Copulatin' Blues

Yesterday I read this NYTimes article about an evangelical pastor in Texas who conducted an exciting "sexperiment," a "Seven Days of Sex" challenge in his church of 20,000, urging married couples to get jiggy as much as possible for a week in order to strengthen their bonds. Finally, a Christian message that makes sense.

If nervous couples needed a little extra help during their week-long sex-quest, perhaps they threw The Copulatin' Blues on the stereo.

Here's the track list:

I need a little sugar in my bowl (Bessie Smith) (2:42) --Get off with me (Coot Grant) (3:06) -- My daddy rocks me (Tampa Red's Hokum Jug Band) (3:18) -- Keep your hands off my mojo (Grant & Wilson) ((2:53) -- Winnin' boy (Jelly Roll Morton) (4:10) -- Shave 'em dry (Lucille Bogan) (3:00) --Barbecue Bess (Lucille Bogan) (2:33) -- I'll keep sittin' on it (Georgia White) (2:48).Preaching blues (Sidney Bechet and his New Orleans Feetwarmers) (2:54) -- Stavin' chain (Lil Johnson) (2:52) -- Do your duty (Bessie Smith acc. by Buck and his band (Frankie Newton (tpt), Jack Teagarden (tbn) Benny Goodman (clt), Leon "Chu" Berry (ts), Buck Washington (pno), Bobby Taylor (gtr), Billy Talor (sbs)) (3:17) -- New rubbin' on the darned old thing (Oscars Chicago Swingers) (2:30) -- Press my button (Lil Johnson) (3:04) -- Stavin' chain (Johnny Temple acc, by the Harlem Hamfats) (2:18) -- Don't you make me high (Merlin Johnson) (2:31) -- You stole my cherry (Lil Johnson) (2:30)

Update: In another surprising first, I'm linking to a Tucker Carlson article about this supposed evangelical sexual voracity.

Bruno Strikes Again

With three commissions, too much grad school, and tons of politics to keep up with, this blog took a hit. But I'll try to heat it back up starting now.

Bruno in Milan

Sacha Baron Cohen is one of the best performance artists of our time. Lately, as the gay Austrian, Bruno, he's been dabbling in art intervention. Just 10 days ago, Cohen managed to act as an extra in a court scene for NBC's Medium, sitting in the jury and disrupting the shoot. Earlier this fall, he crashed two fashion shows, one in Paris and the Prada show in Milan, for which he actually walked the catwalk wearing a cross between an elementary school diorama and the Derelict line from Zoolander:



Other recent Bruno escapades include a pro-Proposition 8 rally in LA and two cage-fighting matches in Arkansas. Cohen apparently lured people to the fights with promises of chicks and cheap beer, and then proceeded to strip down and kiss another man in the ring. The audience was a bit put off, and many threw chairs and beer at the young lovers.

Hopefully much of this great work will appear in his upcoming film starring Bruno, out this May.

What should we make of him? Is he just a comedian, a brilliant Neo-Dadaist like Pierre Pinoncelli, or somewhere in between? I'm inclined to think his mockery of the fashion and television industries and of homophobia in the past few months alone is more than just laughs.