“Annie’s Song” has long been one of my favorite of John Denver’s many great songs. The version recorded for the tribute album really lives up to the original’s emotional lyrics. I also like that it’s two men singing it — that doesn’t have to make it a gay love song, but I choose to hear it that way. It’s a great cover that will surely become one of my favorite songs of 2013.

I’ve already threatened to have this version song at our wedding if PJ and I ever have one!

Bull is 6’2″ with blonde hair and blue eyes. He also looks good in clothes:

I love the track by The Presets in this video. I’ll keep an eye on Mr. Bull over the coming year; he might just end up on next year’s list of favorite men!

In no particular order, my favorite men of 2012 were:

Andy Murray 

2012 was a breakout year for the Scotsman Andy Murray. He made it to his first Wimbledon final, won the Olympics, and then won his first grand slam tournament at the U.S. Open. I’ve liked Murray for a long time, but I LOVE Rafael Nadal, so I have to agree with tennis commentators who suggest that some of Murray’s success is due to Rafa’s absence. But when you get right down to it, Murray worked hard for his success and deserves all of the victories he scored last year. I just hope he’s able to keep it up and doesn’t fall back down to #4 by the end of summer. Tennis benefits when all four of the top players have a real shot at winning each tournament.

PJ and I got to see Murray play Federer in the semis of the 2009 Southern & Western in Cincinnati. Murray takes some heat from gay viewers, but I think he’s hot! He’s got the best legs in men’s tennis, and he’s competitive with Federer for best chest.

But more importantly than looks, he’s a great competitor on the court, and he’s fun to watch. I really do hope that 2013 brings him a lot of success (except for when he plays Rafa!).

Chad White

Chad White became one of my favorite male models in 2012. Not only did he publicly support marriage equality and gay rights, but he’s got even more handsome as he’s matured. He used to keep his hair really short; I’m really liking the longer cut he’s sported in the past year or so.

I’ve followed White’s career in a general way for a couple of years now, but in 2012 I liked his Facebook page and started following his Twitter feed. This means that I get a relatively frequent update on his work! My three favorite pics of him so far are:

This picture is incendiary in its hotness! I liked it so much when I first saw it that I blogged about Chad White being the hottest man on earth based on it!

He also looks great in clothes:

And finally, add some scruff and Chad White is definitely the hottest man on earth:

Colby Keller 

Colby Keller is a gay porn star, but he’s also a lot more than just that.

His blog, Big Shoe Diaries, is one of my favorite blogs. He’s not only sexy but he’s also smart, witty, and laugh-out-loud funny. In addition to his work in sex, he is an artist, and I’ve enjoyed his posts about artists whose work he’s seen and liked. He is also a great reader; he’s been reading Larry Duplechan’s Eight Days a Week via YouTube on his blog.

This reading project is indicative of what’s so appealing about Keller: he’s using some of his gay porn fame to introduce his fans to more esoteric forms of queer culture. Whether it’s this largely forgotten author (I taught one of his other novels in my Lesbian & Gay Lit class once and might use it again next term) or up-and-coming artists (no pun intended), Keller wants his fans to think about more than just watching him have sex.

Speaking of which, I haven’t seen much of his adult work. It’s not that I’m in any way adverse to watching it, but I’m cautious about ruining the image of him that I have from reading his blog and reading/watching interviews with him. I’d hate to see him something boring or second rate! Sometimes our fantasies are better than reality.

Andrew Rannells

I still haven’t seen The Book of Mormon, so I missed seeing Andrew Rannells in his star-making turn in that musical. My first introduction to him was in Girls last year, but where he really became one of my favorites was in The New Normal.

For reasons that escape me, a lot of gay men seemed to think The New Normal was terrible; they often singled out Rannells’ character in particular as a gay minstrel. I totally disagree and think such criticisms reflect their authors’ own misogynist self-loathing. We gay men all too often are taught to hate anything feminine within our selves and we lash out at gay men who exhibit more flamboyant characteristics. Rannells’ performance in The New Normal is fantastic — he doesn’t seem to be playing himself — and the show is breaking all kinds of new grounds in the topics it explores. If nothing else, it shows a loving gay couple who actually seem to be in a physically and emotionally satisfying relationship, something unique on primetime television (cue criticisms of Modern Family here!).

Plus, Rannells is so cute and hot:

Hunter Canning and Tommy Heleringer

The Outs is by far the best gay online series of the past year. I think everything about it is brilliant! Its depictions of relationships is so nuanced and interesting. The show is funny, sexy, and heart-breaking, often all at once.

Hunter Canning, pictured here on the right, plays Jack. He’s introduced to us through the eyes of another character, which initially sets him up as the “bad guy.” That impression soon changes, however, and Jack becomes a totally different character. The success of the character is due in large measure to Canning, who is adorable. The part calls for a versatile actor, someone who can play goofy and immature one minute and quietly deep another. Canning definitely brings that versatility to the role.

Tommy Heleringer (below) plays his boyfriend, a long-suffering and persistent realist who loves Jack and doesn’t want to give in to all of his usual bull shit. Heleringer plays his part wonderfully as well. And he’s adorable! Anyone who hasn’t seen the show should watch all seven episodes now!

Andrew Grey 

For a long time I’ve been looking for a gay romance series that is well written and sexy. I finally found that in Andrew Grey’s novels. I started by reading his Range series and ended up reading two other series as well. Now I tend to devour his books as soon as they are published.

I’ve been meaning to blog about how much I like his novels but haven’t had time. The Range series, for example, starts with a couple of cowboys meeting each other and falling in love. Like all romance fiction, the novels’ plots are formulaic, but it’s what Grey does with the formula that makes his novels so good.  The novels tend to emphasize romance over casual sex, for instance, but his descriptions of gay sex are both steamy and romantic. It’s a little far-fetched that everyone who has sex in his novels always falls in love with their one and only sex partner, but romance fiction isn’t really meant to be realistic.

I also really liked the Bottled Up series (though I haven’t read the first novel in the series, which is only available directly from Grey). The Art series was also really good, and I found its plots about international art theft to be very sophisticated and gripping. So far I’ve enjoyed every book by Grey that I’ve read (but one–one of the newer series just felt too contrived for my tastes). I still want to read the Of Love series, and I have already downloaded the Kindle edition of the latest Range book but haven’t had time to read it. I highly recommend them to gay readers who enjoy a little romance fiction from time to time.

Tyler Oakley 

The Internet seems littered with new online celebrities. One of my favorites is Davey Wavey. Tyler Oakley is one of my newest favorite online personalities. He’s an early twenty-something living in California who loves all things pop culture. It’s been interesting watching him over the past year as he’s moved toward making his career in entertainment.

Watching some of his videos gave me the idea that for me my LGBT class in the fall I want to have my students follow an online personality for the semester, watching their videos, liking them on Facebook, and/or following them on Twitter. I think it would be a great way to examine contemporary queer culture. It’s interesting, for example, that Oakley general does not talk much about sex. He alludes to it occasionally, usually comically, but it’s not something he foregrounds. Davey Wavey doesn’t really talk about sex explicitly, but he does refer to sex a lot. It’s interesting to see how gay personalities position themselves in the market. I think this could lead to some interesting discussions.

But back to the point at hand, Oakley is funny and personable. If his is the face of “the younger generation,” then I think I’m really happy with where the world is headed!

Bruno Mars

I know the rest of the world discovered and fell in love with Bruno Mars long before I did, but 2012 was the year that I finally gave in and started listening to his music. This kid is talented! Right at the end of 2011 I listened to “The Lazy Song,” and I loved the video for the song, but it wasn’t until I saw Mars on the Grammys singing “Runaway baby” that I really fell in love:

Mars is cute and can really put together a great pop song. I think he’s going to have a long music career.

Felix d’Eon

Last, but definitely not least, on my list is Felix d’Eon, a gay artist from Mexico who now lives in San Francisco. His blog depicts his artistic process for creating his work, which usually involves taking lots of pictures of nude men. I loved his “Hood Ornaments” so much that I bought a print of it:

This work reminds me of J. C. Leyendecker’s illustrations from the early twentieth century but with an even more explicitly queer twist. I love it! You can check out his blog here.

So, those are my favorite men of 2012. Not too bad: a little bit of tennis, some male modeling, the Internet, books, music, and art — not quite as shallow as it seemed at first!

I like this song’s peppiness and optimism. It also helps that all four members of the band are cute! They’re currently working on their first EP. If this first song is any indication, the band has a lot of promise.

Finally, here’s an interview with the band from earlier this year, which includes a brief introduction to “Believer.”

I had heard a positive review of the show from a colleague, and I love Gershwin tunes, so I decided to see it. Besides, my seat was perfect, and I could only get a front row seat at either of the other two musicals I wanted to see.

Broderick plays Jimmy, a dim-witted wealthy playboy during the Prohibition era. O’Hara plays Billie, a bootlegger who stashes gin in the basement of Jimmy’s summer home thinking that he won’t be in residence. When Jimmy shows up with his new bride (wife #3), Billie has to think fast about what to do. She has to think even faster as she and Jimmy begin to fall in love.

Judy Kaye won a Tony for her featured role as a zealous temperance leader determined to stomp out all alcohol. Suspicious that something isn’t right in Jimmy’s household, she embarks on a quest to ferret out the local gang og bootleggers and have them arrested. She definitely deserved her Tony — she’s hilarious in this role!

Broderick and O’Hara are also great. Nothing terribly surprising happens in the show — everything one might predict would happen does happen, but it’s fun entertainment nevertheless. It also has one of my new favorite songs: “Treat Me Rough.” I immediately purchased the soundtrack just so I could have this song along with O’Hara’s beautiful rendition of “But Not for Me.”

The challenge this musical faced was that the movie’s plot is rather thin: guy meets girl; she inspires him to make music; they fall in love, raising the question of whether they’ll get together or not. Other than sing together, there’s not really much more to the plot than that.

To fill it out into a two-act structure, the musical adds a few supporting roles and a couple of musical interludes. Steve Kazee won the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as guy, but we got his understudy, Ben Hope instead. We had really wanted to see Kazee, but Hope was excellent in the role.(He also has great deltoids!

Indeed, the whole cast is great. I was especially glad to see David Patrick Kelly, who starred in the Broadway production of Twelfth Night that I love to show students when I teach the play. He plays Guy’s father. Cristin Milioti plays Girl; she’s wonderful too.

Overall, it’s a great show, and I see why it won Best Musical: it’s not your usual Broadway show. The spareness of the plot forces the production to think outside the box and be a little more creative. I definitely recommend it!

I’ve always loved this song. Against All Odds was one of the movies I liked to watch on cable when I was young and closeted. Jeff Bridges is so hot in it, and we get to see him mostly naked several times. Hearing this song always reminds me of a teenager lusting after him along with the overwrought emotions of the movie and song — why wouldn’t a teenage gay boy love it!

Contestants on American Idol sometimes try to cover this song, and until I heard this version I would have said that it simply can’t be sung any more — it’s too cheesy and too clichéd. But Criss demonstrates here that any almost any song can be redeemed with the right arrangement and a big dose of emotion. As I read later, the song apparently didn’t really match what was happening in the episode, since its emotion is too big to fit Blaine’s crush on his best friend Sam, but it’s a beautiful cover regardless!

1. Django Unchained

My favorite film of 2012 was Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Here’s the trailer:

As a general rule, I tend to love Tarantino’s films. Unlike everyone else in the world, however, I didn’t really care much for his previous film Inglorious Basterds. For me, that film was missing the element that I most enjoy in my favorite Tarantino films: personal revenge. (I know that the Shosanna Dreyfus character was more or less fulfilling this function, but I felt that the film’s revenge plot got swallowed up in the fantasy of killing Nazis.)

Many viewers and critics loved that movie and had a more lukewarm response to Django Unchained, arguing that the latter failed in its depiction of slavery and racism. I obviously disagree. For me, Django’s personal revenge story gives us an interesting, albeit fantastical glimpse into nineteenth-century slavery. I thought Tarantino was back in the mode of Kill Bill, my favorite of his movies, using violence and spectacle not merely to entertain but also to make us think. I think this is a challenging film that also happens to be really stylish and interesting. Consequently, it’s number one on my list!

Note: I also want to go on record stating that, while I am glad this movie won two Oscars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson were robbed of Oscar nominations!

2. Lincoln

My second favorite film of 2012 was Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.

That this film didn’t win every Oscar it was up for, especially adapted screenplay, is a travesty! Daniel Day-Lewis was amazing, of course, but so was everyone else involved in the film. I’ll admit that I didn’t like where it ended and that it really should have ended about two scenes earlier, but it was still a great film.

3. Amour

The third film on my list is Amour.

Directed by Michael Haneke, Amour is an emotionally brutal film. It unflinchingly depicts an elderly man caring for his wife as she approaches the end of life. It is beautiful, gut-wrenching, tragic, and affirming all at once.

4. Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas is the fourth film on my list.

Again, many people didn’t care for this film as much as I did, but I thought it was mesmerizing. I loved the interconnected stories and narrative of reincarnation. I also loved that it included a same-sex love story. I didn’t always understand what was happening at any given moment, but I loved giving myself over to it and just absorbing what was happening until I did understand.

5. Silver Linings Playbook

The first romantic comedy on my list is Silver Linings Playbook.

In this film David O. Russell has crafted much more than just a romantic comedy. Silver Linings Playbook also has something to say about mental illness, family, and starting over. Even though she’s great as Bradley Cooper’s damaged love interest, I wouldn’t have given Jennifer Lawrence the Oscar for this movie. (I would have voted for Emmanuelle Riva in Amour.) But I would have voted for Robert DeNiro as supporting actor. I thought he was amazing, and Bradley Cooper was also very deserving of his first Oscar nomination.

6. I Want Your Love

I Want Your Love, a film about a gay man in San Francisco named Jesse who is about to move back to Columbus, Ohio, is number six on my list.

I would describe I Want Your Love as a queer mumblecore film. Not much really happens, as far as plot goes, but that’s not really the point: the point is observing the relationships shift and evolve as Jesse’s friends begin to say goodbye and move on with their lives without him.

The other aspect of the movie that has gained a lot of attention is the explicit sex. The actors actually have sex with one another and we see it all: erections, penetration, ejaculations, and everything in between. While these scenes are erotic, they are not pornographic, and, even though the film was produced by Naked Sword, a gay porn outlet, the actors’ bodies are realistic for the characters they play. In other words, no hairless gym queens with perfectly sculpted abs and biceps fill the screens. Instead, we have reasonably normal people engaging in sexual situations that could realistically happen in real life.

I Want Your Love isn’t quite John-Cameron-Mitchell-level great, but it is a touching, entertaining movie. And Brontez Purnell has the funniest scences in any movie from last year — his soliloquy about getting crabs is hilarious!

7. Moonrise Kingdom

This quirky film is number seven on my list.

Wes Anderson directed this fable about a boy who falls in love with a girl and decides to do something about it. Everything that happens in Moonrise Kingdom fantastical and entirely original. It reminded me a lot of The Fantastic Mr. Fox in tone and spirit. I was happy to just go along for the ride and enjoy the view.

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Number eight on my list is The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

This movie is clearly The Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink for a new generation. The tale of a misfit high school freshman who finds his niche is fun, moving, and entertaining. These are the friends I wish I had in high school! It also shows that Emma Watson is going to have a career beyond Harry Potter!

9. Keep the Lights On

Based on director Ira Sachs’ experiences dealing with a boyfriend addicted to drugs, Keep the Lights On is number nine on my list.

I thought this movie was very moving. Thure Lindhardt is great as Eric, Sachs’ fictionalized stand-in. He loves Paul, but Paul loves drugs even more than he loves Eric. There is a devastating scene about three-quarters of the way through the movie in which Eric watches Paul’s drug-induced activities in a hotel room. My only gripe about the film is the question of how anyone could ever take someone back after witnessing those activities. Fortunately, I’ve never been in that situation, so maybe I can’t really say what I’d do if the man I love did these things. Either way, I thought this movie was a great character study of Eric’s emotions, responses, and choices.

10. The Life of Pi and How to Survive a Plague

I kept trying to decide which of these films to include in my top ten list, but ultimately I just couldn’t choose between them. Since it’s my list, I decided I didn’t have to choose!

The Life of Pi is a great action, special effects movie that waxes philosophical every chance it gets, a somewhat odd combination that ultimately works. I like the way the movie ends, though I think its ending is a bit more complicated than some people make it out to be — it’s really not one narrative replacing another, it seems to me, but a choice of which narrative one wants to believe.

How to Survive a Plague is a great documentary about the AIDS crisis. What makes this documentary stand out from others is the narrative structure: you really don’t know how many of the people shown in interviews during the film survived the crisis until the very end of the movie. This adds a level of suspense that also parallels the crisis itself. I plan to start showing it in my gay lit classes.

Honorable Mentions

There were a few more films that I wanted to include on this list. I really enjoyed Nate and Margaret, a movie about a film student’s unusual friendship with a 52-year-old woman. I would have given Natalie West an Oscar nomination for her role as Margaret. She’s brilliant in this movie.

I also really enjoyed the comedy Gayby, which is about a straight woman and gay man who try to have a baby together. It’s independent gay cinema at its comic best.

Beasts of the Southern Wild also gets a shout out. I’m not at all sure what this movie is ultimately about, but I enjoyed watching it and constantly being surprised about where it would go next.

And finally, I really liked Zero Dark Thirty even if it wasn’t a perfect film. I think its view of torture is less permissive than some viewers thought it was, and Jessica Chastain was excellent. I look forward to seeing what Kathryn Bigelow does next.

I first heard “Closer” on the radio, and I’ve been meaning to listen to the album ever since. Our wireless has been somewhat intermittent over the past couple of days, but I finally had a chance to download and start listening to Tegan and Sara‘s new album, Heartthrob.

Tegan and Sara are twins from Canada who also happen to be lesbians. They’re generally labelled indie-rock, but they seem more mainstream than that to me (in a good way). They may now be my second favorite lesbian band after Lovers! So far, I’m enjoying the album, the first one I’ve bought this year, and I love this lyric:

All you think of lately is getting underneath me
All I dream of lately is how to get you underneath me

Sexy and fun! You can see the song’s full lyrics after the break.

All I want to get is a little bit closer
All I want to know is, can you come a little closer?

Here comes the breath before we get a little bit closer
Here comes the rush before we touch, come a little closer

The doors are open, the wind is really blowing
The night sky is changing overhead

It’s not just all physical
I’m the type who won’t get oh so critical
So let’s make things physical
I won’t treat you like you’re oh so typical
I won’t treat you like you’re oh so typical

All you think of lately is getting underneath me
All I dream of lately is how to get you underneath me

Here comes the heat before we meet a little bit closer
Here comes the spark before the dark, come a little closer

The lights are off and the sun is finally setting
The night sky is changing overhead

It’s not just all physical
I’m the type who won’t get oh so critical
So let’s make things physical
I won’t treat you like you’re oh so typical

I want you close, I want you
I won’t treat you like you’re typical
I want you close, I want you
I won’t treat you like you’re typical

Here come the dreams of you and me
Here come the dreams
Here come the dreams of you and me
Here come the dreams

It’s not just all physical
I’m the type who won’t get oh so critical
So let’s make things physical
I won’t treat you like you’re oh so typical

I want you close, I want you
I won’t treat you like you’re typical
I want you close, I want you
I won’t treat you like you’re typical

I won’t treat you like you’re typical
I won’t treat you like you’re typical

All I want to get is a little bit closer
All I want to know is, can you come a little closer?

My favorite album of 2012 was Put Your Back N 2 It by Perfume Genius. This is PG’s sophomore album. His first CD, Learning, was my favorite album of 2010, so it’s safe to say that I love his music. In particular, I like that his albums feel like artistic wholes rather than just a bunch of disconnected singles. Two of his tracks appeared on my favorites songs and videos lists, so I thought I would add a different sample here: “Take Me Home.”

His music feels raw and real — he’s writing about real life and the struggles people go through, the feelings we all feel sometimes but are afraid to acknowledge out loud. It’s very powerful music. But I also like that he’s clearly grown as an artist since his first album. As much as I loved that one, this one is broader in its musicality and feels like a big step forward in conveying PG’s messages. It’s a great album.

Second on my list is Iris Dement’s Sing the Delta. I was a little ambivalent when I first started listening to it, but after hearing her sing many of the songs from this album in person, I fell in love with it. Her music is so much slower and more thoughtful than anything we hear on the radio today that I think it takes getting in the right frame of mind to really appreciate it. One of my favorite tracks off the album is “Morning Glory,” which I think is emblematic of Dement’s brand of music:

I really hope that Dement is inspired to put out another album soon — the world needs her music.

M Ward’s A Wasteland Companion is number three on my list. “Crawl after You” was my favorite song from last year, and the entire album is great. Here’s another track from the album: “The First Time I Ran Away.”

Number four is Channel Orange by Frank Ocean. When I first heard this album I assumed it would be my album of the year. It’s a major artistic statement that takes music and sexual expression to a whole new level. It could easily be number one on list — I hope Ocean cleans up at the Grammys! “Thinkin’ Bout You” was one of my favorite songs of the year. Seeing Ocean perform “Bad Religion” on Jimmy Kimmel Live was breath-taking, and I mean that literally. I felt like I was watching something incredibly important. The original video doesn’t seem to be up anymore. This was all I could find:

Wanda Jackson’s Unfinished Business is number five. This, too, is a great album that could just as easily be ranked higher on my list. Here’s “Tore Down,” a great song from the album:

Origin of Love is next on my list, another one that could easily be higher. I love the title track but so much of the other songs are great too. One example is “I Only Love You When I’m Drunk,” perhaps the most fun break up song ever written. Here’s a live version:

Number seven on my list is Julie Lee and the Baby-Daddies by Julie Lee. It’s a great Americana album. My favorite track is “Uphill.” Here’s a live version from a few years ago, but unfortunately the sound quality isn’t very good:

Next is the only soundtrack on my list: Django Unchained. Tarantino uses music so seamlessly in his movies that it’s not surprising that his soundtracks are always amazing. My favorite song, which should have been nominated for an Oscar but was somehow overlooked, was John Legend’s “Who Did That to You?”

Number nine on my list is Battle Born by The Killers. Again, it could easily have been higher on my list. Another great track (other than the ones on my favorite songs and videos lists) is “Here With Me.” Brandon Flowers’ vocals on this track are so tender and beautiful (and it’s a crazy video starring Winona Ryder!):

And finally, the last album on my top ten list is Who’s Feeling Young Now by the Punch Brothers. One of the many songs I like is “No Concern of Yours”:

Again, the ranking of these albums seems almost entirely arbitrary, but that’s the best I could do. I think they’re all great albums.