I have a soft spot for Kylie “Cancer Survivor” Minogue. Like Madonna, she does not have pristine vocal prowess, and she’s also vertically challenged. But like Madonna, she’s made seriously compelling and incessantly fun dance tracks (“Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” more than lives up to its title) and visual eye candy videos. Unfortunately she was never as huge as Mrs. Ritchie (Guy, not Lionel). She’s Down Under Madonna, both geographically and career-wise. Still, the Madonna of the Outback (hmmm, that sounds like a new title for the Virgin Mary) more than earns her gay-idol status. Just listen to her songs and watch her videos. I have yet to meet a straight guy who seriously likes her songs (I know a creative director who is straight but he knows all her songs and watches all her videos. But scratch the surface and you’ll realize that he doesn’t really like her songs; he just likes listening to her voice. And he watches her videos so he can ogle at her in tight, ass cheek-baring shorts. In other words, he’s in lust over her.)
When she came out with her Ultimate Kylie, she added a new song “I Believe In You”, a collaboration with Scissor Sisters members Jake Shears and Babydaddy. It was an upbeat eurodance track that was gayer than a pride march. But several years—and a successful battle with the big C—later, she performed the song in a British television special. What blew my socks off was the re-arrangement of the song into an orchestral version. Suddenly the flippant song gained heft by just trading the synthesizers and drum machine with a piano and strings. Wow. Watch and listen:
I’ve been obsessing over the two for a couple of days now, playing the original and orchestral versions again and again on my iPod. Give me a couple of days more before I get over them.
2 comments:
I have always liked her campy songs, although I have to admit that her albums (as a whole) tend to fall a little bit flat. Her "Greatest Hits" compilations are always of more value.
...and as one critic put it, "What has she actually done for the gay community?"
I love Roxy Hart!
been looking for the male version of this song, narinig ko once sa thai/ filipino grocery dito, it sounded like an old 70's song and di ko marecognize yun pala its the kylie song weehehe
thats song is so circa 2005 when I first arrived here, with the video downloaded sa ano nga yun... yung may beetle not bear basta, with the video na walang change costume but with just an art installation na with christmas lights and the torid hand choreography alavet
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