GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Mach 28, 2003

eveningsout

Wilde times in the record store Gay men are found in more genres than ever before

by Anthony Glassman

"Music makes one feel so romantic-at least it always gets on one's nerves--which is the same thing nowadays," wrote Oscar Wilde, infamous Irish wit and, to use the language of the time, pederast. Even though he's been dead for the better part of a century, his words still ring true.

There is a type of music to get on anyone's nerves. No matter how open-minded a per-

son is, there is some genre of music that he or she simply cannot stomach.

In the gay community, woe betide he who does not like club music, a fact often harped upon. If one doesn't bow at the altar of the Madonna remix or the techno-Cher, he would be well advised to stay away from the bars. What is a gay boy to do to find music, then? Spending money on gay artists is meant to be a good thing, but so often the music put out by gay male artists falls into the class of

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"Diva track produced by gay man."

Well, of course, that's not the worst thing in the world. Nervous Records' new release Queer as Nervous: Top Club Tracks from Your Favorite Cable Show is a lot of club tracks, all of which were played on Queer as Folk. It's a fascinating mix of music, from the totally typical club fare to the more esoteric house tracks. Any CD that could contain Barry Harris and Pepper Meshay's "Dive in the Pool," Armand Van Helden's “Egyptian Magician" and the disco-inflected, Junior Vasquez-produced "Feel Like Singing" all on one disk is some quality danceteria trash.

For those who like harder sounds, more along the lines of electro-wave (to throw around one of the more popular neo-genre names), there's always Fischerspooner's #1. Combining cutting-edge synthesizer work with the musical aesthetic of New Wave, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner have put together perhaps the best electronic album since Daft Punk's 1997 release Homework.

Despite hailing from New York, Fischerspooner released their album in Europe first, gaining them a lot of popularity and a buttload of money. The video for "Emerge" has started playing here, and the single is fast becoming an ever-present staple of dance clubs, both straight and gay.

Speaking of New Wave, Faith No More's Roddy Bottum, who came out in an Advocate article many years ago at the height of the band's popularity, is back with his new band, Imperial Teen.

Okay, they formed in 1995, so they're not that new, but their latest album On came out last year, and it's classic indie rock. Fun rhythms and harmonies combine with icono-

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clastic panache to create a truly pleasant listening experience for people who can remember the days when "alternative" was not just a cheap marketing ploy.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Will Davis, whose Diary of a Mad Domestic Partner can, at times, hardly be called music at all. Davis' spoken-word pieces, set to minimalist tunes or seemingly random, ethereal noises, are most reminiscent of early Saturday afternoons on National Public Radio affiliates, listening to radio plays straddling the line between nostalgia and cuttingedge.

Finally, and here's something most people would never associate with "gay," except perhaps in the phrase "beat up a gay guy," there's the homo-hip-hop of Deep Dickollective.

Gay hip-hop? Eminem must be having conniptions.

Not every rapper is all about "bitches and hos," as this sextet proves. For those who know about rap and hip-hop, perhaps it would be most telling to say that D/DC have the potential of the Hieroglyphics, a crew where every member could individually blow up at any moment, but together are more than the sum of their parts. They're perhaps not yet where the Hiero crew is, but they are still in their fledgling stages. Bourgie Boho PostPomoAfroHomo, the first release, shows great promise, as does the solo EP Bayou Sessions by Tim'm T. West, also known as 25 Percenter.

Given another couple of years or, better yet, access to a really slick producer, these guys could be in the vanguard of San Francisco hip-hop, like the Hieroglyphics and Blackalicious.

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