Jessica Simpson: On a Roll

It's a Simpson low-speed chase!

Jessica Simpson may have presently lost her voice, but she’s still game for a party. Last night she strapped on skates (just like in her latest video for “A Public Affair”) at the Roxy in NYC for the album launch party for her new disc. And from the looks of it (and from reports from peeps who were there) she had a blast, roller-skating around the rink with her fans. Later she even hit the town in a big way with an afterparty at G-Spa (which also included a visit from Reichen and Lance—yes, they’re everywhere!), and then she hung with the Jackass boys at the faux dive bar, The Hog Pit. The girl is busy!

Here are some cute pics from the Simpson roller romp. But where was Andy Dick?

I kinda love that she was out there skatin' around with the partygoers... Fun, eh?

Yo. She's goofy.

And yes, that's Olympic figure skater Oksana Baiul losing her sh*t, too. Crazy!

Chef Rocco DiSpirito strapped on wheels, too.

On skates, no one can hear you scream. Or something like that...

Queer Music Notes: More Muse, Sir Elton's Roots & A Traveling King

Baby, you can drive my car... The Muse men are revving up a new EP.

Dangerous Muse may get razzed on by some, but this still buzzworthy, ambi-sexual duo certainly have got a distinct following, and at the rate they’re cranking out EP’s, they’re bound to keep getting attention. And they are nice guys. I just got a copy of their newest, the three-song Give Me Danger EP. It’s got the peppy title track, which is about boys and girls and sleeping around (or something of that ilk). It’s followed by the equally electro-poppy neo-New Wavey “Break Up” and “In This Town.” I dont’ think I’m crazy about the flimsy lyrics of “In This Town,” which looks to be about fashionistas and name-drops labels like Balenciaga. Still, each song is carried snugly by catchy, zingy synth-pop. So no, it’s not deep or life-changing, but quite fun to jump around to if you’re feeling hipsterish. You can get the EP at digital outlets now! Keep it coming, boys!

The cover of Sir Elton's new CD. Nice pic, eh? Ryan McGinley shot it.

Elton John’s got a new disc looming, The Captain & The Kid, which marks a definite return to his elaborate piano ballad style of tunes, and which is again a collaboration with his longtime creative pal Bernie Taupin. It’s considered a follow-up to the pair’s 1975 landmark Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, and indeed the tunes are stylized with a more, flowery, fantasmic, folksy orchestration. It’s bluesy and rollicking (like on “Just Like Noah’s Ark”), includes an earnest paean to New York City called “Wouldn’t Have You Any Other Way (NYC),” and a kind of a churchy-plonky, ragtime, fairy tale called “And the House Fell Down”--which is all over the place, and rather fun. There are lots of references to pop culture, drug use, hitting the heights and tumbling from them, and facing demons and struggling on. The first single, “The Bridge” is a lyrical piano ballad, with a simple hooky melody that would seem at home somehow in one of John’s Broadway scores as well as his seminal ’70s albums. And the single gets bolstered by ethereal choir-like backing vocals, too. The tune “Old 67” is like a class reunion of a bunch of John’s sturdier older tunes, and the final, title track also exudes a breezy nostalgia. I think this one’s likely to grow on you over time.

You’ll certainly be hearing more about this, you can bet. Certainly if outspoken Elton has anything to say about it.

King likes string. She especially like guitar strings on her new CD, ...Until We Felt Red.

Filling out this queer trio is Kaki King, who’s just announced tour dates for the fall, coming on the heels of her killer album, ...Until We Felt Red. King’s a lesbian, lives in New York City, an amazing guitarist, and has crafted an album full of instrumentals and a few tunes with vocals that fill a space with their moody charms, rich ambient sound and electronic-meets-shoegazing-at-a-strummy-coffeehouse textures. The opening song on the disc, “Yellowcake” introduces King’s delicate vocals tune “Jessica” is an homage to a woman who was crushing on the young Miss King at camp; and the disc’s final track “Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers” is a winsome lulling oddity. Catch her when she tours all over the place, from Springfield, Massachusetts clear on to Santa Cruz, CA and most places in between throughout September and October. You’ll totally zen out.



See you somewhere on tour, Kaki!