Making Things up as You Go (Ep. 171 - Björk)

This Week's Guest: Santiago Melli-Huber

How do you know when it's time to move versus when is it time to stay put? My guest this week is Santiago Melli-Huber, who's on a constant hunt for a place that feels right. Whether trying new jobs, new cities, or new social circles, he's made himself into a bit of an investigator, always asking what needs to change and then taking action to try something new.

Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. If you're enjoying the show, click "Support the Show on Patreon." Or you can support The Sewers of Paris for free by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice -- that really helps people find the show.

Hey, if you're in Seattle for Pride next month, mark your calendars for June 21! We're doing our next live Dungeons & Drag Queens show at Kremwerk. Tickets are now on sale at QueensOfAdventure.com.

This Week's Recommendation

Thanks again to Santiago for joining me. I'm always delighted to talk about Bjork, particularly because Iceland is just about my favorite place. Should you find yourself fortunate enough to spend a little time in Reykjavik, my recommendation is that you look into a group there called Drag-Súgur that's doing some of the most interesting drag on Earth.

Even Iceland's capital city isn't very large, and so as drag troupes go, Drag-Súgur has a decidedly small-town feel. Experimental, surprising, and very youthful, the group is diverse out of necessity, since Reykjavik just isn't large enough for different queer groups to splinter into many different subcultures. What's more, their shows attract a crowd of friendly international regulars, where everyone knows each other's names and does their best to learn each other's languages.

When I visited last summer, the impression that I got was one of true queer community: supportive, friendly, willing to give each other the space to try something new. There was a tribute to The Fifth Element, a goth rock song, a bit of Euro-pop and some friendly barbs exchanged between hosts. In other words, a place where you can instantly feel at home, despite being far from where you're from.

Stuff We Talked About

No More I Love Yous (Ep. 170 - Drag Families)

Special Guest: Alexis Nicole Whitney

No matter how thoroughly you've planned, life has a way of taking you by surprise -- and when it does, it's often family that gets you through the tough times. Alexis was born to a woman unprepared for motherhood, and so grandparents stepped in to raise her. As she grew older, Houston's drag scene provided a second family where she was free to express herself more freely. But it was an unexpected health crisis that brought both families together when their daughter needed them most.

BTW, The Sewers of Paris is made possible by everyone who pledges a dollar or more a month on Patreon. If you're enjoying the show, click "Support the Show on Patreon" to help make this podcast possible. Or you can support The Sewers of Paris for free by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice -- that really helps people find the show.

And if you're in Seattle, mark your calendars for June 21! We're doing our next live show, featuring drag queens playing Dungeons & Dragons, just in time for Pride. Tickets are now on sale at QueensOfAdventure.com.

This Episode's Recommendation: Adults Only

Thanks again to Alexis for joining me. For this week's recommendation, seek out the short film "Adults Only," which (full disclosure) was directed by a friend of mine, Heath Daniels, a couple of years ago. It's the wordless story of a deaf man mourning the end of a relationship, and struggling to figure out what's next. He's still mired in past memories, disconnected and longing for connection.

That connection comes in an unpredictable place and an even more unpredictable form: the neon-lit labyrinth of a bathhouse, where he's surrounded by peep shows and public sex. The short forgoes dialogue, instead using evocative imagery and sexually charged daydreams to illuminate the main character's pain -- and also his drive to move on despite not quite knowing the way.

It's hard enough to put yourself in another person's place, particularly someone who doesn't experience the world with the same senses that you do. But the deaf protagonist of Adults Only finds a common ground that's hard not to relate to -- heartbreak, loss, and mourning, followed by the thrill of unexpected pleasure.

Stuff We Talked About

Spitefully Outed (Ep. 169 - So You Think You Can Dance)

This Week's Guest: Phil Stamper

My guest this week is Phil Stamper, whose book The Gravity of Us tells the story of two young men who fall in love amidst the drama of a mission to Mars. For years, Phil struggled to balance competing impulses to be silly and serious, and to keep his creative spark alive throughout the drudgery of office work. The result is an upcoming debut novel that amplifies his own queer experiences with some help from science fiction.

Just a reminder -- I hope you'll join us for the next Sewers of Paris live chat on Saturday May 19, at 2pm Pacific with special guest Fazaad Feroze. We want to hear about the book and movies and songs and shows you're obsessed with right now. 

And if you're in Seattle for Pride next month, mark your calendars for June 21! We're doing our next live Dungeons & Drag Queens show at Kremwerk. Tickets are now on sale at QueensOfAdventure.com.

Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. If you're enjoying the show, click "Support the Show on Patreon." Or you can support The Sewers of Paris for free by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice -- that really helps people find the show.

This Week's Recommendation: Steven Universe

Thanks again to Phil for joining me. You can find out more about him and his book at PhilStamper.com. We talked this week about the mix of culture both silly and serious, and for my recommendation I hope you'll take a look at one of my favorite shows, Steven Universe. 

You'll want to give it a few episodes to really get going, and then the show will reward your patience many times over. What seems at first like a goofy kid's show suddenly yanks back the curtain midway through the first season to reveal a show that, while still fun, has seemingly endless layers of depth and sophistication and darkness and a pumpkin that barks and cuddles like a dog.

It is also possibly one of the queerest shows ever to have existed, featuring magical science-fiction women in relationships so complex we don't even have words for how they relate to reach other. Come for the zapping lasers and space battles; stay for the lesbian commune drama.

Stuff We Talked About

How to Make Something About Making Something (Ep. 168: Bedknobs and Broomsticks)

This Week's Guest: James Connelly

What if you had the power to make the places you imagine real -- so real that people can walk through them and touch them, and millions of strangers could see the setting that once only existed in your mind? My guest this week is James Connelly, who designed the sets for shows like The Voice, Bill Nye Saves the World, the Teen Choice Awards, and many more. When he's building worlds for television, he draws on his memories and experiences and daydreams, mashing together influences from across his life to invite the world into his imagination.

By the way, if you're heading to DragCon in LA this weekend, I hope you'll join me for two panels! On Sunday, I'm be hosting a game of Dungeons and Dragons played by BenDeLaCreme, Erika Klash, Kitty Powers, and Fraya Love. And on Sunday, I'll be hosting a fun friendly chat about tabletop gaming, featuring a panel of queer and ally gamers sharing recommendations for finding games and people to play with. 

And mark your calendars for our next Sewers of Paris live chat -- it's on Saturday, May 19th, at 2pm Pacific.

If you're enjoying The Sewers of Paris, click "Support the Show on Patreon" to join the folks who make the podcast possible for as little as a dollar a month. Or you can support The Sewers of Paris for free by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice -- that really helps people find the show.

This Week's Recommendation: The Great British Bake-Off

Thanks again to James for joining me. I hope you've already seen this week's recommendation, but in case you haven't, make this the week you finally watch The Great British Bake-Off -- or as it's called in the US, the Great British Baking Show.

I'm not normally one for reality show competitions where everyone's bitterly clawing for the prize, and fortunately that's not what this show is. The Bake-Off often feels more like a collaboration, a partnership between contestants where everyone enjoys seeing each other succeed.

There's no sabotage, no cruelty, no attitude from anyone -- apart from, perhaps occasionally, one of the judges -- and the whole affair feels more like friends gathering to support each other than a contest.

That's not to say it isn't dramatic. The challenges they face are overwhelming, often requiring ingredients nobody's every heard of, techniques impossible to master and recipes that may not even be in English. The show pushes the bakers to reach beyond what they think they can do -- and when it's at its best, shows them helping each other to reveal that with just a little assistance from others, we're all capable of exceeding our expectations for ourselves.

Stuff We Talked About

The Only Boy on Paradise Island (Ep. 167 - Wonder Woman)

This Week's Guest: Richard Andreoli

This week's guest grew up idolizing comic book heroes, which presented a problem as he entered adulthood: how could he possibly measure up to the flying, crime-fighting, invisible-jet-flying role models of his youth? Richard Andreoli's mission in life became seeking out the opportunities for heroics in everyday life. In other words -- not expecting to become a superhero, but finding pride in being a normalhero.

By the way, if you're heading to DragCon in LA next month, I hope you'll join me for two panels! On Saturday, I'll be hosting a breakneck game of Dungeons and Dragons played by BenDeLaCreme, Erika Klash, Kitty Powers, and Fraya Love. And on Sunday, I'll be hosting a fun friendly chat about tabletop gaming, featuring a panel of queer and ally gamers sharing recommendations for finding games and people to play with. It's going to be a blast -- hope to see you there.

And no matter where you are in the world, I hope you'll join us for the next Sewers of Paris live chat -- it's on Saturday, May 5, at 2pm Pacific. We want to hear about the book and movies and songs and shows you're obsessed with right now. There's a link at the top of the SewersOfParis twitter feed -- see you Saturday!

Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. If you're enjoying the show, click "Support the Show on Patreon." Or you can support The Sewers of Paris for free by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice -- that really helps people find the show.

This Week's Recommendation: The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin

Thanks again to Richard for joining me. Head over to BattleAtTheComicExpo.com to check out his book, coming out later this month. 

For this week's recommendation, take a look at a documentary about another gay author: it's called The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, and it is an utter delight. You probably recognize Armistead's name as the author of the Tales of the City novels, but the documentary pulls back the curtain on the life of the man whose writing turned him into an icon.

It's a perfect primer not just on what his books are, but on why they matter and to whom they mattered most. Starting in the 1970s, his stories of singles mingling in San Francisco were only supposed to be a fun weekly newspaper column. But as time went on and his subject matter got queerer, his columns became a lifeline for a community that still faced daily struggles to survive.

Looking back, nearly a half century later, it's hard to image what that world could have been like, when queer culture was taboo even in San Francisco. So much of that history was lost to the epidemic, to bigotry, and to the fear -- completely reasonable -- that documenting LGBTQ lives would expose them to even greater harm. 

If you're of a certain age, you can rely on your memory to keep those distant voices alive. But for the rest of us, those records of the time -- whether written down or shared face to face -- are a vital link to those who built the world we enjoy today.

Stuff We Talked About

Becoming Real (Ep. 166 - The Velveteen Rabbit)

This Week's Guest: Wyatt Fenner

My guest this week is actor Wyatt Fenner, who you've seen on Veronica Mars, Bones, and the movie Take the Yuletide Gay. New Yorkers, you can see him right now in the show Transparent Falsehood at Theater 511 on West 54th Street. As an actor, Wyatt's an expert at inhabiting personas and hiding himself behind someone else. But an accidental outing and an attack that could have killed him helped him realize just who it was he was hiding.

By the way, if you're heading to DragCon in LA next month, I hope you'll join me for two panels! On Saturday, I'll be hosting a fun friendly chat about tabletop gaming, featuring a panel of queer and ally gamers sharing recommendations for finding games and people to play with. And on Sunday, I'll be hosting a breakneck game of Dungeons and Dragons played by BenDeLaCreme, Erika Klash, Kitty Powers, and Fraya Love. It's going to be a blast -- hope to see you there.

And no matter where you are in the world, I hope you'll join us for the next Sewers of Paris live chat -- it's on Saturday, April 28, at 2pm Pacific with special guest Ray Miller. We want to hear about the book and movies and songs and shows you're obsessed with right now.

Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. If you're enjoying the show, click "Support the Show on Patreon." Or you can support The Sewers of Paris for free by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice -- that really helps people find the show.

This Week's Recommendation: The Christmas Toy

We started our conversation this week with The Velveteen Rabbit, and for my recommendation this week, check out a similar project: a mid-80s TV movie called The Christmas Toy, one of the darkest projects produced by The Jim Henson Company.

The story is strangely close to that of Toy Story: children's toys come alive when their owners are away, and the comfortable affection of humans is challenged by the arrival of a new toy that doesn't realize it's a toy. But the stakes are far higher in The Christmas Toy: if one of the toys is caught in a place its owner didn't leave it, the toy becomes frozen and lifeless forever.

Like I said -- it's dark. As with The Velveteen Rabbit, there's a deep melancholy pervading the story -- Rugby the Tiger lives in fear that he'll lose the love of his owner, and the image of lifeless frozen toys absolutely terrified me as a kid.

But the movie's ultimately uplifting, with the toys discovering how important it is to keep the memories of their lost comrades alive. There's a lovely moment near the end where the toys acknowledge their love for each other, which is even more powerful than the love of the humans who will never know the truth of the toys' lives. 

Their performance as objects is what gives the toys purpose. But their honesty with each other gives them life.

Vampire Drag Queens (Ep. 165 - Marilyn Manson)

This Week's Guest: Evan J. Peterson

What's the difference between confidence and arrogance? My guest this week is Evan J. Peterson, author of the memoir The PrEP Diaries. For years, he trained himself to be aggressive, aloof, above it all, as a way to pre-empt criticism. That meant erecting masks and disguises, from gothic costumes to club-kid confusion. But what was missing behind his ostentatious displays for others was confidence in himself -- something Evan's still reaching for as he journeys through recovery, faiths, and sexual exploration.

Thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. If you're enjoying the show, click "Support the show on Patreon" to join the folks who make bonus episodes like this possible. Or if you can't pledge, you can still help out by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice.

You can also follow @sewersofparis on Twitter and Facebook -- I post clips of stuff we talk about and chat with listeners about the entertainment that you love. And join us for the next Sewers of Paris livestream on Saturday, April 28 at 2pm Pacific! We've been doing those livestreams twice monthly with special guests, and it's such a fun chance to hear about the movies and shows and books and music that you're obsessed with right now. 

This Week's Recommendation: Velvet Goldmine

My recommendation this week spans three different eras: made in the sexually adventurous late 90s, it's set in a bruised version of the 1980s, with flashbacks to a libidinous 70s. It's the Todd Haynes film Velvet Goldmine, which tells the story of a journalist seeking the truth about a vanished glam rock star.

The references to Citizen Kane are explicit and intentional, and there's a touch of Rashomon, Almost Famous, and Merrily We Roll Along but with an soundtrack that is absolutely thrilling. The reporter, played by a boyish Christian Bale, is on a mission to re-construct the life of a fictional but clearly Bowie-analogous idol played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers. That mission brings him into contact with Ewan McGregor as a sort of 70s Kurt Cobain, Eddie Izzard as a swaggering manager, and a miasma of his own personal nostalgia for long-lost teenage rebellion.

There's also some pretty tasty gay sex.

It's not much of a spoiler to say that the more your learn about your idols, the greater the chance that you'll find they're not who you thought they were. But in his excavation of another man's life, the reporter of Velvet Goldmine finds something else he was looking for -- keys to his own life, and love, and attraction. The Charles Foster Kane of Velvet Goldmine -- or the Moby Dick, if you want to think of him that way -- isn't as important as the meaning he gave his fans.

Velvet Goldmine was initially meant to be much more directly about David Bowie, but Bowie objected and the resulting changes gave the film a freedom to fabricate and collage a story with biographical snippets of Jobriath and Iggy Pop and Jean Genet and Oscar Wilde. But the resulting work is only a distant relative of those creators. As much as the characters of the film find their own meaning outside of the artist, the film finds its own meaning outside of its influences.
 

Stuff We Talked About

I Don't Have Any Shame in my Game (Ep. 164 - Aydian Dowling)

Special Guest: Aydian Dowling

Hello, and welcome to a bonus episode of The Sewers of Paris! Thanks to the support of everyone on Patreon, I'm able to bring you extra episodes with guests beyond just gay men. This month, we're going beyond the Sewers with a very special guest: Aydian Dowling, the first trans man to appear on the cover of Men's Health.

You might know him as the physically fit model who appeared on a special cover of Men's Health a few years ago. Aydian Dowling's made a habit of breaking barriers, refusing to back down, standing up and being seen. But he wasn't always the beaming, confident model on the cover of magazines -- there were dark periods that at times he couldn't see any way to survive. In those times, he found the inspiration to go on in some unlikely places: a soap opera he wasn't supposed to see, movies he wasn't supposed to have, and a pride parade that changed his life.

Thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. If you're enjoying the show, click "Support the show on Patreon" to join the folks who make bonus episodes like this possible. Or if you can't pledge, you can still help out by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice.

You can also follow @sewersofparis on Twitter and Facebook -- I post clips of stuff we talk about and chat with listeners about the entertainment that you love. And join us for the next Sewers of Paris livestream on Saturday, April 28 at 2pm Pacific! We've been doing those livestreams twice monthly with special guests, and it's such a fun chance to hear about the movies and shows and books and music that you're obsessed with right now. 

Recommendation: Hairspray

Thanks again to Aydian for joining me. Those TV shows that he mentioned aren't always the BEST sources of representation -- Maury and soap operas can sometimes be pretty exploitative. But even at their worst, those daytime TV shows can still be a source of power for folks who are searching for any sign that they're not alone.

For my recommendation this week, check out two movies, both with the same title: Hairspray. First the 1988 version with queer icons Divine and Ricki Lake; then the 2007 one with noted heterosexuals Zac Efron and John Travolta. Both films are not without their problems -- the first can be a little slow in parts, the second not quite as daring as its predecessor. But together they make for a lovely experience, centered on the life-changing power of a daytime TV show.

The 1988 Hairspray was directed by John Waters, and though it's definitely startling and weird, it has much more of a moral center than his previous work. John's often commented on how shocked he was to have accidentally made a family film. 

In both films, a young woman longs to see herself on television -- she knows she's good enough to belong -- but a cold indifferent world isn't ready to accept people who look a little different from what they're used to. Ultimately of course she prevails, transforming the face of American television and proving that it's intolerance that's truly unfit for broadcast.

Stuff we Talked About

The Wrong Kind of Gay (Ep. 163 - Jem and the Holograms)

This Week's Guest: Drew Mackie

My guest this week is Drew Mackie. You might know him from the podcasts Gayest Episode Ever, or Singing Mountain, or We Are Not Young Anymore. The point is that he does a lot of podcasts, generally about the art & entertainment that makes the world a more joyful place. It's a long way from where he started his career, as a hard journalist covering a quadruple murder in his college town. For years, he did the serious work that he thought was expected of him, even though it made him miserable, until he finally gave himself permission to walk away from his job and pursue his passion.

By the way, the next Sewers of Paris livestream is coming up this weekend! Join us on Saturday, April 14th for another live chat with me and other Sewers listeners. The theme this time is animation. Can't wait to geek out with you about Steven Universe, Korra, and Bugs Bunny's drag career. Head over to the @SewersOfParis twitter feed -- there's a pinned tweet with a link to the livestream. We go live Saturday, April 14, at 2pm pacific.

Thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. There are special rewards for patrons like early ad-free access to content, shoutouts in videos, and a copy of my book mailed to you with some cute Sewers of Paris buttons. If you're enjoying the show, click "Support the Show on Patreon." Or if you can't pledge, you can still help out by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice.

This Week's Recommendation: Kidd Video

Thanks again to Drew for joining me. I try not to be too obnoxiously self-indulgent with my 80s nostalgia -- that's what Ready Player One is for -- but our conversation this week reminded me of one of my favorite stupid 80s opening theme songs. So my recommendation this week is to head over to YouTube and watch the opening theme of the show Kidd Video -- that's Kidd with who Ds.

Kidd Video is my favorite kind of show, in that its premise is extremely stupid and requires a song to explain what you're about to see, like Mr. Edd, and Gilligan's Island, and My Mother the Car. And yet somehow, even though the opening theme is an ambitious minute and a half, it barely manages to set up the premise and literally concludes with a character breaking out of song to shrug, "I'll explain later."

In terms of camp value, this minute and a half is beyond measure. It features loopy high school band archetypes -- the hot one, the nerd, the 80s hipster -- lyrics like "high tech just turns me on," and multiple smoldering gazes into the camera through a mirror. That would be enough to make for a goofy after-school premise. But then an evil corporate record executive transports the teens to a cartoon world where a magic fairy with leg warmers rescues them through the power of sneezes that confer super strength. I am not making this up.

The show itself is of course terrible. But the 90s seconds of disbelief that you will experience while watching that opening -- ahhh, priceless.

Stuff We Talked About

Zombies, Witches, and Talking Dolls (Ep. 162 - Passions)

This Week's Guest: Ira Madison

Why is villainy so much fun? Whether it's cackling Emperor Palpatine or Joan Collins smirking smugly on Dynasty, bad guys invariably seem to be having such a good time ... and it can be hard to resist wanting to join them. My guest this week is Ira Madison, culture writer for The Daily Beast and co-host of the Keep It podcast. As a kid, he was quick to notice that the most fun part of his favorite soap operas were the over-the-top scene-chewing scoundrels. And during his time as a playwright in New York, he strove to give audiences experiences that were just as entertaining. Now, as a culture critic, he's approaching storytelling from the other side: searching for the most entertaining aspects of other creators' work.

By the way, the next Sewers of Paris livestream is coming up! Join us on Saturday, April 14th for another live chat with me and other Sewers listeners. The theme this time is animation. Can't wait to geek out with you about Steven Universe, Korra, and Bugs Bunny's drag career. We go live Saturday, April 14, at 2pm pacific.

Thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. There are special rewards for patrons like early ad-free access to content, shoutouts in videos, and a copy of my book mailed to you with some cute Sewers of Paris buttons. If you're enjoying the show, click "Support the Show on Patreon." Or if you can't pledge, you can still help out by leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice.

This Week's Recommendation: Theresa Chases Gwen

Thanks again to Ira for joining me and for pointing me in the direction of some deliciously dumb soap opera scenes. My recommendation this week is brief -- just thirty seconds. It's a clip from an episode of passions that you can find by searching YouTube for "Theresa Chases Gwen."

The clips takes place at a particularly tangled moment in a ridiculous plot, and for some reason the show decided that what was needed was for a character to suddenly and breathlessly recap the entire plot of the story arc, while in the middle of a chase scene, in one take and in under twenty seconds.

The result is a hilarious tongue-twister monologue of schemes and double-crosses, so ludicrous in its delivery that ... well, here, I'll just play the whole thing for you. 

I mean come ON. This poor actress, having to fit an entire scene's worth of words into a single breath and while sprinting across a set -- it's just a masterpiece of clowning. The intensity of the music, the desperation of her voice, the dire circumstances (which, even after watching the clip over a dozen times, I still cannot comprehend) are all so perfectly serious and perfectly stupid. 

Stuff We Talked About

Fences
By August Wilson