We Are All Bonnie

I realised the other day that a large chunk of M/M romance is basically just Bonnie Tyler in Holding Out For A Hero.

Witness this:

So, the men we are reading about are, in one way or another, just standing atop a big cliff in a floaty dress belting out a desire for a man: "he's gotta be strong, he's gotta be fast, and he's gotta be fresh from the fight". Ring any bells?
But it's more than that isn't it. He's also "gotta be sure. And it's gotta be soon. And it's gotta be larger than life." Yes, that man I'm reading about has gotta be all the things. I've never seen a better description of M/M than that (or a fair chunk of it anyway).

But there's a little tickle of the subconscious yearning in there too. It's not all blatant 'come get me down from this dangerous precipice', oh no. There's all that sublimated desire rising to the surface too: "In my wildest fantasy. Somewhere just beyond my reach. There's someone reaching back for me". It's the whole 'he wants me as much as I want him, but its a struggle' thing. And it's lovely. And it's done to a thumping erotic beat, which is in no way suggestive of humping. Oh no.

Still, it could be worse.
It could be that M/M is all about the other song. Remember that one?

Witness this batshit insanity:

Other than the whole thing being about over-brimming passion, lost love, needing for romance and fresh starts there's only a few tenuous links to M/M:
"Living in a keg and giving off sparks" - yes, we've all been there. Smoky isn't it.
"Once upon a time I was falling in love, now I'm only falling apart." - welcome to my life.
"Together we can take it to the end of the line" - surely the ultimate M/M story. No? Also, surely the deepest, most longing desire behind every one night stand ever.
(We'll just ignore the dodgy stuff about shagging schoolboys who grow up to be fit, speedo wearing, swimmers and/or american football players who quaff wine while wearing tuxedos)

Bonnie you are very wise.
Also, 'bonnie' in Scots means beautiful. So yeah, we're all Bonnie.

Song For Sunday - 22nd Feb - Red Hot

This week's Song for Sunday is chosen just because it's a great song - Red Hot Tears by Eric Himan.
Eric has a new EP out soon called Playing Cards. It's already available to those who paid upfront through PledgeMusic, so you might know that it's also great - so go buy it when it's available on iTunes and the like.

Song for Sunday - 15th Feb - Love Given & Taken

Valentine's Day. That's the day to celebrate love apparently. Although why we shouldn't celebrate it on the other days of the year I've never quite worked out.

My only trouble with Valentine's Day is that it's always about celebrating the love that you have - as if that's the only love that counts. What about the love that's been? Or the love that's coming down the track? Why shouldn't we celebrate those too? That of course means that it's for those currently in love. It cuts out, casts aside and rebukes those of us not in love right here and right in this moment. Not in love today? Then this isn't for you. Move along.

So my Song(s) for Sunday (yes a double whammy again) is for love that has been taken from us and the love that is going to happen, rather than the love that is happening now. These are love songs for the single.

Love that is taken away:
This song is one of those that made me explore music made by LGBT folk for LGBT folk. It's message is a simple one of enduring love. The video made to accompany it packs quite the punch too with its story of love taken away. So you can blame Tom Goss for every song prior to this and every song to come.

Love that is given:
That first moment when you realise that you've met someone you're falling in love with. There is nothing quite like it. That anticipation of seeing the person causes a visceral reaction - remember when your heart raced at the thought of meeting your new lover? Or when just the thought of them brought a smile to your face? That moment when you realised what falling meant? Well here it is, it'll happen again one day - just make yourself ready, put yourself in the brace position and open yourself to the possibility.
(there's no You Tube for this one, so here's the Spotify link)

Song for Sunday - 8th Feb - Come Back

A little light synth pop this week.
I've chosen this one because it's beautifully crafted music. Also, if you like a bit or romance then the theme of the song, come back because life is too unbearable without you, is perfect.

Oh, also #hotginger.

Song for Sunday - 1st Feb - Shelter

Stick with me on this one as there are a few vid's to look at. But they are all needed and worth watching.

The Backlot (formerly After Elton) have updated their Top 100 Greatest Gay Movies list, something that they do every few years. This years list is quite a shake up as more and more decent gay themed films are getting made and getting an audience. This is particularly great as it means there are loads of films on the new list that I now want to get around to watching.

Go have a look at the full Top 100 list here. Comment below on the films that  you've seen, want to see, hated or loved.
Also, if you like LGBT film you should probably go have a look at CGiii - the most comprehensive LGBT film site.

In the Top 10 are some really great films, including my personal favourite Shelter. I love Shelter because its about real-life, working class folk and the things that they have to deal with and have to consider when making choices about life. It also has a really good soundtrack.

The trailer for Shelter gives you an idea about the film:

From the soundtrack comes not 1 but 2 Songs for Sunday (mostly because I couldn't choose between them, so decided to include both). They are very different in style but lovely versions of their genre, so worth listening to.

First up is Lie To Me by Shane Mack:

Next is Teenage Romanticide by Dance Yourself To Death: