Elvis Costello spoke with WNYC’s Leonard Lopate about his music and the upcoming season 2 of SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH…

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I wrote an essay a few weeks back about Lady GaGa’s taking over from Madonna and becoming the numero uno gay pop icon. And any gay with a Facebook account can attest to this with a simple look at their status update bar from this week. The gays are going gaga over Bad Romance, the new video from Ms. G. Every homosexual I know, and I know a lot, are freaking out.

The video is epic. Costumes, pyrotechnics, McQueen shoes, and murder all combine with some fierce choreography (nods to MJ) and a dress train made from a white bear pelt.  A dress made from a bear! Watch and learn ladies. Watch and learn.

Some people have been questioning Rihanna’s choice to wait to talk about her domestic abuse right until the release of her new album. But that’s just the way the magazine-TV-PR-celebrity-promotional circle jerk works: celebrities don’t tend to chat to magazine writers or TV presenters just because they feel like it, they do it because they are contractually required to promote something. And magazines, TV shows, et al are more than happy to comply, because celebrity cover stories sell like hotcakes.

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Those same talented dancers/inmates at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines are at it again. This time, however, the tribute is not for Michael Jackson. Another effeminate and over-the-top singer gets their start treatment. Mr. Freddie Mercury would no doubt be proud that these prisoners, who learn to dance during their rehabilitation process, chose a Queen medley to perform. Filmed last week on Halloween, it will rock you.

It was only a matter of time before hip-hop made its way to Broadway. Many a musical act, from the Pet Shop Boys to ABBA, have translated their records from radio to stage. Run-DMC seem poised to follow with some big name Hollywood types getting behind the concept.

They have all the makings for a hit. Run-DMC’s back catalog is filled with hits and way-ahead-of-their-time productions. Their visual style, and the dancing of their era, would translate to stage. And the personal story of the band – one was shot and killed and another found God – has the highs and lows any good drama incorporates. But is a Hollywood producer best known for her work with, um, Tom Cruise, up for the challenge? We’ll have to wait and see. Developments are in the early stages.

Love him or hate him, one thing is for certain: you’ve talked about Kanye West this year. He’s the arrogant buffoon who bullied a teen girl in front of millions. He’s the rap star who at the top of his game turned his back on hip-hop’s school of thought and made a techno-pop album where he sings. He’s remarkably annoying.

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Chita Rivera onstage at New York City’s Birdland Jazz Club – October 13, 2009.

Saxophone giant Charlie “Bird” Parker called it the “crossroads of the world.” New York City’s famed jazz club, Birdland, was just that on Tuesday for the launch of beloved Broadway star Chita Rivera’s new album, And Now I Swing.

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Norman Brannon is an author who wrote the book The Anti-Matter Anthology: A 1990s Post-Punk & Hardcore Reader. He’s also a musician and blogger. His personal site, Nervous Acid, showcases his thoughts on culture, design, and often times, you guessed it, music.

I am a sucker for a list. Don’t get me started. And while Norman and I on the surface have very dissimilar music tastes (me listen to hardcore? ha!) I have been pleasantly surprised by and eagerly await the finish to his Top 50 Albums of the 2000s. He’s gone through 50-31 and already he’s listed Aphex Twin, Lucinda Williams, Feist, and Antony. His essays are thorough and thought out. He links audio and video to wet the appetite. And the choices, thus far, are diverse, eclectic, and spot on. He says Feist’s album is resistant to criticism” because “it’s so entirely a Feist album that it’s difficult to even conceive anyone else writing it.” Same could be said about his blog.

Culture Now is a newish blog I have been reading for about a year now. It is wonderfully designed and easy to read. The subject matter focuses on art, culture, design, and media. And though music definitely fits snugly under the culture umbrella I was a bit surprised to find an essay on Kraftwerk on Culture Now the other day.

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It is no secret that I adore Swedish electro-pop. I have since I first discovered ABBA. Then Roxette. Neneh Cherry. Robyn. And of course Röyksopp. Last month I posted a link to a free download for “This Must Be It,” their new single featuring the vocals of Karin Dreijer Andersson.

The video for that song just came out, and in similar Röyksopp fashion, it is, how should I say this? Freakish? Baffling? Scary? Hypnotic? Yes to all of the above.

Mad Max meets Swedish disco. Brilliant stuff. I don’t quite get it, but like most good art, maybe you’re not supposed to.

Major Lazer “Pon De Floor” from Eric Wareheim on Vimeo.

I was brought on board SUNfiltered to bring a gay voice to the blog, so I hope the above video for the song “Pon De Floor,” by Major Lazer, doesn’t seem out of place with my other posts. After all it is a riotous video depicting male/female couples dancing and freaking. Do people still say “freaking?” I was a high schooler in the 1990s. I’ll own the term.

Anyway. Back to this video. It is crafted by Eric Wareheim and I have watched it repeatedly for a week now. I cannot look away. The couples are all over each other in a world created with animation via Fatal Farm. Major Lazer are a duo comprised of Grammy-nominated producers Diplo and Switch, who worked on Santigold and M.I.A’s albums. The music’s as intense as the video, which is not necessarily safe for work.