www.ManFill.com 
To many Gay Men, Madonna is considered the Ultimate Diva – the songstress of choice! I must admit, I myself am a HUGE Madonna fan, but truth be told, my most adored and all time favorite singer songwriter – EVER — indeed my personal Diva of choice, is none other than the incomparable Annie Lennox.
I grew up listening to Annie’s music. In the early 80’s, she and Dave Stewart formed Eurythmics, a band like few before them, and like none after them. Their sound remains to this day completely infectious and permeates you in a way that no other really can. I grew up listening to Annie. I grew up singing with Annie, and for that brief moment in the 90’s where yours truly was signed to a Canadian recording label, Annie was a mentor even from afar.
Today, I no longer aspire to have a music career, but Annie nevertheless remains an enormous part of my life. It’s no secret that when I draw, I MUST have my IPod firmly plugged into my ears. I have regulars that bring me inspiration to create, people like Pink, whose complete honesty I find incredibly refreshing. She is brash and bold, and she speaks her mind in ways that a lot of artists will not dare.
Madonna, Dame Shirley Bassey, Maroon 5, Grace Jones and Jill Barber make occasional to regular appearances on my custom designed playlists… but Annie is a staple. No matter what mood I am in, she has a song to suit it, weather it be from her stint with Eurythmics or from her brilliant solo career. I just NEVER get bored of her velvet voice and intensely sensitive and thought provoking lyrics.
Imagine how thrilled I was to learn that my beloved Annie has a brand new album coming out on October 2 of this year. Songs of Mass Destruction is her first solo recording since Bare, and the first single, “Dark Road” is a perfect example of this woman’s complete brilliance. You may even be interested to learn that Annie is the first recording artist EVER to team up with Amazon.com in order to debut a music video. You can view the beautiful music video for Dark Road there as we speak.
But what impresses me most about Annie is her continued work and efforts at making this world a better place for all of us to live in. Her lyrics are not always cheery, but they speak to us all in so many ways. Who amongst us is blissfully happy with the way of our world nowadays? I dare say, few of us are!
And how many of today’s artists are so completely admired and respected by their peers that they could manage to get 23 of today’s most famous women of pop music to sing backup on one of their songs? Well, Annie has done it. Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Pink, Joss Stone, Dido, Shakira and Celine Dion to name just a few, have all lent Annie their fantastic voices on the new track called “Sing”. Sing was recorded as an HIV/AIDS anthem, and not only features Annie, her 23 female recording artist friends, but also the voices of The Generics… Treatment Action Campaign vocal group. It promises to be quite amazing.
I have high expectations of “Songs Of Mass Destruction” and with lesser artists, that might be unwise and lead to possible disappointment. But where Annie Lennox is concerned, I know better than to expect anything less than the absolute best she can give. Needless to say, I am REALLY looking forward to October 2!
Much love to you all!
Patrick XOXO
PS – I just wanted to say a great big thank you to Jozef for drawing today’s incredible BTM cover toon! Jozef’s work can be seen on his Y!Gallery profile. Those of you unfamiliar with this amazing artist really should check out his stuff. He is completely brilliant!
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Originally Syndicated via RSS from BOYTOONS MAGAZINE
