Reventon 2010

I went to Reventon 2010 last night. It’s a Spanish music concert held in Staples Center and hosted by Super Estrella (a Spanish music radio station in LA).

The invited artists were as follows:

Maria José: A powerful singer.

Reik: A 3-man singing group. They do some alternative and ballad-y stuff.

Belinda: A fun pop singer.

Ramon Ayala: Apparently, he’s the king of accordion. He sings folksy Mexican songs that I guess are pretty popular/well known because every single person in Staples Center was singing along.

Daddy Yankee: Rapper. He gave a pretty good performance. My favorite part was when he had the lights turned off and asked everyone to take a picture with their cameras all at the same time. It was a really cool effect.

Alejandra Guzman: She is supposedly the queen of Spanish rock, and she’s kinda crazy. I don’t really like her music, and I find her difficult to understand because she’s got that too-much-crack-and-smoking voice. Halfway through her performance, she took off her blouse-thing and paraded about in a bra and a pink boa. Oh, did I mention she’s 42? Then she told us a story about all the implants she’s gotten in her body.

Ivy Queen: I still have no idea who this girl is.

Nelly Furtado: We all know who she is. She performed songs from her new album, and she also sang “Manos Al Aire.” I was secretly hoping for a performance of “Maneater,” but no dice.

Enrique Iglesias: He’s really hot.

Enrique’s performance was by far the most memorable. The place went absolutely crazy when he came on. I’ve never heard so many screams. He literally spent time standing there demanding praise.

During his performances, he would walk to the edge of the stage and climb partway into the crowd. Naturally, this sent the whole place into a tizzy. He performed some of his new stuff and then he sang “I Like It” and “Dímelo," which is also known as “Do You Know” in English.

My favorite moment of his performance was his last number, which was Heroe. He invited a 30-something year-old woman on stage and sang the song to her. For those of you who know the song, you can imagine how this woman reacted. Basically, she screamed, cried, embraced him, and just about died. Of course, everyone else in the audience felt the same way. Oh, what I would give to trade spots with her. At the very end of the song, he invited her boyfriend on stage as well, and together they sang “tú y yo.” It was actually really, really cute.

The concert was really fun, and I’m glad I got to go. Every single song, except “I Like It” was sung in Spanish, and the performers always addressed the crowd in Spanish. I was very proud of myself for understanding most of what the performers said when addressing us. Mostly they thanked the crowd, thanked Super Estrella, and talked about how awesome México is. I guess 90% of the crowd is Mexican.


Here is a video of Enrique's performance of "I Like It." I couldn't find one of him singing Heroe.

Got My Arms, Got My Hands, Got My Fingers, Got My Legs

1) Friend Pow-wow
My friends and I had an open discussion about the problem of secrets dividing the group. I think it went very well. We came up with some ways to address the issue and prevent this from happening again. The biggest thing: Just be honest with each other. If you feel excluded, speak up. If you feel insulted, speak up.

2) I discovered that the Nina Simone song “Ain't Got No” comes from the musical Hair. I love this song, and this discovery just about blew my mind.



3) I went shopping in Santa Monica yesterday. It was fun, but a few of my friends suffered from shopping fatigue, which was a bit annoying because I didn't get as much done as I wanted to.

Pictures from the Concert

Pictures, as promised:

Here is a picture of the outfit I was imitating.

And now my costume (and my friends too). I'm wearing the red crown:

My friend had a great costume. She and I were asked many many times to take pictures. I think our pictures are all over the internet now. When she first arrived at the party, she was wearing a trench coat. Then, a group of people asked to take their picture with her, and we all chanted for her to take off the trench coat. Soon, the entire crowd joined in, and when she finally took it off, everyone cheered and clapped. It was an amazing moment:

My veil is not very opaque:

Lady Gaga Concert Report

The concert was EPIC. Lady Gaga is such a good performer, and she really engaged the audience in her show. It felt like we were all a part of it, which made it a great experience.

My friend and I wore the most distinct costumes. My friend wore a red leotard with a red headscarf and Lady-Gaga glasses. She actually looked like Lady Gaga. Also, TONS of people asked to take their pictures with us. Many more took pictures of us as we stood in line. I feel like have the crowd saw/stared at us. I really don't know how many people saw me because I was behind a veil, and I couldn't see too well in the dark. I was too busy watching out for rogue poles to pay attention to other people.

However, I did see some very attractive gay guys.

Also, she opened up “Boys, Boys, Boys” by saying, “Where are all my gay kids at?” Naturally, I jumped up and started screaming. The entire row behind me did the same. :)

P.S. Pictures will be posted later. My friend has them on her camera.

Finally!

Break has arrived.

Last night, I went to a Holiday Cookie Party with my friends and watched Love Actually. We also baked lots of cookies and exchanged gifts. It was really fun.

And tonight, I have a LADY GAGA concert. I'm soooooooo excited. We've got nosebleed seats, but I really don't care. I will be in the same building as Lady Gaga, and that's good enough for me.

Naturally, my friends and I are all dressing up. I am mimiking the outfit she wore when she accepted her VMA. I have red shorts, a red long-sleeved shirt, and a thin red cloth to cover my face. I also made a red, construction-paper crown.

My friends are wearing similarly absurd outfits, all inspired by Lady Gaga's crazy style. I can't wait to arrive at the concert because we are going to make quite an entrance.

Holiday Songs

I recently realized that I have NO holiday songs on my ipod, so today, I set out to remedy that. I started by downloading the free iTunes holiday collection. I then added some additional songs. Here are my favorite that I've got so far, and I would like some more suggestions:


1) Last Christmas by Cascada
2) All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey
3) O Holy Night by Mariah Carey
4) Hark! The Herald Angels Sing by Mariah Carey
5) What Child Is This (w/ Mary J. Blige) by Andrea Bocelli
6) Mary, Did You Know? By Kenny Rogers and Wyonna Judd
7) The Nutcracker: Dance of the Reed Pipes
8) Silent Night by Sarah McLachlan
9) The First Noel by David Archuleta
10) O Come All Ye Faithful by Amy Grant


So, does anyone have others to add?

My Funeral Playlist

Ok, I made a playlist for my funeral.

First off, I am NOT suicidal. I don't plan on dieing anytime soon. I've only just begun living!

BUT, I recognize that death is a part of life, and I am prepared for the worst. I made this funeral playlist because I want my funeral to be EPIC. The links on each song take you to the youtube video for that song:

1) Adagio for Strings
2) Amazing Grace
3) Vois Sur Ton Chemin from Les Choristes
4) Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas
5) Relax, Take It Easy by Mika
6) Heaven (feat. Mitch Crown) by Quintino
7) Staying Alive by the Bee Gees
8) Die Another Day by Madonna
9) D.A.N.C.E by Justice
10) Dance in the Dark by Lady Gaga
11) YES by LMFAO
12) Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake
13) So Happy I Could Die by Lady Gaga


Allow me to explain my logic:

I start with some a sad song, Adagio for Strings and then go into a spiritual song: Amazing Grace. After that, I transition to Vois Sur Ton Chemin, which is arguably the most beautiful music ever created. Then things start to get a little happier with Colors of the Wind, which I think is uplifting. Next, I tell the listener to “Relax” and “Take it Easy” because I'll be going to “Heaven,” so I'll be “Staying Alive.” In other words, I will “Die Another Day.” I also tell the listener to “D.A.N.C.E,” specifically, I them them to “Dance in the Dark” while saying “YES” because this is an awesome funeral. Remember, “I'll be bringing Sexy Back,” and now I'm “So Happy I Could Die.”

Today's the Day

Today, I plan on telling my twin brother that I'm gay.

He is out here on the east coast with me, and tonight is our last night here. The reason I haven't told him yet is that we rarely come into contact. Normally, I would be opposed to coming out in a situation where we are in forced contact, but it feels like I have no choice.

Also, I expect him to be fine with it. He would have to be the most unobservant dolt to not be suspicious at this point. Also, my parents already know and are OK with it, so I know they will back me up.

Two days ago, he asked if I saw New Moon at midnight, and I said no (because I hadn't), and he said he was surprised that I wasn't out there. Lol.


In other news, Lady Gaga's The Fame: Monster, with 8 new songs, comes out today.

Homecoming

Last night was the homecoming dance.

My date and I dressed up as a Rock and a Lobster to be the B52s song Rock Lobster. I will see if I can post pictures of the costume later.



We both think it's a hilarious song.

The DJ sucked (what's new?) and I also discovered that I am the only one in my group of friends that knows all the words to Cher's Believe. I feel VERY gay.

Hottie and Glee

This is a picture from the myspace of the guy who sang the a cappella piece in my previous post. He is so hot. I hope if I go to Yale (big IF) I can meet him.

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Now I want to talk about Fox's new show, Glee. It is sort of like high school musical in television series form. I watch the show even though I don't really like it. I think the writing is mediocre at times, the lip-synching is painful, and the plot line is cliché.

Now, my criticisms are not accurate at all times. Sometimes the writing is brilliant and the songs incredible.

However, I have recently noticed that the portrayal of gay characters is painfully stereotypical. The teen gay student is named Kurt, and he is mindblowingly gay. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with someone who is a very stereotypical gay, but I would have appreciated it if Fox decided to portray a gay character who was more than “just gay.”

The same goes for the adult gay character. It hasn't come out that he's gay, but he certainly appears that way. He is absolutely bonkers and isn't allowed near children for undisclosed reasons.

I just wish the mainstream media would for once portray a character who “just happened to be gay.” I admit that I match a number of stereotypes, but I know that not everybody does. I want to see fair representation of LGBT people.

I know a lot of it is in the name of comedy, but goes a little too far at times. Kurt comes out to his dad while he appears to be removing make up, and his dad informs him that he knew ever since Kurt was three. Apparently all Kurt wanted for Christmas was “a pair of sensible heels.”

Michael Jackson Post (Forgive Me, I had to!)

First, I want to apologize for sharing a Michael Jackson tribute video. I know that you have all seen about 1 million of these over the past weeks. However, this one is simply amazing.

It is an a capella collection of MJ songs. It is sung by a Yale student, so that makes it extra special because I want to go to school there.

And in case you are a bit confused, this was sung by one person. He and his friend used some fancy editing to create the appearance of an entire a capella group, but all the parts are him!

Aguilera's Beautiful Gays

I was bouncing around on the internet, and I discovered Christina Aguilera's Beautiful. I remember when this song was popular, but for some reason, it's significance flew straight over my head.

Obviously, the song is about standing up to criticism and believing in yourself no matter what other people say. I especially love how Christina chose to depict alternative lifestyles in her music video to illustrate this point. The video includes a gay couple and a cross-dressing man.

It's a great song, and it's so full of emotion. I think it is a great song for anybody who is in the closet (and it's great for people who are out as well).

The gay couple is super cute too. I love 2:14 when they start making out. They are a really good looking couple, I think. The pic at the top of this post show this couple.

Here is a link to the video. YouTube won't let me embed it, otherwise I would show it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdYQX8J-FFo

Lady Gaga and Gays

I finished watching the VMAs last night. I saw Lady Gaga win Best New Artist, and I heard her acceptance speech. I really liked her acceptance speech.

First of all, she didn't sound too drugged out, which is good.

Second, she gave an excellent performance earlier in the show, and I am still applauding her for that.

Third, Lady Gaga thanked “God and the gays” at the end of her speech. I love her!

However, she does wear some very eccentric clothing. I would also like to point out that she is in fact very musically talented, but that often doesn't show in her music. I wish she would use her powerful voice more often.

Also, I think I saw Perez Hilton seated with her, and I think they were in the first or second row.

P.S. I can't find a video of her speech on YouTube. If someone can find it, please post the link in the comments.

Music Discoveries

Here is some new music that I found over the weekend. I really like these songs. Enjoy!

New Music

Is it trashy that I like this song:

Whatever, I don't care if its trashy. I just love it.

Random Music Post

Here is a random, late-night music post. The first is Shania Twain. I really love this song, but oh-my-god it is gay. The backup dancers are wearing guyliner. Oh, and am I the only one that doesn't find them very attractive? Also, does anyone think that Shania Twain's outfit is a little Nazi-esque? Of course, I am referring to the outfit she starts out in, not the one she ends in. :P

And this is Adagio for Strings. For some reason, I have recently become obsessed by tragically sad classical music. This one is my current favorite. I swear, the first few notes are enough to break me down. Does anyone else know any exquisitely sad classical music that I might listen to?

P.S.: Day 3 of the Stereotypes Series will be out tomorrow morning.