Thursday, August 31, 2006

11. David Bowie 'Rebel Rebel'
12. Lewis Furey 'Hustler's Tango'
13. Nirvana 'Rape Me'
14. Spandau Ballet 'To Cut a Long Story Short'
15. The Kinks 'David Watts'

posted by Dennis Cooper at 11:13 AM

6 Comments:

Blogger postitbreakup said...

now, as much as i would love love love to have sex with kurt cobain, i don't really get this song's inclusion

2:50 PM  
Blogger joe mills said...

Haven't you heard the rumours...
about Kurt and Michael Stipe...
Don't know if that's it or something else.

3:07 PM  
Blogger math t said...

kurt cobain isn't gay in most popular imaginings of him, but he isn't straight in most popular imaginings either. Rape Me, the song, is right queer art if you ask me...

5:33 PM  
Blogger you said...

postitbreakup, hey, your comment struck a chord with me for some reason. please humor my responses, if you will.

a number of the bands listed in dc's 'top 30' aren't necessarily gay (uh, kinks, love, pavement, bowie, sonic youth, ramones), but i don't think that means they can't be on the list, though i'm curious what you think of my list? i mean, from seeing dennis's the feeling i got was that it could be basically whatever was a gay song, which i interpreted as something about interpersonal as well as internal stuff, i dunno

i went from the point of view of songs that had a, uhm, psychosexual context for me that was or often was gay, feelings i had listening to them, situations where the song came to mind, things in my life the music contextualized for me, continues to, or reminds me of and so on... or that i contextualized despite the songs original intentions, things i projected onto whatever not even meaning to - i think i'm babbling here because i disagree with the idea that someone has to be 'gay' to write a gay song - it certainly works the other way, uh, i mean songs are all about characters and complex or transposed emotions, with thoughts, and abstractions, for me at least... hell the song i've had in my head all evening is they might be giants' 'hovering sombrero' - which is a beautiful song, i think... about so many things in an open expression of hope and encouragement, so many words of wisdom and so on, but all in such a certain way, and like nearly every tmbg song, ultimately very sad. but i can't find the words for what i was trying to say.

anyway, i hope i didn't come off as an ass! i just wanted to share my thoughts, i know your question was to dennis... and i'm sure he has an interesting answer

also math tinder: i really enjoyed reading your report on the barney show, i wanted to see it when i was over there last month but just didn't get the chance - though i don't think i would of had half the time you did ;)

12:02 AM  
Blogger math t said...

__you: if you have the chance to see the show, i definitely recommned it. i actually walked into it briefly the day prior and said, 'i'm eating my drugs in here.'

i agree certainly, one needs not be gay to write a gay song, or straight to write a straight song, etc. for example, whatever he is, Morrissey isn't straight, but he's penned a couple of my favorite heterosexual anthems, like Mute Witness and Pregnant for the Last Time.

12:10 AM  
Blogger you said...

hey math tinder, great idea for your list of hs-anthems, i was thinking the same thing in the tub not so long ago ( i mean of doing a list along those lines)- i must say i'm ignorant of most of moz's post smiths stuff, but i would like to hear these you cite

thanks for the agreeing part, yeah, i mean ultimately i think if you're gay any song could resonate with you, but of course there's the whole squiggle, circle, of identity stuff, queer art and so on, and i suppose one could argue that music by a gay guy should have it's own space - uh i dunno, i guess my addled mind is thinking of tracy and the plastics and her uh, critical media work that lies behind or on top of her music and performances of the time? or how rimbaud talks of women becoming free and becoming poets - i guess ultimately i think i don't need to say any of that since i think maybe the crux is that i, or could i project and say we>? relate to personalities, individuals (who are made of all kinds of personalities, minor characters...) and not genders or all that seperates on top of that level - why do i relate so well to they might be giants as a young child? it's the divorce, the pain, the absurdism, the intelligence, post-desperation desperation, something else, i guess they've been on my mind tonight - as i've been thinking that they are basically a non-sexual group, in a way, their music deals more with deep fears, and as my childhood friend tim said who thought they were a pop happy fun band who he didn't want to hear until he heard them, 'this is the saddest music i've ever heard' - and i am basically a sad sack of joy! joyful sack of sadness

erhm, yes, i will definitely try to see the barney show again - i might even get a chance this weekend, thanks for mentioning it as it hadn't struck me - i got all caught up on the 'i missed it part'

quick list of great shows i wanted to see this past year or so but missed:

the legendary pink dots 25th anniversary tour when they played california (july 8th in sf)
the takashi murakami + show (whatever his 'company' is called - it escapes me at the moment) which was happening concurrent with an american comics retro at lamoca - with fucking original george herriman KRAZY KAT panels! fuck.. and winsor mckay... and POGO .. i think...... sigh.... both shows were The ALLEY of my dreams that I wanted to get Up

but i would be happy to hear more 'gay' songs, even beyond relationship stuff, i mean like songs about rimming and holding a guys dick in your mouth, or carressing his sack or whatever, and not a song that was awful, i was let down when lightsabre cocksucking blues was not going to be what i thought it was (still it's a good song) good songs that use sex as their main abstractions seem kinda rare (Atm)

12:59 AM  

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