Nicki Minaj is someone I...really don't get. I want to get her, but I don't. I will say that my impression of her has a Lady Gaga clone (clown?) is only based on her fashion sense as none of her songs has sounded much like Gaga (right?), least of all "Beez in the Trap." With an impressive 6.5 million views in a few days, the video ballsily starts out with, "Bitches say shit and they ain't say nothin'" before...well...she says shit and says nothing:

But I wouldn't go this far—this is the top comment on the video at the moment:

Lovely. Nicki's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is out now and looks like it will be #1 on Billboard next week with over 220,000 or so sold. I wonder how many copies are due to the presence of this little number all over NYC:

Thanks to Matthew: Wow, I want pictures...now! (Sorry, non-Madonna fans...it has been a very Madonna stretch lately.)

Madonna's manager Guy Oseary has become a bit of a babbling brook—asked about rumors of DVD releases (Blond Ambition after 20+ years?), touring and new music, his Twitter lit up with quite a bit of interesting and exciting news.

As for her new record's sound, he predicts "DANCE," as tweeted to one questioner. He also says most of the tracks they've gotten that Madonna is liking are from unknowns.

But forget about a summer tour—"We have to make a record first."

More here.

Some interesting video (thanks, Margit!) showing Guy Oseary speaking about his job and about the cultures of Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley. You can agree or disagree with the artistic impact of some of his decisions, but he's a smart cookie, no? Video after the jump...

As of midnight tonight, it will be exactly five years since my first post. It's hard to imagine it's been that long, and a lot's changed—the tone and subject matter are different, how often I post, my limits (no nudity in a couple of years due to ad constraints). I've devoted a crazy amount of time and money and energy to this blog for a very small financial return (you couldn't guess low enough), but it's always rewarding to have this forum with which to express myself, keep my writing ability fluid, perhaps influence a couple of people here and there, share obsessions with strangers (in both senses of the word) and learn new things.

Take That's Howard...can you believe this happened onstage at a pop concert?

Here are some of the posts that were most important to Boy Culture's history. For the uninitiated, some of the oldest ones refer to Boy Culture, the movie made of my novel; I started the blog at the time Boy Culture was being filmed as a way to keep people informed of the progress...and it all snowballed from there.

Subtle

Some of these posts are milestones when it comes to the hits they provided but most are filled with original writing and/or photography and video and are just the posts of which I'm proudest. I hope you'll take some time to click on them and send their links around to others—and some time is what you'll need...

MY ART

Boy-crazy

FROM BOY TO MAN: BC B.C. (2007): The entire history of my novella, novel and movie Boy Culture; might be my ultimate post.

From '07, one of my faves. Old iPhones were better because they were worse.

"Your pictures suck" (2008): An art critic attacks me, but not without sustaining some hits in return.

GUYDAR (since at least January 17, 2008) & ENDS OF THE WORLD (since at least January 13, 2008): Attractive men of the world—I got your backs. Your fronts, too.

i-i-i (phone)

TriBeCa is for Boy lovers...

BOY ON FILM (2006): An account of the NYC launch party for Boy Culture as it played the TriBeCa Film Fest.

I was left "Reeling" by the experience

FRIENDS AND "FAMILY" (2006): The movie version of Boy Culture hits Chicago.

RAPT PUPIL (2006): The final night of Outfest with Boy Culture; I was fat but on the other hand got to meet Bryan Singer.

Let's call it a draw

DRAWN TOGETHER (2008): How my desire to draw related to my secret desire. One of my absolute favorite posts.

ME

Death of the party—Jeff in high school, already halfway through his life

BURNING MAN (2007): Tribute to my late high school friend and first romance.

I had the Fever for Jon-Erik Hexum

AN OBSESSION IS BORN (2009): One of my best posts about my obsession with...obsession.

Death becomes here

ILLINOIS DEATH TRIP (2007): Ruminations on death while revisiting a past home, and the past.

Life is short and meaningful

PASSING BY (2008): Mourning the loss of a person I only met once.

I was given the red-carpet treatment

HAVEN'T WE MET? (2010): Celebrating my time with someone I've only met once—Madonna.

Just playing catch-up here! Above and below are my videos of Madonna from inside her private Material Girl party at Macy's. The first one catches her coming in, party atmosphere and her entire opening remarks. Below, you'll see reaction shots of Taylor Momsen and mainly Madonna and Lola as a troupe dances to a Madonna medley. Rocco break-dances in there, too!

You didn't expect me to actually watch the performance, did you?

After the jump is a bonus video of close-up footage showing (Madonna's manager Guy Oseary,) Madonna and Lola on the carpet, including some close enough to hear the designing duo answering some intelligent questions for a change...

Lots of buzz about multiple Madonna demos that have leaked lately—even her manager Guy Oseary acknowledges them and seems perplexed:

Meanwhile, at least some are fakes. Though I'd blogged it earlier, "First Is a Kiss" aka "First There's a Kiss" is an intentional fraud, taking pieces of a Shana song (remember, I just blogged about her! I owned this CD but I only ever listen to "I Want You" by Shana):

And that "Holiday" demo that just came out wasn't—it's a mash-up between her vocal and this:

There goes the "Boom" rumor, via Guy Oseary's Twitter. 

Not sure how I missed this earlier, but Brian Frasier-Moore, who plays drums for Madonna, seems to confirm that Madonna is planning a tour at the top of 2011.

 

UPDATE: Guy Oseary has Tweeted that the tour rumors are false. However, I know a fan who met Oseary in Munich and who says Oseary told him directly this tour was happening....