Well, the Sunday O! section is becoming a plethora of profiles for prominent Portland queers. A couple week’s ago it was Darcelle, this week, Beth Ditto of The Gossip. I can’t explain why the paper seems to have upped its interest in our community (well, not anymore than the somewhat speculative reasons that The Gossip may be so much more popular in the UK than at home…) but I have mixed feelings about the attention. They focus almost exclusively on Beth’s celebrity for its own sake, and while I will admit that the hype around the band has been tremendous in the last year, there’s certainly much more interesting aspects of a Gossip persona and culture. But it’s a short interview, yet one that does touch on many of the highlights of their recent year in the spotlight so perhaps I am simply falling into the “I saw them when trap.” (We’ve come a long way from the days of shows at the crumbling House of Doom in Olympia…) And I do want both the Gossip and queer culture in this town to get some attention from the state’s most dominant news source. But beware, the little guys are probably more in tune.
Having said that, I wish I could point you to a ready list of the many times I’ve referenced, praised, or commented on the brazen lesbian chanteuse that is Beth Ditto but there is currently not an easy way. Of course, you can go through the music category but PDX is so full of queer tunes even Ditto is sure to be drowned out in the sound. (The sound of blogging? I know. Sometimes you have to let yourself make weird analogies). So here are some of my “I heart Beth Ditto” highlights from this year of Gossip-mania…
• Rosie hearts Beth too, but still not as much as me
• Video covering George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” and naked NME cover shoot
• Keira Knightly wishes she was as beautifully rubenesque
&bull: Local show recap
• Taking a stand against Topshop
