Elton John Speaks Out Against Rampant Homophobic Injustice in Russia Ahead of the Winter Olympics

"Pop singer Elton John spoke out on Wednesday against Russia's ban on homosexual propaganda, saying the law legitimized homophobia and provided legal cover to extremists," reported Reuters news service today.

"Everyone shared stories of verbal and physical abuse - at work, in bars and restaurants or in the street - since the legislation came into force last June," said the 66-year-old international pop star.

"Russia's law bans the dissemination of 'gay propaganda' among minors, and has become a focal point of criticism by the West and human rights activists who say the law is discriminatory and represents a crackdown on rights and freedoms under Putin," Reuters explained.

Last week, a pro bono legal document from a prominent international, corporate law firm crossed my desk. It was the testimony of a young man with HIV who was from Russia, currently living in the USA, but threatened with deportation. His story of the injustices, brutality and lack of any equal, basic human rights in his native country shocked me because it was so far beyond what we even read in the news and are aware of in this country and perhaps in most of the world. It was a nightmare and I can't even imagine living that kind of life where unprovoked physical, emotional and psychological brutality as well as the most extreme forms of discrimination against an individual, a citizen, are sanctioned by the authorities. This man's story is corroborated by what Elton heard from the LGBT community in Russia.

Elton John's statement, quoted in its entirety, in today's Rolling Stone on-line:

I am deeply grateful for the support of the Russian people who have welcomed and accepted me in their country ever since I first visited in 1979.

On my last visit, in December 2013, I wondered whether the new legislation banning "homosexual propaganda" might have changed that. It hadn't. I still felt the same warmth and welcome from the audiences that I have felt every time I have been in Russia.

On that trip I met with members of the LGBT community in Moscow. Although I was still welcomed as an openly gay foreigner, I wanted to really understand at first-hand what difference the legislation had made to Russian LGBT in their own country. What I heard reinforced all the media stories that have been circling since the propaganda bill became federal law: that vicious homophobia has been legitimised by this legislation and given extremists the cover to abuse people's basic human rights.

The people I met in Moscow – gay men and lesbians in their 20′s, 30′s and 40′s - told me stories about receiving threats from vigilante groups who would 'cure' them of homosexuality by dousing them with urine or beating them up. One young man was stalked outside a gay club by someone posing as a taxi driver who tried to garrotte him with a guitar string because he was a "sodomite". Everyone shared stories of verbal and physical abuse – at work, in bars and restaurants or in the street – since the legislation came into force last June. And, some of the vital work providing HIV prevention information to the gay community has been labelled "homosexual propaganda" and shut down.

It was very clear to me that, although foreigners like myself who are visiting Russia are not affected by this new law (and President Putin has recently confirmed this), it is a very different story for those living inside the country. As Maria Maksakova told her fellow Russian MPs last month: "We are seeing extremely negative consequences as a result of this law, with the growth of hate crimes."
President Putin asserts that this was not the intention, but it is undoubtedly the effect that this law has had by promoting misunderstanding and ignorance. In particular, it is very disappointing that the law explicitly links homosexuality with child sex abuse, which countless studies have shown to be conclusively wrong.

The people I met in Moscow were decent, kind, patriotic men and women who had no thought of forcing their sexuality on anyone. Whatever the intention of Russia's homosexuality and paedophilia propaganda laws, I am absolutely clear from my own personal experience that it is proving deeply dangerous to the LGBT community and deeply divisive to Russian society. I would welcome the opportunity to introduce President Putin to some Russians who deserve to be heard, and who deserve to be treated in their own country with the same respect and warm welcome that I received on my last visit.

The Obama Experience: Winter Olympics Message to Putin

This Wednesday, US President Barack Obama scored a diplomatic coup regarding the Winter Olympics in Russia. According to ESPN (yes, ESPN! How often do you find Buddy B quoting ESPN?!):

President Barack Obama sent Russia a clear message about its treatment of gays and lesbians with who he is -- and isn't -- sending to represent the United States at the Sochi Olympics.
Billie Jean King will be one of two openly gay athletes in the U.S. delegation for the opening and closing ceremonies, Obama announced Tuesday. For the first time since 2000, however, the U.S. will not send a president, former president, first lady or vice president to the Games.

Now, Billie Jean is not my lover, but I love seeing her going off to the Olympics as a representative along with Czech-born Martina Navratilova, the other "openly gay athlete"! Czechmate!

King told the press she was "deeply honored" to represent the United States at the event.

Buddy Beaverhausen can only assume Greg Louganis was not available. I mean "gayness" is actually part of that man's name! Plus he's still a cutie-pie.

ESPN (yes, that ESPN!) continued:

Russia has come under fierce criticism for passing national laws banning "gay propaganda." Though the White House did not specifically address the Russian laws in making its announcement, spokesman Shin Inouye said the delegation "represents the diversity that is the United States" and that Obama "knows they will showcase to the world the best of America -- diversity, determination and teamwork."
 
The White House said Obama's schedule will not permit him to attend the Games.
 
"It's a positive sign to see openly gay representatives in the delegation," said Michael Cole-Schwartz, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, which recently sent a letter urging Obama to include gays and lesbians in the delegation. "Hopefully it sends a message to the Russian people and the rest of the world that the United States values the civil and human rights of LGBT people."

Cher v. the Russian Olympics

Cher is the latest diva with a large LGBT following to diss the Russian Olympics over President Vladimir Putin's fanatical homophobic policies.

"Not that LGBT people needed another reason to love Cher, but there is one," The Advocate informed us today. "[S]he turned down a chance to give the opening performance at the upcoming Olympics in Russia because of all the 'gay hate' there.

"'I can’t name names but my friend called who is a big oligarch over there, and asked me if I’d like to be an ambassador for the Olympics and open the show, she told Canadian newsmagazine Maclean’s. 'I immediately said no. I want to know why all of this gay hate just exploded over there. He said the Russian people don’t feel the way the government does.'"

It's not like I'm involved enough in sports or, specifically, the Olympics to name anyone Olympian besides Olympia Dukakis but, this year, gay bars and businesses have continued boycotting Russian vodka and other products imported from Russia. Our dance-diva idols, meanwhile, have supported opposition to anti-gay legislation and an Olympics boycott. 

"When conservative opponents of Madonna and Lady Gaga's support for LGBT rights in Russia failed to convict them on charges of 'homosexual propaganda', they managed to nab them on a visa technicality instead," UK's The Guardian reported. "Russia's prosecutor general's office recently attested that both singers violated the terms of their cultural exchange visas by giving profit-making concerts last year."

In my recent interview with Karin Nagi on my new blog dedicated exclusively for Q&As, Blab It to Beaverhausen, the dance idol snapped: "Snap out of it, Putin! We're living in 2013.... Boycott the Olympics! Let's not go there! No way!" [You can read the entire interview at: http://blabittobeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/09/exclusive-q-with-international-diva-of.html ]

In fact, the only divas who seem to be headed toward Russia as of late are the Miss Universe beauty queen contestants. And who knows? Perhaps the winner, once the tiara is gently placed upon her coiffed hair (for heavy is the head that wears that crown; after all she's Miss Universe ~~ even better than being Queen of Outer Space) this November, will stand tall in her stilettos and, through tears, as she embraces the sentiment of world peace, will blurt out words about human rights as a part of that concept. After all, It's a Woman's World, Prez Putin!

Exclusive Buddy Beaverhausen Q&A with Ari Gold

It was both my privilege and pleasure to conduct this interview with pop/dance/soul/R&B singer and songwriter, Ari Gold. Ari has been in show business since childhood. He performed everywhere in downtown Manhattan (as an adult, of course) from Joe's Pub to CBGB's; from the old Pyramid club to the recently shuttered Splash before putting out his first solo album. His song, "Wave of U" will soon be released as a single with a series of remixes. Special thanks to Barbara Sobel for arranging this Q&A between us.

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: Ari, thank you for taking out the time to talk with my readers and me. I see you're very much a New York City Boy, born in the Bronx to an Orthodox Jewish family. Was there any way in which this contributed to your music, your talent, your ambition?

Ari Gold: Absolutely! I grew up in the Bronx and live on the lower east side, which makes me a 4th generation lower east sider. Growing up in the Bronx exposed me to music I would not have heard if I had maybe lived in the suburbs and gone to Jewish parochial school. I heard rap in the basement of my friends' house for the first time in elementary school. And growing up orthodox and learning Talmud, that gave me a whole other lens to approach my art as well.

DBB:Your first job as a professional child singer and actor was performing the lead role on the recording, Pot Belly Bear: Song and Stories. How old were you at the time, exactly? The album went platinum and led to your career as a child vocalist. You sang over 400 jingles it's said! What were some of those that readers might recognize?

AG: I was six when I recorded Pot Belly Bear after being discovered singing at my brother Steven's bar mitzvah. I sang jingles for Toys R Us, Gatorade, Duncan Hines, McDonalds, Jem, Cabbage Patch Kids, Hi-Pro Glo, My Buddy, Game of Life….the list goes on and I sing a whole medley of these jingles in my upcoming autobiographical musical.

DBB: We look forward to that! You went to Yale but transferred and graduated from NYU. I know you performed all over the Manhattan map at the time, especially downtown. What were some highlights and, in your college years, what was your major and were you already focused on a performance career?

AG: I had my first demo when I was 12 and my second at 14 and so I went to NYU in order to continue pursuing my music career. I started as a music major but it was at NYU that I discovered whats called "theory" which is basically philosophy that’s a bit more inter-disciplinary. I liked writing and thinking about ideas so I decided to go study more at Yale since they had a very strong under-graduate program and I was taking most of the queer theory classes in the graduate program at NYU. I also wanted to experience the whole campus life thing but after doing it for a semester I went back to the city to graduate from NYU. It was the only time since I was a kid that there was something other than singing and performing that I felt passionate about. But when I was done with college, I realized that I still had to be an artist and continue to make music. The theory and politics that I learned in college became extremely important to who I am as an artist. I'm very grateful for that time in school cause it made me a much more engaged person that just a show business monkey!

DBB: Is it true you sang back-up vocals for Miss Ross? Details, please! (And also, vote on my blog poll for your fave Diana disco number, thank you.) Did you actually get to meet her?

AG: I think I told this story probably more than any other and I relive the story in my musical! When Miss Ross told me that my duet on the Cabbage Patch record was a song that she wanted to record herself, I feel like that was the moment that said, "you were put on this earth to be a pop star and Diana Ross just ordained you."

DBB: Of course! You've been named one of "The 9 Hottest Men in NYC" by the now defunct H/X magazine and called one of the hottest men in the world by DNA magazine. You have done modeling work. What was that like? Do you feel comfortable in that role?

AG: I can be a bit of an exhibitionist and I also enjoy playing dress up and playing around with images of masculinity—especially since growing up I did not feel like I belonged in the boys club at all. I was also always told I was too ethnic to be on camera as a child. So getting my picture taken and being called hot, for a skinny, effeminate Jew from the Bronx, its the sweetest revenge.

DBB: None other than Boy George selected you to be the spokesmodel for his clothing line, RUDE. What was it like working with that pop/dance music icon?

AG: It was a dream come true. Boy George is an artist who paved the way for an artist like myself and the time we spent together remains a magical memory. I hope to work together with him again someday.

DBB: You've also written songs for others, like Kevin Aviance. Is there anything you can't do?!

AG: I'm a big Kevin Aviance fan and I wrote the song "Home" especially for him. Kevin taught me so much about being a performer and trailblazer. I love writing for other artists and hearing what they do to my melodies and lyrics. I don't do it as much as I'd like to.

DBB: I bought Space Under the Sun at the old Heartbeat dance-music record/cd on 10th St. in the Village, when it first came out. Louis Morheim had your signed copies on sale. It was my introduction to you and I realized, after I bought it, that you were a talent to be reckoned with. What was making/releasing that like?

AG: That album came together after a long time of trying to find myself, get signed by a record deal, working with hit maker Desmond Child. It was a crazy time of dealing with a five-year relationship breaking up, reconciling with my own family after a few years' rift. But somehow, in all of it, I found ways to make music and eventually put it together in an album and release it myself on my own label. Sometimes I look back and wonder how I was able to do any of it, but just like my song says, I go where the music takes me. I'm especially proud of all the ballads on that album.

DBB: Would you also discuss Ari Gold, your debut album, in terms of what that meant to you at the time? And now?

AG: That album was basically a bunch of demos that I had been working on for about five years since the mid nineties! After trying to get signed with no luck, I decided to put it together and release it myself. This was at the beginnings of artists releasing music on their own. I just wanted the world to hear my songs. And I especially wanted to make love songs that gay people could directly hear themselves in and so I decided not to wait any more for a deal and just release it myself. Using male pronouns in a love song was pretty unprecedented for that kind of pop and R&B and it's still something we don't hear enough of.

DBB: Anything special you'd like to call out to your legion of fans in Beaverhausenland, especially our LGBT community? Any thoughts you'd like to share about current developments in Russia? (I have a lot of readers in Russia and its territories who'd especially appreciate it.)

AG: I can't imagine what LGBT are going through over there where their lives could be in danger simply for being gay. It's such a travesty when people are made to feel like they have to choose between their own culture and some other part of their identity. I truly hope my music can get out there—to at least give people a moment of getting lost in a song, feeling like their lives matter, their subjectivity matters. I made the choice to be openly gay and sing and write about it to be the change I wanted to see in with the gifts that I was given in this life. We've made some progress in this country but it only makes me more sure of the importance of continuing to spread a message of love in the face of such hate.

DBB: You have a new single, "Wave of U" with a series of top-notch remixes coming at us. Details? And is this the tip of a hot iceberg?

AG: Yes! Its the 10th anniversary of my first video, but the song never had an official single release. When I was putting together my remixed retrospective, PLAY MY F**KN REMIX, I re-recorded the vocals and now I can't wait to release the 12" single of this new version. It's a song that practically wrote itself and I still love performing it so I can't wait to perform it with all these new mixes!

DBB: We look forward to seeing you perform again, and await these hot, new mixes. Ari, thank you so much. Your fans love and support you!

AG:  I couldn't do this without the support of the fans so I am eternally grateful.

Below, the video for Wave of U:



 

From Russia with Hate

The above is an image of street art outside the Russian embassy in Sweden, protesting Russia's current policy of hate and oppression towards gay citizens. During this brouhaha, Canada's Parliament building was awash in lavender lighting. In Amsterdam, rainbow flags were on display for a visit of the Russian president Putin. The council of the city of Amsterdam decided to hang out the gay pride flag on all council-owned buildings and offices in protest of the human rights violation.

Still, the Olympics Committee so far refuses to move the venue of the Olympics in light of this debacle where mere support of equality for LGBT people in Russia is a severely punishable crime. High-profile and openly gay artists Harvey Fierstein, Tilda Swinton and George Takei have protested and promoted boycotting the Russian winter Olympics. Boycotts of Russian imports, especially vodka, continue throughout the world. Don't even consider a Faberge egg right now, dahlings!

As for US President Obama, he's cancelled a meeting with Putin scheduled for September on a number of issues including this human rights outrage. Obama told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, “I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.... One of the things I think is very important for me to speak out on is making sure that people are treated fairly and justly because that’s what we stand for, and I believe that that’s a precept that’s not unique to America. That’s just something that should apply everywhere."

Still, the Russians are bearish on bigotry in this matter. Two days ago, in that country, Olympic poll-vaulting shill Yelena Isinbayeva said that equality for gay people was Russia's greatest problem. Really? Of all of that nation's socioeconomic issues, that is actually what Ms I considers the country's main concern?

Yelena got real a day later and said she was Miss Understood.

People, BOYCOTT THE RUSSIAN OLYMPICS!

War & Peace, Love, Religion, Lies, Sex, Videotape, Shoes, Music & Vodka

Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters & Susan Sarandon 

Thought I'd go over some of the events and gossip that interested me over this past week and that I thought my readers might enjoy as well.

Beloved columnist-superstar Liz Smith reported in the New York Social Diary, Huffington Post and Chicago Tribune on Wednesday's promotional luncheon to get the documentary film, 20 Feet from Stardom, nominated for an Oscar.

Wrote Ms Smith: "Girl, what the hell is the matter with you. How come you're having a heart attack? Explain this to me!"
 
That was the great Darlene Love, doing her best Bette Midler imitation (and it's very good!), telling what Bette phoned and said to her, a week after Darlene's heart attack several years ago. Bette knew Darlene was out of danger. She called her old friend to make her laugh.


Darlene told this story the other day at a celebration for Morgan Neville's fantastic documentary, "20 Feet From Stardom."


This tells the history of back-up singers -- you know, those girls who stand in the back harmonizing with the star, filling in notes the star can't hit, and sometimes -- as in Darlene Love's case, singing the whole damn song, and then seeing it released under some other group's name! So this is an extraordinarily poignant, life and talent affirming look at these women, some of whom -- like the majestic, incredible Lisa Fischer -- seem content not to have made it "big" as a solo performer. There are others who have regrets, but concede that perhaps they didn't have the stamina, confidence or "killer instinct" to go it alone.

La Liz ends by saying: I attend so many events, luncheons, celebrations of this and that. Many are amusing, some are valuable for gathering bits of news, a great many produce nothing but a pain in the ass and a ridiculous taxi fare. Very few hit you in the heart and soul. This did. And so will "20 Feet From Stardom." Remember this the next time you listen to your favorite singer. If you hear voices in the background -- though one hears less now, with the rise of technological post-recording gimmickry -- just realize those voices belong to women, and men, who give their all for somebody else. And maybe you'll realize that you too, are a "back-up singer" in life.

Meanwhile, a reporter from Showbiz 411 wrote: I asked Darlene if she ever talks to her “Lethal Weapon” co-star Danny Glover. They played husband and wife in the four Richard Donner films.
Darlene, ringed in Shirley Temple curls, said: “I don’t speak to him. Keep that man away from me.” That was a surprise because I thought she reserved such sentiments for Phil Spector only. What’s the issue?


“He wanted to sleep with me, it was a big problem. Once he called me at home and said, I’m looking at a picture of you right now. You don’t know what I’d like to do with you.” Love laughed, but she was dead serious.

Meanwhile, the new Pope, "Eggs" Benedict, was in the news this week with his generally well-received comments on the gay community that, at least, signals progress of sorts. Time magazine wrote:

...[I]t was a question [the Pope] was asked on the flight back to Rome, about homosexuality, that has come to define the trip and has sparked hope that the Roman Catholic Church might be softening its stance on being gay. (Even using the word gay, which Francis did in English while otherwise speaking Italian, is unprecedented for a Pope.)

Is there anything new in what he had to say? Well, yes, in terms of tone. And this is no small thing. Francis' immediate predecessors called homosexuality an "intrinsic moral evil" and branded homosexuals as "intrinsically disordered." Instead of mirroring those blanket condemnations, Francis offered kindness and compassion. Then, in an act of genuine humility, he asked, "Who am I to judge?" It is telling that this rhetorical question got so much attention, since Jesus, who Christians believe was the perfect revelation of God, warned, "Judge not, that you be not judged." Yet previous Popes have shown no hesitation in being judgmental about homosexuality. This change in tone is significant.

The gayest legal document ever came across my desk today. Louboutin lawsuit vs Yves St Laurant for infringing on their trademark for red shoes. The NYC-based, international firm hat represented YSL (& won the case in this dispute resolution document) even managed to bring Dorothy's ruby slippers into their argument! Favorite line in the Louboutin lawsuit: "Oral argument was held in early 2012 in a courtroom packed with dueling Louboutin- and YSL-wearing fashionistas." I can just picture it. LOL! (Don't often see the word "fashionistas" in a legal document.)

Alexis Carrington vs. Shirley Partridge. Says TMZ: 

80-year-old Hollywood legend Joan Collins is livid at fellow icon Shirley Jones, insisting she's NOT some porn-watching swinger pervert and never was -- despite claims in Shirley's new book -- and now, she's threatening Ms. Jones.

Sources tell TMZ, Joan -- famous for the '80s soap "Dynasty" -- is pissed over one anecdote in particular, which Shirley recounts in her book "Shirley Jones: A Memoir," a story about the first time Shirley met Joan in the late '60s and a 4-person sex party nearly broke out.

According to the book, Shirley and her then-husband Jack Cassidy were at the home of Joan Collins and Tony Newley for dinner ... and after dinner, Tony proposed they all get naked and watch porn together. Shirley writes, "It was clear what Tony was leading up to -- swinging."

I will add that the Anthony Newley wrote, directed and starred in a movie titled Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? The film was a sleazy vanity project about the thinly disguised Newley, as character Merkin, leading a life of moral decay with real-life wife at the time, Joan Collins. Ms Collins sought divorce shortly after the release of this celluloid embarrassment.

And Jack Cassidy was bisexual; the jury's out on Shirley, who went from '50s/'60s honeydewed ingenue to hardened androgyny by the '70s.

Shirley Jones' book is now on sale. And Joan Collins will revive her club act at B. B. King's NYC in November (ironically, not long after David Cassidy is booked to perform).  http://www.bbkingblues.com/bio.php?id=3148

Today, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, there was a Russian-vodka-spilling protest in West Hollywood:

Several West Hollywood bar owners stood curbside Thursday, each holding a large Stolichnaya vodka bottle.

The men planned to pour out the containers, filled with water, in symbolic protest of anti-gay legislation that recently passed in Russia, Stolichnaya's home, banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" such as informing kids about homosexuality. 
 
“We do street theater to raise public consciousness about the issue,” said West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran.


Duran and the owners do not blame the vodka company, per se.
 
LGBT people are being beaten, jailed and killed for acts as small as holding a rainbow flag, said Alfredo Diaz, owner of Revolver Video Bar in West Hollywood. Diaz and others called for an immediate end to such abuse.

A similar event took place in NYC yesterday.

The winter Olympics must be moved to another country. It is unacceptable for the Olympics Committee and the world community to allow this event, where even gay Olympic athletes are threatened, to take place in Russia under current conditions.

Just say nyet!

Don't Boycott Stoli, Please

In light of current human rights abuses against the LGBT community in Russia, Stolichnaya vodka wants us to know: Don't stop drinking our product!

Writes RIA Novosti: Stolichnaya, one of the most popular vodkas in the United States, came out swinging at the Russian government Thursday with a message of support for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community worldwide.

“Stolichnaya Premium Vodka stands strong & proud with the global LGBT community against the actions and beliefs of the Russian government,” the company said on its Facebook page.

Val Mendeleev, Stolichnaya’s chief executive office, issued an open letter to the LGBT community on Thursday, in which he said the “recent dreadful actions taken by the Russian Government limiting the rights of the LGBT community and the passionate reaction of the community” had prompted the letter.

Mendeleev said Stoli was “upset and angry,” and “has always been, and continues to be a fervent supporter and friend to the LGBT community.”
 
He listed a number of programs and campaigns Stoli has launched in support of the LGBT community, and appeared to be backing away from the company’s long-established connection to Russia.

“The Russian government has no ownership interest or control over the Stoli brand that is privately owned by SPI Group, headquartered in Luxembourg in the heart of Western Europe,” he wrote, adding, “Stoli’s production process involves both Russia and Latvia. Stoli is made from Russian ingredients (wheat, rye and raw alcohol) blended with pure artesian well water at our historic distillery and bottling facility in Riga, Latvia.”

Stolichnaya has long been listed among the top-selling vodkas in the United States.

And Stoli has long targeted its gay clientele through openly gay-oriented ads.

So, it's all right, sweetie dahlings. Get your Stoli in whatever flavor, with whatever mixer and enjoy! Frankly, it's fabulous.

In further news from Russia, however, four Dutch tourists shooting a film about gay rights in Russia were arrested earlier this month outside the northern city of Murmansk, the first foreigners to be detained under the new law.  Meanwhile, actress Tilda Swinton gets into the act:

 The struggle continues.

Dj Buddy B Goes Electric with the Pet Shop Boys

The Pet Shop Boys' latest album, Electric, is surely something they could do in their sleep at this point of their career. Nonetheless, it is not to be ignored and should appeal to contemporary clubgoers and dance fans despite -- or, perhaps, partly because of -- its distinctly '80s flavor. The album will be available in the USA on July 16. It is the first album released on their own label and it's produced by Stuart Price.

Electric opens with the largely instrumental, "Axis," already a Billboard charter as is the ultimate number, "Vocal."  The latter is a very hiNRG dance tune that should infuse everyone with the desire to shake his/her moneymaker.

Bruce Springsteen's anti-war "Inside a Dream" gets a clever disco makeover. "Bolshy" and "Love Is a Bourgeois Construct" seem to refer to a gay love affair in Russia, very timely regarding the release date of this album. "Bourgeoise" has a very strong male chorus in the background with a distinct Russian echo to it.

Only the number "Shouting in the Evening" was too cacophonous for me. (What were they thinking when they arranged this? Appealing to a heavy industrial techno crowd? Do they still exist?!) "Thursday," the penultimate track, is classic PSB, but with a nice tweak via a brief interlude by rapper, Example. Would make a fine single with remixes.

All in all, a successful outing but don't expect anything revolutionary. The Pet Shop Boys have had a winning musical formula with few variations for over 30 years. And it still serves them well.

There were a couple of other hot dance tunes I enjoyed on promos this weekend: Deborah Cox's "Higher," featuring Paige, is a solid number for the diva who performed it as part of her act on the NYC Pier Dance last month.  Wrapped in an electro arrangement of drums and a swirl of keyboards, her vocals burnish through to make this a summer hit. You can hear it below.

And Mariah's back with another dancefloor tune for her fans. Suitably Latin but to an upbeat House production in the fabulous Big Kid and Brian Cua remix, which is the way to go on this one. The song is called "Almost Home" and it's a winner.

Russia: Sexcrime

Looking over my audience stats for today, I would say virulent anti-LGBT discrimination in Russia has dampened my blog's viewership in that country, as Russia is normally in my daily Top 5 in terms of where my global readership originates. Nonetheless, views from Ukraine still remain strong.

To my gay readers in Russia and the territories under its rule, the international community is with you. We support you and share your struggle. Protests are being mounted, like the boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics. I'm certain diplomatic efforts are going to be made. This will not stand.

Despite civil rights gains in the USA, the LGBT community remains under attack by haters. Our united fight against inequality, hatred and suppression continues.

To all my brothers and sisters in Russia, my comrades, remain strong and know the international gay community is involved in your struggle. Our struggle is one and united we are strong. Love and lifestyle are not sexcrimes, even when a despot declares it so.

Dance; it's hopeful; it's evolutionary and revolutionary.

To Russia with Love

привет, Russia!

I am so happy and thrilled with the high number of views I've had over the past weeks from your great country. I know you are struggling, even more than we are in the USA, with equality for gay men and women. Our struggle is one and the same and we are united. Keep up the good fight! I humbly hope to entertain you through your time of  making progress against repression. Through the struggle there must be joy. Time is on our side, remember.

любовь! ~~ Dj Buddy Beaverhausen

Dance for progress. I leave you with this song from Donna, remixed by Almighty in the UK.

мир!