Baby Stewie’s Snoozes Out of the Closet

I did stop watching cartoon commentary on out society in TV a little while ago, but this outing of Baby Stewie Made me happy.

Yo Majesty Drama

It’s not too rare that a band, stewing in the underground for years finally gets some attention and then breaks up. Yo Majesty seems to be going that route, with recent public dramatix for all of us to enjoy. The stories are not yet synced into one press release, but the main thing is, Jwl B went to jail during tour and Shunda K was very vocal about how relieved she was that Jwl B was gone. Jwl B got out of jail, returned to the tour and then Shunda K decided to leave the tour and just do her own solo shows. I was able to catch Yo Majesty a few years back and thought that while Jwl B’s bare-breasted growl added some hot layering, Shunda K’s flow was the heart. Updates on the whole story arc over at Out Hip Hop, in the meantime, Shunda K released a really dam hot solo EP for free, download it here:

Individual track download……

1. Kotchy & Shunda K – First Encounter
2. Kotchy & Shunda K – You Are
3. Kotchy & Shunda K – We Feelin’ Each Other
4. Kotchy – Holla

or download the full EP HERE

Today Is Day Without A Gay

It’s December 10th, 2008 and it’s the first Day Without A Gay where you are supposed to call in “gay” to work…hm. Should I even be writing anything today, then? Today’s event has really brought up a lot of issues for me. The NYT had a whole article about how Prop 8 has created a new wave of gay rights activists, and I’ve seen that to be true. At the same time, any one of my four part-time jobs does not provide me sick or personal days, and I can’t afford a day without pay. Not to say that this Day Without A Gay is classist, but if I could call in gay, my phone would already have lube on it. Finally another thing this brought up for me is the simple, bare bones activism of being out. Remember in “Milk” when he told everyone to tell their families? That sentiment is at the core of Day Without A Gay, and a great idea to revisit. Are you gay today?

TPR #4

Janelle Monae

For this edition, we have songs by the Faint and new pop star Janelle Monae. Respectively, “The Geeks Were Right,” and “Many Moons” are the latest favorite songs. We also have a a phone call with Erik and Ruth where a first try goes wrong and then for the rest, Ruth’s audio gets clipped (that’s the distorted sound). Finally, we have encounters with two people from UR Chicago Magazine while at the Raven Fest and an interview with playwright Sharon Greene. The interview was very fun, with Sharon being very open and smart. We sat at Winnemac Park and talked about her new full length “Fake Lake,” the Neo-Futurists and being out, as well as “post-queer.” Erik’s still wondering about this term–if it is a new era in the queer rights movement, TPR needs to know!

Think Pink Radio – 8/28/08

Judas Priest is Still Alive (with Rob Halford)

It is safe to say that no one has gotten more queer visibility among heavy metal fans than Rob Halford and his veteran metal band Judas Priest. To say nothing of his status as a supreme leather daddy, Halford, you can’t knock a guy that has a 4.5 octave vocal range and came out in 1998 on MTV. It might be old news today, but back then it was a pretty brave step. As it turns out, Judas Priest is on the prowl again, with a new record entitled “Nostradamus” and summer tour planned. Check out Halford’s coming out video above and his short lived, Trent Reznor produced side project 2wo, which had a Chi Chi La Rue directed music video for their song “I am a Pig” below.

Big Doy In Duhs-ville Shocks No One

“No, she’s not waving a rainbow flag around, but she doesn’t need to. Straight people don’t go around saying “I’m straight everyone!” so why should Jodie have to come out.” –The National Ledger

The above quote inflames me. Straight people don’t have to wave a pride flag around because heterosexuality is assumed. I’m sure Jodie is feeling a little less stressed, a little less likely to get an ulcer now that she finally said it. But even better, there are young women everywhere who will feel more comfortable with themselves, and will no doubt be encouraged to be who they are because of our beloved Clarice. That’s the whole point of this damn blog, after all.

“I just moved from California in March, just on a new adventure. I’ve been struggling to feel at home here because it’s so unfamiliar. I feel great comfort in knowing that there’s people on the radio that reflect me.” That’s from a listener/reader who wrote to tell us about discovering Think Pink Radio this week. Being out is vital to our fight for civil rights, and we all get stronger with every voice that decides to include itself.

–Stinky Pinky