As this year's LGBT Pride Month comes to a close here is one last installment in the series of Amoeblog specials celebrating the occasion It is ten music videos of gay disco/dancefloor favorites culled mostly from the 70's & 80's / disco/new wave eras (some 90's too) - and compiled from various lists and playlists drawn up by music fans and DJs.

Naturally it only scratches the surface and doesn't include a ton of great songs/videos. So feel free to post in comments any ones you think that should be added. But it does have some classic gay dancefloor staples in there including such ever popular ones such as the Village People's "In The Navy" and the Pet Shop Boys' later decade single/video cover of the Village People's "Go West."

Also included is Diana Ross' 1980 hit single "I'm Coming Out" which song producer Nile Rodgers reportedly got the idea for the track after noticing at some discos drag queens dressing like Ross. Of course the song, which was a disco and mainstream radio hit, was perceived on different levels by different people. For Ross herself it was her signature concert entrance opening theme as in the video below from her 1981 Great Western LA Forum show (note the clip also includes her doing "The Boss").

More than any other popular musical form, hip-hop is perhaps the most consistently (and often apologetically) misogynistic and homophobic genre in all contemporary pop music. This is something that Lady Gaga speaks about in the video clip above, taken from an interview with host Touré from on On The Record, that will broadcast later tonight (Monday, Nov 23rd at 9pm) on Fuse TV.  Of course, this is not exactly breaking news to anyone who listens to popular rap, but it is nonetheless refreshing to hear a high profile person address homophobia in popular rap music. This is something that encompasses recurring anti-gay lyrics in songs and also the whole "No Homo" obsession, popular within hip-hop circles for several years now, whereby the words "NO HOMO" are instantly said aloud by a person right after they utter  something that might possibly be construed as "gay sounding." This two word statement absolves them from the ultimate crime (of being perceived as "homo"). This "No Homo" subcultural movement even spawned its own fashion line that includes the "No Homo" baseball cap (pictured).

In her interview, Lady Gaga, as always, is very supportive and defensive of her large gay following. When pressed by Toure as to which high profile homophobic hip-hopper she is referring to, she won't say. Truth is that it could be a great many rappers out there. But more than likely it is 50 Cent who she is referring to, since recently on the Angie Martinez radio show Fitty in a mocking derogatory tone referred to the scheduled Lady Gaga and Kanye West Fame Kills tour as the "gay tour." (the tour got cancelled due to Kayne's VMA outburst combined with lackluster advance ticket sales). This is the same rapper who in Spin magazine a few years back opined, "In hip-hop, there’s certain standards of things you can’t do. Being gay isn't cool -- it's not what the music is based on." Of course, many, including anyone within the so-called "homo-hop" subgenre of hip-hop, would argue that such a notion is nonsense. But, despite the growing numbers of queer rap artists, this hip-hop subgenre remains mostly a totally separate (and underground) world, and one that does not generally crossover into popular rap. Simply put, while most of the rest of popular culture has at least superficially embraced gays, it looks like it is still a ways off before popular hip-hop will accept its first openly gay rap star.

June, in addition to being Vision Research Month, Fireworks Safety Months, Light the Night for Sight Months, National Candy Month, Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month, Cancer in the Sun Month, Dairy Month, National Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Month, National Iced Tea Month, National Pest Control Month, Safety Month, Scleroderma Awareness Month, and Zoo and Aquarium Month, is also Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, first established by Bill Clinton back in '00. Therefore, I may in the coming weeks blog about iced tea or become aware of Scleroderma, but for now I will focus on Gay Cinema.

One of the first things I noticed about gay people's feelings toward Gay Cinema is that they're almost all negative.  Exceptions are usually foreign films, which are almost invariably downers. The first year Amoeba observed Gay and Lesbian Pride month in the movie department in the form of a display, we all had an uncomfortable chuckle about the unfailingly depressing storylines of the films we featured. Films based on the lives and deaths of famous gays like Joe Orton, Brandon Teena, Oscar Wilde and James Whale all ended tragically. And here I thought gay meant happy!


The history of Gay Cinema is quite unlike most minority driven alternatives to Hollywood. Unlike American Asians, blacks, Latinos and Natives -- whose identities have always been fairly obvious (except in cases of passing) -- gays have always had the option of remaining invisilble. Therefore, gays were never required to sit in the back of the bus, attend special schools or live in segregated neighborhoods. In the silent film industry, most gay actors understandably chose to hide their identitites. Though there are few overt representations of homosexuality in silent films -- mostly in European films -- most are merely hinted at. More importantly, however, the contributions of gays both in front of and behind the camera are many and noteworthy.

And the best current Black Flag tribute band award goes to Mimosa Beach, CA based Black Fag who are currently in the midst of their state-wide I Caught Henry Kissing Santa Claus tour with dates this week including at The Exit in Fresno on Thursday, Thee Parkside in San Francisco on Friday, 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley on Saturday, and Downtown Brew in San Luis Obispo on Sunday.

At these shows Black Fag, who are comprised of Liberace Morris (vocals), Greg Streisand (guitar), Cher Dykeowski (bass), and Robo Simmons (drums), will be doing enthusiastic covers of such Black Flag classics as "TV Party," "Six Pack," and "Wasted." And perhaps they will be joined at some of these shows by their backup dancers: Raymond Pettiboner, Joe CarGucci, and Bugger.

According to Black Fag's pink backdrop MySpace, their story began back in the small town of New Hope, PA. "Singer Liberace Morris was raised in neighboring Doylestown, but found a home among New Hope's thriving gay community. He worked at a vintage clothing/toy store while pursuing musical theatre at the Bucks County Playhouse at night. One night after Pippin rehearsal, Liberace came home to find his boyfriend in bed with another man. While drowning his sorrows at the local watering hole, The Raven, Liberace started singing and playing Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown" on the piano. The rest of the bar simply ate it up until the end of the song, when Liberace stood up and started hhaphazardly hurling martini glasses around the place. He was permanently ejected from The Raven and convinced that his life was officially over."