Wow, Mooh is on a roll and a damn fine one at that!

John H...what flavours do W&W's come in? Do they melt in your mouth but not in your hand?

Rob-O...true back then 8-12 yr olds usually didn't have the access they do now. My son *heard* the Doors in utero every day I was preggers with him and he turned out okay.**BG** (My ex lived to hear the Doors!)

Anyway, from www.gaywired.com, one of my fav gay sites (I've put in BOLD what I consider the most insightful point of this op/ed piece, in the last paragraph:)

Eminem and Feminem to Perform Tonight
by Craig Chester

While watching TV yesterday, I saw a promo for the Grammy Broadcast tonight.

"Tune in Wednesday for the controversial Eminem duet with Elton John!" the commercial wailed". Obviously, controversy is expected to pay off with big ratings and big bucks, this time materializing in NBC and the two music superstar's bank accounts.

A couple of years ago, Elton John spoke movingly about the need to eliminate hatred and discrimination against gays and lesbians at a Mathew Sheppard Memorial.

``When I fly over America on my broomstick, as I often do a lot, I get to feeling what a big country this is - it's big enough for everyone, and despite all the progress that has been made in rights and tolerance, we are still living in a world of hate.''

John will take the stage at the Grammy Awards ceremony tonight with Eminem - the rapper whose album is riddled with violent references to ``fags", among others. And is it just me, but I suddenly hear people - who never like this kind of rap music- now jumping on the hip hop bandwagon and calling him a genius. Everyone's entitled to his or her own taste, but Eminem ain't Bob Dillon, in my book. Fun, yeah. Groovy, yeah but GENIUS? I mean, Milli Vinilli won a Grammy, ok?

Now, I am a big free speech advocate. That comes first, and it's not right to censor, of course. But at the same time, my right to free speech is the ability to disagree with what I perceive to be misguided or just untrue. That's all. The scariest thing about Eminem is not Eminem, but that so many people relate to his lyrics – that says something major. But in America, he can express himself and so can I.

Melissa Etheridge, the lesbian singer and outspoken proponent of gay rights, declined to criticize him, describing Eminem as talented while acknowledging that his words were hurtful, which is democracy in action. So, why isn't Elton acknowledging Eminem's talent while recognizing his words are hurtful? It was just last year Elton stormed off the stage while performing with Tina Turner because she was 'bossy'. I guess she's not enough of a 'genius' to overlook bossiness!

Eminem's lyrics, which call gays ``sick'' and joke about stabbing them. In the song ``Criminal,'' he raps: ``My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge/ That'll stab you in the head/ whether you're a fag or lez/ Or the homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest/ Pants or dress - hate fags? The answer's `yes'.''

If Tina Turner suddenly started belting out songs describing how much she hates lezzies and fags, I don't think Elton would have overlooked that as a brilliant artistic turn, because – she's not selling records and Eminem is. ``The Marshall Mathers LP'' has been nominated for the Grammys' highest honor, album of the year. He is also nominated in three rap categories.

Eminem's spokesman, Dennis Dennehy, said the music industry has not flogged Eminem because ``Artists are tuned to artistic expression, and I don't think any of them would favor stifling that.''

But one of the few gay artists who has voiced disdain for Eminem is Boy George, whose gender-bending ways with the band Culture Club pushed the boundaries in the 1980s.

``Nobody wants to sort of battle against success. It's one of those things; if you slag him off, you on the one hand will appear bitter, and on the other hand you will appear uncool,'' George said.

``If Pol Pot had a successful record, people would probably be running around him as well.''

He accused John of performing with Eminem simply to bolster his own 'street cred' and album sales.

``Eminem is a really cool young artist, and Elton I guess feels it's good for his career. I don't think it's anything deeper than that,'' he said.

``The thing is, Elton John is fine, Elton John is a multimillionaire - Elton John lives in a bubble,'' George said. ``But what about all the little kids who live in the projects, the effeminate boys or lesbians and gays out there in the real world, getting beat up? What about people like Matthew Shepard? They don't live in that bubble.''

John has said he does not believe Eminem is hateful.

``I'm a big fan of his music, and I said I would be delighted to'' perform with him, the British superstar told the Los Angeles Times. ``If I thought for one minute that he was (hateful), I wouldn't do it.''

Gay activists plan to picket the awards ceremony. George supports the rally, but wonders whether attention paid to Eminem isn't counterproductive.

``I think sort of blacklisting him is just as bad,'' he said. ``The more people moan about him being there, the more people moan about what he's saying, the more records he seems to sell.''

Ultimately, Eminem's music and his right to free speech are two separate issues. But free speech doesn't work if only one side is 'speeching'. The great thing about this controversy is that is has begun a public debate about censorship and free speech at a time when a conservative President who wants to abolish the NEA takes office. But most artists don't construct their art on hating people. The role of art is to enlighten, isn't it? I don't hear any gay artists going around talking about killing heteros and raping their babies. I'm just hoping that Elton and Eminem do a rousing version of John's "Can you feel the love tonight".

Now, that would be news.

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