Over the years I have become more and more political. And with the US election approaching I am looking forward to the debates this year. Now…you are probably wondering why the guy who does music reviews is talking politics on his music column. Well, there have been some interesting developments in music during the month of August. 

First, Mit Romney selected Paul Ryan as his running mate. Then Mr. Ryan started trying to appeal to the youth vote by talking about the music that he loves. Ryan had cited Rage Against The Machine as his favorite band, but the group's guitarist, Tom Morello blasted him in an interview on the Rolling Stone website as  "the embodiment of the machine our music rages against."  

Then the Romney/Ryan camp got a cease and desist letter from Silversun Pickups after they used their 2009 hit, "Panic Switch" on the campaign trail. 

And then Twisted Sister frontman, Dee Snider asked Ryan to stop using their 1984 hit, "We're Not Gonna Take It Anymore".  Ryan spokesman, Brandon Buck wrote a snarky email retort…"We're not gonna play it anymore." Seems like the Republicans can't get a break. Well…that's not true. They were able to get their well rehearsed catch phrase, "We built it" into a song by Lane Turner who sang "I Built It" on the first day of the convention. And surprisingly The Temptations (who are Obama supporters) didn't complain when they used "My Girl" after Mit's wife spoke at the convention. 

It was no surprise that Lynyrd Skynyrd was to headline a fundraiser for Romney's campaign. But what was surprising was that Journey was paid $500,000 to perform as well. I guess the Republican party wanted to make sure it was okay to use "Don't Stop Believin'" for their needs. Even though the special concert was cancelled because of the threat of Hurricane Isaac, Journey performed later in the week. The site for the RNC says the gig does not mean that the band endorses Romney. 

Other acts that have thrown in their support behind the Republicans are Kid Rock, 3 Doors Down, The Zac Brown Band, Dave Navarro and past American Idol winner Taylor Hicks. Fortunately for me I don't really play any of their music. Although I will have to stop playing remixes of Journey songs. Sorry, GLEE fans, but "Don't Stop Believin'" is now off my playlist.

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THE RELENTLESS LIST (DJ Relentless' Top Ten Tracks) September 2012 

1) Let's Have A Kiki (Peter Rauhofer Bitch Club Mix)-Scissor Sisters  

2) Underground (Original Mix)-Jacques Lu Cont 

3) Rancid (Chelsea Mix)-The Snatch Sisters featuring Mike Diamond 

4) Lose Yourself (Craig Williams Remix)-TAI 

5) Turn Up The Radio (Laidback Luke Remix)-Madonna featuring FM 

6) Pound The Alarm (DJ Mike D's Remix)-Nicki Minaj 

7) Liquorice (Extended Mix)-Azealia Banks 

8) Who Is Ready To Jump (Revolver Bootleg)-Chuckie vs. Knife Party 

9) Settle Down (Major Lazer Remix)-No Doubt 

10) Twisted (Sammy Bananas Bootleg)-Usher 

My two personal pick singles to look out for are "Puerto Rico" by Olav Basoki and the hilarious "Fresh" by The Snatsch Sisters featuring Paprika Jones. 

Also, if you are in Toronto on September 8th come check me out my debut at the new CLUB 120. I have an big guest list, if you would like to be at the hottest new party on Church Street send your name and the names of your friends to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or find DJ Relentless on facebook. 

And to get you in the mood, here's a free download of one of my latest mixes.

As I read the latest headlines in the entertainment news, I totaly feel like I’m back in High School. Elton John and Madonna in a war of words. Beyonce and Jay Z called out on being selfish. And all those cheesy songs on the charts, but everyone is listening to them anyway. 

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” (Ceilie from The Color Purple). It seems ever few months, with the help of the internet, somebody has something to say about someone else. I keep hearing that Madonna cast the first stone with the leak of her rehearsal footage for her tour mash-up of “Express Yourself”, “Born This Way” and “She’s Not Me”, but Elton John is obviously trying to defend his new found friend, Lady GaGa. Elton is known for his tantrums and arguments with past friends like George Michael and even the late Princess Diana. You would think someone his age would know better than to get into a Pop Diva catfight, but wait...we are talking about Elton John (one of the few men to be booked for a VH1 Divas Special). 

Well, in actuality their feud has been going on for over a decade. Apparently Elton accused her of lip-syncing on her Re-Invention Tour and has spent the past decade bashing her, especially after she won “Best Song” at The Golden Globes this year. So, when I saw that Madonna had not responded to any of his attacks, I had to take my hat off to her. Do I think she has thrown a few undercover attacks at Lady GaGa and Mariah Carey over the years? Hell yeah! But she’s smart enough not to get into it with a music legend like Elton John. Even though Elton and GaGa’s little monsters have been saying that her career is over and she’s a has-been. 

So, when I read a post on facebook by a New York friend, Linda Simpson that gave props to Madonna for using her tour dates to support the LGBT Community in Russia I had to throw support behind her. And Linda threw a dig at Elton by ending the post with “It sure beats Elton John singing at Rush Limbaugh’s wedding.” There’s some irony for ya! I guess at some point when you are making all that money a concsience is nowhere to be found on both their parts. Hell....I still haven’t forgiven Elton for performing with Eminem at the Grammy’s! 

And I don’t see Elton making any statements of support for Pussy Riot (Russian Punk-Rock collective that were arrested for doing an impromptu performance in a church). Madonna along with artists like Yoko Ono, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Pet Shop Boys, Peaches, Pete Townshend, Patti Smith, Faith No More, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tegan & Sara, Johnny Marr, Propagandhi and Anti-Flag all sent letters of support to the Russian Government demanding their release. 

And speaking of fighting with music legends.....did you hear about Harry Belafonte calling Jay Z & Beyonce out as being selfish? When asked by The Hollywood Reporter "are you happy with the image of members of minorities in Hollywood today?" Belafonte said  “Not at all. They have not told the history of our people, nothing of who we are. We are still looking. We are not determinated. We are not driven by some technology that says you can kill Afghans, the Iraqis or the Spanish. It is all -- excuse my French -- shit. It is sad. And I think one of the great abuses of this modern time is that we should have had such high-profile artists, powerful celebrities. But they have turned their back on social responsibility. That goes for Jay Z and Beyonce, for example. Give me Bruce Springsteen, and now you’re talking. I really think he is black.” Hopefully Jay and Bey will not spar with this man who marched with Martin Luther King. There are only a few people of Belafonte’s generation who are still around. If your elder is disappointed in you, you should really consider what you can do to rectify that. As my grandmother always said “You don’t get to be old being a fool.” 

And now to the music.....I cannot believe that Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” is the biggest song of the year to date. It just won’t die! Somebody please....make another catchy Pop song to replace this one. I mean....she’s 27 years old and singing a doormat song! What girl would lower herself to say to any man or woman...”Call Me Maybe”? 

And just in time for the Caribana Celebration, Snoop Lion (formerly known as Snoop Dogg) released “La La La”. What the hell is this? Produced by Major Lazer, this downtempo old skool Reggae track is just plain awful! Apparently he has moved to Jamiaca where his wealth from the US makes him a billionaire. About a month ago, Snoop Dogg made a major announcement that he was dropping the “Dogg” persona. He said he was not going to rap about Gangsta Life anymore. He decided to move to Jamaica to help the poor people there. Perhaps he has been talking with Harry Belafonte before making his decision. Well, I hate the new song, but I applaud him if this is real and not a publicity stunt. 

And to backtrack to Madonna....I just got promo mixes of “Turn Up The Radio”. Normally I mention all of the remixers, but this time I’m only gonna mention the one who got it right.....Laidback Luke. His mix has the best production. It’s short and sweet. It doesn’t drag on and it has the right kind of bounce and Pop appeal. It even has a guest rap by some newcomer who calls himself FM (which is cute since the song is about the radio). He sound like he trained under LMFAO. If she pushes this mix and reworks her video to fit this version, she’ll have a hit. 

Okay...I don’t know whose bright idea it was to pair the late Aaliyah with Canadian rapper Drake on a new single called “Enough Said”.  First, I would like to point out that any vocals she may have laid before her death were outtakes of songs that didn’t make it to her last album. As for the production on the track, I felt as though they were concentrating on keeping her vocals the main focus instead of giving it an updated Hip Hop sound. And with all the fallout of his scrape with Chris Brown, Drake just can’t catch a break. The critics are not feeling this song and I’m not feeling it either. ‘Nough said! 

And last but not least, let’s talk about the long anticipated soundtrack to Sparkle. Unfortunately Whitney Houston’s last recordings did not even debut in Billboard’s Top Ten (Pop or R&B Charts). And when the duet, “Celebrate” with Jordin Sparks was released back in late June it came and went with very little fanfare. I didn’t like any of the remixes that I got through my pool. Whitney only shines on “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” (which is no surprise because she always gave her all on Gospel Hymns). The original soundtrack was a masterpeice written by Curtis Mayfield. Although, I never understood why Aretha Franklin sang all the songs on the 70’s release when it was Irene Cara, Lonette McKee & Dwan Smith did all the vocals as a girl group in the film. But this time around, they only used 3 songs from the original and R. Kelly has written all the new material for the 2012 version.  Cee Lo Green’s “I’m A Man” is really great and Goapele’s “Running” is brilliant, but the rest is not so much. Even the covers of the Mayfield songs sound kinda weak. I made me wish that this movie had been made when En Vogue were still on the charts. Their cover of “Givin’ Him Something He Can Feel” was hot! One too many girls for the cast, but it paid homage to the movie version. The only good thing about them remaking this movie is perhaps the generation now will discover the the original music from the original film and help preserve the African-American Culture. Unlike Dreamgirls, I don’t think this is going to be as big of a hit. They are billing it as Whitney’s last movie, but it is actually a vehicle for Jordin Sparks. Unfortunately, I don’t think she will follow in Jennifer Hudson’s footsteps. 

When I was a young gay child the only gay people I knew of were probably Dr. Smith on Lost In Space, Bert & Ernie from Sesame Street and Paul Lynde from Hollywood Squares. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I discover the character that would shape most of my young gay years....Frank N. Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

I’ve watched many people come out and be outed over the decades. I remember reading the Rolling Stone article where Elton John spoke his truth. I remember the controversy over Rock Hudson’s kiss with Linda Evans on Dynasty after announcing that he had AIDS. And it was ridiculous how some folks reacted to the news of Freddie Mercury’s AIDS-related death. And who can forget Madonna who played with their sexuality to gain a gay audience by hanging out with Sandra Berhard. And honestly....Lady GaGa and Nicki Minaj both are doing the same thing. Until I see an actual display of lesbianism, I'm not buying it.

So, in this year of a sitting American President in an election year throwing his support behind gay marriage it is interesting to see who is stepping up to the plate to speak their truth.

Earlier this year, it was all over the internet that Queen Latifah had finally come out since she agreed to headline the 29th Annual Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride Festival back in May. But then on June 1st she denied that the performance was a symbol of her personal sexuality. In this case, I think she has the Sandra Bernhard and Ann Heche complex. I honestly believe that they think by not coming out that they are saving their careers. Like somehow this keeps them appealing to straight men as a demographic.

But what about all the artists and public figures that have bravely knocked down that closet door? Isn’t it a slap in the face to the other pioneers who are living their truth? Melissa Etheridge, k.d. lang, Rupert Everett, Allan Cumming, George Michael, Boy George, Billie Jean King, Justin Fashanu, Greg Louganis, J.P. Calderon and so many others have made and continue to make history by being out.

As a little boy, I never thought I would see the day that there would be openly gay mayors and firefighters. All I was ever taught was that gay people were hairdressers and florists. It is inspiring to see athletes and Congressmen working. This means that the struggle is paying off.

So, when I woke this morning and saw an article about Hip Hop artist, Frank Ocean coming out as bisexual I was actually very happy. The Hip Hop world is not the most gay friendly place. Between homophobic lyrics and sentiments tweeted on twitter, it can be downright scary to even think about being an out artist. As a black gay man, it is a huge statement to see someone from the Hip Hop community come out. Russell Simmons even weighed in and said that his coming out has changed the game. And with new artist Azealia Banks breaking new ground in the industry as a 20 year old rapper from my old neighborhood, Harlem and being bisexual as well it really gives hope to any young gays growing up in an urban setting.

2012 seems to be the year that has really opened those closet doors. I guess people are tired of having to deal with rumors and jokes. But it certainly is a lot easier to come out today. Especially since folks like Ellen and Anderson who are main fixtures on daytime television are in our homes every weekday afternoon. And of course announcements by Anderson or Jim Parsons from The Big Bang Theory are not surprises. In fact, at this point it almost seems expected. And isn’t that the point in the first place. It should be as common as someone sharing that they like Thai Food or enjoy surfing. It shouldn’t be a big deal anymore.

So again I have thank all the people who paved the way for all of us to live better lives. Lives without fear and boundaries. I mean...where would we be without the drag queens and lesbians who fought with the cops at the Stonewall Riots? Or the writings of James Baldwin or Quentin Crisp? Martin Luther King's march on Washington DC for civil rights would not have happened without Bayard Rustin. And the importance of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” changed the music industry forever. The gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people who stood up and lived their lives out and proud are the reason we celebrate Gay Pride.

Jade Elektra (DJ Relentless' alter ego)'s latest release...