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3 great albums you probably missed

Osborne, Hawkins and Cleveland each had overlooked ’12 releases

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(Courtesy Saguardo Road Records, 204 Records and Sophie B. Hawkins)

(Courtesy Saguardo Road Records, 204 Records and Sophie B. Hawkins)

How much grit and growl you like in your pop music is like creamer in coffee ā€” itā€™s a personal thing, though most would agree thereā€™s such a thing as overkill. Three great ā€˜90s singer/songwriters, who all deserve to be much higher on the cultural radar than they are but whom, for various and far-ranging reasons have become victims of zeitgeist nonchalance, released new albums this year that are sadly in serious danger of falling through the cracks.

Whatā€™s most surprising is that the two whoā€™ve always been known for rough, sometimes aggressive vocals ā€” Joan Osborne and Ashley Cleveland ā€” have reined in the rougher edges while Sophie B. Hawkins, whose voice has always been a scion of crystalline clarity, sounds sandier and patchier than ever. But in a good way.

Itā€™s a minor miracle that these albums were released at all considering the solid decade of record industry upheaval. Thereā€™s little cushion left to support veteran but not top-selling artists, so theyā€™re left to their own devices. They each deserve kudos for soldiering on.

Joan Osborne had done a few indie projects but had ā€” by galaxies ā€” her biggest commercial season in 1995 and 1996 with the album ā€œRelish,ā€ buoyed by her monster hit ā€œOne of Usā€ (which only sounds like a novelty at first; it really has staying power).

Her follow-up, 2000ā€™s ā€œRighteous Love,ā€ took forever to come out. ā€œBring it One Home,ā€ which dropped in March, is the latest in a string of quasi-concept albums. Itā€™s mostly covers and skews heavy in the blues/R&B vein and sizzles with classy takes on second-tier standards. Unless you’re a historian, there will be cuts here that are new to you as they were to me. Osborne skillfully finds material here that’s not too obscure but not super obvious either (joanosborne.com). Standouts are the fun Ray Charles cover “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” the hard-grooving “Shake Your Hips” and the raucously up tempo “Roll Like a Big Wheel.”

Sophie B. Hawkins managed massive hits on her first two albums ā€” ā€œDamn, I Wish I Was Your Loveā€ from 1992ā€™s ā€œTongues and Tailsā€ and ā€œAs I Lay Me Downā€ from 1994ā€™s masterpiece ā€œWhaler,ā€ but hit tougher times, at least commercially, by the end of the decade with 1999ā€™s ā€œTimbre.ā€ Her new album, ā€œThe Crossingā€ dropped in June and is her first release since 2004ā€™s uneven-but-still-worthy ā€œWilderness.ā€

“The Crossing” is a rich and subversive record that needs several listens to sink in. Initially it sounds pleasant enough but not earth shattering, but slowly its jazzy, wrenching torch songs sneak up on your consciousness and you realize it has several great moments ā€” the bluesy “Heart & Soul of a Woman,” the climax-stoking “Gone Baby” and the deliciously melodic “The Land the Sea and the Sky.” Hawkins includes acoustic remakes of her two monster hits ā€” “Damn” and “Lay” ā€” as bonus cuts and they’re so raw and bare, it’s almost startling. Startlingly effective, too, and wondrous to hear in such unvarnished style (sophiebhawkins.com).

Ashley Cleveland may have the smallest sales of the three but sheā€™s also got three Grammys, all in the rock/gospel category where she set up camp in the early ā€˜90s after a commercially unfruitful launch at Atlantic with 1991ā€™s ā€œBig Town,ā€ a great and criminally overlooked album, by the way. Her later albums, like 2002ā€™s ā€œSecond Skinā€ and ā€œ2006ā€™s ā€œBefore the Daylightā€™s Shotā€ arenā€™t as solid as her earlier work, but records like 1993ā€™s ā€œBus Named Desireā€ and 1995ā€™s ā€œLesson of Loveā€ are so masterful, it would be hard for anything to stand up against such classics. She rebounded on sure footing with 2009ā€™s gospel standards project ā€œGod Donā€™t Never Change.ā€ This yearā€™s ā€œBeauty in the Curveā€ is available but isn’t on iTunes and can only be ordered through her site (ashleycleveland.com).

It’s definitely worth the effort to get ā€” her greasy, garage-y interpretations of gospel songs like “City On a Hill,” “Walk in Jerusalem” and “Thief at the Door,” are balms to an ear burned out on too much of the usual Nashville-santitized contemporary Christian music. Black gospel knows this and has managed to sidestep it for the most part, although that brings its own issues ā€” another essay. But Cleveland brings just enough left-of-center sensibilities to her gospel music to remain peerless. She often succeeds with simplicity ā€” closing cut “Woke Up This Morning With My Mind on Jesus” is just her vocal with electric guitar and she succeeds in convincing you that’s just as it should be. Anything else would have been clutter.

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Books

From genteel British wealth to trans biker

Memoir ā€˜Frighten the Horsesā€™ a long but essential read

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(Book cover image courtesy of Roxane Books/Grove Atlantic)

ā€˜Frighten the Horses: A Memoirā€™
By Oliver Radclyffe
c.2024, Roxane Books/Grove Atlantic
$28/352 pages

Finding your own way.

It’s a rite of passage for every young person, a necessity on the path toĀ adulthood. You might have had help with it. You might have listened to your heart alone on the quest to find your own way. And sometimes, as in the new memoir,Ā “Frighten the Horses” by Oliver Radclyffe,Ā you may have to findĀ yourselfĀ first.

If you had observed Oliver Radclyffe in a random diner a few years ago, you’d have seen a blonde, bubbly, but harried mother with four active children under age seven and a distracted husband. You probably wouldn’t have seen trouble, but it was there.

“Nicky,” as Radclyffe was known then, was simmering with something that was just coming to the forefront.

As a young child, Nicky’d been raised in comfort in a family steeped in genteel British wealth, attended a private all-girl’s school, and never wanted for anything. She left all that behind as a young adult, and embraced the biker lifestyle and everything it entailed. The problem now wasn’t that she missed her old ways; it was that she hated life as a wife and mother. Her dreams were filled with fantasies of “exactly who I was: a man on a motorbike, in love with a woman.”

But being a man? No, that wasn’t quite right.

It took every bit of courage she had to say she was gay, that she thought constantly about women, that she hated sex with men. When she told her husband, he was hurt but mostly unbothered, insisting that she tell absolutely no one. They could remain married and just go forward. Nothing had to change.

But everything had already changed for Nicky.

Once she decided finally to come out, she learned that friends had already suspected. Family was supportive. It would be OK. But as Nicky began to experiment with a newfound freedom to be with women, one thing became clear: having sex with a woman was better when she imagined doing it as a man.

In his opening chapter, author Oliver Radclyffe shares an anecdote about the confusion the father of Radclyffe’s son’s friend had when picking up the friend. Readers may feel the same sentiment.

Fortunately, “Frighten the Horses” gets better ā€” and it gets worse. Radclyffe’s story is riveting, told with a voice that’s distinct, sometimes poker-faced, but compelling; you’ll find yourself agreeing with every bit of his outrage and befuddlement with coming out in a way that feels right. When everything falls into place, it’s a relief for both author and reader.

And yet, it’s hard to get to this point because this memoir is just too long. It lags where you’ll wish it didnā€™t. It feels like being burrito-wrapped in a heavy-weighted blanket: You don’t necessarily want out, but you might get tired of being in it.

Still, it remains that this peek at transitioning, however painful, is essential reading for anyone who needs to understand how someone figures things out. If that’s you, then consider “Frighten the Horses” and find it.

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Celebrity News

Is Karla SofĆ­a GascĆ³n’s apology too little, too late?

Netflix has removed transgender actress from Oscars campaign

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Karla SofĆ­a GascĆ³n speaks to Juan Carlos Arciniegas on CNN en EspaƱol. (Screengrab of CNN en EspaƱol/Youtube)

The latest in the scandal involving “Emilia PerĆ©z”ā€™s trans star and Best Actress nominee Karla SofĆ­a GascĆ³n is Netflix deciding to part ways with her even after her public apology and statement regarding not withdrawing from the nomination. 

ā€œI have been labeled a racist and I need to be clear that I am not. I feel like Iā€™ve been judged, sentenced, crucified, and stoned without a fair trial and without an option to defend myself,ā€ said GascĆ³n in an interview with CNN en EspaƱol.Ā 

According to Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has cut GascĆ³n out of the campaign for the Oscars. This move comes even after GascĆ³n issued an apology through a statement on her social media and in an interview with CNN en EspaƱol. On Thursday she was set to be seated with co-star Selena Gomez, Zoe SaldaƱa and the filmā€™s writer-director, Jacques Audiard for the AFI Awards luncheon ā€” a gathering at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. On Friday, she was set to attend the Critics Choice Awards. On Saturday, she was set to serve as presenter at the Producers Guild Awards, which happen to be going on at the same time as the Directors Guild Awards. According to THR, she will not be attending the events. 

The Spaniard actress found herself at the center of controversy surrounding the Netflix original being nominated for 13 Oscars after freelance culture writer Sarah Hagi uncovered the actress’s stream of consciousness on display on X, formerly Twitter. Hagi found tweets from as far back as 2020, revealing GascĆ³n’s views on Muslims, George Floyd, China, and vaccines.

In her hour-long interview with CNN en EspaƱol, she defended her position on the issue stating that she feels that she was unfairly targeted, while not being given the opportunity to defend the position she stood behind while writing those tweets. 

She goes on to say that she ā€œsupports the Black Lives Matter movement obviouslyā€ and that the tweets about George Floyd ā€œwere taken out of context.ā€ In the interview, she goes on to say she was highlighting the hypocrisy of humanity in that moment in history. According to GascĆ³n, what she noticed during that time was that only after Floydā€™s death did people care about him, but prior to his death, they did not help him or care about his struggles. 

ā€œI do not identify with any political party and I have my own opinions about issues that might have been one thing in the past, but have now shifted because I have learned many things about respect, love and with the spiritual practice of Buddhism,ā€ said GascĆ³n. 

In the interview, she also pulls the I have a friend whoā€™s Black, so Iā€™m not racist,ā€ card by saying she has a very close family friend who is Muslim, in response to the line of questioning about her being Islamophobic and only through very heavy discussions with her, has GascĆ³n truly come to understand the implications of her words against the culture and religion, as well as theĀ differences between the cultures.Ā 

“Emilia PerĆ©z” was already facing an upward battle to gain popularity, as it was a French production about MĆ©xico. Audiences criticized the film for various reasons and yet, it was still nominated for Best Picture, Critics Choice Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Directing, and many others. 

GascĆ³n deleted her X account shortly after the tweets were discovered and is now facing the cold shoulder from Netflix. Variety and THR, reported that the streaming giant is no longer directly communicating with GascĆ³n ā€“ only through representatives. 

Whether or not this is a witch hunt for a trans actress at the height of her career, GascĆ³n now has first-hand experience in dealing with what it means to misuse a platform by sharing her views on issues she said herself, she did not understand. 

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Out & About

Camp Rehoboth Theatre Company kicks off new season

Poetry jam to be followed by ‘5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche’

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(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

CAMP Rehoboth Theatre Company will kick off its 2025 season with its first-ever poetry jam followed by a full-stage production of ā€œ5 Lesbians Eating a Quicheā€ on Friday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. at CAMP Rehoboth’s Elkins-Archibald Atrium.

CAMP Rehoboth Poetry Jam Poets / Performers include: Debbie Bricker, Kari Ebert, Shelley Blue Grabel, Lavance John, Vanita Leatherwood, Syd Linders, Ellie Maher, Jane Miller, Gwen Osborne, Coco Silveira, Guillermo Silverira, Laura Unruh, Paul Unruh, and Sherri Wright.

ā€œ5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche,ā€ which will run from March 7-9 debuted at CAMP Rehoboth in fall of 2022, and features returning cast members Karen Laitman, Kelly Sheridan, Gwen Osborne, Darcy Vollero, and Shelley Kingsbury, and is directed by Teri Seaton. The absurdist comedy follows the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein having their annual quiche breakfast in 1956. Winner of the 2012 NYC International Fringe Festival as Best Overall Production, ā€œ5 Lesbians Eating A Quicheā€ is a tasty recipe of hysterical laughs, sexual innuendos, unsuccessful repressions, and delicious discoveries. For more information, visit CAMP Rehobothā€™s website

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