Openly gay Persian singer Firouz turns some of his darkest memories into an inspirational message for everyone on his debut single "Warchild." Firouz came to Europe after leaving his beloved country of Iran to live a life of freedom. He now lives in Hamburg, Germany where he is a successful model, dancer and aspiring singer.
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Firouz is currently writing songs for his debut album that serve as a soundtrack to his memoir The Story of a Warchild. "Warchild" has been remixed and is available on iTunes in the U.S. If you'd like to hear the original version of "Warchild" and more of Firouz' tracks, head over to his MySpace page. More of my interview with Firouz soon. (A big, big thank you to Firouz for allowing me to post this track.)

Rufus Wainwright has always been pretty direct. He's generally frank in interviews, has been openly gay from day one, and comes clean with dirty laundry pretty happily. And, as he'd tell you himself, he can be a demanding diva. "I don't think I mince words on this album," Rufus says in the press notes for his forthcoming Release the Stars (due in May). "Whether it's America, or my best friend, or my lover, I'm specific about what my demands are." Trust. And if you've seen Rufus in concert, you know he's also funny and flip, and likes to make fun of his fussy self, too.

That's why I kind of think he's partly serious/partly just being intentionally overdramatic in his new single (leaked online today[b]) "Going to a Town." In the tune, he sings poutily about how he's "so tired of America." He evidently wrote the tune really quickly, almost on a whim: "I wrote that in about five minutes. I remember distinctly that I was waiting to go to dinner and I had about twenty minutes to spare. I off-handedly said, 'I think I'll go down and f*ck around on the piano' and all of a sudden that song was finished. It sort of arrived. Those are always the best ones; they're from some nether region that you have no control over."

You can download [b]"Going to a Town" here (via Stereogum via Hard to Find a Friend). Indeed, it's languid and mopey and melodic and lovely and self-indulgent. And Martha (his sis) is singing backup. If you love Rufus, you'll like it. If you're not a fan, this probably won't change your mind.

As of tomorrow morning, Toronto will get a chance to hear just what a gay radio station sounds like. Claiming to be the world's first commercially licensed radio station to specifically target the gay, lesbian and transgendered communities, Proud FM 103.9 hits the local airwaves at 6 a.m.

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And once they're on the air, what will they sound like? Gay artists such as Elton John and stereotypical gay-community favourites like Madonna and Cher will be part of the Proud playlist. But Torontonians hoping to hear prominent, catchy local queer acts – the church-folkies in Hidden Cameras and the Polaris prize-winning Final Fantasy come to mind – will probably be disappointed. The current promos don't make Proud sound all that different from stations like Mix 99.9, using the so-called "hot AC" format – uptempo pop for the adult-contemporary market.

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"Do we have to go `we're gay, we're gay, we're gay!' Wouldn't that be just as annoying as someone saying `we're straight, we're straight, we're straight!'" says James Collins, Proud's music director. "We all like the same music. It's not different – we might like a bit more kitschy stuff. We're a little more liberal than what the average station will play. Yes, we'll play more dancey stuff, and we're playing lots of openly gay artists and closeted gay artists, but it's just not discussed, like no one says we're playing Erasure, he's gay."

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For listeners, it's a chance to hear how different sexual orientations sound. Or to find out if it sounds different at all.

As of tomorrow morning, Toronto will get a chance to hear just what a gay radio station sounds like. Claiming to be the world's first commercially licensed radio station to specifically target the gay, lesbian and transgendered communities, Proud FM 103.9 hits the local airwaves at 6 a.m.

Does a gay radio station have to go `we're gay, we're gay, we're gay'? Ummm... yes.

in truth a straight and a gay culture are existing side by side

“More than a language, Polari is an attitude,” says Baker, one that demonstrates how gay men “reconstruct their world and themselves from new perspectives, making sense of experiences that have no existing labels in mainstream culture.”

Freddie Mercury: Magic Remixed is a pretty awesome look back at the Queen-y rock star's life and his legacy. Folks like Elton John, George Michael and Robbie Williams (who goes on and on and on about Mercury) offer their two quid about how influential and fierce Freddie was. And better yet, the doc sheds light on Mercury's background, family life (he was Indian), and talks to his family members, which is pretty rad. You'll not want to miss hearing Freddie's little old lady mom talking about her nice son who morphed into one of the biggest gay idols and rock titans of all time.

The documentary airs in a week or so (Saturday, April 28th at 9pm) on Logo...

This coming Wednesday, our very own associate editor Brian Juergens will sit down with Rufus Wainwright to talk about the songster's new album, his participation in the upcoming True Colors Tour with Cyndi Lauper, and whatever else you want to know about the pop star. If you've got a question you've been dying to get answered, drop us a line at editor@afterelton.com with RUFUS in the subject line. We'll choose the best and report back to you what Mr. Wainwright had to say!

25 Apr 2007 - AZ Conni --- Dresden, Germany

26 Apr 2007- Rote Sonne --- Munich, Germany

27 Apr 2007 - Crossing Europe Festival -- Linz,
Austria

28 Apr 2007 - Donaufestival -- Krems, Austria
w/ ESG, GANG OF FOUR, & FELIX KUBIN

29 Apr 2007 - Club Bordo (tbc) ---- Prague, Czech
Republic

30 Apr 2007 - Tsunami Club ---- Cologne, Germany

02 May 2007 - Le Theo ------------ Toulouse, France

04 May 2007 - Razzmatazz -- Barcelona, Spain

05 May 2007 - ELASTICO Flexiclub --- Madrid, Spain

It seems more than a few people end up at Gay Republic Daily in search of KidsOnTV's European tour.

The Scissor Sisters have just finished filming their new single Kiss You Off.

[...]

Ana Matronic takes lead in this Blondie-esque anthem to breaking up "I think it's one of the most polished and professional looking things we've ever done but don't hold that against us; it was so much fun to do. We hope you like it," says Ana Matronic.

Since hitting the airwaves nearly three years ago, Bayliss has charted a course for San Francisco's only independently owned radio station that has enabled it to turn a profit and become the most listened to dance/electronic radio station on the West Coast.

"The gay community, which makes up 15% of the San Francisco market and represents $670 billion in consumer spending, has a passion for dance music, but no one was playing it. So we launched Energy 92.7FM Pure Dance," said Bayliss. "We took an old-fashioned approach to our business model: local, live personalities and grass roots community involvement and went to work."

Bayliss and his team put together a radio line up of the hippest dance club music available with dynamic on-air personalities that today includes America's first all-gay morning radio show. Additionally, the Energy team began supporting local non-profits and taking an active role within the community. "We wanted to be the kind of station that not only played great music, but was there for the community 365 days a year," added Bayliss.

I'm just asking if anyone here assembled wishes to wager some imaginary pink dollars against the proposition that the number one reason this concept wasn't put together by Gays is that "my orientation is just one small part of who I am."