It's been quite a while since my last post as I've been busy with real life but the recent EQCA and PFLAG awards Adam has received along with the Advocatearticle have inspired me to get creative again. With a new era upon us, the old graphics feel dated so I wanted to make something new to reflect the less glam, less frivolous vibe I get for the upcoming album while still retaining a little humour.
I've been thinking about how Adam has unintentionally ended up gradually adopting a role in sociopolitical activism. At the start of the journey, it seemed to me that he just wanted to have fun and play dress-up while making music. It might sound somewhat superficial but that period was driven by excitement for the new and eagerness to carve out an identity. The album reflected this energy and optimism. Along came the Out interview and the controversial letter of criticism from its editor Aaron Hicklin accusing Adam of de-gaying himself by turning down the cover and doing a hetero Details photoshoot. Adam has since revealed that the AMA performance was in part an angry response to that criticism. It had been a rocky ride for our formerly reluctant poster-boy.
While it's unfair to expect every gay person in the spotlight to automatically take on the responsibility of leading the charge when all they want to do is go about their business like anyone else, Adam has come to the conclusion that it does play a part in his business, and now that he's in a position to make a difference, he's trying to use it in the fight for equality. Though the way Hicklin attacked Adam and his management in that letter was out of order, he effectively laid down a challenge which Adam has quietly stepped up to, with positive repercussions still making their mark. In an unpleasant and roundabout way, Hicklin got the result he wanted, to the benefit of many.
I felt that Adam's performance of ACIGC in LA signalled a shift in his degree of involvement with politics and we've seen this via the Trevor Project through the "It Gets Better" campaign and the Aftermath Remix. Although he still seems uncomfortable getting up on his soap-box to speak up about issues, I think he's in his element when expressing it through music — not on a political level where he isn't yet at ease but on a personal, emotional level as a consequence of those policies — in Outlaws of Love.
There are four designs here, which I created to reflect the role Adam has adopted. I wanted my illustration to parody a political propaganda poster with him as a stoic revolutionary, regal and exuding power. I went for a slightly ironic and humorous take (depending on how you see him), depicting him as the Gay Messiah / poster boy that some people have demanded of him. Who knows, history could well remove the irony.
The first design is of Adam against the backdrop of the rainbow flag with a simple word: "Proud". It could mean many things; Adam being out and proud and gay enough, thankyouverymuch; his support and contribution towards LGBT rights; pride in him for being publicly out and leading by example; pride for his working hard towards a dream inspiring millions along the way; pride for just being uncompromisingly himself. There was also something in the Advocate article about people being reluctant to admit to liking him as he sees himself as uncool:
“I pick up this kind of energy among young people that it might not be the coolest thing to say you like Adam Lambert’s music. People don’t think that I’m cool.”
Well the design is also a response to that. It's a way of showing that you are an out and proud Glambert, proud to be uncool (and therefore post-cool?) if that's what liking him makes you.
I've used a lyric from Strut as the slogan for the other designs, retaining the informal spelling to keep it light-hearted. The second one has a subtle rainbow flag in Adam's hair for those of you who aren't fond of wearing too much colour, and the last two are variations; one with a vertical flag, the other without any rainbows. It could well be that Adam will grow into a revolutionary figure for equal rights but for now, the revolution is closer to home. How many of us have changed, feel braver, stronger, happier within ourselves? In how many of us has Adam effected a personal revolution? I hope these are designs you'd be proud to wear in support of Adam, whether for counter-protests or as a constant reminder from him that the power for change is in each and every one of us.
We first heard about Adam's appearance on Project Runway as a judge quite some time ago and this week we'd been teased by photos trickling out from the set. We all know about Adam's love for fashion and how he always makes a huge visual impact with his carefully considered fashion choices, often making headlines for all the right reasons. This and his ability to articulately provide constructive feedback makes him an ideal fit. Here's my playlist containing the full show (Adam's part starts at the 37 minute mark), extended critiques and finally, the contestants' opinions about Adam as a judge.
The task for the week is to put together a look for an unsigned scruffy-looking hirsute band called the Sheepdogs, whose appearance is worlds apart from Adam's dapper image and his sharp glamorous form-fitting ensembles. Adam is a musician who also lives and breathes fashion. We wouldn't have been as hooked as we were during his AI run had he not tailored his styling to suit each and every performance. How many of us wondered what he would be wearing and compulsively tuned in to see his outfits every week? How many of us studied what he was wearing at the start of the show to try to guess what kind of performance he would put in? How many of us fell into his Ring of Fire after staring at that zip? I'm sure you can still remember every single one of those outfits. If anyone knows how to use fashion to enhance a performance and captivate an audience, it's Adam. Unfortunately though, the Sheepdogs don't get a miraculous Adam makeover, which would've made for unmissable TV, but stay close to their style.
A few things of note from the videos: Adam's little gasp of delight as Heidi Klum introduces him as a "fashion forward musician"; the sunshine laughter he brings onto the set; introducing the angle of the musicians' movement and how the clothing can enhance it; respectfully not trying too hard to steal the spotlight through finding inventive ways of dissing the clothes; his expression revealing his wholehearted approval of making men's clothes sexy.
Overall, Adam gave useful feedback and did a fantastic job without being bitchy, which the contestants' comments support. Wonder how long we'll have to wait for his own collection... I can't wait!
My attempt at retiring from video editing didn't last long. The lure of fresh new material from the debut of Outlaws of Love was just too tempting to resist. My aims for this video were simply to make something beautiful and to reflect the breathy ethereal quality of Adam's voice accompanied by the delicate instrumentals. And to lessen the wincing from screams so we can comfortably watch it all the way through. Here you go:
The gentle guitar introduction leads to the opening note that reminds me so much of CLYG. It seems that there are many screamers in the audience who can't handle the excitement to the vexation of everyone else trying to shush them. When I hear Adam sing, everything else falls away. I guess this is what he meant by bringing the focus back to the voice and I adore it. It's the closest I've heard to an a capella, and his soothing, mellifluous voice is painfully, achingly, agonisingly beautiful. The pretty melody is fairly simple, the range not too challenging, no vocal acrobatics, it's all about the emotions evoked by that voice in a song written for that voice. Even without understanding the lyrics, we can feel it's a haunting lament about an enduring sadness, energy and hope slowly draining away, which is so heartbreaking to listen to. It's sung so smoothly and flawlessly with breathtaking trills effortlessly eased into that floating voice, topped off by a heart-stopping crescendo with grit providing the necessary light and shade. I must admit I have a bit of a fixation with the rich hoarseness of that final "hell". Stunning.
I suspect that the arrangement for this is much sparser than what the studio version will be, but I hope the vocals will still be central with nothing detracting from it. I like the idea of having an acoustic rather than an electronic production, perhaps with just a piano or even harp as accompaniment. Whichever way, I'm looking forward to seeing how Adam changes it up. Perhaps one thing I'd tweak is the bridge. It reminds me of Broken Open but I think the transition into it could flow a little better. I'm rather excited by video possibilities for this song, which feels quite cinematic. Ronnie and Clyde outlaws on a road trip. Wearing Burning Man costumes.
The lyrics are uncomplicated and sincere with a strong clear message, making it a potential anthem for LGBT rights. I think it would have been ideal for performing on the recent awards shows Adam has attended. We are all human, feel the same range of emotions but some of us are demonised simply because we lie outside society's rules over how we ought to love.
Oh, nowhere left to go
Are we getting closer, closer?
"No," all they know is "No!"
Nights are getting colder, colder
Hey, tears all fall the same
We all feel the rain
We can't change
Everywhere we go we're looking for the sun
Nowhere to grow old we're always on the run
They say we'll rot in hell, well I don't think we will
They've branded us enough, outlaws of love
Scars make us who we are
Hearts and homes are broken open
Far, we could go so far
With our minds wide open, open
Hey, tears all fall the same
We all feel the rain
We can't change
Everywhere we go we're looking for the sun
Nowhere to grow old we're always on the run
They say we'll rot in hell, well I don't think we will
They've branded us enough, outlaws of love
Aaah...
Everywhere we go we're looking for the sun
Nowhere to grow old we're always on the run
They say we'll rot in hell, well I don't think we will
They've branded us enough, outlaws of love
Outlaws of love
Outlaws of love
Outlaws of love
Outlaws of love
Note to Screamflailberters: For the benefit of all concerned, STFU when adam sings please. Shit your pants, die, explode, whatever, AFTER he has indicated he has finished the song. Thankyouverymuch. I spent fucking ages trying to clean up after your mess and there isn't just just some fucking program I run this through to magically get rid of every unwanted noise. It involves manually pinpointing the set of frequencies of every single fucking noise for zapping. This means having to listen to every single fucking one of your painful wince-inducing sounds over and over, making sure Adam's voice doesn't become too distorted and the removal isn't too jarring. It's no wonder I want to retire after each edit, especially when cleaning the sound takes longer than the video. It drives me insane. Rant over.
Here are the downloads, and thanks to TALCvids and fiercealien for letting me get my hands on their raw audio, includes an uncompressed wav for you quality whores out there. Enjoy!
I have a very busy few days so no time for comments, but here is my playlist for Adam at the awards. Included is the red carpet arrival, questions, an impromptu duet of Mad World with Kathy Griffin and his acceptance package with speech. I'm glad the LGBT community are finally giving him (as opposed to some straight "bi" popstrel) official recognition for being a visible role model. Well deserved Adam!
I was unable to stay up to watch a live stream Adam Lambert on VH1's Behind the Music but here are all the videos and bonus clips with some brief comments:
As we'd already seen from the teaser trailers, we knew there was going to be a lot of coverage about Adam's sexuality but I still didn't expect it to feature so heavily that it would be more like "Behind the Gay" with so little about the music. Having said that, his sexuality has played a major part in shaping him as a performer and as a role model, the show giving out lots of positive messages about coming out.
Apart from watching Adam looking very fresh-faced and speaking softly in his trademark articulate manner, the parts of the show I found myself most drawn to were those from his pre-Idol days. Not only because it's before I started following his every move, but for the insights and new footage of him singing and speaking as a youth. Hands up those of you who, like me, ended up playing some kind of mental photo-Bingo? How did you do? I think I had about 95% of the photos that were shown. The new ones were a splendid bonus for hardcore fans who struggled to learn anything new. As expected, there's the revisiting of old controversies and we got to hear a little more about how he felt as his "Oops" momentunfolded. There was a little bit about music and certain songs but I got the feeling it was edited so only the songs relevant to the way the show was spun - "Coming out = liberation and empowerment" - got a look in. It was satisfying to have it re-iterated that Glam Nation was a huge worldwide success.
I did enjoy watching the programme, especially the bonus clips. If I were a casual viewer, I'd think it paints Adam as a talented, intelligent and fascinating person with an interesting history (that we'd all like to know more about, with videos please!) but has ultimately worked hard to deservedly get to where he is. I'd think that the way he has dealt with his struggles without compromising himself or his integrity is admirable and I'd want to find out more about him, maybe even Google him from which I know with hindsight there'd be no return.
It had felt like forever since the Moscow concert and during that time, we'd been tapping our fingers in impatience, screaming for even a scrap, a shred, a nano-speck, of anything new. AND WE GOT IT YESTERDAY!!! There was a party atmosphere last night, something I'd missed, with everyone united in excitement and joy at the prospect of a concert. There was a report of an unidentified song during the soundcheck, squeals of excitement then a few bottom lips as the rumour was shot. I luckily managed to follow most of the concert on the stream, including the most important bit. Did I mention that we got to hear a NEW FUCKING SONG?!! I'll get to that part soon but first things first, my playlist of video picks:
This '80s hoodlum Adam is from the roots of his hair-to-toe in black, wearing a vest, a leather gilet, fingerless leather gloves, loose combats and wedge boots. With a big fluffy tail that adds emphasis to every arse wiggle. Which happens quite a lot. I did wonder at the beginning whether he went all Zodiac on us and decided to put on a corset, leaving the top bare. Either way, a considerable amount of skin on show in Adam terms. This look reminds me of The Warriors, given the Thriller shoulderpad treatment and is definitely a big step away from glam.
The set commences with FYE and there seems to be a bit of a false start where Adam misses his cue, joining in a little late. It's not the most precise in terms of pitch but he puts on a great show, hips on fire. It's followed by DTRH which I find a little odd without the trippy aspect and elaborate costumes. I notice that Monte looks like he might be trying for a ZZ Top in the facial hair stakes.
Strut is given a short introduction "No matter what those fuckers say about you, you just gotta keep struttin'!". A little nervous after the last time it was performed, I'm relieved that this one is lively, sassy and full of attitude. TCB makes an entrance in the set and sounds like a fast one with plenty of hilarious dancing throughout. He playfully sits on the edge of the stage at one point, yanking his legs up and down to the music.
"And then I dusted it up with my tail. (Giggle)" Don't you just love Adam for never taking himself too seriously? In a classic arse-wiggling moment, he mocks himself and his fashion choices as he jokes about his tail and how all the blogs will be writing that he wore a duster, which isn't in fashion. This leads up to Aftermath, the arrangement of which is very similar to the one performed on AI with a plucky staccato intro from Monte. It has a lovely crescendo and a sweet, lingering final note. Sleepwalker is next up and is quite a visual spectacle with the lighting and background stars. I guess it's a little reminiscent of the old Broken Open background visuals but not as soft. Cam is noticeably missing on keys but nonetheless, this is the best Sleepwalker for vocals so far. THE BEST. After Monte's solo, get ready for goosebumps galore. That voice, those runs, INFUCKINGCREDIBLE.
The absence of keys is also quite noticeable during IIHY, which sees Adam doing more freestyling on the mic than ever before. He gets what appears to be a jock strap thrown onto the stage as he prepares for Music Again. There's a minor lyric fail and I think he cheats a little in the beginning by getting the audience sing the falsetto parts. We get some ad lib about about a moth/fairy/twink thing before the band intro. When we get to "Tommy Ratcliffe", he talks about fan fic, "Shame on you! That's dirty! That fan fiction is highly inappropriate! I'm offended!" while making sure we know it's mock outrage. I realise we haven't heard MW in ages and I like that this version is a mellower, slower version.
DRUM ROLL...
NEW SONG!!! As soon as Adam tells us he's got a little treat from the next album, everyone loses their collective shit. Everyone in the crowd heard via the stream, everyone on twitter following the feeds, everyone in the videos, every single fucking person. Adam finds it difficult even to get a word in through the Screamflailberting that he knows is happening all around the world. Through the stream, I thought he said he didn't want to see it on YouTube in that same fanfic-reprimanding manner, but it turns out he said he knows he's going to see it there. He goes to explain that the song is about acceptance with the intriguing description about running from the law.
A gentle guitar introduction leads us to the the opening note that reminds me so much of CLYG. With rapt attention we try to listen to and process as much of it as possible. Some handle it by screaming their lungs out to the vexation of others trying to shush them. When we hear him sing, everything else falls away. This is what he means by bringing the focus back to the voice and I adore it. It's the closest to an a cappella I've heard him do and his breathy, soothing, mellifluous voice is painfully, achingly, agonisingly beautiful. The pretty melody is fairly simple, the range not too challenging, no vocal acrobatics, it's all about the emotions evoked by that voice in a song written for that voice. Even without understanding the lyrics, we can feel it's a haunting lament about an enduring sadness, energy and hope slowly draining away. It's so heartbreaking to listen to, we have no choice but to comfort-gorge on the sweetness imparted by that voice. It's like honey, strawberries, gateau, praline, ice cream, chocolate, profiteroles... so addictive I'd end up a champion gurner with no teeth. It's sung so smoothly with breathtaking trills effortlessly eased into that floating voice, topped off by a heart-stopping crescendo with grit providing the necessary light and shade. Stunning. Now breathe.
Here are the lyrics as far as I can make out:
Oh, nowhere left to go
Are we getting closer, closer?
"No," all they know is "No!"
Nights are getting colder, colder
Hey, tears all fall the same
We all feel the rain
We can't change
Everywhere we go we're looking for the sun
Nowhere to grow old we're always on the run
They say we'll rot in hell, well I don't think we will
They've branded us enough, outlaws of love
Scars make us who we are
Hearts and homes are broken open
Far, we could go so far
With our minds wide open, open
Hey, tears all fall the same
We all feel the rain
We can't change
Everywhere we go we're looking for the sun
Nowhere to grow old we're always on the run
They say we'll rot in hell, well I don't think we will
They've branded us enough, outlaws of love
Aaah...
Everywhere we go we're looking for the sun
Nowhere to grow old we're always on the run
They say we'll rot in hell, well I don't think we will
They've branded us enough, outlaws of love
Outlaws of love
Outlaws of love
Outlaws of love
Outlaws of love
The lyrics are uncomplicated and sincere with a strong clear message, making it seem increasingly likely Adam's starting to settle into a more political role for LGBT rights. We are all human, feel the same range of emotions but some of us are demonised simply because we lie outside society's rules over how we ought to love. I'm quite excited by the video possibilities for this song, which already feels quite cinematic. Ronnie and Clyde outlaws on a road trip. With strange costumes.
OK, let's get to the rest of the concert. It all went a bit blurry after the excitement over the new song so the interlude is well-timed to allow us a bit of recovery time. It's funkier than I remember from before, especially towards the end. I hope it's an indication of things to come on the next album. The following song is SFW and just to make sure everyone's still alive and with us, Adam gets the crowd to sing back to him, each bar getting increasingly higher. He must be taking the piss if he thinks we can reach all those notes. Fever is a mischievous one where Adam starts talking to Tommy's arm tattoo. It's filled with lots of riffing, dancing and suggestive mic action.
Monte teases us with the opening riffs from Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water, leading us to believe it's going to be a new cover. It actually leads us to WLL when the skies open in the Adam Storm. This version is much like the one from Moscow with an eerie, trippy instrumental break. To the thrill of the fans and perhaps to distract them from the downpour, Adam's top comes off, leaving him in just a vest, showing even more skin as Monte ends up shredding on his back on the floor. In a brilliant voice, Adam sings that the rain gods are telling us the show's over but we won't go. The band appears a little slow to kick in after the "Baby" moment, maybe a little stunned. A rock WWFM follows with Adam singing "Need a second to DRY". I think his voice runs away from him a little at times. The encore is Purple Haze, again with customised weather lyrics finding their way in.
WOW. What a concert. He said he was going to give us a little treat. He lied. He gave us a fucking storm with the forecast telling us this is just the start. Well I think we all enjoyed getting completely drenched after such a long drought.
