(screen capture from ‘Wish We Were Older’) Queer, non-binary, Indigenous pop singer/songwriter Angel Baribeau – based in Cree Nation of Mistissini, Quebec – tells a tale of love and loss passed to the next generation in this, their newest video for “Wish We Were Older” — available now. Depicting an elderly woman reminiscing with visual memories about her past, the snapshots weave through love and loss and illustrate an uplifting timeline of her life as a queer woman. The pop track bursts with the exuberance of youthful impatience and yearning as Baribeau’s bright, upbeat vocals surge like a dopamine rush.
I want you, and I want you tonightI’ll love you for the rest of my lifeI can’t wait for the day to arriveWe all want to be younger but I wish we were olderI wish we were older
“This music video will be a recounting of a lifetime of true love between an elderly 2 spirit Indigenous couple,” director Patrick Shannon shares of the video’s scope. It shows “the challenges, the joy, the raising of a family in a community where that isn’t common. It’s somber, but beautiful — and a reminder that everyone can find love and bring beauty into this world.” Angel Baribeau (photo: Sukhdev Benning) “Working with an all-Indigenous cast for this video is an incredibly proud moment for me,” Baribeau continues. “I often talk about the importance of Indigenous and Queer representation, and this video is my hope for continuously providing that for Indigenous and Queer youth.” “It’s important to see yourself in the world, and to have an image reflected back at you that accurately represents you,” says Baribeau. “To see that positive imagery is fundamental to a child; at least, it was to me.” “If you don’t see yourself in the world, you might come to question whether your existence is valid,” Baribeau added. “I felt this way for many years while growing up and it was only when I saw more folks like me I realized it’s okay for me to take up space.” For more info head over to Angel’s official website here.
Starbird and the Phoenix In this week’s music round-up, we’ve got something for everyone: alt-pop/folk, dance, guitar rock, and smooth danceable R&B. First up, Starbird and the Phoenix – fronted by queer multi-hyphenate artists Courtney Bassett and Andrew Swackhamer – released their debut alt-pop/folk album STARFIRE this week. Bassett and Swackhamer describe the new album as a “catchy-as-hell, sometimes symphonic Wonderland that takes the listener on a joy ride from lust, queer love and heartbreak to mental health awareness and self empowerment.” “We wrote this album to spread our joy, our pride, our heartaches, and our need to dance it out!,” add the artists. “STARFIRE is a technicolor fireball sent from the stratosphere to light up the dark left by 2020. We hope it moves people to sing/screlt along, to have a dance party, and to feel like you have friends in us, who want you to revel in all that you are!” Check out the first single from the collection, “I’m Fallin,” which has a totally chill pop/folk vibe.
Matt Thompson (photo: Leans Vision) Out artist Matt Thompson drops his first single of 2021, “Accelerate,” an upbeat dance pop song about when we “first start talking to someone and things are new and delicate” but impatience can derail the romance. “I fall in love too fast and have to deal with all of the repercussions of going from zero to hundred,” says Thompson. “I’m always telling myself to be patient and take things slow, and then I end up not.” With a slightly dark quality and a stormy soundscape, the synth-pop track successfully mirrors the lyrics’ push/pull tale of attraction. “Accelerate” is out now on all streaming/download sites.
Pale WavesPale Waves drops their highly-anticipated sophomore album, Who Am I?, alongside the music video for latest single “Fall To Pieces.” The new collection puts a spotlight on frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie’s songwriting which messages a safe space for people to be themselves. Over the last few years, Baron-Gracie has held her life up to the light, reflecting on her own mental health and growing pains but also her experience of falling in love and becoming more open about her sexuality, emerging with a newfound clarity and optimism. The pop/rock track has a rich, grungy Avril Lavigne tilt with a catchy hook and exuberant guitar lines. Baron-Gracie’s vocals are sure and strong gliding across the top shelf production. You can find the new album on all major streaming/download sites here. https://youtu.be/j0tD-2C9vsw
Joshua Sade James (photo: One2One Photography Media) Canadian artist Joshua Sade James says his new single “Closer” is meant to bring to musical life the mood swings that can occur in a relationship. “I want people to start jamming out, then catch themselves saying, ‘oh, WAIT. I thought this was a happy song,'” explains James. Due to travel restrictions in place thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, James shares he and his boo “haven’t seen each other in over nine months, so ‘(pushing) people out of my way to get a little bit closer’ doesn’t sound too far off.” With the music video, James and his collaborators wanted to explore underscoring juxtapositions between ‘light’ vs ‘dark,’ bright colors vs black and white, and love vs rage. “In particular, I wanted to show our emotions that take over our thoughts when faced with conflict,” James explains. “Especially during this lockdown and being long-distance.” “Closer” is available now on all digital streaming/download sites.
In this episode of The Randy Report podcast: • Country music star TJ Osborne comes out as gay • Pete Buttigieg becomes first openly gay White House Cabinet member approved by the Senate • President Biden issues memorandum promoting/protecting LGBTQ rights abroad • Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says passing The Equality Act is a “priority” • A white Florida man shoots and kills his Black lover but only gets one year in prison • Out singer/songwriter John Duff drops his latest pop bop, “Do It” All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report You can subscribe/listen to The Randy Report on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud and wherever you find your favorite podcasts. If you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ news in a quick podcast, please consider sharing with your friends or on social media 🙂
Out singer/songwriter John Duff (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: For the first time in history, three of the national legacy LGBTQ equality organizations (National LGBTQ Task Force, Human Rights Campaign, and National Center for Lesbian Rights) will be led by Black executive directors. • Back2Stonewall: Former Vice President Mike Pence has been hired by the virulently anti-LGBTQ hate group, The Heritage Foundation, which spends significant energy to extremist policy recommendations to deny access to abortion and birth control and to harm LGBTQ people. • Boy Culture: Joe Manganiello made waves with his retro-punk new look, and now he is immortalizing it on several covers of L’Officiel Fashion Book Hommes Australia (below), all shot by out photographer Mike Ruiz. Joe Manganiello covers L’Official Fashion Book Hommes Australia (photo: Mike Ruiz) • Pink News: A long-awaited study of patients at the NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) has confirmed the majority of transgender teenagers who take puberty blockers to treat severe gender dysphoria feel happier. • NBC News: Fox News is being sued by Smartmatic for $2.7 billion for repeating false rigged election claims. The suit names Fox News, as well as network personalities Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, and Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. • Out Music: Hottie John Duff (top image) gives us something to bop about with his new single and music video, “Do It,” an empowering self-love anthem for anyone out there hoping to follow their dreams.In the new music video, Duff dances in his home paying homage to the likes of Risky Business, Richard Simmons, and even a few of his favorite pop divas. Fun song.
Country music star TJ Osborne on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (screen capture) Following his public coming out on Wednesday, TJ Osborne of the country duo The Brothers Osborne beamed into The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about his decision, and how he feels in the afterglow of the love and support he’s received. Describing the experience as a “very emotional day,” Osborne explained he had really only come out to a very few family and friends before yesterday.
“I was asked ‘why do you have to do this?’ and I wish I didn’t have to. I kind of told myself for a long time ‘if everything is equal here and it’s not that big of a deal then why do I have to come out?’ And unfortunately it just isn’t that way.”
“And I got to this point where I knew there was never going to be a perfect time and honestly, now that I’m kind of behind it now – with coming out – it’s so wild to me to think that about the perfect time is always now.”
Like many folks who finally take the very personal step to share this very intimate part of their life, Osborne shared, “I instantaneously felt like I should have done this a long time ago.”
TJ, I hope you feel so supported today. It’s a brave thing to be wholly you in a world and industry that would rather you hide pieces of you behind a mask. #lgbtq#whollylovedhttps://t.co/KePZYq2gKB
Overcome with joy. He’s one of my best friends and one of the bravest people I know. Love you, TJ. Celebrating you today. https://t.co/5Wg5NKkObM // @brothersosborne
Pete Buttigieg sworn in as Transportation Secretary by Vice President Kamala Harris (photo: office of the Vice President) Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: A day after his 86-13 confirmation vote in the Senate, Pete Buttigieg (above) was sworn in as Secretary of Transportation by Vice President Kamala Harris as husband Chasten Buttigieg held the bible. • Outsports: Josh Leafer was a high school athlete who threw parties and chased girls. But it was all a cover. So he started a TikTok account, @closeted_fratguy, asking, “Anyone else like totally straight but secretly gay?” Over the last year, Leafer has heard from hundreds of other secretly gay guys who were wondering the same thing. Oh – and he came out 🙂 • Out Music: British indie-pop band Pale Waves has released a deeply personal video for their latest single “She’s My Religion,” which features frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie and her life partner Kelsi Luck in a series of candid vignettes showing that even the most mundane moments can be transformative when paired with the right person.
“I wanted to give my fans a song to find themselves in,” Heather says of the intimate new video. “I wish I had a song like this when I was a young girl trying to find herself in the world.”
• Attitude Magazine: The new UK queer-centric drama series, It’s A Sin, has become one of Channel 4’s most successful shows ever since its launch last month. The series has already had 6.5 million views on All 4, making it the most-binged new series ever. Episode one has also become All 4’s most popular drama launch on record. • Quinnipiac Polls: Two weeks into the presidency of Joe Biden, a majority of Americans say, 61 – 34 percent, that they are generally optimistic about the next four years with Biden as president. • Politico: President Joe Biden traveled to the Capitol to pay tribute to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick shortly after the ceremony began Tuesday night, briefly placing his hand on the urn in the center of the Capitol Rotunda, saying a prayer and sadly shaking his head as he observed a memorial wreath nearby.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to the Capitol last night to pay tribute to U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Sicknick died after defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. https://t.co/uXrihxNbK5
Award-winning singer/songwriter Justin Utley (screen capture) Out artist Justin Utley’s new music video, “Underneath My Skin,” is a powerful, gut-wrenching musical paean to the end of a relationship. “It’s about deep heartache and betrayal; an experience I had that was so intense the only way to express how it felt was to embed it in this song,” says Utley. “It’s deeply personal and emotional, I think it resonates with anyone who has been at the difficult end of a relationship’s rope.” The piano-driven power ballad begins simply, but beat by beat, verse by verse, the passion in play build. By the time the military drums kick in, the song has become a visceral runaway train of emotion.
I close my eyes and count to ten, breathing out and breathing inLetting go of what we’ve been, and then I see your face againI’m not ok, I can’t pretend, it hurts too much to be your friendI can’t go back to where we’ve been, get out from underneath my skin
Justin Utley (screen capture from ‘Underneath My Skin’) “Underneath My Skin” is the fifth release from SCARS, Utley’s third studio album. The piano ballad is something of a departure from the rest of the album which lies primarily in a pop/rock sonic landscape. But versatility is a hallmark of Utley’s catalogue. From his early recordings with a modern country feel (“Stand For Something”) to his recent holiday release (“All Is Bright”) which had a Mumford & Sons sensibility, to his rock-centric action hero music video “American Hero.” “Underneath My Skin” and the rest of SCARS is available on iTunes and all digital download sites.
Matthew Camp (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • NewNowNext: Porn star Matthew Camp speaks out about the recent early morning arson attack that destroyed his home. “I don’t have any enemies that I know of,” Camp says gently. “But I’m a gay sex worker who bought a house that used to be owned by a Satanist. I don’t know who did it, but it’s not hard to guess why they would.” • The Advocate: A group of eight U.S. Catholic Bishops released a statement in support of LGBTQ+ people, saying that, “God created you, God loves you and God is on your side.” A ninth Bishop later signed on as well. • Out Music: Openly gay artist J.R. Price has released a duet featuring his childhood hero, out singer/songwriter Tom Goss titled “Dance with Me”, a bluesy love song about the power dance has to bring a couple together before the world breaks them apart.
“The song chronicles that moment when a couple is fighting, and it doesn’t even make sense for them to stay together a second longer, but with a simple dance, they realize they can’t part because the attachment is too powerful,” explains Price. The track is available now.
• Gothamist: The co-owner of a pub who refused to follow COVID-19 health restrictions has avoided a felony charge of second degree assault on an officer. On December 6, 2020, he drove into a sheriff’s deputy who tried to detain him breaking both the officer’s legs. • NBC News: The Kissimmee Police Department says it verified 30 screenshots of Facebook posts made by Officer Andrew Johnson in support of the Capitol riots, and disparaging the Black Lives Matter movement. And then the department fired him. • CNBC: Funny how ashamed these folks are after getting arrested. Garrett Miller (above) has been charged with invading the Capitol on January 6 and calling for the assassination of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He’s very sorry now and he adds he was just following then-President Donald Trump’s orders.
“I was in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, because I believed I was following the instructions of former President Trump and he was my president and the commander-in-chief. His statements also had me believing the election was stolen from him.” https://t.co/SgnrB2JWf7
Kisos in ‘He Didn’t Want Me’ Out singer/songwriter Kisos drops his new music video, the guitar-driven ‘He Didn’t Want Me.’ For Kisos, the video is as much cinema as it is real life – a rebirth after a difficult few years dealing with heartbreak, self-hatred, and loneliness. In an ethereal ritual of communal love, Kisos transforms physically and spiritually right before our eyes in order to truly come to the acceptance the song is about. “‘He Didn’t Want Me’ is about the acceptance stage of grief, and because it’s lyrically so depressing, I wanted to balance that with an uplifting, ethereal ritual of rebirth,” says Kisos. “It was important for me to also honor the symbolic hands of friends and family who cared for me at my lowest points. People who helped me shed my self-hatred, allow love and beauty back in, and re-internalize that I am worthy.” Cinematographer Adam Ouellette and Kisos filmed 100% by candlelight, staying up all night for the sunrise scenes that close the metamorphosis out. The music video is the final release from his sophomore EP, sweet nothings, where each song corresponds to a different stage of grief. Atwood Magazine described Kisos’s work as “suave pop that comes to life…in a dizzying array of musical color.” And Billboard calls the new music video “another beautiful layer to the star’s already heart-rending song.” The single is available on all digital download sites now. Check out the new music video below.
Kyle Motsinger in ‘Dance This Out!’ Out singer/songwriter Kyle Motsinger drops his new single and music video, “Dance This Out!” The video, directed by Tyler Milliron of Milliron Studios, features Motsinger twirling in his own mylar-curtained ‘ballroom for one’ as he sips his New Year’s Eve bubbly solo. “It’s how I think everyone must feel at the end of this awful year,” says Motsinger. “The song came from the idea that dancing can relieve stress and make you feel better. It’s actually scientifically proven!” The track is from Motsinger’s second album, Any Way I Want It To. After an introspective debut album, Motsinger tells Instinct, “I wanted to let loose and have fun.”
Considering the year that was 2020, the song took on a new meaning for the singer by the year’s end. “We have all ‘weathered the storm’ and feel like we’ve been hit by a speeding train,” said the sassy ginger. “It’s time to dance this year out!” With vocal production by fellow singer/songwriter Corey TuT and music production by Smoke and Mirrors, Motsinger was thrilled with the results declaring the track to be his “most club-ready electronic song.” Hit the play button and bust a few moves as we say goodbye to 2020. “Dance This Out!” is available on iTunes and other digital download sites. I recently covered the release of Motsinger’s dystopian “The Upside Down” here.
