Hello hello all. I can't think of anything to ramble about relating to
George.
That's got to be a first...
AND AWAY WE GO...
*******************************
c9416422-at-alinga.newcastle.edu.au (Ethan
Hunt) writes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Amanda
I think
whatever George Michael's sexuality might be, it certainly won't
affect my desire to buy/listen to his records. Whatever his
personal life may
involve, I leave it aside. Besides I would be mightily pissed off myself if
people were to base their
opinions about me due to my sexuality!!!
(I'm not going to stop buying his albums, nor watching his videos, nor
screaming
when I see him live in concert... AG)
Anyway, onto the music...has anyone heard "star people" from Older? It's
just
a fabulous track that I like more and more every time I hear it!!!
Whaddya say? Also, I thought "Listen Without
Prejudice" was a fabulous album
that unfortunately not many people gave a listen to:-( I know when I ran out
to buy it
and then had a listen to it for the first time, I came away a bit
disappointed coz I was expecting stuff along the lines of Faith
but later as
I listened to it over a period of time, this is the album closest to
perfection. Songs like "Praying for
time", "Something to save", "Waiting for
that day", "Heal the pain", Mother's Pride", etc
are just mindboggling in
their versatility!!! I'll definitely be buying the next album when it's out.
And hopefully, this time
around I don't have to wait for 5 years or so before
he brings another album out:-))
(Let's all hope so! AG)
Cheers
*******************************
Acropora-at-msn.com
(Ted) writes:
------------------------------------------------------------
Hi everyone! Hi Amanda! First of all, I just want
to say that that
interview thing was fantastic!! But... it made most of my friends walk out
on George (so much for
"true" fans).
(Of the two friends non-YM I have told, both have all rallied around the
cause. AG)
They just
didn't expect him to be like it (especially the sexuality part) but
to me, he's just the way I expected him to be. I know a lot
of people were
also disappointed since they give George this Zeus image but we also have to
remember that even if he's Greek,
he's still mortal and he will do what any
mortal person would do when depressed,
confused, or feeling insecured. I also
observed that people feel more
comfortable with a person who accepts his/her homo/bi/trans/whatever
sexuality (Example: Ru
Paul).
(Very true. AG)
Finally... I want to know one thing. How do you do it!!!!??? How do you
keep up with YM? How
many are there, like 300 or 400? You are sooo amazing!!
You have a life and YM going on at the same time!!!
(Last time I
counted, 335. I keep up by trading off things. No more just
lying in bed and listening to music, I sit at the computer and work
on YM.
As for a life, I guess you could call it one...but what do you expect me to
during a cold Canadian fall/winter? You
guys will be in trouble come summer
time though... AG)
NE-wayz... keep up the good work!!
*******************************
yekweon-at-hwr.hanwha.co.kr
(Keli) writes:
------------------------------------------------------------
hi, Amanda and all. How's it going?
(Going
very well thanks. AG)
After reading his interview with Big Issue, I was surprised to find that he
"still" uses
cannabis. How can he do that? Did he make his songs with the
help of that? Oh, come on, George!!!
(Yes, he wrote a
"few" songs with a little help. AG)
As for his sexual preference, I don't care whether he is bi or straight.
Actually
I hope he is straight though.
I hope he will get out of the pot right now. I'm very very very disappointed
with him. I need
time to get over it.
(Give it a couple days. AG)
Is that true that GEORGE MICHAEL is color blind.
(slightly light green)?
(Yes. That is why he had to abandon the dreams of being a pilot. And likely
why he wears so much
black. However, a friend of mine was telling me of a
picture she saw of him in People magazine--she trying to find it for me--of
George
in a pair of "very orange" pants and "what can best be described as a
pirate shirt." AG)
What will be
his next video, Older?
(Older or Star People. They haven't decided yet. I'm pulling for Star
People. Whatever it is, it
will be released to co-incide with the Unplugged,
so it will possibly be the unplugged version whatever it is. Thanks to Alan,
I
can also give you a release date--or what we can hope will be the release
date--of Dec. 9th in the UK, with the same 2 CD deal we
got with STW. I'm
sure North America will get it a couple weeks later, after the Unplugged.
WHICH has had yet another new air
date... But, really, it's just gone back
to the original one of December 11th at 9pm.--info courtesy of Alan. AG)
Waiting
for my YOGMAIL
God Bless GEORGE MICHAEL
Love
Rehan
*******************************
RHUNTLEY-at-catawba.edu
(DALLAS) writes:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Amanda!
What has he done?!? After
reading "the big article" I can see why you
prefaced it by saying that you were not "overly impressed with George
right
now". I was literaly shaking after I read it.
But I did what I always do when I hear news about George and I
called a very
good friend of mine (who is probably a bigger fan than I am if you can
believe it) and he managed to calm me
down.
I am happy for him that he has found some kind of ...what ... peace (maybe)
when it comes to his personal life. But
if the truth be known the people who
really respect his music and his work could care less if he is gay, straight
or bi. Those
people who he feels want him to be something that he is not,
are not the people that appreciate what he has to offer and are of
no real
importance to him or to anyone else.
However, this grass thing....I have always said that George could come out
and
say anything (in an interview or in him music) and I would stick by him
as long as it didn't interfere with the music. Even when
there were rumors
that he was going to retire because he couldn't handle it anymore I
understood.
I am having a hard
time understanding the drugs.
I realize that Older was an incrediably personal album (which in more ways
made it the best
thing he has done to date in my opinon) and I understand the
difficulty he must have had in writing it. (Listening to it was not
exactly
easy either. How could you not feel like you were reading someone's journal
without their permission, or even worse,
with their permission while they
were sitting in the same room with you?) However finding out that those
beautiful words and
feelings came out of a drug induced haze hurts.
(The diary thing is an image many people have evoked, and one I too agree
with...
AG)
Its obvious that it was all there to begin with otherwise no amount of drugs
would have been able to bring it out.
As
much as I hated waiting for this album to come out, I would do it all over
again (and more) if that meant that he would put
together an album without
the drugs. I don't want him to end up like so many other artists out there
that for some reason or
another feel like they have to do it to still be who
they think they need to be. I do not want to add his obit to my scrapbook
with
the phrase "drug related death" attached.
(I too would have waited a while longer... But to be fair, it is just pot,
but
then again, who's to say what it may lead to when the pot fails to get
him "creative". AG)
However, as my friend
pointed out HE IS HUMAN. (To which I immediatly
replied "No he's not he's GEORGE.") Sorry I forgot to tell you about
G's performance! OK--he wore all black,
including a cape. He really seemed to enjoy performing in front of an
audience--so a
tour is not out the realm of possibility!:)
(A CAPE? I LOVE IT!!!!! Can't wait to see it! AG)
His moves were pretty
good--trademark G!:)
(So I've been hearing... AG)
Anyway--funniest line of the night belongs to my dad!:) He said
"That hair
HAS to go! He looks like a dictator!!!":):):)
(And thank you Mr. Aguirre for giving us one more reason
why that hair has
gots to go! 'Course maybe George just wanted to play Juan Peron... However,
he was my first choice for Che,
despite hearing Antonio did a good job. AG)
*******************************
Bill022-at-aol.com (Bill) writes:
-------------------------------------------
I
heard on some radio station down here that him and Bryan Adams got into it
backstage at that show. I don't know if it was one of
those "B.S." celebrity
stories but from what they said, Bryan accused him of lip synching or teased
him about lip
synching or something like that and they said they were arguing
or fighting or something....
(Once more--having already
done this on the AOL boards--I, on behalf of all
Canadians, apologize for Adams' boorish behaviour. And Bryan? Maybe if
George
hadn't beaten you in the Best Male category, there would be some
validity to your "problem". So what if he lip synched?
Ever actually worked
the soundboard at a show? Lip synching is a God send! AG)
I have no idea as to the specifics but
that's about all they said. It was
one of those blurbs they casually mention during the morning news on the Top
40 station
down here. Madonna's baby for 5 seconds, Bobby & Whitney's new
baby for 5 seconds, George & Bryan for 5 seconds, another
story for 5 seconds
-- just really quick stuff. Nothing in depth.
(I have since found more details on this, and will keep
you posted YM gang.
AG)
*******************************
Anita.Patel-at-bowne.com (Anita Patel) writes:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hi
Amanda,
Here's the Arena article:
>> ARENA: NOV. 1996, pg. 114
"GEORGE MICHAEL by Gary Barlow"
"Since
the age of about seven, I've been a huge record collector.
My friends and i collected everything by Wham! Everything. I think
it
was around the time that 12"s were introduced, which we thought was
great because Wham! were always so polular in discos.
When "Careless
Whisper" was released I loved it - and yes, I did some slow dances to
it - and so when George left
Wham! in 1986, it seemed natural to
continue buying his records.
I used to do a club act where I'd sing and play piano and
I always
did "Careless Whisper", but I never hoped, even secretly, that i could
one day be anywhere near as
successful as George Michael. I always
used to think Rick Astley was more realistic....Of course, it's a
great compliment when
people compare me to George, but then again I've
got to do my own thing. What I find really useful is to look at the
way
George handled things and react accordingly. I remember being so
disappointed when he stopped doing interviews and stopped
appearing in
videos for a while. I still feel that the least I can do for my fans
is to deliver to them.
In a way,
George is as important now as ten years ago. Not so long
ago, I went to Blackpool with some friends and we played all the old
Wham!
records. They all sounded so classic, like Sixties records must
do to my parents. But I have to say that "OLDER" is my
least
favourite album. "LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE" was perfect for playing
late at night and I'd always put
"FAITH" on before going out, but
"OLDE
Neither was I Gary!! and I was dumbstruck and numbstruck!!
(Funny
Gary, I heard you recently slam your idol in Q.... But really, this
was a great piece and I commend you for it, and thank Anita
for typing it
out! AG)
P.S. There is a very cool morph of George from the Wham! days to
presnt encircling the article in
the magazine. I wish I had a scanner
to send it to you electronically, but I don't - check it out if you
can get a hold of an
ARENA Nov. issue.
(I think I have one like it as my computer wallpaper. Anyone who wants a
copy, just ask. I will go check
out Arena indeed. AG)
Thanks Amanda for your countless and sleepless hours creating,
maintaining and expanding
YOGMAIL...VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!
(It's getting easier. AG)
Love,
Anita
*******************************
bzaker-at-ic.sunysb.edu
(Bahar Zaker) writes:
----------------------------------------------------------------
dear all,
on the subject of big
issue(sorry a little late)
(Never too late. AG)
i noticed while reading everybodys' comments that the interview seemed
to
shatter a lot of peoples images of the man. and it occured to me that that is
because he hasn't given an interview for so
long that we've all had time to
construct our own george, suited to our own tastes. if we were, say, rem
fans, we might not
have this strong a reaction everytime they were on the
cover of rolling stone or something. you know what i mean?
(This is
true. We've in many ways had the ultimate rock star, he does his
job, and then leaves interpretation to us, so we construct what
we want. But
as we know, this isn't always a good thing... AG)
we may not realise it, but he re-invents himself a lot. it's
always about, "
this george is the real george, last year's model was just an image." from
white rappers to
teenyboppers to solo r+b hunk to no-interview -giving
serious artist to the present gay pothead or whatever. (and i'm not trying
to
be flippant!) so, don't fret too much cause next year he might be someone
else.
(He always did have that admiration
of David Bowie's chameleon like
tendencies... AG)
also, we don't own the man, or his sexuality, or his mind-altering
preferences.
we are here to enjoy the music, the lyric, the videos, whatever.
i don't know if what i said makes any sense, just trying to get
my two cents
in. feel free to respond to me at bzaker-at-ic.sunysb.edu
(Or on the YM board too. AG)
*******************************
To
Wrap it Up:
I feel kinda bad that there is so much to post, but only so much I can post
at any one time. Here I am
preparing Tuesday's issue on Sunday morning...
But that doesn't mean you have to stop posting!!! Keep it up!
Listen without
prejudice...