¡viva la graham!

ashlee simpson’s latest single, “l.o.v.e.,” finds the lip-synch scapegoat singing about how important it is to hang out with her girlfriends. as anyone over fifteen years old knows, it’s sort of been done before (i guess ashlee’s primary target audience can barely remember the spice girls).

regardless, the song is catchy enough. but what really got my attention was the music video.

watch closely and you’ll see what i mean. as ashlee pouts and poses for the camera, check out the guys behind her - the two in the corner of the room. they’re dancing their asses off, and at a few points, one of them even appears to be doing the vogue!

apparently when ashlee sings about her girls, she means her gay boys, too. and i like that.

i keep tuning in to comedy central with hopes that the daily show will finally return with a brand new episode. thus far, i have been disappointed - and slightly frustrated.

i suppose jon stewart and company do deserve a holiday break, but that doesn’t stop me from cursing when another repeat comes on.

it turns out that new episodes don’t start till january 4, so we still have a few days left. if you’re in need of a fix, head over to the official website. i recommend checking out jason jones’s ‘gaywatch’ report on gay marriage… as he points out, the u.s. is suddenly less progressive than south africa! god bless america.

i just caught the all-american rejects’ video for “dirty little secret” and i had to post about the band’s frontman, tyson ritter. i’ve had a crush on this blue-eyed boy for a while now, and although he’s looking a bit greasy these days, i still would.

i decided i’m going to highlight one hot rocker a week, as there is never a shortage of hot guys playing with their instruments - correct me if i’m wrong (wasn’t it just yesterday that i was drooling over nick valensi?)! though i might not be a massive fan of tyson’s band, i’d be more than happy if he’d stick around for awhile.

meet shayne ward, the man simon cowell said could be the next robbie williams. shayne just won the u.k.’s newest idol-esque singing competition, x-factor, and he followed it up by scoring a coveted christmas no. 1 single for “that’s my goal.”

of course, the show wasn’t broadcast in the states, so most of you probably have no idea what i’m on about… initially i thought he was worth mentioning for gay reasons; after watching his video, i thought for sure he was as queer as will young. but apparently he has a girlfriend.

oh well. he’s definitely as cute as robbie. if he’s half as cheeky, he just might make it.

related : robbie : still a cheeky bugger

you know when you really don’t want to like something, because you fear you might lose all self-respect? then you gradually break down, and you have that moment where you give in, finally accepting that you now love what you once loathed. well that happened to me recently.

i was able to resist the temptations of the pussycat dolls when they released “don’t cha.” perhaps it was the track’s club trash appeal, or maybe i just wasn’t impressed by their sub-standard spice girls charm.

and then came “stickwitu.” despite my better judgement, it got under my skin. i know that it’s contrived and cliched. plus these girls will likely disappear within the next few months. but that damn song got me - and there’s no turning back.

i’ll likely regret this confession some time soon.

meet amelle berrabah, at far right, the newest member of the british girl group sugababes. for those of you unfamiliar with the popular r&b/pop trio, they’re famous throughout much of the world, having sold millions of records in their native u.k. and beyond. but there’s a bit of destiny’s child in these girls; this is the third time they’ve changed their line-up.

the first to jump ship was siobhan donaghy, who left amidst a flurry of drama in 2001. at that point, heidi (the blonde bombshell in the center of the photo) was chosen by management as her replacement. just a few days ago, amelle officially became a sugababe after mutya buena left the group. mutya found it too difficult to balance being a pop star and a new mother. sugababe keisha, at left, is the only founding member left in the new line-up.

i am a big fan of their music, but i find it disturbing that they let their management pick their members. they come off as very strong, independent women in their songs, but their hesitation to assert themselves creatively is a bit disappointing.

regardless, i still recommend checking out their stuff. angels with dirty faces is by far their best album, but they’ve had great singles otherwise. download “hole in the head,” “too lost in you,” “round round,” “freak like me,” “overload,” “push the button,” and “run for cover.”

a new mexico woman filed a restraining order this week against late show host david letterman. she claimed he had been using secret code words and guestures while hosting his show to personally torture her.

apparently the local judge actually granted the restraining order to this disturbed, delusional woman - whom dave has actually never met. i’m not sure if letterman violates the conditions of the order if she tunes into his program.

in other dave news, here’s something else to make you laugh. check out his top ten signs you’re a gay cowboy.

that’s what i said when i found out. apparently a few people actually read this blog, as ¡viva la graham! has been nominated in the category of “best new gay blog” in the best gay blogs of 2005 awards. i’ve really only been doing this particular blog since november, so that makes the recognition that much more fantastic.

there are about twenty other blogs up for my award, and i’ve got some tough competition. so head here to vote. i need all the help i can get!

today it was confirmed - my girl gwen stefani has got a bun in the oven. i doubt anyone is surprised by this news, as the rumors have been swirling for weeks.

one important question remains. is it a boy… or just a girl?

i saw her harajuku lovers show the other night, and let me just give gwen her props. that pregnant platinum blonde was still working it out! her tummy might have been covered up, and she might have ditched her infamous one-armed push-ups, but she was still all over the place.

congratulations, gwen!

the video for the brand new single by the strokes, “juicebox,” features some hot gay action - sort of.

there’s a scene toward the end of the clip in which one guy pounces on another in a bathroom stall and they begin tearing each others’ clothes off. while i was happy to see that the strokes were willing to please their queer constituents (and there are many of us, thanks in part to pin-up guitarist nick valensi, pictured), i couldn’t help but feel that we got the shaft. then again, i’m not surprised.

earlier in the video, two lovely ladies are shown making out - and we’re talking full-on tongue - for at least thirty seconds. the guys in the bathroom got maybe 2 seconds of screen time, and there’s no kiss to be seen. it’s actually very blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, surely so it doesn’t upset their homophobic fans (the same ones upset by franz ferdinand’s “michael”).

as a rock n roll fag myself, i guess it feels nice to be included, but i was also sort of offended by being introduced then quickly dismissed.

you can watch a high quality version of “juicebox” in windows media here or just check out the strokes’ official site.