GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

August 27, 2004

Homeward bound

evenit

A queer icon celebrates the talents of her homeland's songwriting legends

by John Polly

Tell a female friend-more specifically a lesbian, music-loving friend that you're set to interview k.d. lang, and then brace yourself. What follows will be an onslaught of gushing praise and then proclamations of notso-thinly veiled envy. Then your friend will promptly instruct you on what to ask the popular singer and gay icon, and she'll also proceed to wax rhapsodic about lang's current concert tour (which, of course, said female friend did not miss), in which lang is treating fans to some of her best-loved tunes as well as many of the offerings from her brand new release, Hymns of the 49th Parallel.

These days, k.d. lang is delivering a very personal side of herself and an aural tour of her homeland. That's because the Alberta native's aforementioned album is a celebration of the work of Canadian songwriters. Yep, lang is giving props to her native turf by showcasing the richness of its musical talent. As she says, it's about time.

"A year or so ago when I was doing the press for my concert tour with Tony Bennett and for our record, A Wonderful World," begins lang. "Tony would talk about growing up in Astoria, Queens in the same area as Louis Armstrong, and what that meant to him. And he would rave about singing these songs from the American songbook. That really started to get me thinking about Canadian composers, and how no one's actually ever acknowledged them before. And the more I thought about my musical heritage, it was like

Dykes ToWatch Out For by Alison Bechdel

ON MESSAGE

447

IN QUEST OF

THE ELUSIVE UNDECIDED VOTER, DEMOCRATS

ARE NOT

BEING SHY ABOUT THEIR

TIME-HONORED

AMERICAN VALUES.

THEY LOVE THE FLAG AND THEY'RE STRONG ON DEFENSE GOD, THESE LYCRA I'M GONNA GET SPEEDSUITS HAVE REALLY MORE CHIPS. YOU LIVENED UP THE TRACK WANT ANOTHER AND FIELD EVENTS.

USA! USA! YESS! EAT AMERICAN DUST!

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BEER?

'Oh my God... There are so many really great songs!""

Hence, Hymns of the 49th Parallel. On the emotional new release, lang pays homage to fellow Canadians, including such legendary artists as Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen, as well as some who might still be considered emerging talents, like Jane Siberry, Ron Sexsmith and Bruce Cockburn.

The result is a thrilling collection of classics, old and new. Mitchell's "A Case of You" is performed with striking tenderness, Cohen's "Hallelujah" is a sensual, cleansing experience, and Siberry's "Love is Everything" is a transcendent testimony to passion and to lang's unmatched vocal power.

The songs are rendered with rustic honesty on most numbers lang's singing with just a piano, some strings, maybe a guitar, and the full impact and depth of the music. As she did on her previous cover album, Drag, lang imbues each tune with her own, pure imprint. This time, however, it's not about creating a torchy concept album.

"I really believe that part of a vocalist's job is to cultivate standards," she explains. "But the tricky thing about cultivating a Canadian songbook is that it is largely based on works more from the more-recent, contemporary era. You're working with beautiful songs by artists who have already indelibly put their stamp on them. So, it took me a long time to really get to the conceptual and emotional place where I could justify performing these songs. But it sort of hinged on the idea that these songs are like spirituals. Some of them are songs that I grew up with and they've had

a direct impact on my construct, my musical DNA. That's kind of why I approached them from a pure, direct perspective and didn't try to change them or get too clever with them. I stripped everything away and, for the most part, just sang them from a purely emotional perspective."

Lang is also quick to acknowledge that she enjoys the freedom that performing other people's songs allows her, stressing that a cover permits her to immerse herself in the tune in a unique way.

"I guess because when I'm singing them I don't have the fear of being the songwriter. Although I think it's really important for me to do both," she explains. "In order for me to be an interpreter I have to experience the pain and anguish of being a songwriter. And vice versa; to be a good songwriter, you have to understand what it is to sing a song. So, really, I like doing both. And I'm not sure if I'm a great songwriter, but I think it's a very important aspect of myself."

Of course, another of her important aspects-and one that's been prevalent ever since she posed with Cindy Crawford on that infamous Vanity Fair in 1993—is that she is an unapologetically out lesbian performer. But these days, thanks to her candor and her consistently acclaimed work, lang is known simply as a musical icon-who also just happens to be a gay one.

"I really think it's just due to perseverance," lang says. "When I came out and I went through all I did, I did it understanding that it essentially would be this kind of cultural Continued on facing page

THEY'RE VERY BIG ON FAMILY. LOIS!

WELL, I WAS WONDERING WHAT YOU TWO DID ABOUT SEX NOW THAT THE BABY SLEEPS IN YOUR BED.

DO YOU MIND?

NOT AT ALL. CARRY ON. I'M JUST LOOKING FOR A SNACK.

| THEY FROWN ON TERRORISM.

GINGER! I DIDN'T HEAR YOU COME IN! UM... THE ARABIC LESSON RAN A LITTLE OVER.

IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, DR. JORDAN. SHE'S JUST COMFORTING ME. I CAME OUT TO MY BOSS AT THE RIGHT-TO-LIFE OFFICE TODAY AND SHE FREAKED ON ME.

www.DykesToWatchOutFor.com

CAME

OUT?

NOT REALLY.

THEY BELIEVE CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE! THIS IS MY BOYFRIEND ALEX. HE STARTED TRANSITIONING WHEN HE WAS NINE!

BUT ABOVE ALL, THEY'RE PEOPLE OF FAITH.

yo.

D'YOU REALLY THINK HE CAN WIN?

IF HE DOESN'T,

WE'RE MOVING TO

MADAGASCAR.

DID WE MENTION THE FAMILY THING? HI, SWEETIE! I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU! HOW WAS CAMP? ARE YOU SAD IT'S OVER? DID YOU MISS ME?

CAMP TEN TREES

CAMP

TREE S

Kerry Edwards