Unleash the Queen (Ep. 205 - Freddie Mercury)

November 29, 2018 Matthew Baume

This Week’s Guest: Jim Provenzano

I don't know if you heard, but somebody tried to make a movie about Bohemian Rhapsody recently. And it's nice that the film might introduce the band to a new generation, but there are some queers among us who got to live through Queen the first time. My guest this week is Jim Provenzano, author of the novel Now I'm Here, which tells the story of two small town boys who fall in love to the soundtrack of the late 70s. Jim's a product of that time as well, and grew up in a time of innocent homoeroticism, and at times, dangerous disobedience.

We'll have that conversation in a minute. And I hope you'll join us for the next Sewers of Paris live chat, with the delightful Dave and Alonso of the Linoleum Knife family of podcasts. It's next weekend, and it's a little earlier than usual: Saturday December 8 at 8pm pacific, 11am eastern.

Head over to SewersOfParis.com to see clips of the stuff we talk about on each episode of the show.

The Sewers of Paris is listener supported -- click "support the show on Patreon" join the folks who make the show possible.

And for more queer podcasting, check out Queens Of Adventure to hear drag queens on an epic Dungeons & Dragons quest. And we'll be doing our next Queens of Adventure livestream on Saturday December 22, so head over to QueensOfAdventure.com for details.

This Week’s Recommendation: Flash Gordon

Thanks again to Jim for joining me. Check out JimProvenzano.com for all of his work. And if you're in San Francisco, he'll be part of an upcoming celebration of the music of queen on Thursday, December 6th. It's a live show called Now We're Here, and it features acoustic performances of more than a dozen classic Queen songs interpreted by Bay Area musicians.

It's nice to see Queen and Freddy Mercury a topic of conversation these days, my recommendation is that you see the film that really captures their music and their aesthetic. I'm speaking of course of 1980's Flash Gordon, featuring a soundtrack composed entirely by Queen.

The movie both terrible and an absolute gem, a work that cuts corners in some areas and spends lavishly in others. The look is a bizarre 70s fantasy-futurism, the plot is absurd, and some of the performers are upstaged by their hair. But the music is magnificent, not to mention the sheer misplaced extravagance. It's giddy and weird and rarely makes sense, but at no point can you predict what will happen next.

Where bad movies are concerned, I have high standards -- you don't need to waste your life inflicting every single movie like Zardoz and Lost Horizon on yourself. Some films are so bad they're just bad. But Flash Gordon is a stupid delight -- not as queer as Barbarella, but a camp pleasure nonetheless. The over-the-top music, starting with the perfectly gaudy theme, set the tone for an experience that is wonderful and ridiculous. It takes an incredible talent to make such an incredible mess.

Stuff We Talked About

This Boy is a Deviant (Ep. 204 - Jaymes Mansfield)

November 22, 2018 Matthew Baume

This Week’s Guest: Jaymes Mansfield

How much do you know about the people who paved the way for you? We all benefit from foundations laid by those who came before, but so often -- and particularly for queer people -- those forebears are lost to history. But my guest this week is dedicated to shining a light on the incredible queer pioneers who led unimaginably fascinating lives and blazed the trail we now walk. You might know Jaymes Mansfield from her appearance on Drag Race Season 9. And these days you can catch her on YouTube, where she's become one of the internet's leading drag historians with her series Drag Herstory, shining a light on the people and stories that you won't believe you've never heard about before.

We'll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick reminder -- I hope you'll join us for the next Sewers of Paris live chat, with special guest, performer Timmy Roghaar. That's this weekend -- Saturday November 24 at 2pm pacific. There's a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.

The Sewers of Paris is listener supported -- click "support the show on Patreon" join the folks who make the show possible.

And for more queer podcasting, check out Queens Of Adventure to hear drag queens on an epic Dungeons & Dragons quest. That’s at QueensOfAdventure.com.

This Week’s Recommendation: Drag Herstory

Thanks again to Jaymes for joining me. I cannot recommend her series Drag Herstory highly enough. They're well researched, insightful, educational and entertaining. I thought I knew a lot about queer history but I've learned so much by watching this series.

In particular, check out Episode 2, "A Brief History of Drag Queen Music," a fascinating look at artists like Sylvester and Divine. I also felt a particularly satisfying frisson of nostalgia from Episode 6, "A Brief History of Drag Queens of the 90s."

So far there are 19 episodes in all, and after every single one I find myself thinking, "why haven't I ever heard about this before?" Drag is one of the far-flung frontiers of queerness, where you can find some of the most daring experiments into gender, performance, and art. So of course, some drag has often gone over the head of mainstream audiences and even other queers, disappearing into obscure history.

That's why I'm so glad we have Jaymes to excavate those forgotten or just under-appreciate creators who blazed a trail over the last century. Folks like Charles Busch, Lily Savage, and the performers of Finnochios never became household names, in part because they came along at a time when one didn't discuss gender outlaws in polite society. But today, it's clear that they were visionaries whose work not only withstands the test of time, but outdoes many of the icons we're familiar with today.

We owe it to those pioneers to remember them. And we owe it to ourselves to indulge in their art.

Bonus Episode: Beyond the Sewers of Paris! We Were Born for This Moment (Ep. 203 - Annie)

November 22, 2018 Matthew Baume

This Week’s Guest: Kate Kendell

Thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon -- with your pledges I'm able to release monthly bonus episodes like this one. This week we'll be going beyond The Sewers of Paris with someone for whom I am truly grateful. Kate Kendell is the outgoing director of the National Center for Lesbian rights. Over the last 22 years of history-changing moments for LGBTQ people, she's not only had a front row seat, but she's been one of the key figures pushing those moments forward. I'm so excited to bring you this conversation, ranging from the moment she discovered live theater, to proudly working for the most hated organization in Utah, to becoming an LGBTQ community leader, and what she sees next for queer liberation.

And BTW, I hope you'll join us for the next Sewers of Paris live chat, with special guest, performer Timmy Roghaar. That's this weekend -- Saturday November 24 at 2pm pacific. There's a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.

Head over to SewersOfParis.com to see clips of the stuff we talk about on each episode of the show. And for more queer podcasting, check out Queens Of Adventure to hear drag queens on an epic Dungeons & Dragons quest. That’s at QueensOfAdventure.com.

This Week’s Recommendation: Sonnet 116

Thanks again to Kate for joining me. I'm just so inspired by the work she does. In fact, Kate was one of the people who inspired me to become an activist. I was living in San Francisco in 2004 when the city began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Valentine's Day. My bus went right past City Hall on the way to work, and I remember seeing the couples lined up around the block. And I remember seeing the photo on the front page of the Chronicle -- Mayor Gavin Newsom, now the incoming governor of California, marrying lesbian pioneers Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, and in the background Kate Kendel looking on overcome with emotion.

I'm torn on what to recommend this week. If you want to relive that incredible time, you should definitely look up some of that news coverage from 2004, featuring stunned activists and couples racing to marry. Or look up the infamous clip of Kate Kendell swearing on live TV in reference to Proposition 8. Or you might want to check out my book, Defining Marriage, which includes stories from couples who lived through that time as well as Kate's experience fighting Prop 8.

But I think my main recommendation this week is going to be a Shakespearean sonnet that Kate mentioned, Sonnet 116, which begins, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments." Often read as a declaration of same-sex love, it was set to music by Rufus Wainwright -- you can find that with a quick YouTube search -- and it's absolutely lovely. "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove," the sonnet goes. Out of all of humanity's attempts, over the centuries, to explain in words what love is, I think this might be my favorite.

Stuff We Talked About

Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street

By Herman Melville

The Beast in the Jungle

By Henry James

To Kill a Mockingbird

By Harper Lee

What Happens in a Gay Bar (Ep. 202 - Lady Gaga)

November 15, 2018 Matthew Baume

This Week’s Guest: Bryan Lowder

This week's episode is going to be a bit of a song and dance. My guest is Bryan Lowder, associate editor at Slate and co-host of the Outward podcast. Known now for his cerebral essays and thoughtful analysis of queer culture, as a college student Bryan was drawn to New York's underground dance clubs, where years ago he found inner peace, and also encountered up-and-coming artists like Lady Gaga.

And the next Sewers of Paris live chat is this weekend -- Saturday November 17th at 2pm pacific. I hope you'll join us for a fun friendly chat about whatever entertainment has been changing YOUR life lately. And then mark your calendars for the next livestream, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 24th. There's a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.

Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. There's rewards for folks who back the show -- just click "Support the Show on Patreon." Or you can support The Sewers of Paris for free by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice -- that really helps people find the show.

This Week’s Recommendation: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Thanks again to Bryan for joining me. Check out his Outward podcast wherever podcasts are casted. And for my recommendations this week, take a look at the recent season finale of the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Normally a cynical sitcom where everything goes wrong and everyone's the butt of a joke, the last episode of season 13 takes a surprisingly heartfelt and sincere turn.

For most of the episode, the character of Mac, who's been out for about of year, laments that he doesn't know what his place is in the gay community. And what's worse, his adoptive father Frank tells him that he just doesn't get the whole gay thing. That leaves Mac with nowhere to turn, and no words to express himself.

So he stops trying to use words. The episode culminates in, of all things, an interpretive dance that should be funny and stupid and a fiasco but instead it's a powerful expression of turmoil and confusion and abandoning language to simply express oneself through their body.

Watching it in isolation, it might come off as cheap sentimentality -- but because of a context, a sitcom sacrificing its trademark cynicism for real heart, I think it comes off as brave. And that's why it feel so lovely when Frank, the adoptive father, finally whispers at the end, "Oh my God, I get it."

Stuff We Talked About

What Makes You Have a Fabulous Life (Ep. 201 - Madonna)

November 8, 2018 Matthew Baume

This Week’s Guests: David and John

How do you measure your success? For a lot of us it's career or fame or money or family, but the common theme among all of those is happiness. That is, what makes you happy? But often happiness as a goal gets drowned out by the things that we think are supposed to get us there. My guests this week are John and David, a husband-and-husband team behind the Queer Money podcast. They met on the dance floor and formed a bond that's only grown stronger for more than a decade. And one secret to their relationship's longevity has been some honest, and at times difficult, conversations about whether they needed to change everything about how they were living their lives.

BTW, I hope you'll also join us for the next Sewers of Paris live chat on November 17 at 2pm pacific. There's a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.

This Week’s Recommendation: Marilyn Monroe & Madonna

Thanks again to John and David for joining me. It's a real pleasure to have double guests every now and then, and I have a double recommendation this week as well. Start with Marilyn Monroe in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes -- specifically the number Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend, in which she's wearing a pink strapless grown and is presented with all manner of riches by tuxedoed chorus boys. Then once you've watched that, jump over to Madonna's music video for Material Girl, shot 30 years later, in which she wears a pink strapless gown and is presented by riches while surrounded by chorus boys.

Both songs are beautiful, but there's an interesting contrast between them. Marilyn's character is enamored with riches, while Madonna -- despite the song's lyrics -- dismisses them in favor of simple romance. Madonna clearly employed comparisons to Monroe throughout her career in the 80s, and but she never overdoes it -- it's never an imitation, but instead a reference from which she quickly diverges.

Madonna's agreeing to Marilyn's sex appeal, but she adopts a third-wave feminist spin by turning herself from an object to be acquired into a sexual being whose needs must be met. As the lyrics conclude, it's her experience that's made her rich -- built her personality -- and that's a greater value than any diamond.

Thanks to everyone who's rated and reviewed The Sewers of Paris. Thanks to all the listeners who keep the show going -- there's rewards for backers. Head over to SewersOfParis.com and click "Support the Show on Patreon" to join the folks who make the show possible.

Stuff We Talked About

She Made me Dress up as the Pink Carebear (Ep. 200 - Kevin Yee)

November 1, 2018 Matthew Baume

This Week’s Guest: Kevin Yee

We're going back into the Sewers of Paris archives this week, for an interview with ex-boybander Kevin Yee. Kevin's new comedy special recently premiered Hulu, as part of the Comedy InvAsian series. He's been a performer for almost all his life, with his career taking a wild twist in his teens when he was cast in a 90s boy band. Three years later, things hadn't quite turned out as he'd hoped, and he thought his dreams of performing were over before he had even reached adulthood.

These days things are looking a bit better -- in addition to his Hulu special, you can hear him on the podcast 2 Dope Queens, and at the upcoming Cucalorus Festival and Dead Crow Comedy Comedy room in November. And you can get the story of his journey from boy band to stand up right now in our conversation.

Quick reminder that the very first Queens of Adventure livestream is coming up -- November 4 at 1pm pacific. It's a game of Dungeons and Dragons played live, with queens in full drag; and it's a fundraiser to benefit Seattle Children's Hospital. Get the details and watch us live at bit.ly/extralifeseattle.

This Week’s Recommendation: Double Life

I met Kevin a couple years ago, long after he put the boy band and clothing store behind him and found his calling in comedy. He is even more fun and funny in person than he is on stage, and I'm so glad I know THAT Kevin, the real Kevin, and that as awful as his time in the band surely was, that it only strengthened his resolve to live a life that's genuine.

And as glitzy and glamorous and gay as showbusiness is, it's long had a way of forcing people to repress their true selves, forcing queer entertainers to adopt a straight facade. That a disservice not just to artists, but also to audiences -- whether and actor or a singer or painter or a poet, art need honesty in order to work.

For my recommendation this week, I'd like to check out the book Double Life, by Alan Shayne and Norman Sunshine. The two men met in June of 1958, when Norman spotted Alan onstage on the Broadway show Jamaica. And over their six decades together, they've worked onstage, in television, in advertising, in visual arts -- and the memoir they wrote a few years back is a meticulous chronicle of how their lives were shaped by the various closets they endured.

Double Life is a fascinating glimpse at the ways that the entertainment industry forced gay men to remain closeted, to deny their own existence. It's also a tender love letter between two men who shared each other's lives, often through times when only they and their closest friends could know what those lives truly were. And it's a reminder of how lucky we are to live in a time when artists and their art can be honest, and are no longer forced to wear a straight face.

Stuff We Talked About

About The Sewers of Paris

The Sewers of Paris is a podcast about how queer lives are shaped by our favorite books, movies, music, and shows. Each week, guests open up about their secret struggles, hidden passions, and surprising triumphs by plucking a piece of entertainment from their past and answering the question: What’s the entertainment that changed your life?

About Defining Marriage

Each week on Defining Marriage, hosts Matt Baume and James Morris chat about what's happening with marriage equality, featuring frequent digressions into pop culture, silly banter, and the jokes and quibbles that have kept them together as a couple for over a decade.

The first eighteen episodes of the podcast contain the complete audiobook version of the book Defining Marriage, which traces the decades-long evolution of marriage through the personal stories of those who lived through it, featuring personal insights from the lives of Evan Wolfson, Dan Savage, Ken Mehlman, Dustin Lance Black, and many more.

About Matt's So-Cast Pod

Revisit the iconic '90s drama My So-Called Life, one episode at a time. Every week, host Matt Baume & his guests delve into the teen angst, the grown-up turmoil, and the endless flannel of the 90s -- and examine the show's impact on television and our lives.