25 Essential Gay Pri Songs: Rollg Stone Edor Picks – Rollg Stone

Contents:

• THE SPRGTIME OF GAY POP CULTURE
• ITS ‘DEMON’ EXORCISED, A FLOATG GAY PARTY SERI RETURNS
• 'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY
• HOW GAY CLUBS CREATED POP AS WE KNOW ITTHE ATTACK ORLANDO WAS AN ASSLT ON ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT CULTURAL {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}MICBY MTV NEWS STAFFJUNE 17, 2016/1:43 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}PYMCA/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGGAY CLUBS HAVE HAD AN OUTSIZE IMPACT ON POP CULTURE THE LAST FOUR S.BY MTV NEWS STAFFJUNE 17, 2016 / 1:43 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"HOW GAY CLUBS CREATED POP AS WE KNOW IT","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2016-06-17T17:43:56.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2016-06-17T17:43:56.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"MTV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"MTV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1280,"HEIGHT":720}},"CREATOR":"MTV NEWS STAFF","KEYWORDS":"ELECTRONIC, POP MIC, MASS SHOOTG IN ORLANDO","ARTICLESECTN":"MIC"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BY MIL {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN 1970, SANCTUARY, A FOUNRG NIGHTCLUB MANHATTAN’S HELL’S KCHEN NEIGHBORHOOD, REBRAND SELF AS A GAY CLUB, HIRG A LOL DISK JOCKEY NAMED FRANCIS GRASSO TO PROVI THE MIC. GRASSO WAS UNLIKE ANY OTHER DJ WORKG AT THE TIME: HE PNEERED THE IA OF BLENDG SONGS TOGETHER SEAMLSLY TO KEEP PARTYGOERS DANCG. GRASSO FAVORED LAT MIC, AIN RHYTHMS, BIG BEATS, AND BODY MIC, AND FOUND DANCE-FLOOR VOTE SANCTUARY’S DIVERSE CLIENTELE. A NSECRATED CHURCH RATED WH A MURAL OF NU ANGELS ENGAGED KKY SEX ACTS, THE SANCTUARY WAS SIGNED FOR TRANSGRSN AND EXCS, AND THE CROWDS OF GAY MEN REACHG ECSTATIC STAT EN MASSE TO THE DM-CRAZED SOUNDS GRASSO WAS SPNG F THE BILL PERFECTLY. FEW OF THE REVELERS ULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THEY WERE WNSG THE DAWN OF A MIL REVOLUTN LLED DIS, OR THAT THEIR RADIL IA OF HOW TO SPEND A SATURDAY NIGHT WOULD EVENTUALLY EVOLVE TO MORN CLUBBG AND SPREAD TO EVERY RNER OF THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}WHEN MASS MURRER OMAR MATEEN OPENED FIRE LAST WEEKEND ON PULSE, A GAY NIGHTCLUB ORLANDO, HE TOOK AIM AT AN STUTN. GAY CLUBS HAVE HAD IMMEASURABLE WORLDWI HISTORIL AND CULTURAL VALUE TO POPULAR MIC, PARTICULARLY TO THE VELOPMENT OF ELECTRONIC AND DANCE MIC ALL THEIR FORMS. WHILE THE MASTREAM MIC PRS HAS WORKED OVERTIME TO NONIZE ROCK CLUBS LIKE CBGB AND THE STRG OF VENU ALONG L.A.’S SUNSET STRIP, THE GAY CLUBS OF THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURI HAVE PLAYED A CCIAL ROLE SHAPG THE SOUNDTRACKS OF OUR {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}DANCE MIC AS WE KNOW WAS BORN THE EARLY 1970S, WHEN THE FIRST WAVE OF CLUBS TO SPRG UP ACROSS THE U.S. AFTER THE STONEWALL RTS SPREAD OUTWARD OM THEIR ORIGS TY GREENWICH VILLAGE BARS AND DOWNTOWN LOFTS. DISC JOCKEYS LIKE GRASSO AND NICKY SIANO TOOK SOUL, FUNK, AND ROCK RERDS AND DISTILLED THEM TO PURE MOOD AND GROOVE, AND THE PROCS THEY NOT ONLY PIECED TOGETHER THE STYLISTIC FOUNDATNS OF DIS (AND THE OBSSIVE FOC ON RHYTHM THAT THE STYLE WOULD E TO NQUER THE GLOBE), BUT ALSO VENTED BEAT-MATCHG, THE TWO-TURNTABLE SETUP, AND MOST OF THE OTHER FUNDAMENTAL TOOLS AND TECHNIQU OF MORN DJG. IN THEIR SEMAL BOOK LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE: THE HISTORY OF THE DISC JOCKEY, BILL BREWSTER AND FRANK BROUGHTON LL GRASSO “THE ANCTOR OF ALL MORN DJS, THE GODFATHER OF THE CRAFT, THE FIRST DJ THAT WE WOULD REGNIZE AS DOG THE SAME THG AS DJS DO TODAY.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MEANWHILE, DANCERS AT ALL-NIGHT PARTI ON THE GAY ENCLAVE OF FIRE ISLAND SPIRED RERD EXEC TOM MOULTON TO ALTER POPULAR SONGS TO ISOLATE AND EXTEND THEIR GROOVE — A PROCS WE NOW LL REMIXG — AND WEAVE THEM TOGETHER TO SEAMLS MIX THAT WOULDN’T LET THE BEAT DROP FOR HOURS AT A TIME. MOULTON WOULD SOON BE STMENTAL TO GRACE JON'S REER. AT THE SAME TIME AS PUNK’S MANIFTO WAS BEG WORKED OUT VENU LIKE CBGB AND MAX’S KANSAS CY — BY ACTS LIKE BLONDIE AND THE NEW YORK DOLLS, WHO LOOKED TO GAY CLUBS FOR SPIRATN — THE DANCE MIC REVOLUTN WAS EPTG PLAC LIKE THE SANCTUARY, THE GALLERY, AND THE SANDPIPER, WHOSE NAM HAVEN’T BEEN AS WILY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“AT A CERTA POT, DANCE MIC BEME SELF-AWARE,” SAYS CHIGO DJ THE BLACK MADONNA. WHEN THE SCENE SPRGG UP GAY CLUBS STARTED TO REGNIZE SELF AS A DISTCT CULTURE, SHE SAYS, “IMMEDIATELY WE HAVE SOME OF THE FIRST OPENLY GAY RERDS THAT ADDRS HOMOSEXUALY VERY EXPLIC TERMS,” CG CARL BEAN’S 1977 GAY PRI ANTHEM, “I WAS BORN THIS WAY.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;POSN:RELATIVE;PADDG-BOTTOM:75%;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;POSN:ABSOLUTE;HEIGHT:100% !IMPORTANT;WIDTH:100% !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BY THE TIME DIS BROKE TO THE MASTREAM, ON S WAY TO OVERSATURATN VIA STRAIGHT CLUBS THE MOLD OF STUD 54, THE RE OF DANCE MIC’S AVANT-GAR HAD RELOTED TO THE CONTENTAL BATHS ON MANHATTAN’S UPPER WT SI, WHERE DJS LARRY LEVAN AND FRANKIE KNUCKL SPUN A NIGHTCLUB LOTED SI A GAY SEX CLUB. LEVAN EVENTUALLY LEFT THE BATHS FOR PARADISE GARAGE, WHERE HE LIFTED DIS’S BEAT-CENTRIC APPROACH TO AN ECSTATIC, PSYCHELIC EXPERIENCE. KNUCKL RELOTED TO CHIGO, WHERE HIS RINCY AT A GAY CLUB LLED THE WAREHOE — OPENED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO A WHE GAY SCENE THAT EXCLUD BLACKS AND LATOS — BROUGHT DANCE MIC TO S NEXT ERA WHILE ALSO PROVIDG WH A NAME: {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE ELECTRONIC FOUR-ON-THE-FLOOR BEAT OF HOE MIC IALLY FILTERED TO THE POP MASTREAM THROUGH MADONNA, STARTG WHEN HER 1983 SGLE “HOLIDAY” TOOK HER OM THE CLUB CHARTS TO THE HOT 100. LIKE MOST EVERY POP DIVA THAT HAS FOLLOWED HER WAKE, MADONNA’S REER FLOURISHED WHILE WORKG WH DJS AND PRODUCERS WHO HAD REFED THEIR TALENTS GAY CLUBS. THE FIRST WAS “HOLIDAY” PRODUCER JOHN "JELLYBEAN" BENEZ, WHO SPUN AT THE PARADISE GARAGE AND SPIKED HER BUT ALBUM WH THE HI-NRG SOUND THAT PRODUCER PATRICK COWLEY VELOPED THE LATE '70S WHILE HE WAS RINT DJ AT SAN FRANCIS GAY CLUB THE ENDUP (AND -HOE POSER FOR A GAY PORN STUD). BUT WHILE UNDILUTED HOE MIC SWIFTLY NQUERED EUROPEAN POP OM TOP TO BOTTOM, THE STAT REMAED LARGELY NFED TO GAY CLUBS FOR MANY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BEYOND THEIR ROLE AS ENCLAV FOR DANCE CULTURE WHEN THE RT OF AMERI WAS STILL RELUCTANT TO MOVE PAST ROCK AND ROLL, GAY CLUBS HAVE LONG PROVID SAFE SPAC FOR ALL STRIP OF EXPRSN. AWAY OM BIG CI, PUNK CLUBS AND ART SPAC N BE HARD TO E BY, BUT THERE ARE GAY CLUBS ALL OVER THE HTERLANDS, OM THE RT BELT DOWN TO THE DEEP SOUTH, AST TO AST, THAT OFFER PATRONS A LEVEL OF LIBERATN OM A SOCIETY THAT HAS LONG LOOKED AT HOMOSEXUALY AS A {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“IN LIFE, GAY PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THAT PRIVILEGE TO EXPRS THEMSELV CERTA WAYS THAT STRAIGHT PEOPLE HAVE, LIKE FASHN OR MAKP OR EVEN SEX,” SAYS RAPPER CAK DA KILLA, WHO GOT HIS START PLAYG GAY VENU. “SO WHEN YOU GET THE PEOPLE ALL ONE PLACE, BE A SAFE SPACE FOR ALL THAT — DRAG QUEENS, GLTER — BEE WE FALLY HAVE THE SPACE TO EXPRS OURSELV, UNHIBED.” AS A RULT, GAY CLUBS HAVE LONG BEEN HOTHO FOR CREATIVE EXPERIMENTATN AND NOVATN, BIRTHG CULTURAL VENTN THROUGH OUTRAGEO AND TRANSGRSIVE IAS THAT ULDN’T BE REALIZED ANYWHERE ELSE. IN SAN FRANCIS THE 1970S, YOU ULD SEE A GROUP OF GLTER-DRENCHED QUEER BOHEMIANS PERFORM HILARLY PROFANE, LSD-SPIRED ACTS THAT BLURRED THE LE BETWEEN DRAG REVUE AND PERFORMANCE ART. IN CHIGO TODAY, YOU N H UP A CLUB LLED BERL FOR A MONTHLY RADIL BODY-POSIVY PIZZA PARTY HOSTED BY BEARD SCI-FI DRAG QUEEN LUCY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“IT'S A PLACE TO BE YOURSELF,” SAYS NEW JERSEY–BASED DJ/PRODUCER MIKEQ, A MAJOR NAME THE UNRGROUND GAY BALLROOM SCENE WHO ALSO REACH LARGER, MORE MASTREAM DIENC THROUGH NNECTNS TO EDM BRANDS LIKE MAD DECENT. “IN GAY CLUBS, 'S A FAY AND UNRGROUND MUNY. IT'S A WHOLE WAY OF LIFE — AND EEDOM.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SOME OF GAY CLUB CULTURE’S WILST VENTNS END UP SPREADG FAR AND WI. CLUB KIDS AND DRAG QUEENS REPEATEDLY TAKE FASHN TO PSYCHELIC NEW LEVELS BEFORE THEIR NOVATNS ARE PIED BY HIGH-FASHN HO AND TRICKLE DOWN THROUGH THE MASS MARKET. CLUBS NNECTED THE UNRGROUND BALLROOM SCENE TO ARTISTS LIKE MADONNA AND FKA TWIGS, WHO EXPOSED TWO GENERATNS OF POP LISTENERS A QUARTER-CENTURY APART TO DANCE STYL LIKE VOGUG. AND WHEN FADG TEEN POP STARS NEED TO REH THEIR IMAGE WH A LTLE MORE EDGE AND A LTLE MORE SEX, THEY EVABLY TURN TO GAY CLUBS FOR SPIRATN. WHETHER ’S BEATS OR CHOREOGRAPHY OR FASHN OR EVEN SLANG, POP MIC HAS BEEN GETTG REGULAR TOUCH-UPS OM THE GAY CLUB SCENE FOR S NOW. FROM ONE ANGLE, 'S SIMPLE CULTURAL APPROPRIATN; OTHERS SEE AS A SMALL BUT TENSELY CREATIVE MUNY FLEXG AN OUTSIZE FLUENCE ON THE WORLD AROUND . “IF YOU ASK ME,” MIKEQ SAYS, “GAYS PRETTY MUCH N THE WORLD MIC, FASHN, AND DANCE. ALL THE BIG CELEBRI, THEIR STYLISTS ARE GAY, THEIR CHOREOGRAPHERS ARE GAY, OR THEY'RE DOG VOGUG MOV OR DIFFERENT THGS LIKE THAT. OF URSE, ALL THE PEOPLE E THE GAY LANGUAGE NOW.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SHIFTG STANDARDS FOR EQUALY AND FLOURISHG NNECTNS BETWEEN SUBCULTUR AND THE MASTREAM HAVE BROUGHT A LOT OF GAY CLUB CULTURE OUT OF THE GAY CLUBS. POP 2016 SOMETIM SEEMS LIKE A MASSIVE GAY DANCE PARTY TURNED SI OUT AND SPILLED ONTO THE STREET. “THOSE THGS DON'T STAY UNRGROUND, BEE THOSE THGS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT,” SAYS CAK. “THEY'RE BENEFICIAL TO EVERYONE, WHETHER YOU'RE GAY OR STRAIGHT. PEOPLE NEED TO DO THEIR REARCH AND UNRSTAND WHERE THOSE THGS E OM, BEE SOMETIM THOSE THGS GET LOST THE SCE.” HOE MIC’S LIFE-GIVG THUMP IS ALL AROUND . SIWALKS AND MALLS ARE FULL OF YOUNG PEOPLE REMIXG SEVERAL S’ WORTH OF CLUB-KID FASHN, WH HELP OM SIGNERS LIKE JEREMY STT. PEOPLE OF ALL GENRS AND SEXUALI REGULARLY GATHER BY THE THOANDS TO STRIP DOWN TO A MIMUM OF CLOTHG, SLATHER THEMSELV GLTER, AND SPEND HOURS UPON HOURS DANCG TO A CEASELS GROOVE UNR THE FLUENCE OF MD-ALTERG CHEMILS — SENTIALLY REPEATG THE SAME RUAL THAT GAY MEN NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO WOULD ENACT EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN RECENT YEARS, THE MASTREAMG OF EDM AND THE BLENDG OF GAY AND STRAIGHT CLUBBERS SEEM TO HAVE ROBBED THE GAY CLUB OF SOME OF S CENTRAL ROLE AS THE RADIL LABORATORY OF DANCE MIC CULTURE. THE BLACK MADONNA FEELS THAT GAY CLUBS LOST TOUCH WH THE DANCE MIC UNRGROUND — BUT, SHE ADDS, “THAT IS CHANGG RIGHT NOW.” ACROSS THE UNTRY, THERE’S BEEN A RURGENCE TERT RENNECTG DANCE MIC TO S ROOTS. SAN FRANCIS–BASED DJ LLECTIVE HONEY SOUNDSYSTEM IS TOURG THE WORLD PLAYG THE TYPE OF DIS AND PROTO-HOE YOU’D HEAR AT PLAC LIKE THE ENDUP. (MEMBER JOSH CHEON NS THE LABEL DARK ENTRI, WHICH HAS BEEN REISSUG PATRICK COWLEY’S LOST WORK.) PARTI LIKE QUEEN! CHIGO AND HONCHO PTSBURGH ARE BRGG SOME OF THE GLAMMY, TRANSGRSIVE ENERGY OF CLUBBG’S EARLIT DAYS, WHILE NEW YORK’S GHE20G0TH1K WRAPS CYBERPUNKISH {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THIS WEEKEND, CI AROUND THE WORLD, PARTI AND FUNDRAISER NIGHTS ARE BEG HOSTED AT GAY CLUBS — FIANCE, SOLIDARY, AND CELEBRATN OF THE CULTURE TARGETED BY THE ORLANDO KILLER. AT A NCERT ON SUNDAY NIGHT ANTWERP, ALE ACKNOWLEDGED THE TRAGEDY BY DITG A UPLE SONGS TO THE LGBTQ MUNY — NOT ANY OF HER MOURNFUL BALLADS, BUT SOME OF THE TORCHY DANCE SONGS SHE’S MA THAT WOULD HAVE BLOWN UP THE DANCE FLOOR AT ANY GAY DIS THE '{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“PEOPLE GRIEVE DIFFERENTLY,” CAK SAYS. “A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE #PRAYFORORLANDO AS A HASHTAG, BUT FOR ME, MY IEND MA A POST THAT WAS LIKE, ‘IT'S NOT ABOUT PRAYG FOR ORLANDO. IT'S ABOUT VOGUG FOR ORLANDO. IT'S ABOUT FUCKG FOR ORLANDO.' TO ME, JT FIR ME UP TO NTUE LIVG MY LIFE.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}ELECTRONICPOP MICMASS SHOOTG IN {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS
• 40 BT GAY SGERS & MICIANS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ SGERS)

THE SPRGTIME OF GAY POP CULTURE

The Stephen Spielberg-backed project tells the story of three drag queens — Noxeema, Chi-Chi and Vida, played by Wley Snip, John Leguizamo and Patrick Swayze rpectively — who take off on a cross-untry adventure to participate a huge drag pageant, stoppg a small homophobic town where they teach the lols about love and acceptance. A crop of gay-themed movi and televisn shows spng up like a nonfatal fung recent weeks—somethg that seemed extremely unlikely jt a few months ago, pendg on how closely you were listeng to the ath knells acpanyg the unrperformance of Bros last fall.

Marketed ls for s ntributn to edy and more for what meant to society as the (arguably) first major stud rom centered on gays, Billy Eichner’s movie ma ls than $5 ln s openg weekend. Perhaps Eichner felt the very fate of queer reprentatn was ridg on his film, so he uldn’t jt let die; when I asked him about the optics of the first openly gay rom focg on two cis whe men, he told me: “The whole pot of this is that we make a movie that’s so funny and so relatable and so movg to all dienc, straight and LGBTQ, that the dtry and other major studs are enuraged to make more movi and om different perspectiv. The lack of tert dienc had nsumg mastream gay stori uld be terpreted as a passive reifitn of nservative disda—disda that many of felt we had moved past and was otherwise so irrelevant as to be ignorable.

Unlike any major horror film that me before , Knock foc on a gay uple (Jonathan Groff plays Andrew’s partner, Eric) who are told by four seemgly whacko nspiracists that they have a choice: Sacrifice a member of their fay, which also clus their adopted dghter, or the world will end. Though Knock’s four horsemen characters assure Andrew and Eric that their sexualy did not make them targets (their abundant love did, explas one played by David Btista), their gayns is not merely cintal to the plot.

ITS ‘DEMON’ EXORCISED, A FLOATG GAY PARTY SERI RETURNS

It feels very much like a straight tr’s attempt to do jtice to an experience he’s only heard, Knock is remarkable for beg one example of a post-Bros rash of mastream pop culture that is foced on queer people, specifilly gay men. The whe whale of a piece of pop culture that neatly and virtuoly reprents a group s entirety remas elive, by fn, but the more tth is attempted, the higher the chanc of achievg somethg, anythg that seems Knock hged the future of civilizatn on an agonizg cisn imposed on a gay uple, a much more movg pictn of gay life at the end of the world materialized out of th air on last week’s The Last of Us, a kd of si-qut episo that spent most of s time foced on gay uple Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), who happened upon each other as civilizatn shut down. The episo, tled “Long, Long Time” (after the Lda Ronstadt song), practilly dared viewers not to relate to an extremely pure pictn of love worth bravg the apolypse the armageddon-themed gay story that closed out last week, the one that opened also suggted that right/left divisns are ls rigid than they might seem.

The problem wh reprentg the unrreprented is that narrative cisns n e across as tactics, not tth, and puttg guns the hands of gay characters seems like a spic way to fe a bridge om the right to the ostensible asi, “Long, Long Time” adhered to a template of many a great ntemporary gay story—like Andrew Haigh’s Weekend, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Tropil Malady, Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country, and of urse Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mounta, found love a ntextualized place. After s premiere, a vio showed the hosts of a viewg party for s lead-, RuPl’s Drag Race (still many ways the sgle most relevant pictn of gay life), turng off to the cheers of the attendg crowd.

'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY

“We fight for reprentatn then fight agast when we get , bee don’t e the form we’d hoped, ” read part of the first one, which bemoaned gays’ negative rponse by reportg that “the ll was g om si the hoe. The Stormy Daniels-hosted realy show attempts to fd love, or maybe jt hot sex, between olr, beefy guys and younger, smooth on (referred to on the show as “himbos, ” but really they’re jt twks), and , too, breaks the fourth wall to ment on the ridiculons of the scenar, mostly via a wisecrackg, omniscient narrator who says thgs like, “Here are some realy TV tablishg shots of our multiln dollar mansn, ” and, “Whoever said gay men are vapid and sex-crazed are about to be proven…somewhat rrect.

HOW GAY CLUBS CREATED POP AS WE KNOW ITTHE ATTACK ORLANDO WAS AN ASSLT ON ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT CULTURAL {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}MICBY MTV NEWS STAFFJUNE 17, 2016/1:43 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}PYMCA/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGGAY CLUBS HAVE HAD AN OUTSIZE IMPACT ON POP CULTURE THE LAST FOUR S.BY MTV NEWS STAFFJUNE 17, 2016 / 1:43 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"HOW GAY CLUBS CREATED POP AS WE KNOW IT","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2016-06-17T17:43:56.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2016-06-17T17:43:56.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"MTV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"MTV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1280,"HEIGHT":720}},"CREATOR":"MTV NEWS STAFF","KEYWORDS":"ELECTRONIC, POP MIC, MASS SHOOTG IN ORLANDO","ARTICLESECTN":"MIC"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BY MIL {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN 1970, SANCTUARY, A FOUNRG NIGHTCLUB MANHATTAN’S HELL’S KCHEN NEIGHBORHOOD, REBRAND SELF AS A GAY CLUB, HIRG A LOL DISK JOCKEY NAMED FRANCIS GRASSO TO PROVI THE MIC. GRASSO WAS UNLIKE ANY OTHER DJ WORKG AT THE TIME: HE PNEERED THE IA OF BLENDG SONGS TOGETHER SEAMLSLY TO KEEP PARTYGOERS DANCG. GRASSO FAVORED LAT MIC, AIN RHYTHMS, BIG BEATS, AND BODY MIC, AND FOUND DANCE-FLOOR VOTE SANCTUARY’S DIVERSE CLIENTELE. A NSECRATED CHURCH RATED WH A MURAL OF NU ANGELS ENGAGED KKY SEX ACTS, THE SANCTUARY WAS SIGNED FOR TRANSGRSN AND EXCS, AND THE CROWDS OF GAY MEN REACHG ECSTATIC STAT EN MASSE TO THE DM-CRAZED SOUNDS GRASSO WAS SPNG F THE BILL PERFECTLY. FEW OF THE REVELERS ULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THEY WERE WNSG THE DAWN OF A MIL REVOLUTN LLED DIS, OR THAT THEIR RADIL IA OF HOW TO SPEND A SATURDAY NIGHT WOULD EVENTUALLY EVOLVE TO MORN CLUBBG AND SPREAD TO EVERY RNER OF THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}WHEN MASS MURRER OMAR MATEEN OPENED FIRE LAST WEEKEND ON PULSE, A GAY NIGHTCLUB ORLANDO, HE TOOK AIM AT AN STUTN. GAY CLUBS HAVE HAD IMMEASURABLE WORLDWI HISTORIL AND CULTURAL VALUE TO POPULAR MIC, PARTICULARLY TO THE VELOPMENT OF ELECTRONIC AND DANCE MIC ALL THEIR FORMS. WHILE THE MASTREAM MIC PRS HAS WORKED OVERTIME TO NONIZE ROCK CLUBS LIKE CBGB AND THE STRG OF VENU ALONG L.A.’S SUNSET STRIP, THE GAY CLUBS OF THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURI HAVE PLAYED A CCIAL ROLE SHAPG THE SOUNDTRACKS OF OUR {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}DANCE MIC AS WE KNOW WAS BORN THE EARLY 1970S, WHEN THE FIRST WAVE OF CLUBS TO SPRG UP ACROSS THE U.S. AFTER THE STONEWALL RTS SPREAD OUTWARD OM THEIR ORIGS TY GREENWICH VILLAGE BARS AND DOWNTOWN LOFTS. DISC JOCKEYS LIKE GRASSO AND NICKY SIANO TOOK SOUL, FUNK, AND ROCK RERDS AND DISTILLED THEM TO PURE MOOD AND GROOVE, AND THE PROCS THEY NOT ONLY PIECED TOGETHER THE STYLISTIC FOUNDATNS OF DIS (AND THE OBSSIVE FOC ON RHYTHM THAT THE STYLE WOULD E TO NQUER THE GLOBE), BUT ALSO VENTED BEAT-MATCHG, THE TWO-TURNTABLE SETUP, AND MOST OF THE OTHER FUNDAMENTAL TOOLS AND TECHNIQU OF MORN DJG. IN THEIR SEMAL BOOK LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE: THE HISTORY OF THE DISC JOCKEY, BILL BREWSTER AND FRANK BROUGHTON LL GRASSO “THE ANCTOR OF ALL MORN DJS, THE GODFATHER OF THE CRAFT, THE FIRST DJ THAT WE WOULD REGNIZE AS DOG THE SAME THG AS DJS DO TODAY.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MEANWHILE, DANCERS AT ALL-NIGHT PARTI ON THE GAY ENCLAVE OF FIRE ISLAND SPIRED RERD EXEC TOM MOULTON TO ALTER POPULAR SONGS TO ISOLATE AND EXTEND THEIR GROOVE — A PROCS WE NOW LL REMIXG — AND WEAVE THEM TOGETHER TO SEAMLS MIX THAT WOULDN’T LET THE BEAT DROP FOR HOURS AT A TIME. MOULTON WOULD SOON BE STMENTAL TO GRACE JON'S REER. AT THE SAME TIME AS PUNK’S MANIFTO WAS BEG WORKED OUT VENU LIKE CBGB AND MAX’S KANSAS CY — BY ACTS LIKE BLONDIE AND THE NEW YORK DOLLS, WHO LOOKED TO GAY CLUBS FOR SPIRATN — THE DANCE MIC REVOLUTN WAS EPTG PLAC LIKE THE SANCTUARY, THE GALLERY, AND THE SANDPIPER, WHOSE NAM HAVEN’T BEEN AS WILY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“AT A CERTA POT, DANCE MIC BEME SELF-AWARE,” SAYS CHIGO DJ THE BLACK MADONNA. WHEN THE SCENE SPRGG UP GAY CLUBS STARTED TO REGNIZE SELF AS A DISTCT CULTURE, SHE SAYS, “IMMEDIATELY WE HAVE SOME OF THE FIRST OPENLY GAY RERDS THAT ADDRS HOMOSEXUALY VERY EXPLIC TERMS,” CG CARL BEAN’S 1977 GAY PRI ANTHEM, “I WAS BORN THIS WAY.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;POSN:RELATIVE;PADDG-BOTTOM:75%;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;POSN:ABSOLUTE;HEIGHT:100% !IMPORTANT;WIDTH:100% !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BY THE TIME DIS BROKE TO THE MASTREAM, ON S WAY TO OVERSATURATN VIA STRAIGHT CLUBS THE MOLD OF STUD 54, THE RE OF DANCE MIC’S AVANT-GAR HAD RELOTED TO THE CONTENTAL BATHS ON MANHATTAN’S UPPER WT SI, WHERE DJS LARRY LEVAN AND FRANKIE KNUCKL SPUN A NIGHTCLUB LOTED SI A GAY SEX CLUB. LEVAN EVENTUALLY LEFT THE BATHS FOR PARADISE GARAGE, WHERE HE LIFTED DIS’S BEAT-CENTRIC APPROACH TO AN ECSTATIC, PSYCHELIC EXPERIENCE. KNUCKL RELOTED TO CHIGO, WHERE HIS RINCY AT A GAY CLUB LLED THE WAREHOE — OPENED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO A WHE GAY SCENE THAT EXCLUD BLACKS AND LATOS — BROUGHT DANCE MIC TO S NEXT ERA WHILE ALSO PROVIDG WH A NAME: {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE ELECTRONIC FOUR-ON-THE-FLOOR BEAT OF HOE MIC IALLY FILTERED TO THE POP MASTREAM THROUGH MADONNA, STARTG WHEN HER 1983 SGLE “HOLIDAY” TOOK HER OM THE CLUB CHARTS TO THE HOT 100. LIKE MOST EVERY POP DIVA THAT HAS FOLLOWED HER WAKE, MADONNA’S REER FLOURISHED WHILE WORKG WH DJS AND PRODUCERS WHO HAD REFED THEIR TALENTS GAY CLUBS. THE FIRST WAS “HOLIDAY” PRODUCER JOHN "JELLYBEAN" BENEZ, WHO SPUN AT THE PARADISE GARAGE AND SPIKED HER BUT ALBUM WH THE HI-NRG SOUND THAT PRODUCER PATRICK COWLEY VELOPED THE LATE '70S WHILE HE WAS RINT DJ AT SAN FRANCIS GAY CLUB THE ENDUP (AND -HOE POSER FOR A GAY PORN STUD). BUT WHILE UNDILUTED HOE MIC SWIFTLY NQUERED EUROPEAN POP OM TOP TO BOTTOM, THE STAT REMAED LARGELY NFED TO GAY CLUBS FOR MANY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BEYOND THEIR ROLE AS ENCLAV FOR DANCE CULTURE WHEN THE RT OF AMERI WAS STILL RELUCTANT TO MOVE PAST ROCK AND ROLL, GAY CLUBS HAVE LONG PROVID SAFE SPAC FOR ALL STRIP OF EXPRSN. AWAY OM BIG CI, PUNK CLUBS AND ART SPAC N BE HARD TO E BY, BUT THERE ARE GAY CLUBS ALL OVER THE HTERLANDS, OM THE RT BELT DOWN TO THE DEEP SOUTH, AST TO AST, THAT OFFER PATRONS A LEVEL OF LIBERATN OM A SOCIETY THAT HAS LONG LOOKED AT HOMOSEXUALY AS A {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“IN LIFE, GAY PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THAT PRIVILEGE TO EXPRS THEMSELV CERTA WAYS THAT STRAIGHT PEOPLE HAVE, LIKE FASHN OR MAKP OR EVEN SEX,” SAYS RAPPER CAK DA KILLA, WHO GOT HIS START PLAYG GAY VENU. “SO WHEN YOU GET THE PEOPLE ALL ONE PLACE, BE A SAFE SPACE FOR ALL THAT — DRAG QUEENS, GLTER — BEE WE FALLY HAVE THE SPACE TO EXPRS OURSELV, UNHIBED.” AS A RULT, GAY CLUBS HAVE LONG BEEN HOTHO FOR CREATIVE EXPERIMENTATN AND NOVATN, BIRTHG CULTURAL VENTN THROUGH OUTRAGEO AND TRANSGRSIVE IAS THAT ULDN’T BE REALIZED ANYWHERE ELSE. IN SAN FRANCIS THE 1970S, YOU ULD SEE A GROUP OF GLTER-DRENCHED QUEER BOHEMIANS PERFORM HILARLY PROFANE, LSD-SPIRED ACTS THAT BLURRED THE LE BETWEEN DRAG REVUE AND PERFORMANCE ART. IN CHIGO TODAY, YOU N H UP A CLUB LLED BERL FOR A MONTHLY RADIL BODY-POSIVY PIZZA PARTY HOSTED BY BEARD SCI-FI DRAG QUEEN LUCY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“IT'S A PLACE TO BE YOURSELF,” SAYS NEW JERSEY–BASED DJ/PRODUCER MIKEQ, A MAJOR NAME THE UNRGROUND GAY BALLROOM SCENE WHO ALSO REACH LARGER, MORE MASTREAM DIENC THROUGH NNECTNS TO EDM BRANDS LIKE MAD DECENT. “IN GAY CLUBS, 'S A FAY AND UNRGROUND MUNY. IT'S A WHOLE WAY OF LIFE — AND EEDOM.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SOME OF GAY CLUB CULTURE’S WILST VENTNS END UP SPREADG FAR AND WI. CLUB KIDS AND DRAG QUEENS REPEATEDLY TAKE FASHN TO PSYCHELIC NEW LEVELS BEFORE THEIR NOVATNS ARE PIED BY HIGH-FASHN HO AND TRICKLE DOWN THROUGH THE MASS MARKET. CLUBS NNECTED THE UNRGROUND BALLROOM SCENE TO ARTISTS LIKE MADONNA AND FKA TWIGS, WHO EXPOSED TWO GENERATNS OF POP LISTENERS A QUARTER-CENTURY APART TO DANCE STYL LIKE VOGUG. AND WHEN FADG TEEN POP STARS NEED TO REH THEIR IMAGE WH A LTLE MORE EDGE AND A LTLE MORE SEX, THEY EVABLY TURN TO GAY CLUBS FOR SPIRATN. WHETHER ’S BEATS OR CHOREOGRAPHY OR FASHN OR EVEN SLANG, POP MIC HAS BEEN GETTG REGULAR TOUCH-UPS OM THE GAY CLUB SCENE FOR S NOW. FROM ONE ANGLE, 'S SIMPLE CULTURAL APPROPRIATN; OTHERS SEE AS A SMALL BUT TENSELY CREATIVE MUNY FLEXG AN OUTSIZE FLUENCE ON THE WORLD AROUND . “IF YOU ASK ME,” MIKEQ SAYS, “GAYS PRETTY MUCH N THE WORLD MIC, FASHN, AND DANCE. ALL THE BIG CELEBRI, THEIR STYLISTS ARE GAY, THEIR CHOREOGRAPHERS ARE GAY, OR THEY'RE DOG VOGUG MOV OR DIFFERENT THGS LIKE THAT. OF URSE, ALL THE PEOPLE E THE GAY LANGUAGE NOW.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SHIFTG STANDARDS FOR EQUALY AND FLOURISHG NNECTNS BETWEEN SUBCULTUR AND THE MASTREAM HAVE BROUGHT A LOT OF GAY CLUB CULTURE OUT OF THE GAY CLUBS. POP 2016 SOMETIM SEEMS LIKE A MASSIVE GAY DANCE PARTY TURNED SI OUT AND SPILLED ONTO THE STREET. “THOSE THGS DON'T STAY UNRGROUND, BEE THOSE THGS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT,” SAYS CAK. “THEY'RE BENEFICIAL TO EVERYONE, WHETHER YOU'RE GAY OR STRAIGHT. PEOPLE NEED TO DO THEIR REARCH AND UNRSTAND WHERE THOSE THGS E OM, BEE SOMETIM THOSE THGS GET LOST THE SCE.” HOE MIC’S LIFE-GIVG THUMP IS ALL AROUND . SIWALKS AND MALLS ARE FULL OF YOUNG PEOPLE REMIXG SEVERAL S’ WORTH OF CLUB-KID FASHN, WH HELP OM SIGNERS LIKE JEREMY STT. PEOPLE OF ALL GENRS AND SEXUALI REGULARLY GATHER BY THE THOANDS TO STRIP DOWN TO A MIMUM OF CLOTHG, SLATHER THEMSELV GLTER, AND SPEND HOURS UPON HOURS DANCG TO A CEASELS GROOVE UNR THE FLUENCE OF MD-ALTERG CHEMILS — SENTIALLY REPEATG THE SAME RUAL THAT GAY MEN NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO WOULD ENACT EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN RECENT YEARS, THE MASTREAMG OF EDM AND THE BLENDG OF GAY AND STRAIGHT CLUBBERS SEEM TO HAVE ROBBED THE GAY CLUB OF SOME OF S CENTRAL ROLE AS THE RADIL LABORATORY OF DANCE MIC CULTURE. THE BLACK MADONNA FEELS THAT GAY CLUBS LOST TOUCH WH THE DANCE MIC UNRGROUND — BUT, SHE ADDS, “THAT IS CHANGG RIGHT NOW.” ACROSS THE UNTRY, THERE’S BEEN A RURGENCE TERT RENNECTG DANCE MIC TO S ROOTS. SAN FRANCIS–BASED DJ LLECTIVE HONEY SOUNDSYSTEM IS TOURG THE WORLD PLAYG THE TYPE OF DIS AND PROTO-HOE YOU’D HEAR AT PLAC LIKE THE ENDUP. (MEMBER JOSH CHEON NS THE LABEL DARK ENTRI, WHICH HAS BEEN REISSUG PATRICK COWLEY’S LOST WORK.) PARTI LIKE QUEEN! CHIGO AND HONCHO PTSBURGH ARE BRGG SOME OF THE GLAMMY, TRANSGRSIVE ENERGY OF CLUBBG’S EARLIT DAYS, WHILE NEW YORK’S GHE20G0TH1K WRAPS CYBERPUNKISH {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THIS WEEKEND, CI AROUND THE WORLD, PARTI AND FUNDRAISER NIGHTS ARE BEG HOSTED AT GAY CLUBS — FIANCE, SOLIDARY, AND CELEBRATN OF THE CULTURE TARGETED BY THE ORLANDO KILLER. AT A NCERT ON SUNDAY NIGHT ANTWERP, ALE ACKNOWLEDGED THE TRAGEDY BY DITG A UPLE SONGS TO THE LGBTQ MUNY — NOT ANY OF HER MOURNFUL BALLADS, BUT SOME OF THE TORCHY DANCE SONGS SHE’S MA THAT WOULD HAVE BLOWN UP THE DANCE FLOOR AT ANY GAY DIS THE '{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“PEOPLE GRIEVE DIFFERENTLY,” CAK SAYS. “A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE #PRAYFORORLANDO AS A HASHTAG, BUT FOR ME, MY IEND MA A POST THAT WAS LIKE, ‘IT'S NOT ABOUT PRAYG FOR ORLANDO. IT'S ABOUT VOGUG FOR ORLANDO. IT'S ABOUT FUCKG FOR ORLANDO.' TO ME, JT FIR ME UP TO NTUE LIVG MY LIFE.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}ELECTRONICPOP MICMASS SHOOTG IN {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

For his legn lennial and Generatn Z fans, he’s among the first artists of their lifetime to ankly explore gay sex pop – notably on his recent send album, Bloom – and they’ve hailed him as a trailblazer. The wds of the gay liberatn movement had been blowg strong for a : queer black men such as Sylvter had been at the heart of dis and the children of Bowie were g of age jt as MTV, a new medium that valued the high-energy visuals of queer nightclubs, was male pop artists were prevly few and far between: Ltle Richard’s lyrics about anal sex were cut om Tutti Ftti, and only took Bowie’s arm draped over the shoulr of Mick Ronson on Top of the Pops 1972 to send middle England reelg.

40 BT GAY SGERS & MICIANS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ SGERS)

“You had a backcloth of pop mic that was absolutely full of gay people, even megastars like Freddie Mercury and Elton John, but most of them were livg some sort of closeted existence, ” Flynn says. “There was Boy Gee, Pete Burns – who was married, but who is what you would now ll queer – Morrissey sgg about ‘handsome vils’, Pet Shop Boys wh their slightly more opaque readgs of sexualy, Marc Almond om Soft Cell, Gee Michael, who was closeted even though everyone the dtry knew he was gay.

As cric Aled Soto wrote of Gee Michael: “Fe wh queerns so long as the artists didn’t ask or tell, the 1980s were the last time pop stars uld wear fgerls kchen glov whout dienc assumg they were gay.

Stock, Aken and Waterman, the songwrg tr who wrote for Dive and were rponsible for such 80s gay anthems as Dead or Alive’s You Sp Me Round (Like a Rerd), started wrg for Kylie Mogue and Jason Donovan (a man so heterosexual he sued a magaze for claimg he was gay). The unrground sound they had hered to the mastream gave way to somethg safer, gay male figure, now too threateng to be marketable, vanished om pop and to unrground spac or behd DJ cks.

Celebry outgs beme a racket for tabloids that knew the jtery public would jump at such Michael: Outsi – vioAs mastream pop eher disappeared or grad gay men, many gay male pop nsumers rorted largely to “disintifitn” wh straight female pop stars durg the 90s and 00s: the procs by which, the absence of reprentative role mols, queer people claim a piece of culture that is not explicly queer.

“Gay men didn’t love Madonna Eva bee they were terted Argentian history, ” says stars the 90s and 00s such as Madonna, Mariah and Kylie equently attributed their succs to loyal gay fanbas. Their succs me not om the plsible niabily of the 80s, nor om the proxy sexualy of the 90s – but simply om the ronance of their queer visn a world that was slowly drag of gay panic.