One of the most common (and most entirely dumb-ass) cultural refrains currently at large is the notion that great art emerges in times of social and political turmoil. “Yes, this administration will be awful,” the faceless hordes opine, “but the art will be great!”
In reports that shocked exactly three people, it was revealed by Teen Vogue and Afropunk that Philip Anschutz, the CEO of AEG, which owns and operates many of the major venues and music festivals in the U.S. donated more than $190,000 to anti-queer groups over the course of four years. They also revealed that Anschutz and his wife have, over their careers, donated vast sums to conservative Republican candidates and super PACs.
Before the Oscars are distributed, before the Tony Awards, before the Grammys and the Emmys and whatever Nickelodeon does, there is an award ceremony commemorating the best in television and film: the Golden Globes.
Though often denied that kind of critical worship lavished on other politically-minded singer-songwriters, Tracy Chapman the woman and Tracy Chapman the album are more revolutionary than they’ve ever been.
In the midst of so much heartbreak in the music industry, a creative zeitgeist also occurred. Here are the year’s top 20 queer artists and the brilliant new music they released to excite, titillate, grieve, groove, and awaken.
“Most of my songs are about bugs, but this one is about a lizard,” announced local artist Guayaba (FKA Aeon Fux) earlier this year to an audience at the Crocodile. While she probably intended this comment to be jokingly self-deprecating, it was also a fair summary of her set.
I don’t know what to say. Last night I sat in a bar with a group of friends–bright, articulate, kind young people–and watched as our nation decided that fear, economic anxiety, and racism were more valuable than common decency. I sat, tingling in my own skin, and my...
Certainly few other bands can claim the title of “pioneers” like Pansy Division. Often lumped in with the nebulous “queer-core” movement of the early nineties, Pansy Division were nevertheless one of the first openly queer bands ever formed.
Just after this year’s well-attended TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival, local film fans have another opportunity to dive into more northwest cinema. The Seattle Shorts Film Festival will grace the SIFF Film Center from November 11th-13th, with notable guests and discussion panels.
Making yourself heard above the din of a writhing sonic underground isn’t an easy feat. But one artist, queer, pop-rap queen Michete, has done just that, all in a crop-top and a sleek fourteen inches of hair.
How many female “buddy” films from India can you name? Exactly. Angry Indian Goddesses is a valiant attempt at breaking into the female buddy film format, with ambitious narrative choices and a truly important subject matter.
What would you do with a second chance at the one who got away? This is the question filmmaker Tim Kirkman set out to answer in his feature film Lazy Eye, the story of a man whose long lost lover suddenly reenters his life fifteen years after deserting him.