Open Thread

Gay anthems from now until Stonewall 50: On “Queen,” Perfume Genius’ Mike Haedras leans into the stereotypes surrounding queer men, setting himself up as the titular monarch, prepared to rule over his kingdom. He makes clear the suffering and strife of the queer community, before also making clear that those struggles don’t define the community. The song was practically made …

Gay anthems from now until Stonewall 50: There are a plethora of songs from the Pet Shop Boys’ stunning discography that tackle homophobia head-on. But one of their most effective was “It’s a Sin,” a tongue-in-cheek indictment of band member Neil Tennant’s Catholic upbringing, in which the star reiterates over and over again how ashamed of himself he should be …

Gay anthems from now until Stonewall 50: Disco has always been a musical movement embraced by the gay community. But Carl Bean’s “I Was Born This Way” is largely recognized as one of the first disco songs openly created for the queer community at large. The lyrics proclaim the story of a man proud to be gay, set to an …

Gay anthems from now until Stonewall 50: Performing for a live show in Sao Paulo on Sunday, British singer Lily Allen closed the concert with her track “Fuck You,” which she dedicated to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. “I’m going to jail,” she jockingly added. “I will probably never come back to Brazil. Fuck you, Bolsonaro.” The single was released in …

Gay anthems every day until Stonewall 50: To this day, queer youth are still highly at risk of being thrown out of their homes for coming out. But in 1984, it was unheard of for a band to openly sing about that fact — until Bronski Beat released “Smalltown Boy.” The song follows the story of a young man uprooting …

Gay anthems from now until Stonewall 50: Long considered to be the “gay national anthem” of Britain, Tom Robinson Band doesn’t hold back on 1978’s Glad To Be Gay. While the song may not have the fiery energy of other protest songs, the lyrics directly call out police brutality, homophobic violence and the insistence that queer people are less than …

Another clip from Broadway Bares: At Broadway Bares 2019, a brief delay on the tarmac in the heat of the day caused the airport’s rugged, all-male ground crew to sweat through their shift – and their clothes. Adam Perry (Frozen) led a team of buff baggage handlers, choreographed by Andrew Turteltaub. Performers: Adam Perry with Dave August, Matthew Borchers, Juanfer …

Billboard Magazine reports: The category is: renewal! FX, the now Disney-owned basic cable network, has picked up Pose, the ball scene drama from Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals, for a third season merely a week after its sophomore season debut. (Season two was announced after six of eight freshman season episodes aired.) The renewal comes as the drama, …

Tampa’s CBS News affiliate reports: A Florida man in Hillsborough County is facing drug charges after a deputy caught him playing Pokemon Go in a closed Tampa park. Jonathan Ortiz, 29, was found in Beacon Meadows Park after hours by a Hillsborough deputy. A Hillsborough deputy observed Ortiz had marijuana in plain view and also noted Ortiz was actively trying …

Playbill reports: Father’s Day was a bacchanalia at the Hammerstein Ballroom when theatre’s hottest dancers took to the stage for Broadway Bares: Take Off. This year, the 29th edition of show raised $2,006,192, breaking the previous record of $1.91 million. The cast and crew’s online fundraiser, Stripathon, raised $1,066,129, marking the first time it passed the $1 million mark, and …

CNN reports: A Pakistani politician suffered a major catastrophe when his press conference was live-streamed on social media last week. A briefing by Shaukat Yousafzai, a regional minister in northwest Pakistan, was broadcast on his Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s official Facebook page Friday, in an attempt to keep constituents in the loop about local issues. But the video attracted attention for an …

Billboard Magazine reports: Confused as to why Miley Cyrus has suddenly re-branded as a more cookie-cutter pop star named Ashley O (especially after releasing a new EP under her own name two weeks ago)? Never fear, Miley stans: Ashley O is simply the character that Cyrus plays in a new episode of Netflix’s sci-fi anthology Black Mirror, and “On A …

Click Orlando reports: A Florida man has been arrested and charged after the Palm Bay Police Department said he stole pool floats for sex “instead of raping woman.” Authorities stopped Christopher Monnin, 35, on his bike around 1:25 a.m. Thursday as a suspicious person. According to officials, in the past seven months, the city of Palm Bay has been plagued …

The Palm Beach Post reports: Florida man has done it again. A Sumter County man and his wife recently had one heck of a gender reveal. To assist them, they enlisted the help of a 10-foot alligator. Chad Wright and Stacie Childs-Wright of Lake Panasoffkee had a gender reveal party last week. They used Amos, their pet alligator, to help …

Billboard Magazine reports: When John Meglen and Celine Dion’s husband and manager René Angélil first announced plans for her Las Vegas residency in 2003, the response from the music business was mostly bewilderment. “Everybody thought we were crazy,” Meglen told Billboard in February. Las Vegas “was kind of a place you went on the downside of your career,” and many …

Playbill reports: “The very first review from Variety: ‘There are no memorable songs in this musical,‘” begins the newly released trailer for Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles. It’s hard to believe that the musical that has survived generations and been translated into multiple languages, almost didn’t get made. In this new documentary, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, producer Harold Prince, and original star …

Playbill reports: Jumping from 1988 to March 27, 1990 (the very day the Queen of Pop debuted her ode to the dance form), the sophomore season of the FX series Pose finds the ball community—comprised largely of trans folk of color—grappling with the unexpected spotlight cast on their art and the repercussions that might follow. “If you’re marginalized and finally …

Tampa’s ABC affiliate reports: A Florida man was caught with cocaine on his nose during a traffic stop in Hillsborough County, according to deputies. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said two deputies pulled over a car and noticed the passenger, Fabricio Jimenez, 20, of New Port Richey, had a white powdery substance on his nose. Jimenez’s nose was swabbed, and …

Click Orlando reports: A Florida man was injured in a crash Saturday after stealing a mail truck and leading police on a chase, according to the Holly Hill Police Department. A mail carrier said Jesse Estep approached her outside the mail truck parked at Florida Health Care in Holly Hill, pointed a canister of Mace at her and demanded the …

Billboard Magazine reports: Music videos generate the highest return-on-investment for YouTube despite making up a relatively small percentage of all videos uploaded, according to a new analysis by the global video and music search engine and analytics platform Pex. The study concludes that music is “crucial” to the video-sharing platform’s profits, despite representing only about 5% of all videos uploaded. …