The video for the third single from Jay Brannan’s album of the same name sees a return to more explicitly gay themes.
“I’m way too shy to ever approach anyone on the street, on the subway, in an elevator or even at a bar,” Brannan tells Spinner. “So it was fun to make a video involving chemistry-at-first-sight, where the characters didn’t just end up going home to check the ‘missed connections’ listings on Craigslist.” (spinner.com)
First released in 2010, this is a 2012 video for the song by the French singer-songwriter and arranger Fred Actone, who’s worked with some big names in his home country. However, openly-gay artists with openly-gay songs haven’t always found it easy to get record contracts in France.
There’s still a live-action video to come for George Michael’s song, released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Wham’s first single, rumoured to be starring model Kate Moss.
The lyrics make a clear reference to the 49 year-old’s serious bout of pneumonia which saw him hospitalised in Vienna in 2011.
Model, fashion designer, make-up artist, singer-songwriter and DJ Jeffree Star lives in Beverly Hills. He’s one of a new generation of artists in a broad sense who’ve used social media (in his case, MySpace) to successfully build a fan base and celebrity.
Lights Camera ADAM is a Spanish Electro-Pop music DJ, based in Bilbao (he can be found at La Bola de Cristal), who’s making a new name for himself as a singer and performer.
Perfume Genius is the stage name of Seattle-based gay indie singer-songwriter Mike Hadreas. His songs are highly personal and frequently deal with substance abuse, being accepted as a gay man (there’s a good 2012 interview with him in The Guardian).
The video for his song Hood features the late porn star Arpad Miklas. Mike is unashamed about being open about his sexuality.
“I’m very conscious about it, but I also want it to not be a big deal. But I still get nervous. With this video, my boyfriend was like, ‘Are you sure you want to, you know, be so gay?’ But I think people are smarter than that. And if Rick in Pittsburgh or whatever isn’t going to listen to my music because I’m gay, fuck it.” (more at pitchfork.com)
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