My New Sarah McLachlan Interview!

I've been really under the weather for a couple of months, so I've hardly written anything here. I just don't have the energy. But with my medical mysteries still unresolved, maybe this is a good time to start looking at my bucket list.

Everyone's talking about their bucket lists these days, so here's one more check mark on mine! I have interviewed a few of my favorites--Tori Amos, Jewel, even Kathy Griffin--but a few have remained unreachable thus far...Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, and Gaga to name a few. But wait! One of those is coming off the list!

I just interviewed Sarah McLachlan, one of my very favorite musicians! She was exactly as expected--gracious, forthright, and smart. We discussed her upcoming album, The Laws of Illusion (that's the beautiful cover artwork above), her new single, "Loving You is Easy" (video below), and Lilith Fair.

I also had the opportunity to talk with one of Sarah's three Lilith Fair partners, Terry McBride, who is a major force in the music industry, as president of Nettwerk Music Group. He revealed exciting--and very ambitious--plans for Lilith Fair, including the establishment of a new charity program called i4c.

The interview is up at Advocate.com. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Levi Johnston Accepts Porn Award

According to Advocate.com, Levi Johnston--Palin background no longer necessary--accepted an award from Fleshbot, "For the bravery to be himself despite the pictures other people want to paint of him, and for taking control of his image and letting us all enjoy in it, the mainstream porn crossover award goes to...Levi Johnston."

According to Fox411, "Levi Johnston says [baby son] Tripp can pose for Playgirl, too." He clarified: "Seventeen no," said Johnston. "Eighteen, 19, he’s old enough to make his own decisions. If I’m doing it, I couldn’t tell him not to, I’d be a hypocrite. When he’s that age, he’s going to do what he wants to do."

We assume Johnston won't be getting the Daddy of the Year award from Parenting magazine.

Reportedly, Johnston's Johnson is making "his" debut as we type this, on some cheesy Playgirl set in New York.

Johnston told reporters last night that he won't do a live-action porn movie, but the chances of a homemade sex tape not showing up when his star starts to fade? We predict nil.

Is "crossover star" a fitting designation for Johnston? What, exactly, did he cross from and to? Nobody to public joke and jackoff bait? Oh well. At least this proves on a psychological level that anything sex-related will capture the attention of the average person.

File under "creepy, funny."

My New Nick Carter Interview On Advocate.com

Nick Carter embraced his gay fans before it was trendy -- at 17, he posed for the cover of a gay teen mag, unheard of at the time. Now, with a new Backstreet album in stores, Nick is sober, happy, and, most important, back.

I had a chance to talk with Nick about the new Backstreet Boys album, working with (Gaga producer) RedOne, his ventures into filmmaking and Broadway, his little brother turn on Aaron's Dancing with the Stars and, of course, gay stuff ("...it’s not a big deal to me. It may have been a big deal back in the day when I was young, but, you know, whatever. It’s part of our culture now and that’s what’s great about it. People accept it now. I love it.)

Check out the interview here.

My Kathy Griffin Interview: She Gets Serious About Matthew Shepard

I had an amazing opportunity to interview the hilarious Kathy Griffin for Advocate.com.

As expected, Kathy was funny and sharp from hello (she accused me of pretending to be doing the interview just to get her on the phone, which threw me off for a sec!).

But to my surprise, she was also remarkably serious and sincere for the first half of the interview, during which she talked at length about gay marriage rights and Matthew Shepard.

I hope you'll read the interview at Advocate.com and appreciate Kathy's important advocacy work for equality.

And speaking of Matthew Shepard, his mother Judy Shepard's new book came out a couple of days ago. It's amazing. There are no words. But if you want to read a review before ordering the book, read what Entertainment Weekly had to say about it. (Hint: EW gave it a solid A.)



PS: I interviewed Kathy only a few days after the "Norma Gay" episode of My Life on the D List aired. If you didn't catch, it, watch the clips below. It's hands-down the best episode of My Life on the D List.

LeToya's Lady Love

I'm diggin' LeToya Luckett's new album Lady Love, and I'm loving her attitude!



Watch her video "She Ain't Got" and then read her new interview in the Advocate, in which she talks about her thoughts on gay marriage, Chris Brown (who wrote "She Ain't Got"), Destiny's Child (she was one of the original members and is a childhood (former) friend of Beyonce's), and the Latex Ball--whatever that is!

Swing batter, batter, batter, swing!

She's Back, Bitches!!!

Read about it here.

Review by...erm, um, me.

The Advocate's Naked Truth

While you were busy not noticing, America's two most important gay magazines--The Advocate and Out--got extreme makeovers.

Formerly owned by gay.com parent company Planet Out, the magazines seemed for years to be searching for their identities (yes, we see the irony) and going all-out commercial. That's one thing for Out, which is putting itself, well, out there (punny, huh?); but The Advocate began as just that: a periodical publication created to support sexual minorities. So why, then, were straight celebrities featured on so many of their covers?

The identities of these magazines is important to LGBT people, even if we don't read them regularly. Or at least my parents thought so when they gave me a huge, four-pound volume of a book called Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Never a student of history, I was momentarily puzzled until it hit me like a ton of feather boas: This was their way of saying, We still love you, We still accept you, And you do have a history, And you do have a future.

No, really. It's true: The straight world knows about these magazines; it's one of their associations with gay people (if not necessarily with the spectrum of "others").

I've been cynical for so long--too cynical to really care about anything or believe in anyone. Last night's speech by Barack Obama actually changed that; I finally feel hopeful, and I really feel like things--all things--have the potential to change for the better.

Planet Out no longer has a stranglehold on The Advocate and Out, and we're encouraged by The Advocate's most recent issue--the one that features Barack Obama's beaming smile of hope on its over--and the forthcoming one, which will feature a lot of skin...and a discussion of body image in the LGBT population.

Yes, a lot of the guys (and girls) are typically hot--and many are typically typical.

Guess what the point is?

Gay guys, lesbians, transgender people love parts of their bodies, hate other parts. In other words, they're just like everyone else.

(Uh, except those straight guys who really do not care who they offend with the fertile wildernesses of their bodies. Seriously, WTF?!)

Anyway, The Advocate's new Editor in Chief Jon Barrett has worked for Oprah (O at Home magazine) and Real Simple, and he seems to be steering this vitally important magazine in the right direction. With a new focus on up-to-date online content (and plenty of skin), go to theadvocate.com for the hotness and stick around for a while to see the changes that are occurring--including thoughtful coverage of the historic presidential election year.

Lance Bass: Dancing with the Boys?

This just in from The Advocate: Rumor has it that Lance Bass is being courted for the next season of Dancing with the Stars. Seems natural what with Joey Fatone's dancing on the show last season.

But there's a catch: Disney might agree to pair Lance up with another guy! And why not? Everyone knows Lance is gay now, thanks to Perez Hilton.

We think Lance should do it, since he failed to make history when he came out the first time. (A little late after Ellen et al.) This is his big chance!

What do you think? Do you want to see Lance dancing with boys? Other than Justin Timberlake, that is?