|in the gloaming…|
Visibility update…FlashForward
As I was watching FlashForward last night – last weeks show Tivo’d – I was pleasantly surprised that the lesbian kiss I saw in the previews for the series (oh so fleetingly) came to fruition last night as cute and drole FBI agent, Janis, came out and kissed a cute girl. Watch it on YouTube.
Splitting up due to complications due to flashforwards – thats a new one! I see some potential here, although I am nervous re: the shooting and the baby thing (how can you be 6 months pregnant after being shot in the stomach…sounds just unbelievably painful). Maybe ABC can avoid the pitfalls of so many lesbian TV relationships: death or switching teams, or parenting….arg. It all remains to be seen, but this makes 3 lesbian relationships on TV this season, by my count:
FlashForward (ABC)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Stargate Universe (SyFy)
Are there more? Maybe…let’s hope so! (Some potential ones include Heroes with Claire and Gretchen and I hear rumours of a bi character on The Good Wife…it remains to be seen if these are more than sweeps ploys…). Nevertheless, I need something new to obsess about after Carla & Stella leave VL and it would be nice not to have to search for English subtitles (altho I do love my international soap addictions!).
In: Flashforward · Tagged with: Flashforward
Brandi Carlile – Give Up the Ghost
Brandi Carlile…ah, her voice is like a dream to me. Except, instead of dreaming in my city bed, I am on a pack roll beside the dying embers of a camp fire, under the wide western skies, watching the stars, my baby nestled under my arm, totally content. Ms. Carlile is about as country as I get, and I only go there for her because she is a kind of hybrid country/folk/singer songwriter mash up and I discovered her on Grey’s Anatomy, whose soundtrack is a great place to discover new artists. Then, it was only The Story track – a classic in any genre. I immediately bought the album, although I could rarely get beyond the first half of the CD. It was just that good. This new CD does not disappoint, and I’ve had it on repeat in my car, on my iPod, and on iTunes as I surf the net. I even made one track the soundtrack to a fan video. And then, like a cherry on the icing, Brandi publicly came out this past week. Not that any of us should be surprised, and not that I am so shallow I don’t look beyond stereotypes, but I would have been more surprised if she’d come out as straight 
. All of this is to say this woman has me hooked. Yup. Hooked. And I hear from a reliable (if not a little horny) source that she is even sweeter to look at IRL, so it can only get better 
.
Ahhh…I put the CD in the CD player (or more accurately, select it from my iTunes library…). What should I expect? I hear that familiar, strong, raw voice, that unexpected twang that melts me in my seat. If Brandi were a preacher, I would be converted: “My one and only wrecking ball, and you’re crashing through my walls!” she sings in Looking Out. The album starts out strong, and soars on Pride and Joy. It is emotionally raw, imbued with a sense of yearning, disappointment, maturity, heartbreak. More consistent than The Story, this album engages me throughout (with notable exceptions, more about them below).
Best lines:
‘I laid a suitcase on my chest just so I could feel somebody’s weight.’ (Looking Out).
‘I was angry. I was a baptist. I was a daughter. I was wrong.’ (That Year)
The notable exceptions are more like low moments on the CD…tracks I can easily skip over. Channeling Cash, the track Caroline completely annoys me. Also, the gender-bending ‘If There Was No You,’ by far the happiest song on the CD and a little too country for me. Makes me want to do-se-do and toe-tap: ‘nothing you could do could make me turn my back on you…” “what I really mean, what Im trying hard to say, is Im counting on you and you got me too, my secrets aren’t safe and …nothing you could do…Im your man…” Although, as I continue to listen, this one grows on me. Touching the Ground completes the more-county-than-I-like trilogy (my opinion completely, of course), rounding it out with a bitter love song…’why do my troubles turn true whenever I rest my eyes on you?” Why, Brandi, maybe you just haven’t met the right gal, yet?
Throughout the album we share the hard times with Brandi, feel the pain, the regret, the disappointment, the sorrow…yet also find some small joy, peaking out its little head every now and then in unexpected places (Oh Dear comes to mind). Before it Breaks is sorrowful, and there is a lyrical quality to her pitch (her ‘yodel’ according to some) which reinforces the pain she sings about. Plus, rock guitar rifts…wicked. Makes it one of my faves and perfect for a Carla & Stella break up fanvideo:
I Will features a lovely backing vocal “I can try but I wont find it where Im looking, I can hold it like putty in my hands, you cant break a heart that’s not yours to break. But I will do the right thing in the end.” “I don’t think you ever learned a thing from me, but I am sure you want me to learn from you. You draw heavy lines around morality, but it’s just your point of view…” Definitely some soul searching on this album, infused with some bitter and tortured angst and regret. Just perfect.
Oh Dear is as hauntingly beautiful as it is melodic and simple, featuring a mandolin and more of those wonderful harmonious backing vocals (male): “together you and I forever…heartbreaks, mistakes…” her voice is stunning on this one…such a heartbreaker! “Only you that my heart desires, only you alone can break my fall…”
This CD is a treat, without a doubt, and although it may not seem as ‘hit’ ready as The Story, it is a more mature sound IMHO, and more consistent throughout. I expect to hear it popping up in my favorite shows as the season progresses. It seems perfect for the self-absorbed storylines of Grey’s Anatomy or the over-the-top drama of Verbotene Liebe!
My top song picks: Pride and Joy, Oh Dear, Looking Out, Before it Breaks
Least Favorite: Caroline, Dreams (the released single, and in my opinion, the most boring track on the CD – simple and repetitive, albeit set to a catchy tune, but not catchy enough to catch me).
Rating: 4/5
For more Brandi, check out her YouTube channel.
In: Musical musings · Tagged with: BrandiCarlile
Paramore – Brand New Eyes
Listen to this, especially at 2:46…wow.
Stargate Universe and other musings
Edgier and grittier than other shows in the Stargate franchise, SGU definitely takes a page or two out of the phenomenal success of Battlestar Galactica. I watched the 2-hour series premier and am very excited to have something new on TV to watch. And as icing on the cake, Ming-na plays a lesbian character…a full fledged gay character and not a coming out story. Woo-hoo to that. Syfy (formerly SciFi) is slow on the uptake of gay or lesbian characters, so this gives them some much needed brownie points. I’m looking forward to how it turns out. Here’s the trailer:
On another note, the lesbian kiss in the preview to episode 2 of Flashforward never happened. What’s up with that?
Total count of lesbian storylines on US TV: 2
Stargate Universe,
and…
Callie & Arizona (Grey’s Anaotmy): last week, when Arizona had to ask Callie if they were girlfriends totally mirrored how I feel about this couple: are they really together, because unlike their hetero counterparts, they barely do more than smile at each other in passing. Come on Shondra, you can do better than that. Callie’s answer: Yes. Good, then maybe there will be something to see here!
It’s a vast desert out there, ladies…
In: Uncategorized · Tagged with: TV SGU Flashforward Greys
A new video from yours truly…
In: Starla, TV, Verbotene Liebe · Tagged with: Claudia Hiersche Anne Wis Carla Stella
So it’s true…
Carla and Stella will leave Dusseldorf (or the actresses Claudia Hiersche and Anne Wis will leave Verbotene Liebe). I still find it confusing and an emotional rollercoaster. Why the rollercoaster? Well, I am addicted to their storyline in a powerful way, and breaking an addiction is hard,hard, hard. Then, there is the obtuse nature of the leaked information about the ending: a rumour since March, speculation, wildly confusing storyline, the Charlie affaire, Claudia’s own words, press office verifications that they are staying, talks of guest appearances, an open-ended ‘ending’ where they go travelling together. Arg. It’s enough to make a girl cry.
Carla and Stella get together, August 2009
It will be a loss. Why? Well, how often do you see out lesbian characters have mainstream lives on daily soaps? Um, outside of the ridiculousness and wasted potential of the L Word — hardly at all. Carla has been a shining light in a vast sea of darkness for 6 years. She’s had loves and losses, marriages and divorces (fake and real), a child, great loves and great tragedy, and is now in love with Stella, another out lesbian (read: NO ‘oh-my-god-I-cant-be-gay’ storyline, or ‘ick-you-are-a-woman-and-Im-hetero’ unrequired love/coming out storyline – all have a place in ‘our story’ but they are not the only kinds of relationships we have, and it is so refreshing to see to lesbians find love together). The Starla story is simply the attraction of two lesbians for each other. Period. Wow. It is revolutionary. Say it again. Revolutionary. That is a loss.
And a gain. A gain because we have 6 years of storyline all over YouTube and the Internets to watch, read, obsess over, make fan videos for, write fanfiction about. Thanks to Carla and her loves (the tragic love of Carla’s life – Hannah, the Evelyn affaire, the sexy Anke, domestic bliss/unbliss with Susanne, then one night stand with Fredericke, the non-descript whatever with Marina, and finally Stella – a love for Carla equal to Hannah…a forever love). There are stories to watch, fans to commune with, and the eternal potential of guest appearances to keep me tuned into VL updates and spoilers. It is a gain, and thank you Germany, DasErste ARD and Claudia for such a well-developed, enduring, and well-loved character.
So, to the confusion. I wish the actresses the best. I will always be a fan of Claudia. But I want representation on TV. I want them to stay since they are the best we have (and it is good). Stay, dammit. Stay. But the new writers are crap…get out while you can! Stay! be happy. Stay. Argggghhhhhhhhhhhh………..
Bring on the fanfiction, people!
Musical musings…for a new Starla video
OK, I admit it, I watch a lot of videos on YouTube. It’s an addiction, but I’m not giving it up for anything. One thing it often does is expose me to new music. Here are a few new things I found this past week. I’m auditioning them for making a new Carla & Stella video
The Veronicas: Untouched
Bit more of a rediscovery via BBC Radio 1′s Live Lounge than a discovery. I’ve had the album a while but stopped listening to it. I love the TaTu gloriousness of this track. It’s catchy and fun. This particular track actually broke into the US billboard 100 this year and has gotten some airplay. It’s not played very often, but I think it would be a great soundtrack to a new romance.
Anouk: Our Own Love
I love Anouk. Why is she not known here? My friend Duane exposed me to Anouk through his Five Song Fridays (http://www.duanemoody.com or see my blogroll). He recently pointed me in the direction of her new CD: For Bitter or Worse and the track “Three Days in a Row”, which is phenomenal. Duane gave me a copy of this latest treat (just to listen to, of course , which encouraged me to revisit Hotel New York, which reminded me why I love Anouk in the first place (“Lost” is possibly the most beautiful Anouk song out there), and that I especially adore the track “Our Own Love,” with its simple yet completely sweet and tender sentiment, which would make a great tune for a Starla fan video, I think. This woman’s voice is amazing and she is hot to look at, too. This is a live version, since there are no original videos up on YouTube, but the sound quality is pretty decent.
Lizz Wright: Another Angel
This is a bit of a departure for me. I’m not a jazz fan, but I am a new fan of Lizz Wright. I’d take her any day over similar artists. SO, how come I just found out about her…seems incredible to me. This was playing on Verbotene Liebe today, and I had to know who it was and I am totally pleased by my discovery. She’s from Georgia as well, so I even stand a chance of being able to catch her in concert! Another live recording…
Madison Violet: Small of My Heart
Canadian lesbian folk/country duo. Who could resist that description? Not me. I like folk/country (I am a huge Nanci Griffiths fan!), and this fits that bill for me. This song is beautiful. Another live rendition, but you get the idea.
So, these are the songs that are playing on my iPod this week. Thanks to Duane, Verbotene Liebe, and following links around YouTube looking for inspiration…
In: Musical musings · Tagged with: Anouk, Lizz Wright, Madison Violet, The Veronicas