Song of the Day: 'Gonna Be You' by Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper and Gloria Estefan

I'm pretty sure there was no way gay boys of a certain age wouldn't have been disappointed by a song promising the likes of Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Debbie Harry. But "Gonna Be You," with its nod to "9 to 5" opening, is cute enough -- I can totally hear it playing during the closing credits of "80 for Brady" -- and gave gay boy Gus Kenworthy the opportunity to do a cameo (and red-carpet turn) with Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda (that fun hair!), Rita Moreno and Sally Field, which is all of our '80s dreams come true! 

P.S. There's been a lot of speculation about why Debbie doesn't actually seem to be involved here -- she's not in the video, and if she's singing it's not noticeable. Some think she balked after hearing the song Diane Warren had written, or refused to be seen in a Patriots jersey. Whatever the case, it's probably just as well!

We gays may not care about football, but at least Tom Brady is good for SOMETHING!

Song of the Day: 'Slow-Ass Jolene' by Dolly Parton

Now that film and television are finally catching up with stories about LGBTQ people, it would be nice if more songs tackled the topic -- and who better than queer icon Dolly Parton to (sorta) lend a hand:

As That Eric Calper writes, a 45 of Dolly's 1973 hit “Jolene” played at 33 1⁄3 rpm not only sounds cool, it also manages to change the meaning, if only through the actual sound of her voice. 

The New Yorker's Andrea DenHoed notes that in “Slow Ass Jolene,” Parton’s “baby-high soprano” into something deep, soulful and seemingly male. 

As one YouTube commenter said, “Possible interpretations: gay cowboy laments the loss of his bisexual boyfriend to a woman named Jolene -- or a gay cowboy laments the loss of his boyfriend to another man named Joe Lean.”

Truly delightful! 

On the Rag, Vol. 638

 A weekly look at what's making news in the gay magazines:

WireMag: Eric Guilmette in red 

Follow him in IG

HIV Plus: Journalist Linda Villarosa, black lives, the healing power of dogs and what lies ahead after a rough 2020.

A&U: Artist Eric Rhein merges memoir with monograph in a new book

Metro Weekly: Hope for the holidays?

Between the Lines: 2020’s Top 10 national LGBTQ news stories

DNA: Ryan Daharsh returns to the cover for the first time since 2009. He’s a dad now -- but that’s no dad bod! 

My 2009 Ryan Daharsh modeling card post

Grab: A holly Dolly Christmas

GCN: Photographer Babs Daly realizes her Queer Utopia with model John Mangru and writer Stephen Moloney

Unite: Seattle's top gay caregivers offer straight talk on Covid-19

Dallas Voice: 2020: What a year: Covid-19

The 2020 election

Best LGBTQ+ movies of 2020

Best books of 2020

Metrosource Minis: Freaky's Misha Osherovich: Nonbinary befined

HBO Max's "12 Dates of Christmas" with Corey Lay

Song of the Day: 'Here You Come Again' by Dolly Parton

A great new article in Billboard in which we learn Dolly Parton embraces the Black Lives Matter movement is the perfect reason to make the music legend my song of the day:

“And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!”

Parton was ahead of the curve when it comes to country music re-brandings: In 2018, she renamed her Dixie Stampede dinner attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., “Dolly Parton’s Stampede.”

“When they said ‘Dixie’ was an offensive word, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to offend anybody. This is a business. We’ll just call it The Stampede,'” Parton said. “As soon as you realize that [something] is a problem, you should fix it."

She continued: “Don’t be a dumbass. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.”

Read HERE.

"Here You Come Again" -- featuring the gayest lyric ever: "Here you come again, lookin' better than a body has a right to" -- was such a great song it's easy to see why it was Dolly's first huge crossover hit, from her first million-selling album. 

Page 1 Roundup (03/19)

The Daily News: MTA finds low levels of silica dust along L train, assures riders air is safe to breathe

Man who accidentally fired a bullet into his testicles may be charged for gun violation

Sicko doctor who admitted to molesting dozens of children sentenced to up to 158 years in prison

Instagram: It's hard to wait for Speedo Sunday when Risan Benishu is running around looking like this

Dolly Parton: I will always love her

Mother Jones: Dems ask FBI to investigate massage-parlor owner who was selling access to Trump

HuffPost: Beanie Feldstein says queer representation in 'Booksmart' is 'completely meaningful'

New York Post: Hot-ass charged with mob boss murder flashes pro-Trump slogans in court

The Randy Report: Cory Booker promises to reverse trans military ban (on the off chance he becomes president)

SpinCycleNYC: Rent-boy drama 'Bleach' announces final extension thru March 30

NewNowNext: Halston will be the subject of a miniseries. Author Steven Gaines tells Michael Musto about the designer's drug problem, raunchy boyfriend problem (he met Victor Hugo on Dial-A-Dick), and genius at being both a designer and psychoanalyst to his clients

The Washington Post: Brexit in further disarray after House speaker moves to block third vote on deal

How is Trump’s labor secretary still in his position given what we now know about what he did to Jeffrey Epstein’s underage sex victims?

The New York Times: Medicare for all is divisive (in the Democratic Party)

Since his dubious election, the only bank that would lend Trump money has sought to distance itself from him

Andy Cohen is (already) tired of being 'dad shamed' by 'momsplainers'

The Wall Street Journal: Competitive debaters have a problem: They can't stop arguing

Turns out the National Enquirer got Jeff Bezos's text the old-fashioned way: It paid $200,000 to his girlfriend's vile brother, a gay Trump supporter

Page 1 Roundup (02/20)

The Daily News: Why is this happening to U.S.?

Reuters: Covington Catholic teen sues the Washington Post for $250 million

Variety: 'Office Space' turns 20: How Mike Judge brought flair, assclowns and red staplers to the world

Vox: House Dems reveal new info on a shady White House plan to sell nuclear tech to Saudi Arabia involving Michael Flynn, Trump's disgraced former national security adviser

New York Post: Miranda Lambert's hot NYPD hubby is taken off patrol

Politico: Emails reveal coordination between Chao, McConnell offices; Chao has met at least 10 times with politicians and business leaders from the state in response to requests from McConnell’s office

The Advocate: I'll save the FBI some work: Yes. You know, I think everyone would be willing to stop piling on if he would just come clean. But he's still trying to say he's being re-victimized (by the truth) -- a complete narcissist.

I must confess that am OBSESSED with Smollett dead-enders. The twisting and lack of logic are death-defying!

The New York Times: Intimidation, pressure and humiliation: Inside Trump's two-year war on the investigations encircling him

Shame on Maureen Dowd for this lazy reference to Woody Allen. (I can't really blame the editors here because NYT columnists can pretty much write whatever they want.) I know you're all probably tired of hearing my greatest hits. But like the Jussie Smollett case, I smelled a fraud the second Mia Farrow leveled her child-molestation charges, and I'd bet my life I was right. It's very easy to forget details -- and Dylan Farrow's lobbying campaign has been persuasive to many. But as I have been saying for years and especially since #MeToo began, it is good to err on the side of victims -- but you must based each case on its merits, of which the Woody Allen has none.

The Daily Mail: Just out of curiosity, has anyone heard from the Farrow camp since it was alleged that Mia 'indulged Woody Allen's predilection for young girls' before heading that campaign to brand him a pedophile? I didn't think so.

Despite how it feels, Trump won't be here forever -- but are sure our institutions can bounce back when they're stretch this far out of whack?

Phoenix New Times: How terrible of her to have shot someone

LGBTQ Nation: No, Dolly did NOT slam anybody -- but you might as well pop the corks on the Champagne bottles for Trump's re-election if we're going to keep this stupidity up ... (no link included because this clickbait trash deserves no traffic) 

The Wall Street Journal: When bosses call walking meetings, some employees wish they'd take a hike

Remains of the Day (09/07)

GoFundMe: Dawn Wells, best known as Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island," needs your help after a string of bad luck

Tumblr: Behold three new pics of a bearded Chris Evans

Dlisted: It's time for a "Party of Five" reboot, I guess

Tennis: They're both young, but sadly for the game I'm starting to believe Dominic Thiem and Madison Keys just don't have what it takes upstairs to go the distance

The New York Times: Now Trump wants the attorney general to investigate source of the anonymous Times op-ed

Instagram: British tennis player Liam Broady accused of shameless clickbait in ice bath

New York Post: There's a reason we call him the gay Anna Nicole Smith 

CBS: Four sisters detail abuse by the same priest

The Washington Post: Barack Obama, saying Trump is capitalizing on "fear and anger," calls on Americans to vote in November

Gr8er Days: An extensive Burt Reynolds obituary from a gay perspective

Towleroad: Brett Kavanaugh won't give opinion of gay marriage or agree that the days of discriminating against gay people are over

BosGuy: Do you like your gingers furry?

Instagram: Dolly Parton lovingly remembers her co-star Burt Reynolds

Daily Intel: Trump praises Rep. Greg Gianforte for assaulting reporter

Hunk du Jour: Steven Strait shows how you do a hairy chest

Greg in Hollywood: Alex Landi joins cast of “Grey’s Anatomy” as the long-running medical drama’s first gay male surgeon

Deep Dish: I'm digging the cap and sports briefs look on this one

It's Either Sadness or Euphoria: Tara Westover's new memoir, "Educated," is "harrowing, heartbreaking and ultimately triumphant"

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Hot Cat of the Day: "Who wants to play?"

Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda's '9 to 5' Emmys Reunion

Was traveling home yesterday from a wedding in the Carolinas -- they make you arrive two hours early, wait in security for four then delayed my 1.5-hour flight another half-dozen -- so am just now seeing this. But it had to have been the highlight of last night's Emmy Awards! Watch HERE.

UPDATE:

And what about THIS?!

Dolly Parton and Kylie Minogue Team Up for Aussie Equal Marriage

I'm disgusted that people's civil rights are still being put up for a vote. But with a trio like this promoting marriage equality in Australia -- hubba-hubba on the left -- who could say no? Read HERE.

UPDATE: 

I'm informed the hunk is Kylie's 28-year-old fiance, Joshua Sasse, who I'm guessing she met on Scruff.

On the Rag, Vol. 423

A weekly look at what's making news in the free gay mags:

Get Out!: Get to know Alexander Maravilla HERE.

QX (London): Catching up with comedian Nadya Ginsburg, known for her spot-on impersonations of Cher, Madonna and Winona Wyder! Read HERE.

Next: Back to 'Drag Race' / Read HERE.

I'm not surprised people objected to Next's piece last week on "Finding Prince Charming" star Robert Sepulveda Jr. But the problem here isn't slut-shaming. It's lies and deception. Sepulveda finally came clean about his past as an escort, but insisted the past was the past and that he was a businessman now. But now reliable sources are saying he's been turning tricks up until filming started, and his "design firm" is allegedly a front for his escorting. The Huffington Post's Noah Michelson tried to clean this mess up by saying he thought it was a good thing that Logo's dating show wasn't so "heteronormative" thanks to Robert's past. But that's total nonsense. The show is 100 percent heteronormative -- the name, the format, everything about it. The way they could have gone against the grain is if Sepulveda HAD BEEN HONEST about his background. (Logo was reportedly blindsided.) Then the show could have been a real-life "Pretty Woman" instead of merely a "Gay Bachelor," which we've already seen on Bravo. Read HERE.

"American Idol" alum David Hernandez opens up HERE.

Next (South Florida): Fort Lauderdale gym owner reveals his colorful past / Read HERE.

Frontiers (L.A.): The fall culture and style preview is on stands now! Info HERE.

Q Salt Lake: Huntsman, Urquhart, Turpin join Equality Utah Board of Directors / Read HERE.

Metro Weekly (D.C.): A powerful new exhibit celebrates lesbian artist Romaine Brooks, who painted against the grain of her time, with women often dressed in ambiguously masculine garb / Read HERE.

Julian is an artist, a music manager, a bartender, a man of many ideas and many trades / Read HERE.

Lavender (Twin Cities): The 2016 fall arts and dining issues is online now HERE.

Gloss (SF): Celebrating 40 years of Steamworks! Read HERE.

Winq: Australia's marriage-equality referendum will be mandatory / Read HERE.

Edge Boston: In a world that is increasingly polarized, beloved figures like Dolly Parton are a rarity. Download HERE.