The Sun Always Shines on TV in Bright Light Bright Light's Disco Moment vid

Watch the Disco Moment video

When Bright Light Bright Light aka Rod watches television, he’s accessing another world from a distance. He can see the people, but they can’t see him. He can change what he sees by using a remote control to flip the channel. He sits alone in my room with the lights off and the tv’s provide the only light. He sees the people laugh and cry as if they’re acting out his dead relationship for the world to see. He feels like Colin Firth in A Single Man. In that sense he comes alive on the screen like a long-dead movie star from Hollywood’s past. Those people seem so alive in that tv world with their Star Brite hairdos and rainbow clothes. Television is Rod’s escape because the sun always shines on tv.

With art direction by Alun Davies, Bright Light Bright Light’s “Disco Moment” video is a sparse art installation that uses television as its main metaphor. A television set is a cipher that only comes alive when plugged in and programmed with tv shows. When unplugged, it’s disconnected and empty, and there’s nothing more lonely and lost than white noise and static snow.

Davie’s trademark bright colors are all over the video to brighten the mood. The people Rod aka Bright Light Bright Light watches on television are dressed in oranges, reds, greens and blues, including their lips and hair. They’re Starburst fruit chews come to life. As with all of Davies’ work, there’s strong contrast: there’s the colorful side of the video, but there’s also the white, blank side, like the white-painted studio apartment that serves as an art gallery. Davies uses stillness to great effect when Rod joins the people he watches dressed in white outfits and television sets replace their heads and they pose like statues. Only when Rod starts singing does his head rotate around to face the microphone.

There’s a lot of rotating going on and it all relates to the main theme of connection: Rod feels less than human because he doesn’t feel connected since he’s going through a breakup. The television screens atop human bodies also speak to disconnection: television is another world, so their heads are in another world. The stillness speaks to the death of Rod’s relationship. Rod wants desperately to feel connected to something and there’s no better place to escape to than television.

Li Na: Half Killer, All Role Model

Li Na cracks a smile during practice.

You see that smile in the above pic? Well, that's one side of the 7th-ranked tennis player Li Na, but her other side is a killer. I'm envious because Li Na has mastered that art of being charming and funny off the tennis court, but on the court she is like a U.S. Marshal running down a fugitive measuring precisley before she pulls the trigger.

I'm envious of her perfect balance between being tough when she has to be and a fun-loving person the rest of the time. For me, I struggle with being too nice to the point of getting taken advantage of. That's why I see Li Na as a role model.

She's a Killer 

On-court, at her most dangerous her shots sound like heavy metal music. in that way, she reminds me of Lindsay Davenport. The most surprising characteristic about Li Na's game is that it's patient, making her a patient woman. Big Babe Tennis! I hear ya Mary Carillo!

But she's not just a brainless machine like Rocky IV's Ivan Drago, but she's got a strategy. She makes many unforced errors, and just as many winners like any big babe should, but she's learned to be smart.

She'll put just enough spin on the ball to keep her opponents off balance, and then she'll follow that with a ridiculously low and flat shot that jumps off the racquet like a bullet. Shooting the fugitive.

Big Babe Tennis

She's been described by her peers as "sneaky aggressive." While someone like Sharapova will broadcast her power shots with her loud screams and big windups, Li Na hits with a compact swing taking the ball early. Her winners often seem like they came out of nowhere. Davenport!

At 29 she's reached the last 2 Grand Slam finals: in a 3-set thriller at the Australian Open and the French Open. She's blossomed late in her career, and I love it. I'm 24 and I'm a late bloomer too. I've experienced things later and I often feel like I'm trying to catch up. Still, when success comes later, that means you're wiser and know what do with an opportunity when it's in your grasp.

So, who wouldn't want to be a tough, fun-loving, patient, smart, risk-taking and aggressive person? Well, that's what we all can learn from Li Na.

Bright Light Bright Light's Love Part II Revisited



Bright Light Bright Light is ready to hear your confession.



10 months after the video for Bright Light Bright Light's "Love Part II" premiered, the song and video affects me even more. I've decided to revisit the video and re-experience its rapture.

"Love Part II" really is this dark, existental video that reminds me that life is short. It hits me in the heart for two reasons: Rod Thomas's performance and Alun Davies' art directon.

At the start he's dressed in all black looking like a priest ready to hear your confession. By the time the second chorus hits, he's unzipped his black jacket to reveal a t-shirt with the collar a bit crooked. The crooked shirt makes Rod look younger, someone who could never be confused for a priest. Instead he might be the one asking for confession.

Dressed in all black

Every time he sings the word "love," he gets showered with confetti. The confetti shower reminds me of a wedding, when the newlyweds are showered with rice. The existentialism is made quite clear when Rod looks upwards, as if to God or some higher power.

There's one scene where a gloved hand covers Rod's eyes. They look like the same gloves worn by the duo behind Rod who wear cheese wedge hats. The duo represents fear, and fear "blinds" Rod preventing him from being in love. At the same time, the duo is the pair of hands on a clock causing so much anxiety.

Existential. Rod looks up, as if to God or some higher power.

In the ending scenes, Rod is wearing a button-down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his collar unbuttoned. The lighting is red = love. Valentine's Day. Cupid!

The smashed glass all over the floor and Rod laying on it is definitely apocalyptic. At the end of the video, Rod rests his head on the broken glass and closes his eyes. The message is simple: He wants to experience love before he dies. And the clock was ticking.

I hope I experience love, openly and in every way.

Bright Light Bright Light's Slinky Sexy Sweater

Bright Light Bright Light wears a sweater by Lu Flux

Handsome is something Bright Light Bright Light aka Rod Thomas has been before. But never has he been slinky and oozing sex until now. And it's all because of one sweater.

On the cover of his Limited Editon Tour EP Rod wears a lighted navy sweater by British designer Lu Flux, with a lattice design that resmbles apple pie. So, you're probably wondering why is the sweater sexy? Because it's the classic sweater that a hot girlfriend wears, and the sweater belongs to her hot boyfriend. This was very popular in the '80s. So in this case, Rod isn't the hot girlfriend, but the hot boyfriend wearing nothing but a sweater inside the yuppie penthouse. See, this is where the sex appeal lies: the fact there's nothing underneath the sweater...well...except warm flesh.

Let's also not forget that Bright Light Bright Light's image and music is guided by the 80s, but of course the darker side.

And the man to thank for this 80s-style sexiness is art director Alun Davies, a tall, rosy-cheeked man with runway looks. Davies is also responsible for the battle armor that Lady Gaga and her dancers wore on her Monster Ball tour for the last 14 months, whenever they performed the song "Bad Romance."

Photographer Steve Henry Creates Sexy Mysteries



Fosse bowler hats

 You ever wonder why people look sexier when their bodies are covered partially by something else? And why is it that when people cover or obscure their eyes, it makes you gravitate towards them? The answer is mystery. Mystery is sexy and sex and mystery are the main ingredients of photographer Steve Henry's work.

First off, Steve's subjects are often ruggedly handsome men with muscles, but they're not shaved mannequins. They're often not conventionally handsome. He creates a feeling of earthiness through bare feet and the environment. Steve puts these men in everyday settings like a rustled bed inside a house, in a forest, at the beach and even the desert.

The one thing to remember is that Steve's subjects are never completely nude. Instead he includes objects and materials that cover parts of the body. The men in his photos are often shirtless with jeans, and the zipper unfastened. The unfastened zipper is a tease, but it keeps you wanting more. He shows their bare butts and even their private parts, but never does the nudity feel pornographic or uncomfortable. The naturalistic locations help to make the nudity, well, natural.

As great as he is at photographing flesh, it's clear that Steve understands the transformative power of clothing. In one series of photos, a man's face is at first covered by shadows hinting that he doesn't want to be seen. As the photos progress, he wears less clothes stripping down to nothing but a jock-strap. This is him putting himself out there, naked, finally unafraid of judgement. It's interesting that the series ends with the same man now dressed in a Hurley tank top, dark sunglasses and smoking a cigarette. Clothes have changed the man and he's stepped into a role, a performance. When he was completely naked, he looked innocent and pure, but now he's turned him into a bad boy with his body covered, especially his eyes.

Earthy locations

It's the eyes that Steve Henry regards as sacred. The eyes are the windows to the soul and Steve may not hesistate to show someone in the buff, but he rarely shows their eyes. In most of his photos, the eyes are obscured, either by objects or shadows. There's one series that's particularly interesting because you don't get to see the eyes of anyone. The first pic is of a shirtless guy holding a dove. Purity. The following pic is a triptych of two men in a naked combat. Their faces are black holes. The next pic is of a man pulling his shirt over his head revealing his ripped body, but the shirt hides his face. The next pic is a diptych (two panels side by side) of a man whose eyes are blanked out by shadows, but the contours of his face are visible thanks to some light. The pic right next to him is of the same man wearing a blindfold. There's blood on his shoulders and chest. He might have gotten the blood from the prior fight.

Other objects that Steve's subjects wear are things Bob Fosse would be proud of. In some photos, the men wear bowler hats, the same kind of bowler hats that were heavily featured in Fosse's Broadway musicalsChicago and Cabaret. The bowler hats were Fosse's way of using his weaknesses as strengths: Fosse used hats for himself and his actors because he was insecure about his baldness. In an interview, Steve Henry says that he loves photographing a person's beauty, even if they don't know it themselves. The obscuring of the body and Steve's philosophy both speak to the unconventiality of his subjects and even their quirkiness.

Channeling Jack Nicholson

Speaking of quirkiness, Steve has one photo of a guy who looks just like Jack Nicholson did in The Shining. It's a split screen/diptych format, on the left side is a slightly disheveled man who looks more like Nicholson in his "Here's Johnny!" scene. To the right of this, the same man looks cleaned up and is wearing a tuxedo. It reminds me of when Nicholson's character dies and his spirit combines with mad men of the past to become a part of legend and he becomes a part of the framed 1920 photograph on the wall. Perfectly, there's a framed photograph on the wall in Steve's photo.

Legend is what Steve Henry's work will eventually become after his brand of photography becomes world-famous. After observing Steve's portfolio of work, it's clear that he's developed his own brand: a brand of real men and transforming their insecurities into beauty.

Analyzing Cassidy Noblett's "Just Dance" Performance





Cassidy plays the role of New York City club kid. July 2010

  

Being that I'm a huge fan of Cassidy and his dancing, I decided to analyze Cassidy's performances in a different way by asking myself six questions that dancer-choreographer Daniel Nagrin explained in his books about dancing. I found the questions extremely helpful. The questions help organize and clarify all the thoughts flowing through my head. The performance I applied Nagrin's Six Questions to was Cassidy's performance of "Just Dance" with Gaga on her Monster Ball tour last year.

The Six Questions go as follows:

1. Who or What?

2. is Doing What?

Action Analysis:

a. the Spine

b. the Beats

c. the Subtext

3. To Whom or What?

4. Where or When?

5. To What end?

6. The Obstacle?

1. Who or What? Gaga and the dancers are New York City club kids. Cassidy looks like a glam-punk with his hair curved into an Elvis pompadour, and wearing a hot pink outfit consisting of a pink vest adorned with a graffitti design and black shorts. A piece of pink fishnet adorned one of his thighs where his asymmetrical shorts exposed some good leg. "Just Dance" is a song Gaga wrote while partying in New York City one night before flying to Los Angeles to write and record the song with RedOne the next morning so the performance reflects her past.

2. is Doing What? He is partying in Manhattan, meaning dancing and drinking and spending precious time with friends.

ACTION ANALYSIS (Three Points):

a. The Spine: The exact action that drives this dance exists only in Cassidy's mind, so I can only guess, but I'd say a need for peace of mind and embracing the moment is the spine of the performance, at least, what he shows visibly. His trademark megawatt smile expresses joy. Of course we have to realize that Cassidy is interpreting LaurieAnn Gibson and Lady Gaga's vision, but he clearly puts his stamp on the choreography.

b. The Beats

Cassidy starts off the performance emerging from the shadows after Gaga plays the keyboard that's inserted inside the hood of her Rolls Royce where the engine should be. Yes, that's right, the keyboard is the engine that brings the city to life and gets Gaga where she needs to go, even though her car broke down. All she needs is music. She starts the performance alone and still and then she suddenly gets an idea to play the keyboard inside the hood of her car. Once she plays the opening chords of "Just Dance," her memories of partying with her friends in New York City come to life. Who knows if what comes to life around her is just a mirage, but somehow Gaga has transformed her lonely, dejected space into a jubliant celebration.

In this sense, Cassidy enters the stage as possibly a figment of Gaga's imagination. He makes use of the poles and stairwells around him running up the stairs in time with the music's percussion. He plays around with the dancers around him like cats in an alley. It's not long before Gaga and the dancers migrate to the upstage dancing the same steps in unison. By the time the chorus hits, Cassidy chokes himself with his hand around his throat and tilts his head back, giving a visual to RedOne's trademark siren that goes off like an alarm. The choking seems to simulate death. Then he launches into a series of vogue poses lifted right from Madonna's 1990 "Vogue" performances.

The performance doesn't stay the same and it's more dramatic than abstract. There's a destination to the performance and that's to get to the party, but most of the performance is spent traveling around the stage's mock city scenery (Neon lights flashing services like "dentist" "Breast Implants" definitely representing the seedier side of a city setting). The destination is not purely literal, but figurative in the sense that Cassidy and company are trying to reach a mental state of happiness.

For the most part, the dancers perform the same choreography that LaurieAnn Gibson taught them, but Cassidy sprinkles some of his own personal dance vocabulary. He's classically trained in ballet, so he reflects that in some of his movements. He arranges his legs in a semi attitude position when he performs a turn on one leg. At the end of the performance, Cassidy appropriates a move from Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice Baby" video at the end of the dance; kicking out one leg forward and then kicking it back and turning your whole body after the last kick.

c. The Subtext

One of Cassidy's biggest strengths is his exuberant persona, but in all great art is conflict and contradiction and although Cassidy is often seen smiling, laughing and energetic, I wonder if there's a dark side in his personality. His physicality and muscular frame belie his boyish charm and baby face. His moments of sexual awareness also belie his innocent persona. The only hint of subtext is when Cassidy's innocence is contradicted by his cheeky passes at Gaga, stroking her exposed thigh quickly as she passes him.

3. To Whom or What?

The shortest distance to the audience is through the other actor! Cassidy interacts with his fellow dancers in the context of their roles as New York City club kids (note that Cassidy is a southerner from North Carolina). The dancers are supposed to be friends on stage (although they probably are in real life) and Cassidy creates the feeling of camaraderie by nudging fellow dancer and laughing with them. By doing this, the audience gets the sense that Cassidy is friendly and is having the time of his life. Many people go to the theatre as an escape from a reality, or as a place where they can watch people act out their fantasies. Cassidy does this impeccably, making the audience want to be his best friend.

4. Where or When?

The space is New York City and the city streets, so hard concrete comes to mind and flashing lights. Also, the noise of people and automobiles. Cassidy uses the space well, hanging from poles and fire escapes displaying his playful persona. The time of the performance is not specific. It could easily be the 1980s or the far future. Time is not a factor in this performance.

5. To what end?

Cassidy performs in his own unique style because he can get down to the hottest hip-hop and R&B songs, but he sprinkles in some ballet into the mix adding some classic elegance.

6. The Obstacle?

The presence of alcohol is an obstacle to Cassidy's performance. Although alcohol loosens a person up, it also can endanger his life and erase or corrupt the celebratory experience. The dangers of the city also threaten Cassidy's adventures as a club kid. People dressed so flamboyantly and dancing in the street could bother the wrong person.

J.Lo's New Single is 1990s Nostaglia

Illustration by Glenn Hilario

Jennifer Lopez's new single "On the Floor" reminds me of a car ride I had to the  club Katmandu in Jersey with some female friends and Robin S.'s 90s house classic "Show Me Love" blasted out of the car speakers. Of course I got nice and tipsy that Thursday night and I'm sure that's what J.Lo wants people to do when they hear "On the Floor." There's nothing about J.Lo herself that makes me think of that Thursday night car ride, but it's RedOne's techno/house beat that does.

The "la la la" hook is catchy, but other than that there's no real chorus. The bridge is the best part of the song. One thing "On the Floor" would benefit from is a big, explosive Duran Duran-like chorus that opens up along the lines of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" (another RedOne track). The song's structure is too literal because it just follows the melodies already programmed onto the beat. Instead of using a 90s melody for the chorus, the song maybe could have benefited from an 80s melody, and would result in a different mood. J.Lo herself has such a lifeless voice that she could have easily been a computer-generated voice. For all it's meaty beat greatness, when I hear "On the Floor" I long for a big, booming alto vocal (a la Lady Gaga) instead of J.Lo's  thin voice. For the most part, J.Lo mimicks the Puerto Rican rapper Pitbull (who guests on the song) in terms of flow. Pibull even sings a little bit of the chorus, so maybe it's not even J.Lo singing and just Pitbull's voice pitched higher. Maybe? 

 Through all the 90s nostalgia "On the Floor" will inspire, I think the best thing I discovered about it is that I can do the chorus dance from "Bad Romance" to the sounds of "On the Floor." Just picture that.

Chris Colfer's Golden Globe Win is a Graceful Spectacle



Photo courtesy of PerezHilton.com



I've watched Chris Colfer's Golden Globes win for Best Supporting Actor in a TV series over and over again. I felt like I was transported into his body and I was experiencing everything he was. Let's put it this way, Chris Colfer was my avatar. And did I mention that my name is Chris.

 I could tell Chris was nervous and shocked, yet he walked up to the stage (a lonnnnggg walk might I add) with confidence brushing past tables occupied by Natalie Portman, Robert DeNiro and Matt Damon. There were certain details about Chris' win that made it the best win of the night. Much of it has to do with the celebrities that surrounded Chris. As he got up, his Glee cast mates were embracing and cheering him on (Lea Michele was bawling her eyes out). Ryan Murphy (creator of Glee) hugged him and kissed him on the cheek very affectionately (like the Fairy Godfather that is, in Chris Colfer's words). Eric Stonestreet (the chubby gay guy on the TV series Modern Family) padded Chris on the back, and get this, Chris almost collided with the actress Rita Wilson/wife of Tom Hanks (who was coming back from presumably a bathroom break) and the best part was that Chris did not yield, and Rita had to move. Sort of embarrasing on her part. It was like she didn't matter. Fierce! It seemed like Chris didn't even notice her because he had turned around to acknowledge Eric Stonestreet. I love the fact that Chris unconsciously took back the moment from Rita who was sort of interrupting his moment. She should have watched where she was going. But anyway, Chris' whole win was a graceful spectacle. He's this cute as a button gay kid with a high-pitched voice who carries himself with an empowering swagger giving words of empowerment to bullied kids in front of legends like Robert DeNiro. Ahhhh it was riveting.

See it for yourself below.

Gaga Rides In Cars With Boys



Gaga rides in cars with boys. (L to R: Ian, Gaga, Cassidy)



The thing I absolutely love about Gaga’s performances is they’re juicy little narratives that always tell a sexy story.

“Boys, Boys, Boys” is the performance with the sexiest action. Lady Gaga is joined by six male dancers who perform burlesque. They’re her “gay boys”, two black boys, a black-white combo, two white boys and a Latino boy. Gaga calls them her gay boys, but one is straight.

The cast of gay boys includes Asiel Hardison (black boy), Ian McKenzie (black boy), Mike Silas (black-white combo), Cassidy Noblett (white boy), Graham Breitenstein (white boy) and Victor Rojas (Latino boy). Asiel is tall, slender and dark-skinned while Ian is more compact, but with the same dark skin. Mike is olive-skinned and slender, but compact with lots of tattoos. Cassidy is strapping and muscular with dark hair and fair skin. Graham is simply tall and skinny and pale, while Victor is short and tan with a Mohawk.

The juicy personal details that you can use as a context for this performance go as follows: Asiel and Mike are boyfriends, Ian is presumably gay, Cassidy is gay, Graham has a wife and a son, and Victor is presumably gay, but I know for one thing, he’s fierce!

Then there’s a story that the performance tells. The dancers are dressed partially in white Ace bandages like wounded hospital patients who fled the hospital to dance burlesque. Gaga wears a see-through latex dress that allows you to see her bra and panties and pieces of tape “X” out her nipples. This outfit makes Gaga look like a psycho nurse who wants to help her patients medically and sexually. But thankfully for all you gay boys out there, Gaga doesn’t even touch her shirtless dancers. Her shirtless male dancers only touch each other.

During the second verse, Cassidy feels up Mike and spanks Ian. Eventually, Cassidy and Ian put their arms around each other’s waists like buddies and then lovers as they reach the catwalk part of the stage. Cassidy gropes Ian’s “big dick” codpiece and he feels up Ian’s ass and then spanks it. During the dance breakdown, Cassidy caresses Ian’s neck and then bends him over miming doggy-style sex and then spanks Ian again. It’s interesting that Cassidy and Ian are the only ones who do anything raunchy, while the two boyfriends Mike and Asiel hardly even look at each other, let alone touch each other. I guess they didn’t want to exploit their romance. Good for them. I know for one thing, Cassidy and Ian make for a good chocolate and vanilla Popsicle.

It seems appropriate to say that according to Gaga’s old friend Brendan Sullivan, “Boys, Boys, Boys” is about when Gaga went to go see the Killers perform at Madison Square Garden in 2007 with her boyfriend Luc Carl (a glam-metalhead). On the date, Luc got the worst seats in the bleachers, and he hated pop music, which means he wasn’t happy to be at a Killers concert. That said, when Gaga wrote “Boys,” she left out the part about a buzzkill boyfriend and instead re-imagined him as a fun, glitzy sexy gay guy that liked making out with her. In the end, “Boys, Boys, Boys” is how Gaga wanted her date to go. It’s a fantasy.

Michael Silas: A Warhol Superstar or Just a Lady Gaga Dancer?

Joe Dallesandro



Michael Silas





Michael Silas is one of Lady Gaga’s most adored dancers for two reasons: his rugged sexiness and how it contrasts with Lady Gaga’s flamboyant Monster Ball Tour. It’s this contrast that makes Michael such an anomaly in the Haus of Gaga, just like actor Joe Dallesandro was in Andy Warhol’s Factory crew of artistic types. Surprisingly, Michael and Joe share a lot more than having an eccentric boss.

The 27-year-old Texas-bred dancer may wear makeup and earrings (sometimes) when performing on Gaga’s electro-opera The Monster Ball, but his calm toughness still shows through. On The Monster Ball, Michael has two shining moments for every tour stop: the famous Jesus Loves Everybody duet with Gaga (read about this duet here http://bit.ly/9JD48O), and the kiss between him and his boyfriend Asiel Hardison (another Gaga dancer). During his Gaga duet, Michael is a bloody vampire twisting his body sexually to roaring guitar riffs and Gaga’s vocal ad-libs, while during his kiss with his boyfriend, Michael is dressed as a Roman gladiator in a feathered headdress. Despite occasional voguing, Michael maintains his macho demeanor.

Michael Silas and Joe Dallesandro are beautiful, macho men who provided the masculine element to their respective crews—for Michael, the Haus of Gaga and for Joe, Andy Warhol’s The Factory—and wear their masculinity like bad asses, but there’s tenderness underneath the hard exterior. Both are aware of their sex appeal, but they act like they could care less, as if they wouldn’t mind you looking through their bathroom window seeing them naked after they stepped out of the shower; they might just shrug and acknowledge you silently with a friendly face.

Although Michael and Joe both have sad eyes, square jaws and lean, muscular bodies, they have different backgrounds. Michael is a Black/Latin/German army brat who trained at various dance schools in ballet and hip-hop, while Joe was a troubled Italian-American kid who went through foster care because his father couldn’t take care of him and his mother was incarcerated; Joe stole cars and ran from the police. Although their backgrounds are different, Michael and Joe became Superstars—Michael a Gaga Superstar and Joe a Warhol Superstar—and never looked back. The Warhol Superstars were a group of people gathered by Andy Warhol, Paul Morrissey, and Gerard Malanga to be in Warhol's films and accompany him in his social life, while the Haus of Gaga is a group of people gathered by Lady Gaga to be in her videos, concerts and accompany her in her social life.

Below check out the photos of the Monster Ball mentioned in the article:

Michael as a Roman gladiator.

Michael during Jesus Loves Everybody duet with Gaga.

Michael in Ace Bandages and a lot of eye shadow.

Cassidy Noblett's Body Talks in New Interview

 

Cassidy dances with Gaga at The Monster Ball.

You ever wonder why one of Lady Gaga’s most popular dancers Cassidy Noblett dances so passionately to the point that you can feel the sweat on his body, the warmth of his skin and his pounding heart that’s almost as loud as the bass of the music? Well, Cassidy explains everything in an interview where he answers my questions and talks about the artistry behind his dancing and the stories he wants to tell with his body. Read up.

1. When did you first start dancing?

My mother is a dance teacher so I actually started dancing in the womb. The day I saw those hospital lights, I knew life was my stage and its journey would be my performance.

2. Who were your dance influences growing up and who influences you to this day?

Growing up, my sister was my biggest influence as well as my mother. My sister was/is a talent to the dance industry and she always explored greatness in how she challenged herself and how she created herself. Jacques d’Amboise was one of my teachers, and he taught me that there is no limit to hard work and motivation. It’s endless and that there is no 100% because that is a personal perspective. It can always be better and can always grow. Janet Jackson, Dana Foglia, Victor Rojas, Amanda Balen, Lady Gaga, Bjork, Dalai Lama, any artist who seeks to discover themselves and express that individuality in their own way

3. What was your first professional job?

Club Dancer in Britney Spears/ Madonna music video, “Me Against the Music”

4. How would you describe your dance style?

I think the best answer is that it’s evolving, ever changing, and a feeling more than a set of words to describe it. It is a life form that isn’t perfect, but it finds breath in its uncertainty. (Big modern influence on it from a technical aspect)

5. I read in an interview you did that you want to bring a classical element to commercial dance, so when you say that, do you mean that you apply a classical technique even to non-classical choreography? If so, how do you apply it?

I want to bring a classical vocabulary that is seasoned with an urban understanding, a fellowship of abstract and city sidewalks together. An appreciation that isn’t tampered with by appearance and money, but by concept, art, individual voice, feeling, controversy, and new perspective. On that note, I completely respect what we have in the industry, I just want to find a new lens to view it through and to open the world’s view on it by taking a different approach.

6. I know that you also choreograph, so what is your creative process for creating choreography?

It changes depending on inspiration and task. And it’s a secret that I’m still developing and creating. Sometimes the beauty in art isn’t necessarily knowing how you get there (because that’s the artist’s own craft and happiness and personal journey) but what feeling it can produce once it’s offered. For me, I just want to keep that to myself. One day I will share I’m sure.

7. I’ve noticed that there’s a strong narrative element to your dancing, so how do you figure out the story that you want to tell?

The story I want to tell is a mixture of what vision the choreographer, creator, artist, director, etc. has and who I want to be to fit into that mold. How do I want to portray myself as this character. How can I be my own voice within someone else’s framework. And it comes with trial and error and also comes with being a character and changing your character as time passes. One’s moods can dictate the persona that comes to life. It varies day to day for me.

8. For inspiration, do you watch the videos of the artists you’re dancing for?

In order to offer my spirit and artistry to the fullest, it’s very important to be educated with all elements of the project you are involved with. The videos are a wonderful place to find inspiration especially when you need to revamp your approach. Because in the video, generally speaking, the vibe, the image, the content of what the song and vision is about is laid out for you through the layers of its footage.

9. What’s the next step in your career? For instance, do you plan to work primarily as a choreographer similar to Laurie Ann Gibson or is there acting in your future?

I would love to be an actor. That is a road that I hope to venture on throughout the rest of my life. It only makes you a better dancer and unlocks a whole new area of art that I know my life is interested in. As far as dancing, I am very happy to be where I am. The future plans will just have to be a surprise ;-)

10. Other than Gaga, do you have any other projects in the works for 2010 and 2011?

No idea yet ;-)

Lovers' Revenge

I want your love and all your lovers' revenge.

Don't forget my lipstick, I left it in your ashtray.

That Bad Girl Power I got, I'll abuse it tonight.

Alan 'Cumshot" Cumming...ahhh

Julianna Margulies really has transformed herself. She goes from working as a homely Chicago nurse who dated George Clooney in the 90s’ to a stylish Chicago lawyer who’s married to Mr. Big (yup, from Sex in the City). As a lawyer, Julianna is the good wife who stands by her cheating politician husband Mr. Big, and she can hardly trust anyone, not even her sneaky kids. God sent down a gift to Julianna’s untrustworthy world and it was the sexy Alan Cumming. Alan left behind his gender-bending days starring on Broadway in Cabaret for a career as Mr. Big’s shrewd, campy campaign manager. With one swoop of Alan’s silky, gray hair and a cumshot smile, I’ve simply died and gone to a better place. Never has Alan been sexier than as an American political campaign manager who somehow turns every scene into a sexual scene.

‘Glee’ Star Has Fantasies on T-Pain Remix

Kevin McHale Fantasizes at the beach.

By Christopher Cole

T-Pain + boy band + Glee = The “Can’t Believe It” Remix : Boy Band Edition.

“Glee’ star Kevin McHale and Perez Hilton-endorsed singer Travis Garland recorded their own version of T-Pain’s hit “Can’t Believe It” back in 2008, and on their version they continued T-Pain’s concept of fantasy. On this remix, Kevin and Travis recount their own visions of how they will win the affections of a female. Wow, it sounds like a fantasy musical scene

The “Can’t Believe It” Remix by Kevin and Travis featuring a no-name singer named RAS functions like a rap cipher where everyone spits some bars and flow to the beat, except these guys sing. The three singers sing to a female, painting scenes of what life would be like for her if she was their girlfriend. RAS offers the least imaginative scenario by trying to bribe the female with fancy things like “I can take you to Nevada/head to toe in Prada.”

The guys from the boy band NLT (at the time of the recording) offer more colorful scenes and show that they are very aware of their teenybopper audience. They don’t try to act older than their age. Kevin, who now plays the wheelchair-bound Artie on the hit TV show “Glee,” offers a fantasy that’s more down-to-earth than RAS’. In fact, Kevin’s fantasy could easily be Artie’s fantasy because both have an underdog perspective. Both are guys are cooler than they look, and they have to work harder to prove themselves. The following lyrics sum this up perfectly: “And I know you want a man that’s over five-seven/but you ain’t never met Kevin.”Travis offers a more self-assured fantasy where he’s a Texas boy looking for a “Spice Girl.” This refers to the best line of the song, in my opinion: “Girl, I’ll be your David Beckham cuz you know that I’m looking for a Spice Girl.”

It’s refreshing that Kevin and Travis keep the song youthful and clean instead of misogynistic and dirty. It was fun revisiting a song that I hadn’t heard in years, and relating it to the present where Kevin McHale is television star. Past + Present = Potential fulfilled.

Click the link to hear the remix: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kevin+mchale+sings&aq=f

Nicole Scherzinger Creates A Rhythm Nation with Her Single ‘Poison’

Listen to "Poison" on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsEThIoyrcI

On her newly premiered single “Poison,” Nicole Scherzinger definitely doesn’t stray far from her old songs with the Pussycat Dolls. Of course Nicole gives the song a spunky “girl power” message, but the track itself is a lot darker than its lyrics.

Producer RedOne (Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias) produced “Poison” and his “track” is industrial. It makes me picture the insides of a dark factory and Nicole dressed like Janet Jackson “Rhythm Nation style, in all black clothes with a military state of mind. Now sonically, “Poison” is militant, but lyrically it’s the same femme fatale routine Nicole has always done (“Got venom dripping from my lips/know who you’re ‘bout to kiss/think that you can handle it/boy it’s on”). Although “Poison” doesn’t contain a socially-conscious message like “Rhythm Nation” had, the song’s aggressive production keeps the song alive.

RedOne works his magic again, and should be commended for such a great track, but it’s clear that he saves his best stuff for Lady Gaga. As good as “Poison” is, it’s more along the lines of Enrique Iglesias’ RedOne-produced hit “I Like It," which uses RedOne’s reliable recipe for chart success. “Poison” has all the ingredients of an epic RedOne hit: verses filled with sinister synths, a pregaming b-section that takes shots before the big fist-pumping chorus and hook. And of course Nicole still packs the same huge Taylor Dayne vocals she showcased with the Pussycat Dolls.

I don’t know what the “Poison” music video will look like (hopefully not a video set in a club, ugh!), but I would love to see Nicole pay homage to Janet’s Rhythm Nation days, and add a militant visual to match RedOne’s militant track. If she does this, the femme fatale lyrics will sound ironic. Then again, with lyrics like “that bad girl power I got, I’ll abuse it tonight,” maybe “Poison” is more socially-conscious then I initially thought.

Lady Gaga’s 'Boys' Song Goes Gaga For Halloween and Elvis

Elvis in all his "hairspray and denim" glory in the film Jailhouse Rock.

By Christopher Cole

Lady Gaga sure does have a thing for Americana. In fact, all of her music incorporates American pop culture in some way. So for the very first song she recorded with her musical partner RedOne, “Boys, Boys, Boys,” Gaga treats the macho man as an American icon, but of course Gaga being Gaga, she establishes the status quo and then inverts it.

There’s logic to Gaga’s Monster Ball tour where Gaga follows “Love Game” with “Boys, Boys, Boys,” because the two songs are linked by one thing: glorification of the classic American male by way of cheeky signifiers. Gaga even used some of the trumpets from the “Boys” chorus and mashed them with “LoveGame” when she performed “LoveGame” on Saturday Night Live in 2009.

RedOne’s track is a two-toned rumble of 80’s slasher-film strings, jubilant trumpets and lots of bass. Gaga adds the lyrics and “top line” of the song (the melody driving the lyrics) in the style of AC/DC’s hard rock music. Think of AC/DC’s 1980 hit “Shook Me All Night Long” and you’ll get the picture. Writer Ann Powers explains the rock sentiment of “Boys” in her feature article “Frank Talk with Lady Gaga” on the Los Angeles Times website: “She notes that “Boys, Boys, Boys (…) is a club track that borrows its “gang chorus” from the hard rock of AC/DC . ‘I told him I want to make pop music that my heavy metal friends will listen to,’ she [Gaga] explained (Powers). The “gang chorus” is like a shout-out refrain that has some punk sensibilities underlying it.

It’s in this gang chorus that Gaga pays homage to American male icons like Elvis Priestly. Gaga sings the lyrics in full voice “We like boys in cars/boys, boys, boys/buy us drinks in bars/boys, boys, boy/with hairspray and denim/and boys, boys, boys.” The lyric “hairspray and denim” brings to mind Elvis in the 1957 film Jailhouse Rock, where he wore denim jeans and a hairspray-assisted pompadour hairstyle.

Still, it’s in the way Gaga brings those vivid lyrics to life through visuals that she’s most known for, and that comes when she performs. On her Monster Ball arena tour, Gaga has begun wearing a skeletal glove on hand complete with spindly fingers, looking like something she picked up from the costume shop for Halloween. When I saw the glove, I instantly linked it with the monster concept of The Fame Monster album, although “Boys” is from The Fame album. But the skeleton glove is related to the synthesized strings on “Boys” that play during the verses, and the strings sound like they came from a John Carpenter horror movie from the 80’s. I get the sense that the skeleton glove is related to the usually male villain of those 80’s horror movies, like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, who also qualify as male American icons. The dark, ominous backing track on the verse parts is a stark contrast to the euphoric chorus; the chorus is the light to the verses’ dark.

Lady Gaga performs "Boys" wearing skeleton glove.

Another way Gaga brings the songs to life visually is through the choreography that the renowned Laurie Ann Gibson creates for Gaga. The choreography that Gibson created for “Boys” connects to the main theme of man as icon. So that’s explains all the muscle-flexing. There’s also simulation of driving a car (“we like boys in cars”), guzzling beer (“buy us drinks in bars”), and washing a car (“we hairspray and denim,” which is a signifier of not only Elvis, but the 50’s in general). The gyrating of shirtless bodies and codpieces signify the sexual element of the “Boys” performance. Unsurprisingly, Gaga performs “Boys” with only male dancers, and she doesn’t interact with them at all during the performance. She doesn’t even take one look at them. Gaga does this deliberately for the purpose of letting her male dancers exist as fantasies for the many gay and bisexual men in the audience, so she doesn’t want to interfere with the fantasies of her audience. In relation, when Gaga intros the “Boys” performance with “Sing about your gay pride, you just kicked Prop 8’s ass,” the song’s gay context is clear, and this context links back to the horror strings of the verses and the skeleton glove, which seems to ask the question: what do you consider scary? Many people view homosexuality as scary, and Gaga points to this in a creative way.

Eventually, Lady Gaga leaves the stage halfway into the song, leaving her male dancers to show off their cheeky dance moves; Gaga leaves the stage because she wants the audience to soak in the gayness without compromise, without heterosexual sugarcoating. Gaga is giving her gay and bisexual male fans a moment dedicated to them.

Link to performance of "Boys, Boys, Boys": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnF0QmUHlIk

Works Cited:

Powers, Ann. “Frank Talk With Lady Gaga.” Los Angeles Times. 13 December 2009. Web.

Alun Davies Indexes His Past With Bright Light Bright Light's 'Love Part II' Video

         Bright Light Bright Light searches for self-actualization in his "Love Part II" video.

By Christopher Cole

Alun Davies uses elements from his old work and combines them in the music video for Bright Light Bright Light’s “Love Part II.” Davies uses the broken glass/mirror from a photo shoot with Bright Light Bright Light and the geometric building blocks he used for the “Color Theory” magazine spread, as well as the doubling motif he used for the “The Intimacy of Fashion” magazine spread. Also, Davies uses different forms of light to signify enlightenment, like he did for the “Color Theory” fashion spread, as well as the veiling of the face he used before. He uses the veiling to show that Bright Light Bright Light’s self is not actualized yet, not fully-formed. Davies uses all the elements mentioned to show one man’s journey to self-actualization. The concept of self-actualization finally comes when Bright Light Bright Light is reborn as a liberated person. In the end, it’s a rebirth where the two people behind Bright Light Bright Light combine with him to make one person. The divided personality is now one and he is born again.  

Cassidy Noblett Embodies the Movement of Pop Culture

                                 Cassidy performs during Beyonce's "I Am" Tour.

By Christopher Cole

Somehow the strapping dancer known as Cassidy Noblett always finds himself around superstar divas. His track record is impressive considering he’s toured with Janet Jackson, Beyonce and Lady Gaga. Since Cassidy is a dancer, I’m sure one of the best things about dancing for these superstars is that he gets to perform the iconic choreography that goes with their hit songs. It’s choreography that is forever part of pop culture, and when he performs it in front of thousands of people, he’s embodying the movement of pop culture.

There’s a group of performances that stick out, that feature some of the most epic pop choreography in the past two decades. First there’s Janet Jackson’s “If” choreography, which is known for its dripping sex appeal. You remember that criss-crossy dance Janet and her dancers do to those criss-crossy orchestral strings. When Cassidy performed this “If” choreography on Janet Jackson’s Rock Witchu Tour in 2008, he was presenting history to a new and old audience. The social context of the choreography was new because when the “If” music video debuted in 1993 on MTV, the musical climate was grunge and house, a time when MTV actually played videos. In 2008, there was the ongoing Iraq and Afghanistan war, and the United States got its first black president. In this sense, people went to Janet’s “Rock Witchu” tour to escape, and for a certain age group reminisce on good times.

Not long after touring with Ms. Jackson, Cassidy moved on to another black icon that like her idol Janet narrowed the racial divide, and became a true global pop star. This icon’s name is Beyonce. While Janet had a larger number of dancers on her Rock Witchu Tour, Beyonce only had three male dancers and three female dancers on her I Am Tour, meaning Cassidy was always a main dancer with his face upfront. Ever since she became famous with Destiny’s Child, Beyonce has been preaching female empowerment, while simultaneously submitting to male objectification, also known as the Male Gaze. As always, Beyonce performed one of her Destiny’s Child hits “Say My Name,” a song that reminds me and my generation of the last year of middle school and the Destiny’s Child controversy where two members were replaced. She even did her famous four-person spoke wheel that debuted in Destiny’s Child’s 2000 video “Say My Name,” but instead of four women performing the spoke wheel to represent girl power, Beyonce with three men performed it. The difference in gender drastically changes things, making the spoke wheel more sexual. Ironically, Cassidy was the guy directly in back of Beyonce during the spoke wheel dance, grinding in a circular motion. It’s very sexy stuff. Still it wasn’t until her song and video Video Phone that Beyonce started directly referencing her own embrace of the Male Gaze. Cassidy appeared in the Hype Williams-helmed “Video Phone” clip as one of Beyonce’s Gazers, but with a twist.

During a performance of the song "Video Phone" in Paris, the stage was made to look like a Netherlands strip club in the Red Light District, complete with red strobe lights. Cassidy started off the performance with a camera in his hand filming a female dancer performing a suggestive routine with a chair. He looked down at the screen of his camera. Then Cassidy’s head turned to the center where Beyonce was doing a similarly suggestive chair routine. As the lyrics “I see that you want me/so press record and let you film me” slinked from the loud speakers, Cassidy and his fellow male dancers all pointed their cameras at Beyonce taking a picture. As they proceeded to follow her movements, they never looked up from their cameras. It’s this that emphasizes their objectification of Beyonce and the other women on stage. The "Video Phone" song and video are about sexual objectification, and this performance is all about the Male Gaze, but at least we get to see Cassidy’s smiling face because in the "Video Phone" video his head is replaced by a camera, hence the big twist. So as you probably figured out, in the video, the tables are turned and the men are objectified, but on stage the men are in full control.

It’s no coincidence that Lady Gaga happened to appear in the "Video Phone" music video to support Beyonce’s transgression of the Male Gaze because Gaga covers the same themes in her own work. Also it’s no coincidence that Cassidy now dances for Gaga on her Monster Ball tour. He went from being the Gazer on Beyonce’s tour to being the Gazed on Gaga’s tour. From assuming the role of a Chippendale dancer during “Boys, Boys, Boys” to one of Gaga’s Mad Max-style road warriors on “Bad Romance,” Cassidy has never played more roles than on Gaga’s Monster Ball Tour. He’s played a man who emulates a woman and throws away his “masculine” façade and struts like the beautiful creature he knew he was meant to be, to quote a Pet Shop Boys song. Lady Gaga has been called the first true pop star of the digital age, and her choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson describes her choreography as “Do It Yourself” (D.I.Y.). This means that the choreography is not difficult to learn and is very adaptable, which explains why there are so many viral videos on YouTube, etc. that put their own spin on Gaga’s choreography. Again, Cassidy performs choreography that millions of people film themselves doing and put it on the Internet for the entire world to see. Gibson explains why the choreography is powerful in writer Julie Bloom’s New York Times article “D.I.Y. Music Videos, Inspired by the Pros”:

“I saw a little boy, and he was doing the sandwich dance and I was just, like, wow,” she said, referring to a sequence that involves double claps on the left and the right followed by little mimed bites, from “Telephone" (...). The rhythmic emphasis falls on unexpected beats: “They’re based out of an emotion,” she said, “so when you hear the record, it’s choreographed as an emotional dance, and it’s kind of like people are experiencing her when you do the movements (Bloom).

As a dancer performing famous moves, Cassidy Noblett is embodying the spirit of several generations and the heart of pop culture. Since Cassidy has already appeared in the music videos for Beyonce’s “Video Phone,” and Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro,” he’s immortalized on pop film, and part of pop history. As they say, if you don’t have it on film, it didn’t happen, which will never happen for Cassidy since he’s emerged in the digital age where seemingly everyone has a camera. His performances on the tours of so many iconic divas are all over YouTube captured by the cameras of fans. Flash, Flash, the camera goes. Take Cassidy's picture.

Works Cited:

Bloom, Julie. “D.I.Y. Music Videos, Inspired by the Pros.” New York Times 30 Apr 2010

Bright Light Bright Light Bleeds Glitter In His "Love Part II" Music Video

Bright Light Bright Light gets showered with disco glass.

British singer Bright Light Bright Light is fittingly obsessed with lights. From light sabers to different colored lighting, his music video for his new single, "Love Part II" tells a story of metamorphosis by using light contrast. Contrast is the key.

The chorus on "Love Part II" proclaims "I'm in love again", which implies that the song is about a person being in love, but the video offers another interpretation. It's clear that the video is about a man falling in love with God or some higher power. There are many examples in the video and on the song that hint at religion and God.

Bright Light Bright Light opens "Love Part II" singing "Clever boy, you got one eye on the clock, so you don't waste time, do you." One eye is commonly associated with God's All-seeing eye, like the eye on the U.S. one-dollar bill. As Bright Light Bright Light lies down with a profile view of his face covered in black making him a silhouette, shots of him are intercut wearing all-black clothing resembling a priest. These intercut shots look like flashbacks or memories. With the black background of these shots and Bright Light Bright Light's all-black clothing, the scene looks like a priest sitting in the darkness of a confessional. It's clear that he is in the shadows.

As the first chorus explodes with urgency, his black jacket is unzipped revealing a black tank top. It's a change from the all-black jacket that made him look like a Catholic priest. Two people, a man and a woman wear black wedge hats covering their eyes, signaling blindness. They stand and dance behind Bright Light Bright Light, winding their arms around like the hands on a clock. Remember "one eye on the clock." The background is various black pyramids doused with white light.

Bright Light Bright Light opens the second verse singing "Clever boy, you've got one hand on my side, don't let me slip out of view." He stands against a black backdrop wearing a black jacket. The scene lights up revealing the wedge-headed duo holding poles of light that look like light sabers from "Star Wars." Bright Light Bright Light's black jacket turns from black to a gray color. The light sabers could be phallic. Sigmund Freud would think so since he thought all symbols are related to sex. Maybe the two light sabers represent two penises, meaning homosexuality.

This is why the "Love Part II" video is so open to interpretation. Bright Light Bright Light could be expressing his gay love for the world to see or he could be expressing his love for God. I'm confident the video is about making a life change because time isn't promised.

By the time the second chorus arrives, Bright Light Bright Light is dressed in a windbreaker (jacket) and a wrinkled t-shirt and his hair a bit mussed. He sort of looks like he's been jogging in the streets. As the chorus explodes into action once again, Bright Light Bright Light is showered with glittery pieces that could very well be the remnants of a disco ball. The wedge-headed duo are still present, but they're less in focus, and their black wedge hats have turned gray instead of black. They're fading away. Time is weightng less on the mind of Bright Light Bright Light.

Next, he walks towards the violet light, his face soaked in purple light. As the last chorus explodes, the scene explodes with red light and red confetti. The wedge-headed duo wear red wedges, eyes still covered, but they wear red pyramids in the center of their torsos. What do the pyramids mean? The crimson red of the scene clearly represents love. Something about the glittery red scene reminds me of the Queen of Hearts from "The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland."

Now a close-up shot of Bright Light Bright Light lying on broken glass, that appeared as a flashback at the beginning of the video, intercuts the red scene. The close-up shows a black gloved hand shielding Bright Light Bright Light's face as glass shatters. Does this gloved hand belong to his protector? Then he falls onto his back, in the red scene, as well as the broken glass scene. The scene with broken glass seems to be reality and the red scene is his unconscious. Crimson red fills in the cracks between the shards of glass that Bright Light Bright Light lies upon. The ending is ambiguous because he could be going to sleep, back to a dream, or it could be dead. Maybe Bright Light Bright Light takes the metaphor of "falling in love" literally, and somehow he has fallen from a building to a bloody death---that is, the bloody death of his loneliness and darkness.

Since the Art Director for the "Love Part II" video is Alun Davies, it's no surprise that the video is bursting with creativity and visuals that touch the human senses. The elements of glitter and glass in the video are also reminders that these elements are constant in a lot of Davies' work. Davies designed outfits for Lady Gaga's "Monster Ball" tour, which he calls "mirror ball" outfits. Mirror ball is basically the same thing as a disco ball. Also, the shattered glass in the "Love Part II" video looks like pieces of a disco ball. Maybe the broken glass as a disco ball is a symbol of Bright Light Bright Light seeing himself reflected in the world's earth-as-disco-ball. He's at one with the world, and now he can be reflected through the world. He's opened up his soul, whether to a man or a woman or to God, and now he's reached a state of piece.

Watch the "Love Part II" video after the jump.