Arts & Culture :: Culture

Because of a song: Holly Near celebrates Oakland's women's music scene with new online archive

Because of a song: Holly Near celebrates Oakland's women's music scene with new online archive

  • by Heather Cassell
  • Jan 3, 2023

Women's music legend Holly Near called the music made by women musicians in the 1970s a lifeline. A new website documents the contributions of hundreds of women artists.

Sabrina Imbler's 'How Far the Light Reaches'

Sabrina Imbler's 'How Far the Light Reaches'

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Jan 3, 2023

Sabrina Imbler's new book, "How Far the Light Reaches," has a conventional publisher, Little, Brown. But word has it that a major source of the book's distribution is friends giving it to friends, as something singular and precious.

Best LGBTQ films of 2022

Best LGBTQ films of 2022

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Dec 27, 2022

2022 will be remembered as the year LGBTQ films went mainstream, meaning Hollywood studios were willing to make and market them at cineplexes. Unfortunately they were box office failures, especially "Bros," despite massive publicity and good press.

Embracing the past: more classic music reissues

Embracing the past: more classic music reissues

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Dec 27, 2022

Don't be afraid of the past. Yours or anyone else's. It will always be there, and you can pretend it doesn't exist, but it's still there, nevertheless. One way to make peace with the past is to listen to it.

Michael J. Lato's 'Refugee Handbook' - a real-life international love story

Michael J. Lato's 'Refugee Handbook' - a real-life international love story

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Dec 27, 2022

Michael J. Lato's first book shares the remarkable love story of a male couple and offers us a window into a world few of us will ever get to see for ourselves.

'Beetlejuice the Musical' - national tour's a pulpy, goofy, juicy good time

'Beetlejuice the Musical' - national tour's a pulpy, goofy, juicy good time

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 20, 2022

As played with ghoulish gusto by Justin Collette in the musical's first-ever national tour, which launched at the Golden Gate Theatre last week, this 'Beetlejuice' is a comparable Mama Rose from the Dead.

Ty Hunter: fashion guru pens autobiography

Ty Hunter: fashion guru pens autobiography

  • by Cornelius Washington
  • Dec 20, 2022

The fashion and lifestyle book of the season has emerged. Mr. Ty Hunter has decided to grace the planet with "The Makeover From Within: Lessons in Hardship, Acceptance, and Self-Discovery," an autobiography that's also about style and aesthetics.

Starr-gazing - 'Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade' uncovers an unknown history

Starr-gazing - 'Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade' uncovers an unknown history

  • by Michael Flanagan
  • Dec 13, 2022

The 2021 photography book "Remember Me, Vicki Starr: The Visual History of a Trans Renegade" by Albert Tanquero and Lewis Rawlinson definitively answers the question of whether LGBT performers worked in historic North Beach nightclubs.

Meredith Monk's 'The Recordings'- 13-CD set documents four decades

Meredith Monk's 'The Recordings'- 13-CD set documents four decades

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Dec 13, 2022

One of the quiet revelations of "Meredith Monk: The Recordings" (ECM New Series) is that Monk herself confides that it was Janis Joplin who set her —and her voice— free. The 13-CD set chronicles the thrust of her expansive career.

Taylor Brorby's 'Boys & Oil' - growing up gay in the heartland

Taylor Brorby's 'Boys & Oil' - growing up gay in the heartland

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Dec 13, 2022

Readers of "Boys & Oil" will relish his lyrical prose and brilliant descriptions of the land. Furthermore, he delves into the type of closed masculinity that develops in such extreme topography.

Silicon Valley TheatreWorks'  'Little Shop of Horrors' is a kick in the plants

Silicon Valley TheatreWorks' 'Little Shop of Horrors' is a kick in the plants

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 6, 2022

Forget the poinsettias and celebrate this holiday season with an Audrey II. Perennial stage favorite "Little Shop of Horrors" is blooming in the Bay Area for a second time this year, and for good reason.

Sara Thankam Mathews' 'All This Could Be Different'

Sara Thankam Mathews' 'All This Could Be Different'

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Dec 6, 2022

In what could be taken as her philosophy of fiction, Sara Thankam Mathews has produced a debut novel, "All This Could Be Different." Mathews controls large block of prose with a clear, involving plot and characters that make strong impressions.

Gay gift ideas for the holidays

Gay gift ideas for the holidays

  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Dec 6, 2022

Whether you're looking for tunes, booze, wearables, edibles or even insertables, support queer and LGBTQ-friendly makers and vendors in your quest for the perfect holiday gifts this year. Here are a few suggestions to help make your holidays gay.

YA Winter Books Round-Up

YA Winter Books Round-Up

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Dec 6, 2022

If you're a reader who loves to become lost in a good book and enjoys books featuring younger queer characters, this listing of new and upcoming fiction might be just what you're looking for.