The Village People. You danced with them and even did the YMCA with them (but you must have thought even then why the chorus is only "Young Men"). You now know that they are the gay icons of the 1970s. But then there is at least one of them who's not gay. Or that's what he said and no one disputed. Another one may also be straight but he's dead. Answer at the comment.
Anyway, after listening to Indigo Girl's Power of Two, a friend said, "That song is about their husbands siguro and them." I laughed. "Or boyfriends?" Another friend laughed harder. "E mga lesbians sila."
That's so easy. "Johnny Mathis," I said. "What about him?" "He's gay, too. And he ate monkey brains when he came to the Philippines," I told them. Actually it wasn't easy for Johnny to come out. Here was his reaction about being gay: "Um, it’s, uh, I don’t know, it’s very, it’s very unpleasant to even talk about because it’s, it’s such a small part of, of your life, you know. I mean, it’s a big part, but it’s, it isn’t everything, it’s just, you know, one aspect of your life." True, and don't you know even wiht his outing and all, his greatest hits collection is one of the best selling ever. For decades, it never left the Top 150.
Ani de Franco is gay but she's a damn good singer like k.d.lang and Marissa Etheridge who are also out-and-out. Janis Ian sang, "I learned the truth at 17 that life was meant for beauty queens" and we sympathized with her. We even gave her a Grammy. And then ten years later, she married a woman. Doogie Howser is gay. There's nothing wrong with that and it doesn't make you superior. Because here you are, a straight but has not done anything worthwhile.
Of course, I never said that to my friends. Our real conversation stopped at Johnny Mathis eating monkey brains. They asked me how he did it and all. I think they just lopped off the skull and picked on the brains while the monkey twitched his eyes depending on what neurons you popped in your mouth.
Labels: 1970s, gaiety, music
