Sunday, March 13, 2011

Enter the Sprinquinox

Sitting high on Cloud 9 in the Petropolis Stu-stu-studio, I'm ready to unleash a wave of springtime happy silly craziness on you.  This year's spring mix will drop in just a few short weeks, but in the meantime I wanted to give you something to get things moving.

Many of you already know of the Sprinquinox, a mobile holiday I created in 2007 purely just to celebrate spring, my favorite season.  Each year we do something different, the only guideline being fun in the sun, maybe food and drinks as well.  The coinciding mix for the inaugural Sprinquinox took me in a new direction, using friends' vocal talents as interludes throughout the mix.  It is a journey, to say the least.  No one can be told what the Sprinquinox is.  You have to experience it for yourself.

Enter the Sprinquinox is dedicated to the memory of Quent Reese, 1977-2007.
The promise of a new day!

Petropolis






Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

In Like a Lion

Happy March, everyone! Spring is approaching, and I’m practically bursting at the seams with excitement (and caffeine). RRRAAARRR!!!  But first, this is to be the one and only post I will ever write on the subject of Lady Gaga. Here we go…

In the beginning, there was this super blonde, shoulder pads-and-bangs person that invaded my So You Think You Can Dance program. Was she foreign? Who did she think she was coming out like a star? Then she blew up, and gained immense popularity in the gay scene. I thought the songs were catchy and dancey enough, but I lumped her in with all the other pop/R&B fluff that (at the time) I despised. I think I resented her even more because she did have such a…fierce gay following, and I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Did we really need another dance diva?

Then came the VMA performance with the blood. For the first time, I saw performance art that appealed to me. I like weird and certainly don’t mind a bit of shock value, plus she was singing live which I appreciated. Maybe there was something to her after all. Research time! Several acoustic piano performances on YouTube later, I realized that she has some real musical talent, both in voice and piano. What was happening to me?

Then the Bad Romance song and video appeared, and I immediately crossed over. Either my sensibilities changed, or the songs got better, who knows, but I was sold. More weirdness and extravagance followed, and I was happy now that she was moving away from her former incarnation (although I now like all her previous songs). Telephone, meat dress, etc. I’ve been along for the ride. But I’ve never known what side of the is-she-for-real-or-is-she-a-packaged-product debate I stood on, until recently.

Let’s get one thing straight. Yes, she’s famous. She’s now admitted to studying the sociology of fame and planning her every move. Of course there are things that are said and done for dramatic effect, but one thing I don’t doubt is that she loves her music and fans. There’s such a backlash about Born This Way sounding like Madonna. Everyone is influenced by other artists, and she’s 23 or 24…is it surprising that early 90s Madonna would have influenced the kid? Aside from two lines, I don’t hear the Madonna reference. To me it’s just reminiscent of late 80s/early 90s optimistic, anthemic pop that (in my world) is sorely lacking, and is exactly why I LOVE the song. And the video creates a character, concept and mythology, which I love. Bottom line, I am happy someone is sending out this message of acceptance in a time when I’m still told I don’t deserve the right to marry. You go, girl. Express yourself.


You people get ready for a euphoric, exuberant, badass spring, cuz it’s comin’ straiiiiight atchya.


Petropolis