow or Butterfly, from me. So I thought The Emancipation of Mimi was cool – that Mimi side of me coming out as opposed to the ‘Mariah Carey’ celebrity or stigma or whatever preconceived notions people have of me as that person. This time I really experimented and played with how [my vocals] sounded as a whole.”
That said, longtime fans will find plenty of her vocal/lyrical signatures and “drama” on tracks like “Mine Again,” “Joy Ride” and “I Wish You Knew.”
A Long Island, New York native, Carey’s life in music started the moment she was born: her mother named her after a song, “They Call The Wind Mariah.” Mom also helped instill a sense of open-mindedness and acceptance in Carey, which surely helped lead to her garnering legions of gay fans and friends. “I’ve always tried not to judge people,” she explains. “My mom being an opera diva, artsy love everybody kind of rebellious girl from the Midwest who married a black man and who had predominantly gay friends. Nothing ever seemed like it was wrong or strange to me. It was a loving type of vibe I got. I basically was raised by two gay men, Ernie and Mort, who were best friends. When we didn’t have a place to stay we stayed with them. So I feel like God recognizes us all has human beings and loves us as we are.”
Carey began singing by age four, wrote songs by middle school, and moved to NYC after high school to pursue a musical career. She admits that love – and sex - took a backseat during much of her youth. “I’m kind of a prude, especially with straight guys because they can be dogs,” she admits. “My sister had a baby when she was 15 - I’m thankful she did because her son is an amazing person, but I looked at what was going on with that and I made a conscious effort to focus on my career. And people would make fun of me because I was this virginal girl who walked around in tight dresses. They were like what is this dichotomy going on here? So [in terms of sexual experimentation] I haven’t really been the most exploratory gal in the land. I know that’s boring for the readers!”
Her self-titled 1990 debut launched Carey into the pop (and drag queen lip synch repertory) stratosphere with four #1 singles, including “Someday,” and two Grammy wins for Best New Artist and Best Female Vocalist. More hits, awards and platinum discs followed over the years for Emotions (1991), Music Box (1993), Daydream (1995), Butterfly (1997) and Rainbow (1999). Yet in summer of 2001, Carey hit a spot of rough road with the critically mauled film “Glitter” and a series of personal/public breakdowns (not to mention the death of her father and breakup with boyfriend Luis Miguel).
Carey looks back at that quintessentially “Behind The Music”-worthy period “as something that had to happen in my life,” she says. “The drama would not have been high enough without that. I really do feel a lot was made out of that time period, it was so blown out of proportion. That movie and that soundtrack – which I think had some really good songs that hopefully one day I’ll get to redo – the fact it came out on September 11th people need to remember. How can we expect anything from that? I was a scapegoat in a lot of ways for a lot of talk show hosts who wanted to get away from the real stuff going on in the world. We all have to go through our tests to see how strong we are and come out on the other side.”
She’s definitely on that other side now, and Carey says she owes this fact to God and spirituality. The final song on Emancipation, “Fly Like a Bird,” boasts dashes of gospel, soul, and plenty of calls/thanks to a higher power. Her pastor even makes an appearance on the track. “To me the most important thing is the message he says in the beginning of the song,” she notes. “‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.’ I felt like a lot of people may not hear that message and a lot of people need to. It wasn’t to be preachy. A lot of times people will hear songs that I write that are not the typical songs people look at as ‘Mariah Carey songs.’ Like ‘Close my Eyes,’ which only real fans would know but a lot of [them] relate to. It’s about having a difficult childhood and going through a lot of deep stuff. There’s a song called ‘Outside’ that’s about being biracial. A lot of people relate to it because they felt like outsiders their lives. There are a lot of songs I’ve put on albums as a [personal] release but I know it helps other people. To show that someone else has gone through what they’ve gone through.”
Marriage is one thing Carey doesn’t plan to go through again just yet. When asked about her feelings regarding the hot topic of gay marriage, Carey first responds by stating “I think it’s a huge political thing and I’m notoriously not political. If you asked me about any candidate I’m pretty much clueless. But I feel like everything in life is a personal choice.” Then, after a few minutes, she adds that “when you mention [gay] marriage, marriage in general, after going through the experience I went through I think my whole view on marriage is tainted no matter what kind of marriage we’re talking about. I feel like I went into my situation being married for the wrong reasons. I’ve been traumatized.”
Happily, gays – such as Heatherette designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains - have been and continue to be a positive presence in her life and professional career. “I don’t want to out anybody!” she laughs when asked for additional names of gays who have worked alongside her. “But I would venture to say yes! Definitely!” And Mariah does have quite an exciting series of projects ahead. She’s considering another foray into film acting (her performance in the underrated “Wisegirls,” opposite Mira Sorvino, garnered attention from many movie producers), a possible remix EP, producing a track for 12-year-old vocalist Paul Robbins (they recently appeared on “Oprah”), and “there’s possibly a Broadway Christmas show happening, based around my Christmas songs.” Bling-bling it on, Mariah

Over It

OK, I'm totally over David Archuleta now that he went singing about Jesus and whatnot tonight (yeah, I know Dolly Parton wrote the song). Sally Kern is probably all like, "Am is Archuleta, am'n am is am!" and dialing his number 500 times after the show.

Kinda over this season now, period. America has booted every contestant that was colorful in any way. This bodes badly for the election in November.

Ryan, tell David all the girls want him or whatever.

L

Stop-Loss

My article on Stop-Loss, directed by the out Kimberly Peirce, is running in regional LGBT publications including Between The Lines... here it is.

L