T.A.T.U. An uneasy feeling.

[tommo]

Minstrel, I think the discussion of iconic female figures is a really interesting one, but clearly doesn't quite fit in this thread. However, if you were thinking of starting a discussion on it...*nudge nudge* I'd love to read an expansion of your thoughts on the subject.

"To make you a vampire they have to suck your cheese. And then you have to suck their cheese. It's like a whole big cheese thing." ~ Welcome To The Cheesemouth

[primalfigure]

I totally said their music sucked. I never said different. I am sad that it comes down to image. Music shouldn't be "IMAGE" it should be "TALENT". No one believes that anymore otherwise Brittney, T.A.T.U., and the vast scores of pre-adolescent geared music would have never been produced. I haven't seen talent from T.A.T.U. yet but they're still young.



IF they could break the ties that bind and write their own material, get vocal training, and produce a good album I might have something better to talk about than their "Lesbian" schtick. I just have a hard time buying it, is all. Other lesbian musicians don't kiss/grope their girlfriends on stage. Maybe they're just tactless teenagers. And to answer someone's question: No I don't think T.A.T.U.'s the way to further the cause of lesbians world wide. I wish there was a better way.

[tommo]

On that note, primalfigure, Simon Cowell was interviewed over here last night on television. He said that he entered the music industry to make money, not to nurture talent. By his own admittance, he attributes the glut of bland, faceless artistes to "giving the public what they want". If people didn't want to see Tatu or Britney Spears, then they wouldn't be the relative phenomena that they are. It's not only a sad reflection of how the music industry...or should that be "music" industry, has changed, but also how society is changing too. All this music is just like fast food; commercial and easy to manufacture, but doesn't really constitute anything remotely filling. Just my personal opinion, incidentally.

"To make you a vampire they have to suck your cheese. And then you have to suck their cheese. It's like a whole big cheese thing." ~ Welcome To The Cheesemouth

[LokiPromise]

That is completely true, there is absolutely nothing in this world that forces the consumer to purchase a particular album or single etc as with all commercial products, in fact the competitions commity (or whatever they call themselves now) try to "protect" the consumer from monopolies etc.



Certain things are taken completely out of proportion, the promotion of the TATU girls as lesbians is only a talking point because its been made one (if you know what I mean ). Their manager is loving all this commotion and so are individuals who thrive on news like this such as the press. But in the end its juist a cycle, bands will come and go and those who survive are the ones that deserve it.



Simon Cowell may be a prick to the contestants but at least he's honest which is more than can be said about others in the same industry.

BB:Hello Xander...and Anya, how is your money?!

A:Fine!Thank you for asking!

[tommo]

Having watched this just this afternoon, I saw Tatu's performance. I'm not sure whether to be impressed or disgusted, in all honesty. The media machine that hypes up these two girls is amazing, and truly plumbs the depths of what is, essentially, a one-dimensional gimmick. I'm really quite taken aback at just how insidious this is.



For those of you who didn't see the performance, Tatu came through the audience onto the stage, and begun singing "They're Not Gonna Get Us". Behind them on huge screens were shots of newspaper articles showing coverage of their sexuality (which seems like an overly complimentary word for what I believe they do). Tatu were then joined by hundreds, quite literally, of young women dancers dressed in the schoolgirl outfits from that video. During the course of the song, Tatu held hands and, it seemed, mocked the audience. By the end of the song, the dancers had ripped off their schoolgirl outfits to reveal skimpy vests and underwear. The audience seemed impressed. I have to say that I really wasn't. At the end of the song, two of the dancers grabbed one another in a clinch and it just felt really...well, tacky to be watching that.



I must admit, I'm horrified that my 8 year old neice calls Tatu "those Russian lesbians". It feels so very wrong. And to see a performance like this, which plays so very heavily on hype, I'm starting to think that hype is all Tatu are. They're a gimmick; a manufactured play on lesbianism that I, personally, feel pretty offended by.



I'm just entirely bemused by them now. They appear to mock the very people who support them, and engender an attitude that is really very unattractive in young people. I feel old, saying all of this. I feel old and prudish and all the things I thought I'd never be. But if this is the future of music, then I'm really disappointed.

"Cheese falls apart. It crumbles apart so much. You can't ever put it back the way it was. I'm sorry, it's just...you know, it takes time to eat Cheshire cheese. You can't just go for coffee and crackers and expect cheesey goodness..." ~ Cheesetropy

[Blue77]

I normally wouldn't bother getting into this kind of debate, but quite frankly TATU piss me off big time. They themselves have admitted they are NOT lesbians and by their manager's admission are only pretending to be gay to fill a gap in the market and essentially make money. When they first came out I thought it was a half-decent song and was supportive because of the media hype against them.



However, the 2nd song is shit and I'm offended by the very fact they are pretending to be something they're not just for financial reasons. Let's face it they wouldn't be where they are now if they hadn't made a 'lesbian music video' and well that might be a consumer demand, it doesn't happen to be one of mine. I predict their 5 mins of fame is just about up.

[3peanuts]

In my opinion, the commercial exploitation of a sexual innuendo isn't such a great thing: non news. When Madonna acted lesbian (or bi) on the video of Erotica I was a teenager and I went:"Great! She's got guts!", it helped. There were some classmates who were all for the bleah reaction, but I felt encouraged to be proud: she didn't seem to mind if somebody would react that way. And she made me drool, so she had all my support.



I think this has nothing to do with TATU music: good or bad, it's just pop music.

The question is all in the image they communicate. I do think they are more defamatory than else, but who cares? A teenager in a small town is watching them and thinking the very things I was thinking when I was a school girl, about Madonna. And that's good.

"Cunning linguist" GG

Keynes was right

[xita]

You are certainly right there , it isn't new. Britney Spear's school girl outfit thrilled the pedophile instinct in many, and it was on purpose and it was to titilate. The new thing here is that they are combining a lesbian fetish with the school girl one. Both cases are completely disgusting but it seems to be what drives these particular pop industries.



My only concern is that young lesbians don't just look to them but see other sources. Believing these girls have something about our sexuality to contribute to the world is missguided because tatu isn't gay.

-----------------------------------
Leora......Leora....

[Mrs Vertigo]

*mumbles to self* I will NOT get on my soap box regarding pop music, Britney Spears, the Eurovision, the school-girl image and it's target audience. I will NOT preach to the choir...



Y'know, there are maybe two famous pop-rock singers in Israel who aren't gay. And does anybody give a hoot? NO!



Xita, I hear ya.

I love my long lost Jewish little-potato twin. In a prison way.

Edited by: Mrs Vertigo at: 6/16/03 1:02 am

[EffieBlue]

Damn! I feel a soapbox rant coming on!



The main difference between what Broccoli Spears and Madge did, is where the money generated from their images went. (Which isn't to say I agreed with the way they portrayed themselves)



The manager of TATU openly states he is aiming to fill a niche in the internet paedophile market. Ivan Shapovalov, says Tatu are an "underage sex project" designed to appeal to men in search of "underage entertainment". Shapovalov, a former child psychologist, has said: "It was five years ago that I decided to do this underage sex project in Russia. Why underage? Because I wanted it and found it funny."



This is where any money generated by TATU goes.



This has nothing to do with their musical "talent" or their supposed lesbianism.



It's why I started this thread in the first place.



I have no problem seeing an image of two hot women kissing (probably why certain parts of my BTVS collection is getting worn out) but when that image is aimed specifically at a paedophile market, then I get very very uncomfortable with it. I've spent way too many years protesting, getting arrested, in order to BE comfortable and for those younger than me to be able to walk down the street holding their girlfriends hand in public; for this manager to use images of lesbianism in this way. All this does is reinforce those bigots who think that lesbians and gays are out to recruit and defile the young. It causes a knee jerk reaction, not against paedophiles but against lesbians and gays.



I'm not really prepared to let that go unchallenged.



I can't and wont support this "act" and I find it very hard to understand any lesbian who would.



But hey, if you like their "music" and want to actively support underage internet porn, then knock yourself out. It's a free world.



Well that's me all ranted out.



Jill





Anya: "I have cheese coming out of my bottom!" ~ Cheese Triangle

[Amymlc]

I'm personally not a fan, but I still just don't get why it such a huge thing about them being gay or not gay. Why can't they be bisexual? They even asked that themselves in an interview a while ago. It's just funny to me that so many people are freaking out if they are gay or straight, when sexuality isn't always so black and white.



I do agree that they are using their sexuality to promote themselves, but who isn't these days? Modanna is, Britney Spears, pretty much everyone, man or woman, is using sexuality to promote their music or whatever it is that they do.



Even if they aren't gay, or bisexual, why does everyone care so much? Would we be having this conversation if a gay person was pretending to be straight in the music world? Nope...because that pretty much happens all the time. I don't know, I guess I just don't see it as a big deal. I don't understand why people on every side of the sexuality issue think this is such a huge deal. That's all I've got

[EffieBlue]

Amymlc i really don't mean to critisise but you seem to have completely missed the point.



This isn't about the sexuality of the "act" TATU.



It isn't about what they claim or not claim to be.



It is about how they are portrayed. It's about the reason behind the way they are portrayed.



It's about what the image of "young lesbians" is being used for.



It has nothing to do with their musical abilities or talents, it has nothing what so ever to do with their sexuality.



It is a contrived image to pander to a specific market.



It has nothing what so ever to do with being a young oppressed lesbian.





If you buy into it and believe in the image and think they are representing YOU, then take it one step further, send Ivan your name and ask to be listed as a sponsor for his internet porn sites.





Jill

[3peanuts]

I don't like the way industry plays with the sexuality of two teenagers, whether or not they're gay in real life (on the issue, I personally don't give a crap...).



Scenario...but...guess I'd better post the scenario-thing on the appropriate "Image" thread...

"Cunning linguist" GG

Keynes was right

[Amymlc]

Quote:

---

If you buy into it and believe in the image and think they are representing YOU, then take it one step further, send Ivan your name and ask to be listed as a sponsor for his internet porn sites.

---

That was a little harsh. I wasn't attacking you so please don't attack me. I just stated my opinion. I don't think it's such a huge deal.



I don't personally enjoy the sexual images they have become, but I don't see it any differently than say, I don't know...ANY other pop singer. Madonna, Spears, etc... (There are thousands more, but these are the best examples I can think of right now).

Quote:

---

It is about how they are portrayed. It's about the reason behind the way they are portrayed

---

Why does there have to be a reason why they are portrayed the way they are? Is there a reason why Spears is portrayed the way she is? Does every lesbian artist have to portrayed as and a "young oppressed lesbian?" Why do you think Madonna or Spears, or the Spice Girls for that matter, are so famous? Is it because of their unwavering talent? Nope; (I'm not saying that they don't have talent)it's because they are sexy and "sex sells." Straight people have been doing it for a long time. Why can't these girls? Do I think it's wrong? I'm not sure. Do I think it's tacky? Definitely. Do I wish that GLBT people and women in general were represented better? Most definitely.



I don't think they represent me in any way, but I also don't think that any of the other homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual stars represent me. I do think that it sucks that there aren't many homo/bisexual stars out there to represent our community. I wish there was a good representation of the GLBT world in Hollywood. It's sad that there isn't, but I don't really see how that is the fault of Tatu.



I don't enjoy the sexually explicit images any of these famous young stars are putting out there, but at the same time, I don't know if it is such a big deal either. Please don't personally attack me. All I'm saying, I guess, is that I don't understand why it is such a big deal. That's all.

[WebWarlock]

In part of my Kitten Distance Education program (hey, I still don't know half the stuff in the "Lesbian Hand" thread) I download some Tatu to listen to them.



Well. They weren't as bad as I thought, but they still were not very good.



Maybe cause I am in my mid 30's, or a guy, or maybe I listened to much Iron Maiden growing up, I am not quite certain I "get" it.



I know the deal is they are pop-manufactured and some people who still like do know that.



But, I mean I have a CD collection full of women that are fantastic singers that also happen to be lesbians. Shouldn't they get some press or be held up as landmark?



There is the "ick" factor that not only are they manufactured, but they are marketed as something they are not and to baser desires of older straight white guys.



Their "progenitor" does not think of them as a landmark in the issue of gay awareness. He wants to sell records.



Granted, one can argue the Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera do the same thing, but at least they are honest about it.



So in the end the "ick" factor is too much really for me, but the music is also basically medium at best (to me rember).



Hopefully their popularity will bring someone on the scene we can actually like. Like the Britneys had to come before the Alica Keys.



Consequently, a lot of Pink's and Aguilera's songs are produced and co-written by Linda Perry former lead singer of "4 Non Blondes".

Perry has been out since day one of her career.



Warlock

-----

Web Warlock

The Other Side,
home of Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

"There has to be an invisible sun. It gives its heat to everyone.

There has to be an invisible sun. That gives us hope when the whole day's done." - The Police Invisible Sun

[LostWithoutTara]

Quote:

---

Consequently, a lot of Pink's and Aguilera's songs are produced and co-written by Linda Perry former lead singer of "4 Non Blondes". Perry has been out since day one of her career.

---

Ah. 'Beautiful' makes much more sense now. I always had the impression it was about being beautiful regardless of sexuality. Wonderful song...

[EffieBlue]

Maybe I was a little harsh in my previous post.



It's a sad fact that I have in the past, been advised that it's very unwise for me to enter into any sort of debate or communicate with the rest of the world when I have PMS. (usually the directory enquiries person suffers, I tend to hold them personally responsible for people not having their number listed.)



So, sorry if I offended in my post.





That said; I'll just clarify my point. If TATU got rid of their manager, I wouldn't care one way or the other about them they really would be NO big deal at all.



It's HIS intentions and his alone that get me riled up, not the act or the singing or the sexuality issue. Just him and his reasons for getting the band formed in the first place.





I don't send my kids to private school, I'm saving the money for counselling later. ~ Sandi Toksvig

[Amymlc]

I'm not offended, just felt attacked. All better now



I obviously don't know much about their manager, or them really, just the big controversy. I've heard their music a couple of times, but to me it's very Britney Spears-ish. Their image is also very Spears-ish to me, but that doesn't bother me. Okay, I'm done with this topic.

[JulesP600]

Everyone probably already knows this but, I am a little behind in most things!!!! I saw this just now on MSN



"IS IT TA TA TO TATU?



Fake lesbian duo Tatu are said to be on the verge of splitting because of on and off-stage power struggle - and a boy.



Redhead Lena Katina is fed up with being the underdog and is jealous of Julia Volkova's new karate champ lover, say insiders.





Relations between the two 18-year-olds reached an all-time low during their recent tour of Japan and the girls are now reportedly refusing to talk to each other.



Their manager Ivan Shapovalov said: "When things are not working out very well, people often get the feeling that they want to quit and go."



Pop-watchers point out that he is infamous for dreaming up publicity stunts to keep the girls in the public eye.



But Tatu's Japan tour - like one of the UK earlier this year - was chaotic and the girls are widely said to watch closely which of them gets the spotlight and the column inches.



Lena is said to be fed up with being "girl number two".



In Japan, Julia spent a good deal of time in her hotel room with 23-year-old boyfriend Pavel.



Those claiming to be close to the band say this made Lena feel even more left out.



They are now reported to be back in their native Russia but Julia is said to have disappeared with Pavel."

The only way to have a friend is to be one

[maudmac]

[sarcasm] What? What?!? You mean they aren't really gay?!? [/sarcasm]



I fear what Shapovalov will dream up next. But I fully expect that he'll be catering to pedophiles for the rest of his career.

---

Pussy crack corn...and I don't care! -- Margaret Cho

[3peanuts]

"Cunning linguist" GG

Keynes was right

Edited by: 3peanuts at: 7/18/03 5:39 am

[angelofinsanity]

Thing is with T.a.T.u is that it is a stunt. I bet that even if the girls do split, the manager WILL probably get another pair of (possibly more) girls to do the same i'm-a-lesbian-watch-me-kiss-and-make-out-in-front-of-you thing again. hey- it sells, and it's all that matters, who cares about morality and other people- it brings in money!!! ...........

................... this world we live in.....................







STacy

[seurat]

Wow, what a long, strange thread this has become. But at the risk of making it even longer, I came across this at teganandsara.net the other day and it made me laugh.



First though, I should tell you that Tegan and Sara really are lesbians and, not to be too cruel to TaTu, are demonstrably talented singers,songwriters and musicians. (And identical twins too.)



Asked about comparisons being made between them and TaTu recently, Sara said "There's some really distinct differences. A, We don't make out with each other, b, we write our own songs,c, we don't have a really expensive record deal, d, we don't make out with each other."



I just love Tegan and Sara.

"It occurs to me that if the mere fact of kittens makes us feel better, maybe we are better than we usually feel we are.If there is a chord in us that kittens strike, maybe there's one for justice, and for mercy, for sacrifice and reciprocity, kindness and respect. We may be full of music and too busy to listen to ourselves.-John Leonard.

[JJtheCool]

Quote:

---

First though, I should tell you that Tegan and Sara really are lesbians and, not to be too cruel to TaTu, are demonstrably talented singers,songwriters and musicians. (And identical twins too.)

---

Are they from Canada? If so I think I saw an article in EW's "Listen 2 This" section awhile back about them. Haven't heard their music, but y'all should check out the article.



They make a good argument for sexuality being a biological thing, not a choice or lifestyle.

JJtheCool

---

*Sigh*

[Warduke]

Yep, Tegan and Sara are Canadian. And here's that EW article...

Quote:

---

"Sing Out Sisters"

by Neil Drumming



Canadian wonder twins TEGAN AND SARA wrestle with pop, privacy, and people's perceptions.



Tegan Quin does not seem like much of a rock star. Waiting for a ride, sitting at a window table of a Toronto hotel restaurant, with her modest denim jacket buttoned up to her neck, the 22-year-old Calgary-born singer-songwriter could be any teenager caught off guard and underdressed in the first real snow of the season. Cradling a cup of Earl Grey, she gabs effortlessly about anything and everything -- her childhood, her family, fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne. But when her ride finally arrives, it's a van packed with amps and instruments. And it's being trailed by a jeepful of adoring coeds.



''There's these girls that are following us,'' Tegan says excitedly. ''They started three provinces back and they've seen eight shows now. They came in to see the two TV shows we just did. They've been with us for over a week and a half.''



When I mention that I too caught her and her twin sister and musical partner, Sara, on TV -- last night, almost as soon as I'd bothered to switch on the tube -- Tegan seems pleasantly surprised. She shouldn't be. Her band, Tegan and Sara, has built a Canadian following with five years of touring. And now, with the impressive U.S. college-radio debut of their sophomore album, If It Was You, they're poised to make noise here.



Tegan's less pleased to learn that I'd read the article announcing their upcoming Toronto show in the town's alt-weekly paper. ''I hate it,'' she says, referring to the piece. ''It goes into 'I was at their last show and there were these annoying lesbians in the front row....' It's so offensive.'' Though she doesn't act like a celebrity, Tegan Quin is well aware of her image. In fact, she's obsessed with it.



''Okay, can we stop talking about this?'' eventually blurts Sara, sitting to her twin's left at the table. Sara, who by this time I've already dubbed the Shy One, has stayed silent through much of the conversation, opting instead to crunch the ice cubes in her ginger ale, chew on her straw, and stare blankly out into the falling flakes. But the thought of another go-round about Tegan and Sara's public profile riles her; they've been down this road before. Though Sara, with her close-cropped, dark-dyed 'do and paler skin, boasts more chic than her sister, they share the same crystalline eyes, perfect, angular cheekbones, and sexual preference. They are also both undeniably cute -- hot, even. Hot. Lesbian. Twin. Rocker. Chicks. But they're not interested in anybody's Howard Stern-style fantasies, or any other labels you can muster, mister.



Tegan and Sara Quin have been playing music and touring since they were in high school. From the beginning, they drew comparisons to Ani DiFranco -- comparisons that, as regards their first commercial album, 2000's This Business of Art, and its aggressive acoustic-folk-rock manifestos, are sonically accurate. Still, the two -- who share writing, singing, and guitar-playing duties about equally -- insist they are more a musical product of their '80s-era upbringing than disciples of any one individual.



''Some of our biggest influences when we were kids [were] people like Bruce Springsteen and U2,'' says Sara. ''Just people who write songs that have a pop sensibility, but there's definitely a rock element; they're simple, they're hooky.''



''We loved Corey Hart,'' admits Tegan.



''Yeah, we did love Corey Hart,'' echoes Sara.



If It Was You, released in the States in August on legendary rock risk-taker Neil Young's Vapor Records, definitely reflects the girls' gravitation toward a more pop sound. Produced by John Collins and David Carswell (the New Pornographers, the Smugglers), it spans a wider spectrum than its predecessor, with less growling, DiFranco-philic angst and more strolling, wistful sing-alongs in the vein of the Go-Go's or Velocity Girl.



Despite having a reasonably high profile in their homeland, Tegan and Sara insist that Canadian radio has no room for them. ''What are you going to do, slip us in between Nickelback and No Doubt?'' laughs Tegan. South of the border, however, where there are multiple radio formats and high-wattage college stations, ''I Hear Noises,'' the raging first single off If It Was You, has done admirably. ''We peaked at number 21 on the college charts,'' Tegan says. ''We were so excited; we were hoping for a top 50.''



Elliot Roberts, Neil Young's manager, cofounder of Vapor, and the one who signed the girls at the tender age of 18, is confident that this is only the beginning. ''We really believe that they're going to grow and get better every year,'' says Roberts. ''We expect them to be major artists.''



Tegan offers a more modest appraisal: ''I think we're better than average. [With] music alone, I don't think we stand out that much, but it's our personalities, our live show, and our whole dynamic that raises us above the rest.''



There's just one problem. ''We're not pushing those angles,'' she says.



Hang around Tegan and Sara long enough and you'll notice an odd ambivalence, a peculiar unwillingness to acknowledge or assist in their own starward trajectory. At first it comes off as youthful stubbornness. (''Photo shoots, I hate them!'' Sara rants. ''We don't like to be told what to do.'') Then, as a reflexive refusal to use their gayness as marketing fodder. (''You don't ever read an article with Radiohead and hear Thom Yorke talking about his sexuality,'' Tegan says.) But when Tegan waxes nostalgic about how casually her ''hippie'' parents -- Sonia Clement, a therapist, and Stephen Quin, a housing developer -- first received news of their teenage girls' sexual choices, Tegan and Sara's nonchalance starts to make sense.



''It was such a nonissue,'' recalls Tegan. ''It was just like, 'I met someone''' -- a woman -- ''and everyone was like, 'Oh, cool.''' There's a powerful sense, for both Tegan and Sara, that sexual preference should not obscure, let alone define, their music and image. Besides, Tegan adds with a laugh, ''I figure it's better if people think we're single. Maybe then all the boys will like us more.''



Tegan and Sara do want people to like them, but for the right reasons, which, typically, they articulate in sentences that run over each other like runts in a litter. ''We did an interview the other day,'' Tegan begins. ''The guy said that when he saw Avril Lavigne happening, he thought, Tegan and Sara are finally going to be huge. Finally, there's this music with a person behind it, with an open mind, and being bratty, and dressing how you want. He was like, 'Do you think you're going to be huge?' And we were like, 'We don't care!'''



''If we wanted to sell tons of records and work the image thing,'' she continues, ''we could make it work. We could sell a million records. We could...''



''But what we're doing,'' says Sara, ''what we're already in the middle of, what we've already established, is a career. We've been doing this long enough at a grassroots level that...''



''We don't have to blow up,'' Tegan jumps in. ''If we keep climbing...''



''...naturally...'' adds Sara.



''...we will get to the top.''



Whatever the top may be in their collective mind, Tegan and Sara are off to a decent start. So far, they've appeared on Letterman and several Canadian talk shows. They've toured the States and/or Europe with Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, Joan Osborne, and, oddly enough, both Ryan and Bryan Adams. Of all, Ryan Adams, who personally requested that the twin Quins open for him on his most recent tour (and, of course, developed a crush on Sara), was the most ''cool.'' ''He treated us like equals,'' says Tegan. ''Whereas with some of the tours there was certainly no, like, 'Hey Neil!' You know, busting in [like] 'Can I borrow a pair of your socks?'''



Tonight, the girls play Toronto's Lee's Palace, one of the last remaining stops on their own Born in the Eighties Tour. The room is packed, and, yes, there are a bunch of lesbians in the front row. Tegan and Sara's personal ''superfans'' -- the girls from the jeep -- are ricocheting off the walls in anticipation. ''They let us hang out at sound checks,'' gushes a 21-year-old college student with a boyish haircut who, along with her three friends, has been skipping school to catch the bulk of the tour. ''It's like we're part of the team.''



Tegan and Sara open the show with the ear-grabbing guitar stabs of ''Time Running,'' and the boys enjoy it as much as the girls. The twins and their band -- Chris Carlson, the bassist, and Rob Chursinoff, the drummer -- rip through a couple more songs before Sara finally speaks up. With blue stage lights playing on her small frame and Elven features, she looks almost Tolkien-esque, a punk-rock Arwen.



''I was in Halifax,'' she begins, peeking out from under her blackened bangs. ''I think I picked up some sort of virus in Halifax and it's in my mouth.'' The audience giggles, a little uncomfortably. ''But I don't think it's contagious because I make out with everyone in the band and no one else has it.''



See? Hot.



THIS BUSINESS OF ART (Vapor, 2000) Concentrated teen anxiety (ya know -- dating, resisting, and general emotional confusion) spat, scat, and yelped over pummeling folk riffs. DiFranco-lite, with heart. B-



IF IT WAS YOU (Vapor/Sanctuary, 2002) The girls buy an electric guitar and let loose. Less dense, less uptight, and way more varied, If is filled with sweet, subtle tunes and delicious, radio-ready hooks. A



Compliments of the management, you can now check out the Entertainment Weekly Article in PDF form. If you don't have it already, you'll need to go to Adobe and download the free reader in order to view the file.

---

---

Lil' Trevor : Always the life of the party.

[kbk3022]

Thanks for posting that article Brian. I really didn't like it though. I don't like that the author uses words like "sexual preference" and "sexual choices" in describing their sexuality. There's more I didn't like, but I can't make a coherent rant.



Kasey

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - -
"Take heed 'cause I'm a lyrical poet, Miami's on the scene just in case you didn't know it. My town, that created all the bass sound, enough to shake and kick holes in the ground. 'Cause my style's like a chemical spill..."

[jaxxofdeath]

i see nothing wrong with homosexuality (partly because im prolly gayer than most boys i know i mean really i use the word boyish/ly at least 7 times a day) but i dont think they actually are lesbians i think they are just two girls wanting their 15 minutes of fame, that said i think the kissing is lesbian however i am sure we are all familar with the term gay on the pay, why cant this term be applied to music videos and related things such as reality tv(like big brother and the sort) afterall media is only gonna get more risque unless someone or something steps in, that said i want to pose a question is the line between porn and music videos and general television, in other countrys they are far surpassed the US's standards for obscene and not sutible for children but they are also more strict on gor and blood and general violence

[sprhrgrl]

I found an article about them by Russian lesbians here. . . Sorry if this has been posted before. . .

she's my everything

Sweetie, I'm a fag. I been there. - Tara (Dead Things shooting script)

A muscle cramp? in your. . . pants? - Tara (Older & Far Away)

Edited by: Warduke at: 9/24/03 7:48 am

[Guest diog]

A positive view on tATu that puts up a lot of points that should be taken in consideration:



www.afterellen.com/People...fense.html



Peace.

[ambersagoddess]

I was recently watching a documentary recently called Totally Gay, which was centered around gays and lesbians in the media. Many gay and gay-supporting actors, singers, and other celebrities mad comments on the TATU issue (including Amber)



It is in my opinion that, although it is immoral to exploit a loving relationship (if these girls actually have one,) any positive fanbase that the gay and lesbian community can get will help to make the world a little more open-minded.



On my first day in high-school my history teacher opened a discussion on the different cultures of the world. We gradually rounded the turn to racism and other such phobias. When everyone in my class had expressed their dislike for these stupid fears, our teacher made a comment about each generation being less and less close-minded. He said that if we each teach our children to be a little more open-minded then we were as a child, in a few generations everyone will be loved and excepted for themselves.



I agree with his thoughts and feel that the same can be done in regards to homophobia. If we each teach our children to be accepting, and they do the same for their children, maybe we will see equality for everyone before our deaths.



Back on the subject of TATU (sorry, I got sidetracked) The music is catchy, annoying, but catchy. The more straight people who like it, the more open-minded they will become. When they see that people of other sexual orentation can be just like them, maybe they will help us make the world a better place.



While I disagree with the exploiting of these young women for their sexuality I still agree with the chain reaction they are setting off. While they may be doing this for money, they are creating more open-minded people, and thus are contributing to the cause.



-Rei