Music to my ears

Still smiling over “Boy Culture” author Matthew Rettenmund laying the smackdown on rapper Fabolous for starting last week’s asinine Twitter trend, #uknowhowiknowuregay. Knock that crap off, my misspelled friend, or we’ll start #uknowhowiknowurahasbeen:

Mind you, if we were to play that stupid game, one way to tell would be to see if you’re watching ‘Glee.’ I tried to avoid the new high-school-musical show but its sly and snarky tone from ‘Nip/Tuck’ creator Ryan Murphy is completely irresistible:

And let’s face it, we love a good musical number. After the weird popularity of that Miley Cyrus song, another delightful pack of summer sissies has given Whitney Houston the spectacle she deserves:

But not everyone’s a fan: one British farmer has become so fed up with gay men using his private property as a cruising ground, he’s unleashed his hogs to roam the grounds, making the phrase “sex pig” disturbingly literal. Quick as I am to defend the joys of sex outdoors, I can’t argue with the farmer when he says, “I’m not homophobic, I just don’t like trespassers.”

If there’s one tune I’m really sick of though, it’s the endless and insane health care “debate” from the US — fortunately, this quick video makes short work of it (nicely done!) and, if Michael Stipe decides to stick his nose in, I’m always happy to hear R.E.M.:

 

And finally, a little something that surprised me — I generally avoid modern country music like the plague (usually because of crap like this) but along comes Brad Paisley with a big heaping slab of American liberalism set to a guitar strum and the delight of having just discovered the synthesizer:

Aww, warm fuzzies all around. Cheers, Brad, I want that little girl to be president too…

A former editor of the late, lamented fab magazine, Scott has been writing for Xtra since 2007 on a variety of topics in news pieces, interviews, blogs, reviews and humour pieces. He lives on the Danforth with his boyfriend of 12 years, a manic Jack Russell Terrier, a well-stocked mini-bar and a shelf of toy Daleks.

Keep Reading

In “Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt,” Brontez Purnell balances on a knife edge between hilarity and despair

Purnell's new memoir turns heaviness into humour, and exposes the bleakness under what seems silly and light

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 16, Episode 12 power ranking: Designing women

Who among our top five will fall short of the finale?

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 16, Episode 12 recap: Bathroom babes

The infamous room design challenge returns, this time with … restrooms?

Bollywood flair quickens the tender heart of ‘The Queen of My Dreams’

Filmmaker Fawzia Mirza discusses her feature debut and how the intergenerational drama echoes much of her own life