I was never a Dallas fan, but I have to applaud the original cast on this new version coming on TNT. It’s good to see them still kicking.]]>

By Steve Barnes I guess that the first thing to be said about any Billie Holiday tribute is that it’s a good thing. Any time that contemporary listeners are encouraged to pay some attention to one of the greatest singers ever recorded is a plus, especially if those listeners are led back to the source. But having said that, exactly how good of a thing is A Tribute to Billie Holiday (StormVox Records), which was released last week? A compilation of 13 versions of songs associated with Holiday—by artists ranging from ‘80s standby Boz Scaggs to recent Grammy winner for Best New Artist Esperanza Spalding—the CD walks a fine line between overly earnest embalmings of songs and versions that manage to point out the relationship between 21st-century R&B and the world that Holiday inhabited. A Tribute to Billie Holiday has its roots in what might seem to be a strange source. It’s the brainchild of actor Peter Stormare, whose credits include the Coen Brothers’ Fargo and the TV series Entourage. According to the CD’s liner notes, Stormare’s interest in Holiday’s work started when he read her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, when he was a teenager in Sweden. That probably accounts for the overall structure of the CD, which mixes up the songs with excerpts from Holiday’s book, read by Angela Bassett. But while Holiday’s life story was a sad one, and her bouts with drug abuse certainly have some cautionary value, those things have very little to do with why we should still listen to her music today. Holiday was a master at finding the story inside of a song’s lyrics, and at working against the grain of its melodic line just enough to make a listener stand back and get some perspective on what the song is about. That’s a tough feat for a singer to pull off, and it’s one that defeats a few of the singers here. Two young jazz singers, Erin Boheme and Renee Olmstead, offer up versions of, respectively, “Them There Eyes” and “Good Morning Heartache.” Neither version is bad, but they are both much too blandly comfortable. There’s no sense of tension between the singer and the song. Aside from the fact that Billie Holiday sang these songs, there seems to be little connection between the tracks and Holiday’s recordings. That’s not to say that what we want to hear is a singer trying to mimic Holiday’s style, but something that exhibits a similar sense of adventure is definitely a reasonable request. Three young performers do have some success with that. Rocco DeLuca delivers “Lady Sings the Blues” with a contemporary R&B croon that suits the song more than you’d think. Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds gives “Strange Fruit” a dreamy, slightly detached arrangement that sets up a nice contrast with the song’s subject material. And Esperanza Spalding’s slow, airy version of “I’ll Look Around” (you can hear it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayNWPRD5LY4) is probably the best thing here. Rickie Lee Jones also does pretty well with “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” The only artist here who has an immediately recognizable style, Jones does what projects like this really ought to. She inhabits the song with her boho-chick persona without losing the song’s spirit. It’s a suitable analogy for what Holiday does with her material, and it’s something that A Tribute to Billie Holiday could have done with a little more of. But if you want to listen to some tributes to Lady Day that really hit the mark, there are quite a few available. Among the best: Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man & Other Billie Holiday Classics, Rosemary Clooney’s Tribute to Billie Holiday, Etta James’s Mystery Lady and Abbey Lincoln’s Abbey Sings Billie. They’re all examples of how a great singer’s influence can live on without becoming imitation. And of course you can always listen to Lady Day herself. My own opinion is that two of her last albums, Songs for Distingue Lovers and Lady in Satin, are her best—but that’s a minority opinion. If by some chance, you haven’t listened to her before, there are several compilations that can give you a good overview of her career. Lady Day: The Best of Billie Holiday has 36 of the best tracks from the early years, when she was recording for Columbia Records. And for the midcareer highlights, The Complete Decca Recordings has 50 tracks she recorded from 1944 to 1950. Her later career at Verve can be sampled on Lady in Autumn—The Best of the Verve Years. But with Holiday, any place you start is a good place, and once you start, you’re almost sure to keep on going.

Steve Barnes is a freelance writer based in New York City. His work has appeared in such publications as ARTnews and the Wall Street Journal.]]>

The Obama administration, having declared DOMA unconstitutional and dropped its defense of the law, continues to process deportations of non-citizen partners. From Stop the Deportations:

On July 13 in San Francisco, Doug Gentry and Alex Benshimol, a married California couple who have been together for six years, will face every same-sex binational couple’s worst nightmare: a deportation hearing. As anyone following this issue knows, for years there has been little hope for same-sex binational couples seeking to reside together in the United States. Many binational couples are legally married like Alex and Doug, but they are still treated as legal strangers in the eyes of the federal government. There is only one reason Doug and Alex are facing deportation proceedings at all. That reason is DOMA, a law that the President of the United States himself has determined to be indefensible and unconstitutional. [SNIP] As readers of this site know, for decades, and certainly since DOMA became law, LGBT binational couples have fought discrimination in US immigration law. At best, our foreign partners and spouses have managed to stay in the US with temporary visas related to work or study. But even those lucky few are, like all others, deprived of access to a “green card” on the basis of their relationship with their life partner, no matter how long or how committed that relationship is. Binational couples cannot build a future together and live with tremendous insecurity, even though many are raising U.S.-born children together. Far more often couples are forced to live apart in different countries or they are exiled to one of the more than 20 countries in the world that respect our families. Perhaps the greatest number are those forced to live in the United States in the shadows with constant uncertainty; fear of deportation and ruin hanging over their heads. This destroys marriages, and tears apart our families. It is a humanitarian crisis that must come to an end.
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I suppose we should pray for them. From their call to protest on what would otherwise be a happy, joyous occasion: Governor Cuomo and the New York Legislature imposed same-sex marriage on New York with no vote of the people. Voters in 31 other states have been able to decide the definition of marriage for their states, but New Yorkers have been denied that right! Stand up to protest the redefinition of marriage and demand your right to vote! If New York is going to change the definition of marriage, it should be the People and not the politicians who make the decision! Let the People Vote! Join us on July 24 in NYC, Albany, Rochester and Buffalo to let your voice be heard! Additional details coming soon…]]>

I’m not one to diminish the work of activists prior to that fateful night at the Stonewall Inn in 1969, but I’m reminded every year, as we see just how far and wide our equality movement has spread, how seminal that event was. It’s especially significant to see this in places like Latin America, where homophobia remains the rule, not the exception. From Americas Quarterly: Thousands convened along the Paseo de la Reforma to participate in Mexico City’s 33rd Gay Pride Parade recently. Adorned in colorful flags and angel costumes and chanting loudly amid peals of music, people of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) orientation marched and danced in demand of respect for sexual diversity in Mexico. The motto this year was “Laws without Discrimination for the Whole Nation”—referring to the drive to take the progressive LGBT policies that exist in Mexico City (Distrito Federal—D.F.) and expand them across all of Mexico. In December 2009, the Asamblea Legislativa del Distrito Federal (Legislative Assembly of Mexico City) permitted gay marriage in Mexico City, making it the first city in Latin America to do so. The policy has been in effect since March 2010. “We want the entire Mexican Republic to have all the advances that have been won in the D.F.,” said Octavio Perez, 26, of the Gay Pride Parade’s organizing committee. “That is basically the essence of the march.” Although the Mexican capital has made venerable progress with regard to LGBT rights, homophobia within the country remains virulent. Between 1995 and 2008, the nongovernmental organization Letra S has documented 628 registered homicides connected to homophobia, as quoted by the Mexican National Commission of Human Rights. Moreover, 52 percent of Mexican lesbians, gays and bisexuals consider discrimination one of the main problems they face, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED). The same survey also notes that homosexuals and bisexuals admit that they encounter the most intolerance from the police and religious groups.
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This is the sort of thing that gives me hope for the future of the Republican party. I have conservative, Republican sisters who nonetheless support my equality, and I think the day is slowly coming when anti-gay and Republican are no longer considered synonymous. From the 2012 Iowa Caucuses: Republican presidential candidate Gary Johnson thinks the pledge that an Iowa Christian conservative group is circulating is offensive because it condemn gays, single parents, divorcees, Muslims, women who choose to have abortions “and everyone else who doesn’t fit in a Norman Rockwell painting.” The Family Leader, a conservative advocacy group led by Sioux City’s Bob Vander Plaats, last week introduced a pledge that calls for fidelity to one’s spouse, vigorous opposition to anything but monogamous one-man/one-woman marriage, a cooling off period for those seeking a fast divorce, earnest legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, rejection of Sharia Islam and all other anti-woman forms of totalitarian control, recognition of the benefits of robust childbearing and reproduction, action against any illegal pornography, and protection for women from forced prostitution and forced abortion. [SNIP] Johnson in a news release and in a speech at the Conservative Leadership Conference in Las Vegas Saturday said the pledge gives Republicans a bad name. “Government should not be involved in the bedrooms of consenting adults. I have always been a strong advocate of liberty and freedom from unnecessary government intervention into our lives,” he said in the written statement.]]>

We’re all about living our dreams here at lgbtSr. Not that doing stand-up comedy was ever my dream, but a co-worker took a class at Caroline’s and loved it. Then Frank and I went to a comedy show last week at Gotham Comedy Club. I saw an ad for classes and thought . . . why the hell not. Maybe I can get out of my shell a bit, turn some of those private jokes in my head into public ones, and have something really fun to write about for this site. The class starts in September and I’ll be blogging about each one. All six of them, until we have the grand finale at Caroline’s in front of a (friendly) audience. Come along! And wish me luck.]]>

Well crap, sort of. I was all set to go to City Hall (“reporting for lgbtSr!”) on Monday July 25 to cover history as we can finally marry in New York state. But it turns out the bill takes effect on Sunday the 24th, when Frank and I will be at Rainbow Mountain in the Poconos. Mayor Mike won’t have the same scheduling conflict, as he has agreed to officiate at an aide’s ceremony. From Reuters: (Reuters) – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will officiate at the wedding of two city officials on July 24, the first day same sex couples can legally marry in the state. It will only be the third time that Bloomberg, who has been a staunch supporter of changing the law to allow same-sex couples to wed, has officiated at a wedding since taking office in 2002. Jonathan Mintz, the city’s consumer affairs commissioner, and John Feinblatt, a chief adviser to the mayor, will marry at Gracie Mansion in Manhattan. “John and Jonathan have each done so much to make the City a better place, and together, they helped me see the issue of marriage equality in very clear terms,” Bloomberg said in a statement provided through a spokesman. “This will be one of the biggest days of their lives, a day they’ve waited a long time to see, and I’m just honored to be a part of it.”
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Harmony Santana LA’s Outfest, the city’s oldest film festival, opens with a film about a man who comes home from prison to find his son is now a transgender woman, played by Harmony Santana, a transgender woman herself. From Fishbowl LA: The 2011 edition of Outfest really could not have picked a better film for tonight’s opening gala slot. Fresh from Sundance and San Francisco’s Frameline event, the drama Gun Hill Road marks the directorial debut of actor Rashaad Ernesto Green. Esai Morales stars as a dad who, after three years in prison, returns home to find that his teenage son has become a transgender woman, played by real-life transgender female Harmony Santana (pictured). The New York based Green tells LA Times reporter Susan King that he is thrilled to be presenting at Outfest, ahead of the film’s scheduled August 5 theatrical release: “I think it is one of the first times at least in American cinema we are actually getting to see a transgender main character played by a transgender person,” said Green. “She was just at the beginning of her transition. She just started to take hormones. Since the character has to play both male and female in the film, I needed someone who was not physically developed just yet.”]]>

This is the guy who’s obsessed with incest, judging from his many comparisons of it to same-sex marriage. Now he’s afraid the Mormon fad will spread. (By the way, notice he’s worried that there will also be some sort of infidelity-equality push. I’m starting to be concerned for Timothy.)

From the Wall Street Journal: NEW YORK — New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan says he’s worried that the next step in the marriage debate will be another redefinition to allow multiple partners and infidelity. Writing on his blog Thursday, Dolan also lamented the anti-Catholic venom that surfaced in the gay marriage battle, saying he’s worried that “believers will soon be harassed, threatened, and hauled into court” for their convictions.]]>

Better half or half-wit? Who pays the check and how do you get out of it? These are NOT some of the questions you’ll find answered in Steve Petrow’s ‘Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners’ (updated for 2011), but if you’re wondering what to call a same-sex significant other, or how to deal with booking hotels rooms in Mississippi, this may be for you.

From ‘about the book’: Confused about coming out, dating, sex, and love? Find all the answers here – makes a great reference guide for you, and a great gift for the straight people in your life who need a little guidance.]]>

Better half or half-wit? Who pays the check and how do you get out of it? These are NOT some of the questions you’ll find answered in Steve Petrow’s ‘Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners’ (updated for 2011), but if you’re wondering what to call a same-sex significant other, or how to deal with booking hotels rooms in Mississippi, this may be for you.

From ‘about the book’: Confused about coming out, dating, sex, and love? Find all the answers here – makes a great reference guide for you, and a great gift for the straight people in your life who need a little guidance.]]>

By Mark McNease

I’ve been a fan of Rickie Lee Jones since her first album in 1979. That album included what was a blessing and a curse for Jones, the song ‘Chuck E’s in Love (listen).’ If you ask most people who she is, if they know her at all, they’ll say, ‘Didn’t she have that song about Chucky?’ Rickie Lee Jones is much deeper and bigger than that. Not to fault that song, but her debut album also included ‘Last Chance Texaco,’ ‘Coolsville,’ and one of the best songs of loss and longing I’ve ever heard, ‘Company (listen)’: I’ll remember you too clearly
but I’ll survive another day
conversations to share
when there’s no one there
I’ll imagine what you’d say Her follow up album, Pirates, took three years and showed her orchestral side. It was brilliant, and nearly everything she’s done since then has been. I’m biased. This is not a review of her latest music. This is an unabashed love letter to a singer/songwriter who belongs among the greats. Her contemporary and one-time love interest Tom Waits wasn’t inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until last year. Jones may never be, but that’s like bemoaning a great actor who never got an Oscar, and there are more than a few of those. Jones writes music, not tunes. Her melodies and arrangements are intricate, often haunting. She’s been unafraid to make the music she wants to make, and if it means she’s playing venues like City Winery, so be it. She belongs in this kind of intimate setting, not Madison Square Garden. Last night she played all old songs, almost entirely from her first two albums. She came on 40 minutes late, which a couple of my group found annoying but I said hey, she’s 56 and she’s been doing this for a very long time, let her be a little late. Once she and the band took the stage all else was forgotten.
I didn’t know what to expect. She’s been known to play her new CD’s and no old songs, but last night was a love fest on memory lane. The audience knew every song, and of course I recognized them all, quite a few from 1981’s Pirates. Jones got emotional when she sang a song about her daughter, now 21, and she said she’s spent most of her life alone – not because she’s hard to get along with but because everyone else is. She’s widened over the years, as have most of us, but she still commands a stage, sounds amazing, and is clearly in a league of her own. I won’t review City Winery itself, which is a great place to see a show, except to say go for the first floor seats. I’d never been there, and when I booked the tickets online a couple months ago I went by the seating chart. I got “VIP” seats in the elevated back area but 1) our seats had no backs, 2) it was warmer up there on an already hot night, 3) it feels cut off from what is actually a large crowd, and 4) you get a better view on the floor! I’d go back for sure, but now I know where to actually sit, and for a lower price.]]>