Tom Goss (image via screen capture) Out singer/songwriter Tom Goss shares this haunting new synth-pop single, “Irreplaceable.” Set in a frozen, bare landscape, Goss sings of tender devotion to the listener:
I know you fear, I know you doubt Your place, our love, tomorrow’s lightYou are irreplaceableYou are irreplaceable
Throughout, Goss trades places with a diverse set of friends and even his husband, Michael, in an exercise underscoring all of our individuality and uniqueness. Lovely.
On the other end of the emotional spectrum, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Tom has announced his 2021 calendar is now available. If the cover is any indication, you can check out Tom every day in the new year (roller skates, 70s shorts and all).
Riotron releases surprise holiday single, ‘Silent Night Angel’ (promo photo) Some news items you might have missed: • Instinct Magazine: Hungary’s parliament has voted to amend the country’s constitution defining families as ‘the mother is a woman, the father is a man.’ This effectively bans LGBTQ people from adopting since queer people cannot marry in the conservative nation. • NY Times: A day after the U.S. surpassed 300,000 deaths due to the coronavirus, the FDA has confirmed Moderna’s assessment that its vaccine had an efficacy rate of 94.1 percent in a trial of 30,000 people. With expected approval on Friday, six million doses could begin shipping across the country. • Christmas Music: Canadian retrowave pop artist Riotron (above photo) returns with a surprise holiday single titled “Silent Night Angel.” Riotron’s Jeff Fettes says, “For me, the holiday season is magical, but also intense and full of surprises. This is my version of a carol.”
• Ipsos Polling: New polling shows more than one in four Americans (27%) say they plan to get the vaccine as soon as it’s available, more than double the number that said the same in mid-September (13%). Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) trust the FDA to look out for the best interests of their family. • USA Today: A judge in Phoenix jettisoned a lawsuit claiming widespread election fraud in Arizona, saying the plaintiff had no standing to challenge the state’s election results because she was not registered to vote. • The Advocate: Mike Pence is being mocked for his exuberant entrance to a campaign event where he “prance-clapped” across a tarmac in order to stump for Georgia Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. It’s like he was just called down on The Price Is Right.
Faultlines – Ashley Morgan and John Flanagan (photo: Steve Limones) Something for everyone in this round-up of new music: country/folk, Broadway/cabaret, and diva R&B. Folk duo Faultlines(comprised of Ashley Morgan and out artist John Flanagan) dropped their first original holiday single, Snowfall, this week. The cozy and warm song remembers spending the holidays with the ones you love. The seasonal track takes the band back to its early stripped acoustic sound with minimal instrumentation, consisting of acoustic guitar, light electric guitar tones, and a cello by Artem Litovchenko. “I always swore I wouldn’t write a Christmas song,” Flanagan shares from his Los Angeles home. “With its heavy religious overtones, I feared Christmas might be too heavy a topic for our diverse listeners. I’ve since softened my opinions. Western culture celebrates Christmas as a season of giving, of geniality, of love. That’s the feeling we tried to capture in Snowfall: a warm, safe space in a dark, cold season.” The duo also recently released their third EP, Bittersweet Revival. The collection of upbeat songs and ballads draw inspiration from Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, Joni Mitchell, and Brandi Carlile. “Snowfall” is available on digital streaming sites here.
Cabaret artist Travis Moser recently released a new EP, So Many People: The Sondheim Sessions, which “explores the experience of 2020 and the effects of COVID-19 through the lens of the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim.” The five-track EP, a collaboration with music director/pianist Drew Wutke, includes new takes on Sondheim tunes from Merrily We Roll Along, Follies, Dick Tracy, and Saturday Night. “This collection of songs represents my feelings and emotions over the past 6 months through the lens of Stephen Sondheim,” shares Moser. “Family, friends, politics, self-identity, and love…Sondheim says it better than I ever could.” The stripped-down collection of songs, created entirely by queer artists, was done as a homage to the albums of the great Julie Wilson. The EP is available on all digital download/streaming sites.
The all-girl group Citizen Queen drops its first original single, “Call Me Queen.” Gays love talented, strong female singing groups, and this pop/R&B track is wrapped firmly in self-empowerment and swagger. “These brilliant young women are exactly what a girl group should be in 2020,” says songwriter Justin Tranter, who co-wrote the song. “Diverse, inclusive, passionate, loving and truly dedicated to every detail of their craft. They don’t take their extraordinary vocal gifts for granted for one second.” Dressed in stunning outfits embellished with Swarovski crystals, the music video showcases the girls’ powerful vocals and dance skills as they prepare their heist to reclaim their rightful crowns. “Call Me Queen” is available on all digital sites now.
‘Dashing in December’ star Juan Pablo Di Pace (image via Facebook) Some news items you might have missed: • ET Canada: Juan Pablo Di Pace (starring in the holiday rom-com Dashing in December) says all gay roles don’t need to be played by gay actors. “We do what we do because we love experiencing other people’s stories and lives and what would be of the Meryl Streep’s of the world if we all had to do the thing that we are. Actors like playing and playing is inhabiting another human being.” • Pink News: Switzerland has taken a major step on the path to equality after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a law to pass same-sex marriage. The council of states – the upper house of Switzerland’s legislature – voted by 22-15 to approve landmark legislation to make same-sex marriage a reality. • Kenneth-in-the-212: Make sure and check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications like Colombian actor/model Diego Arnary on the cover of DNA Magazine. Columbian actor/model Diego Arnary covers DNA Magazine • Instinct Magazine: A TikTok user, who was kicked out of his house when his father found out he was gay, discovered his dad secretly had sex with men for pay. • Gay Star News: Jamaica has been told it is breaching international law and human rights by continuing to persecute LGBT+ people. • The Advocate: Out singer/songwriter Trey Pearson, who rose to fame in the Christian rock band Everyday Sunday, released his latest single, “We Don’t Want Your War,” in order to remind the world that, even as the pandemic rages, social injustice continues to take root.
Sapphire Hart (courtesy photo) Five new songs to discover this week from 5 distinctly different artists. Inspired by the intoxicating highs and plummeting lows of love, out artist Hailee Kaleem Wright aka Sapphire Hart releases her emotional music video for her single “Toxic Love Story.” “Toxic Love Story” discusses the unfortunate difficulties that many face when dealing with matters of the heart. Love is a double-edged sword and through a soulful melody and lyrics, Hart proves to her listeners that the emotion we hold dear can hurt just as much as it heals. Directed By Paul Gratland and Sidney Dupont, the black and white video depicts Hart, reflecting on a relationship fraught with infidelity issues and holding accountability for the decisions made. Follow Hart on Instagram here.
The late Harry Hains aka ANTIBOY The family of the late Harry Hains celebrates the release of the full-length debut album, A Glitch In Paradise, under Hains’s artistic alter-ego, ANTIBOY, with the new music video for “Dream.” “Dream” explores the idea of how a partner not being able to accept pure love can foster pain and rejection within the relationship – the next glitch in “paradise.” The “Dream” video opens up a fantastical utopia of fragmented moments that blend the everyday with the surreal, just like dreams, as a cast of characters explore unattainable love, touch, closeness, relationships, and euphoria, led by transgender model and activist Andreja Pejić, who progresses from unsettlingly perfect and robotic to completely unhinged.
Lani Renaldo (courtesy photo) Los Angeles based queer artist Lani Renaldo drops her latest – “Woman” – exploring the poignant idea of being judged for how you present yourself. “When I wrote the track, I was reflecting on this idea that if I dressed differently or wore makeup, tried to pass in a more feminine way that maybe it would shape my relationships differently,” says Renaldo. “Maybe I would be liked and though I think there have been several times I’ve been made to feel ashamed for how I look or who I love, I forgive those people that made me feel that way.” Lani Renaldo has seen success performing with the likes of Alessia Cara at the AMA’s and opening for Halsey at The Shrine. Her collaboration on “Malibuu” with Matt Dimona topped Spotify’s Global 50 chart and currently has over six million streams.
LGBTQ indie rock musician Kristen Ford drops this acoustic gem: “I Want You In My Corner.” “The song was recorded very minimally, just acoustic guitar and vocals,” shares Ford. “We were trying to be as venerable as possible.” “The video plays on the strings that connect all of us: strangers, lovers, musical collaborators. It was a very queer video to make. We had a lesbian director, bisexual co-star, and me! Kayce actually played on the track as well so it was fun to do multiple dimensions of creation together in this way.” Ford has performed at Pride festivals nationwide alongside Betty Who, Billy Gilman, Troye Sivan, and Melissa Ferrick.
And how about we dance our way into the weekend with new remixes of Lady Gaga’s “911”, the latest single taken from the new album Chromatica. You can check out the bouncy take from WEISS below. Sofi Tukker and Bruno Martini also took a turn with the tune.
In this week’s podcast: • The Biden/Harris transition team has named LGBTQ White House veterans to prominent roles in the incoming administration • The murderer of a transgender teen has been sentenced to life in prison • Homophobic high school teachers in New Jersey were caught dissing a queer colleague during a Zoom class • Award-winning singer/songwriter Justin Utley released his first holiday single, “All is Bright” • First Lady Melania Trump planned to light the White House in rainbow colors during Pride Month but the idea was shut down • A new poll shows LGBTQ voters did NOT turn out in record numbers for Donald Trump after all All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast
Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (image via Instagram) The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps is one of the first queer marching bands in the United States, founded in 1979 in New York City. This year, the Big Apple Corps became the first openly LGBTQ group to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. From The Atlantic:
The band had to get creative in order to rehearse safely and legally this fall. Practicing indoors was out of the question, so its usual space in a Manhattan parish center would have to be traded for something without walls.
The band needed daylight, so rehearsals would be limited to weekends. New York did not allow gatherings of more than 50 people, but more than 80 musicians and color-guard members and confetti-cannon shooters needed to practice, so organizers began to investigate their options in New Jersey. They soon settled on a parking lot in the Newark suburbs, between a soccer stadium and a PATH station.
For six sunny Saturdays in October and November, the members of the Big Apple Corps spaced themselves eight feet apart along the yellow lines of the parking spaces, covered the ends of their instruments with plastic, and played.
Many on the Twitterverse noted the inclusion of an LGBTQ marching band wishing they’d seen such representation when they were in their marching band days. Congrats to everyone on the achievement! You can watch a bit of the Big Apple Corps’ Thanksgiving Day performance of the ABBA hit ‘Dancing Queen’ below.
Out singer/songwriter NIKO recently released his latest – a dance floor filler titled, ‘Thinking About You.’ After his romantic single, “Try,” NIKO ups the heat and the tempo with this dance track that explores the darker side of love and seduction. “The song tells the story of someone who is constantly chasing after the next thrill, but in doing that, loses the person who really cares for them,” says NIKO. “It’s about the emotional dynamics of not being able to resist your physical instincts, and then having to face the consequences.” Singer/songwriter NIKO (via official website) Born and raised in Milan, NIKO’s first musical endeavors began as creative collaborations with DJs as a songwriter and vocalist in the Italian city. After spending time in the UK, working with music producers in Manchester and London, NIKO decided to launch his career as a solo artist with his first EP RMNC 21 in 2019. Listen to the new single below and you can check out my previous coverage of NIKO and his music here.
Blake English just wants to be ‘Cool’ (photo: Rowan Daly) Out recording artist Blake English recently released his latest single, “Cool.” With top-shelf pop production and clever lyrics, English remembers what it was like keeping up with his glamorous, Hollywood friends on his rise to fame. Written after a party in the glamorous Hollywood Hills, “Cool” tells the story of many up-and-coming artists and those trying to fake it until they make it. English was inspired by the fact that he was surrounded by successful figures in the entertainment industry while still trying to catch his big break. “It basically goes through my journey of maintaining my authenticity while also doing things to pander to the fame life,” explains English. The lyrics contrast witty cynicism and sarcasm with honesty and vulnerability in lines such as, “One’n up with my last pay stub; it’s fine, I’m really fine, I’m really fine; done some things I regret, but for some fame, I’ll forget.” While “Cool” is, on the surface, an incredibly catchy pop song, English is also singing a vital reminder to hold on to your authenticity in a modern, flashy world. Hit the play button below. “Cool” is available now on all streaming platforms.
Cabaret artist 
LGBTQ indie rock musician 
And how about we dance our way into the weekend with new remixes of Lady Gaga’s “911”, the latest single taken from the new album 
Out singer/songwriter NIKO recently released his latest – a dance floor filler titled, ‘