Rufus Wainwright gossip wanted.
John Thompson 
I've heard vague references to gossip about him but I want to know more. I know he is generally hated around here so spill.
Has anyone here slept with him? Is he a top or bottom? What's he like in bed?
What was he like back in his meth-head days? Do you think he still uses?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 184 | March 11, 2019 8:18 AM |
I don't hate him. I'll bet he's uncut, what with being Canadian and the son of two hippies.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | August 15, 2015 12:12 AM |
He was a total dick during his meth days.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | August 15, 2015 12:21 AM |
My dick was never "total" when I did speed.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | August 15, 2015 12:22 AM |
Looks like Rufus wore the dress.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 6 | August 15, 2015 12:24 AM |
My, his boyfriend sho' is ugly!
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | August 15, 2015 12:30 AM |
He brays like a fucking donkey.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | August 15, 2015 12:38 AM |
Let's see if this one works.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 10 | August 15, 2015 12:38 AM |
He's tried his best. But icon status will elude him. It helped him that he had good musical connections. But when he did the whole "I'm gong to be Judy Garland" thing then he started to lose it. We have the recording of Judy singing, Rufus, we don't need you to do a remake.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | August 15, 2015 12:48 AM |
Wainwright: "My relationship with my husband has defined me. In the past 10 years, Jörn [Weisbrodt] has taught me to chill out and not take myself so seriously. He's eternally patient. He's also very tall, and everything is in proportion."
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 12 | August 15, 2015 1:01 AM |
He's mostly a bottom when he's not under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | August 15, 2015 1:04 AM |
He's a tit man, apparently
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 14 | August 15, 2015 1:04 AM |
You seriously need to ask if he's a top or a bottom?
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | August 15, 2015 1:17 AM |
We had a fun gal on here once, she was lez or bi and she was part of that whole JT Leroy crowd, and she hung out with Rufus one night. I forget the exact anecdote.
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | August 15, 2015 1:20 AM |
He's a total cumslut bottom. A friend of mine blew a load in him accidentally after the condom broke, and he was completely unfazed.
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | August 15, 2015 1:28 AM |
His rock albums are generally good to very good. And his dad is one of my favorite living songwriters.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | August 15, 2015 1:30 AM |
His giant ego has always made him hard to like.
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | August 15, 2015 1:34 AM |
I had no idea how freaking queeny he was until I saw him live. Wow.
| by Anonymous | reply 23 | August 15, 2015 1:47 AM |
[quote] He's a total cumslut bottom. A friend of mine blew a load in him accidentally after the condom broke, and he was completely unfazed.
During his meth days he rarely used condoms.
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | August 15, 2015 1:51 AM |
Can you elaborate, R4? Any stories?
| by Anonymous | reply 25 | August 15, 2015 2:02 AM |
I don't want to assume, R13.
R17 what else did your friend have to say about him? And I assume this was a long time ago since he's been with his husband for 10 years
| by Anonymous | reply 26 | August 15, 2015 2:06 AM |
I LOVED Rufus' first two albums - the self-titled and 'Poses'. After that, with the exception of a song here or there, I think he largely lost the plot. His melodies less and less compelling, his lyrics just stream of consciousness ramblings that might have been somewhat charming from a 20-something. I lived in LA in those days and saw him play tiny clubs like the original Largo (not the newer Largo at the Coronet). I hate to say this, because I'm glad he's happy and healthy now, but he was a MUCH better songwriter when he was a depressive drunkard. He was, perhaps like Elaine Stritch in a way, one of those people who really came alive when the drinks started flowing. The onstage banter at a tiny supper club like Largo? So quick, so sharp, so funny that one moment he had you spellbound with a song like "Barcelona" a subtle, heartbreaking song possibly (probably?) about AIDS and the next gasping for air from laughing so much at his wonderful bon mots and cutting remarks. Yeah, he probably would have died if he'd continued down that path, but he was a much better entertainer then.
As for his personality, I had a few interactions with him back then. He tried to hit on my straight friend pretty hardcore, ha. Other than that, he was warm, funny and charming when interacting with the audience after his sets. Although, Jesus, he did not believe deodorant.
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | August 15, 2015 2:16 AM |
Want One was his last solid album. Want Two was so bad that I pretty much tuned him out afterward.
| by Anonymous | reply 28 | August 15, 2015 2:35 AM |
That's a name I haven't heard in a good ten years.
| by Anonymous | reply 29 | August 15, 2015 2:37 AM |
I know people who are huge fans of his and swear that he is a brilliant songwriter, but I just can't past his nasally voice.
| by Anonymous | reply 30 | August 15, 2015 2:47 AM |
What are his hit songs? You know like Casey Kasem Ryan Seacrest count down stuff?
| by Anonymous | reply 31 | August 15, 2015 2:47 AM |
I've always loved his song Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, but I always thought he was overrated. I saw him once, live, in a small hall in Nashville, and thought he was charming, but far from the major talent he was being touted to be. I've read so many reviews that have described his voice as "beautiful," but I think it's far from that; despite having operatic affectations, it's nasally and limited. This might sound really stupid, but what led me to abandon listening to him is his version of Hallelujah. His ear is so tone deaf that he completely lost many of the rhyms; for instance, he sang you don't care for music much, do YOU, when a do ya is required to get the rhyme It infuriated me to no end, and i just couldn't listen to him after that. I know that's a stupid reason to give up on a performer, but there's always a point when you stop enjoying an entertainer.
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | August 15, 2015 3:00 AM |
Ha. Rufus hasn't had "hit" songs, but he has some really good ones from his early days when he actually seemed to care about songcraft and not just, you know, recording whatever popped into his head that morning. This one always seemed to be a fan favorite. And a lot of young gays can probably relate to the song's concept.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 34 | August 15, 2015 3:01 AM |
I thought this song should have been covered on "Glee".
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 35 | August 15, 2015 3:46 AM |
^ Ugh. Exactly the kind of latter career (or, perhaps, mid-career) drivel of his I can't stand. It's too bad he couldn't have gotten along better with Jon Brion. Doubt Brion would have indulged him in this crap and would have challenged him to get back to songcraft. Also an example of him writing something he can't really sing reliably live without cracking and straining. It's when he works within his limits that he's golden.
| by Anonymous | reply 36 | August 15, 2015 4:28 AM |
We were so close you'd have to separate us with a crowbar.
| by Anonymous | reply 37 | August 15, 2015 4:42 AM |
[quote] I'll bet he's uncut, what with being Canadian and the son of two hippies.
Don't put too much into the hippy part. His mother was Canadian and his father is American and Rufus was born in upstate New York. Routine infant circumcision was the norm at the time and not usually discussed as an option. Parents were often given a bunch of forms to sign when the mother was admitted to the hospital including a circumcision consent form.
| by Anonymous | reply 38 | August 15, 2015 4:48 AM |
Nothin's gonna change his world.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 39 | August 15, 2015 4:52 AM |
He just seems super annoying and like a perpetual child which is not so compelling to me.
| by Anonymous | reply 40 | August 15, 2015 5:04 AM |
R1 - don't count on him being uncut. I'm pretty close to Rufus' age, and most guys in my Irish Catholic family from Montreal and Moncton are cut. The late 60s/early 70s in French Canada were pretty tense. The French were uncut and the English were cut. My parents moved to the U.S. so I wouldn't learn French.
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | August 15, 2015 6:48 AM |
His cover of Hallelujah is popular. I met him at an awards show in '99 and he was nice.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 42 | August 15, 2015 7:07 AM |
I love the songs that Rufus and Martha Wainwright wrote about their father, Loudon Wainwright. Rufus' song, "Dinner at Eight", is a lilting remembrance of the sense of abandonment that he felt as a child when his parents split. Martha's tribute to her father, "Bloody Motherfucking Asshole" is... a little more direct. I wonder how Loudon felt the first time he heard her song.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 43 | August 15, 2015 7:10 AM |
The Wainwrights have made a kind of small cottage industry of putting their very personal familial dysfunction into many, many songs. See: Loudon's "Father/Daughter" duet with Martha.
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | August 15, 2015 7:15 AM |
His boyfriend is so handsome.
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | August 15, 2015 8:27 AM |
God, I’m so interested in this guy!
| by Anonymous | reply 47 | August 15, 2015 10:39 PM |
He was my neighbor for several years. He's charming and polite, and his husband is an absolute doll and very funny.
| by Anonymous | reply 49 | August 21, 2015 7:06 PM |
"Going to the opera is a spiritual experience. There's a sense of communion when I'm there. Don't get me wrong – I love the Virgin Mary, her outfits are fabulous. But I definitely feel there's some force for good that's been with me through life, and I think that comes from all the dead great composers."
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 50 | August 21, 2015 7:29 PM |
I have always found him so hot, even though he makes half-rate, carnival music. So very hot.
| by Anonymous | reply 51 | August 21, 2015 7:34 PM |
R49 I suppose you'd have to have a sense of humor when Roofie climbs into bed with an "I have a new idea for a song!"
| by Anonymous | reply 52 | August 21, 2015 7:36 PM |
r52 ..."It's about this circus clown dying, after a show horse falls on him and in his last moments, he hears a cat meowing in the distance and it's like he's being summoned to The Underworld!"
| by Anonymous | reply 53 | August 21, 2015 7:38 PM |
R54 You know it's true. He's so hot, though and seems like a sweetheart. I'd have married him, too, even if the vow meant I'd eventually end-up having to grab for the vermouth, every time he started clanking on the piano with his oompa oompa music.
"This is the part where the trombone and slide whistle comes in!"
'Yes, dear!"
| by Anonymous | reply 55 | August 22, 2015 2:59 AM |
In what universe is that old tired queen HOT?
She makes Johnny Weir look BUTCH.
| by Anonymous | reply 56 | August 22, 2015 3:25 AM |
R56 He just has something that gets me. He has that Neil Young brand of hotness. It's hard to explain.
| by Anonymous | reply 57 | August 22, 2015 3:30 AM |
I get it, R57. I'm a fan of his music and understand why people don't like his overly stylized phrasing and his nasal tone. But I think there's something evocative about his voice. My favorite of his is "The Art Teacher." It's him at his folksy best, and it's a very simple arrangement.
| by Anonymous | reply 58 | August 22, 2015 3:36 AM |
R58 I'm joking around but I understand what he's doing and that it's often tongue in cheek. I thought his 'Matinee Idol" bordered on insensitive but maybe I got a vibe from it that wasn't there and that's why I'm a little more critical of his work.
| by Anonymous | reply 59 | August 22, 2015 3:38 AM |
I was introduced to him by Joan Wasser while they were touring the WANT I & II records. I agree he's charming and seemed very on, but I put that down to the rhythm of touring. I can totally see the younger Rufus being insufferable. Very much the star fucker type in that he kept mentioning his time in LA with Sean. I thought it was weird that he seemed to think his parents were famous. I don't think anyone outside of Canada had heard of them. Martha is funny. She kinda holds court like a sweet natured Courtney Love. She was/is a terminally younger child. I liked her and her music better than his.
| by Anonymous | reply 61 | August 22, 2015 11:03 PM |
R61 - did Joan Wasser date Jeff Buckley?
| by Anonymous | reply 62 | August 23, 2015 2:55 AM |
He's eccentric, wry and a bossy, sloppy bossy=verbal bottom not known to be the cleanest dude down there or in general but quick witted and low key.
| by Anonymous | reply 63 | August 23, 2015 3:25 AM |
Yes, R62 she was with Buckley from 95 until his death. She's queer now.
| by Anonymous | reply 64 | August 23, 2015 3:54 AM |
Have you fucked him, R63?
| by Anonymous | reply 66 | August 23, 2015 4:26 AM |
Wow. I'm actually surprised Jeff was straight.
| by Anonymous | reply 67 | August 23, 2015 4:28 AM |
I got a CD signed by him after a show he did, opening for Tori Amos maybe 2001-ish, and he practically raped me with his eyes. I would've done him if he'd asked.
| by Anonymous | reply 68 | August 23, 2015 4:29 AM |
R67, What made you think Buckley was gay? He definitely had a certain type of woman he liked; dark, creative and theatrical. JW definitely fit the bill back then. Buckley was like JW's college bf, Colin. Sweet, soft, talented(Colin is/was a commercial artist/painter in LA now). They were attracted to JW's wild, rebellious energy. Joan and Jeff were somewhat obnoxious and combustible together. This set off pics was taken about a month before he died.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 69 | August 23, 2015 8:29 PM |
Didn't Rufus say he hated Canada?
| by Anonymous | reply 70 | August 23, 2015 9:01 PM |
Rufus' parents are pretty famous on the folk circuit and amongst other writers.
I don't think Jeff Buckley was entirely straight. I live in Nashville, and knew a guy who seemingly had an affair with him. He would never admit it, but it was very clear that they friendship involved the physical. And I never got Buckley's appeal. His music and voice just didn't do a thing for me; there were raw emotions, sure, but not enough raw edges to keep me interested.
| by Anonymous | reply 71 | August 23, 2015 10:35 PM |
I've known who the McGarrigles and loudon wainwright are since the seventies.
Gaga and Shitney fans won't be as familiar.
| by Anonymous | reply 72 | August 23, 2015 11:00 PM |
Jeff Buckley simply was very good-looking. Suddenly realizing the young Bertrand Bonello (director, L'Apollonide) looked a bit like him, only darker round the edges. A musician, too, before he became a film director.
Thanks for posting about Joan Wasser, saw her twice and man... Wow.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 73 | August 23, 2015 11:26 PM |
I agree with you about Jeff, R73. No idea about Bonello but to me he looks nothing like JB. Jeff had beautiful milky white skin in person and rounded features. A truly lovely and troubled man. His talent was bewitching. He was more intelligent than you would guess but he always had the blue-collar vibe to him. He grew up very poor in a very chaotic situation. His mother is one crazy devil. Hated Joan from start to finish and barely hid her contempt for her at the "memorial" service. Joan is quite a character, does she have her own thread here?
With all due respect R71, that sounds like total bullshit. But plenty of people wanted to suck Jeff's cock. Men and women. He was a serial seducer.
| by Anonymous | reply 74 | August 24, 2015 2:54 AM |
Jeff Buckley was an immense talent. Not the greatest live performer and kind of a dick per a friend of a friend, but I'm flabbergasted that some here dismiss his voice. The "Grace" album never sounds old--or new. It was really a singular statement. To bring things full circle, I've long hated Rufus Wainwright for his cover of "Hallelujah," which doesn't come close to Jeff's.
I agree re his being serial seducer. I first saw him on a bus one rainy night in D.C., long before he was known by anyone, including me. We locked eyes when he got on, and although he didn't said anything to me, I was so mesmerized that I actually took that line several times again in hopes I'd see him again. A year or two later, I saw "the bus guy" in a guitar magazine, and "Grace" came out probably a year after that. Again, IMHO, he kind of sucked live, but his audiences were positively worshipful. He had a very particular kind of charisma.
| by Anonymous | reply 75 | August 24, 2015 3:26 AM |
Does anyone if Rufus ever slept with a woman?
| by Anonymous | reply 76 | August 24, 2015 4:07 AM |
To say that Rufus' parents aren't famous is ridiculous. His father is Loudon Wainwright, one of the preeminent male solo folk/pop songwriters of the post-Dylan era, and his momma is one of the Roches. Hugely influential in folk and pop circles, if not super-popular.
| by Anonymous | reply 78 | August 24, 2015 8:08 AM |
[quote]his momma is one of the Roches.
No, his mother Kate was one of the McGarrigle Sisters.
| by Anonymous | reply 79 | August 24, 2015 8:19 AM |
I kinda really like Rufus' song about Jeff Buckley. Well, it's KINDA about Jeff Buckley. I think the song's about the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice with Rufus as Orpheus and Jeff as Eurydice. Which is kinda creepy, but also rather creative.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 80 | August 24, 2015 9:44 AM |
He told in an interview that when he guest starred on the GAY episode of Absolutely Fabulous he was on a meth bender and had not slept for a week!
Rufus? Would you have a little (snort, snort) pick-me-up, you know, a little refreshment, for me darling?
| by Anonymous | reply 81 | August 24, 2015 10:44 AM |
I'm curious: which of all the AbFab episodes would be considered "gay"?!? I thought they ALL were.
| by Anonymous | reply 82 | August 24, 2015 5:22 PM |
Wasn't it a special episode? Or even a film? Whoopi was in it. There's a marriage... Maybe it was shot i LA.
| by Anonymous | reply 83 | August 24, 2015 5:26 PM |
His mother and aunt performed as the McGarrigle sisters, and they were very big on the folk circuit. They were the first to record this song, written by his aunt. It's a stunner. "Some say the heart is just like a wheel, when you bend it, you can't mend it. But my love for you is like a sinking ship, and my heart is on that ship out in the ocean."
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 84 | August 24, 2015 5:36 PM |
R84 - "Heart Like a Wheel" is such a classic. Never fails to move me. I was kind of a big fan of Rufus' when he started out. Not so much when the bombast of the Want records and future albums took over and songcraft went out the window. I recall in interviews him mentioning that his mother would always try to encourage him to lose all of the floweriness - in both his piano playing/composition and lyrics. I think he was best when he channeled his parents and kept those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink tendencies somewhat in check.
Speaking of Kate, this video, from her last public performance, filmed a few months before she succumbed to cancer is very moving. It was apparently the last song she wrote. I think it's gorgeous. It was written partly for/about Martha. Martha recorded it on one of her albums. Martha's version is nice if a touch overwrought. I found Kate's simpler, more elegant original more poignant. Especially when you see her sitting on stage singing this song with her family gently backing her up; all of them knowing this is likely one of the last times they'll be singing together.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 85 | August 24, 2015 7:35 PM |
So is he a top or a bottom? And did anyone meet him during his meth days - what was he like back then?
| by Anonymous | reply 86 | June 19, 2016 1:59 PM |
The husband is hot.
I'm an aficionado for hot Euro dudes who are hung. The face may be a bit severe but I have my mouth full so.....
| by Anonymous | reply 87 | June 19, 2016 2:04 PM |
Rufus does "New York State of Mind" and "Piano Man" at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2013.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 88 | June 19, 2016 3:30 PM |
I have always been immune to the charms of twee, whimsical man/boys. I imagine that makes me "judgmental" in today's limited parlance...
| by Anonymous | reply 90 | June 19, 2016 5:36 PM |
R88 - One of the rare times, since the early 2000s, that he gets out of the way and let's the song work. I find him intolerable now and I loved him earlier in his careers.
Same R89. After that, it was all downhill.
| by Anonymous | reply 91 | June 19, 2016 10:51 PM |
I just saw him a couple of hours ago right outside The Met. He was wearing a shirt and shorts that clashed terribly, but his face looked better than I expected it to given how he photographs these days.
| by Anonymous | reply 92 | June 19, 2016 11:30 PM |
[quote]I'm curious: which of all the AbFab episodes would be considered "gay"?!? I thought they ALL were.
Episode where Edina & Patsy go to NYC for Fashion Week, looking for Edina's son Serge. They have a tiny exchange with Wainwright in the fashion tent.
| by Anonymous | reply 94 | June 19, 2016 11:41 PM |
Born in the USA, but mostly raised in Canada. Speaks English fluently, but butchers French. Recovered (recovering) alcoholic, meth head, barebacked with anything that moved during his days in NYC. Suffers memory gaps from his druggie years. Would top if asked, but prefers to be bottomed. Flamboyant and very intelligent, yet made many bad choices. Uncut with very bad personal hygiene. Known for gross odors that can be detected at some distance. Probably HIV +.
| by Anonymous | reply 95 | June 19, 2016 11:50 PM |
Blamed a lot of his bad choices on the "gay community." No, dear, those were your choices. Plus, he used to do drugs with his own mom so like mother, like son.
| by Anonymous | reply 96 | June 19, 2016 11:56 PM |
Wait? His husband is literally "white bread"?
| by Anonymous | reply 97 | June 20, 2016 12:10 AM |
R95, how do you know that he barebacked?
| by Anonymous | reply 98 | June 20, 2016 1:07 AM |
Meth users ALL bareback, r98 and the vast majority of them are poz.
| by Anonymous | reply 99 | June 20, 2016 7:49 AM |
R98, he's talked about it interviews, too. He was basically a cum dumpster for a few years.
| by Anonymous | reply 100 | June 20, 2016 7:53 AM |
he has said that he's negative
| by Anonymous | reply 101 | June 20, 2016 5:51 PM |
So he was the entertainment? Like a slot machine, r100?
| by Anonymous | reply 102 | June 21, 2016 1:30 AM |
Are he and his husband exclusive or does Rufus still sleep around?
| by Anonymous | reply 103 | June 22, 2016 12:15 AM |
Kate & Anna McGarrigle is one of the best debut albums I've ever heard. Every song's a keeper.
I've seen Rufus twice - the first was basically a McGarrigle Family Hour. The ladies (including Martha) tempered Rufus' "charming" obnoxious personality. I remember the old lady beside me bopping along to the jaunty "Beauty Mark".
The second time he demanded that we not clap at the end of certain songs. I think they were the Lulu songs. Too precious, I thought.
I liked that Liza song. It passed me by when he first released it. I have all his albums but I haven't listened to the ones after Want, only the singles.
| by Anonymous | reply 104 | June 22, 2016 12:50 AM |
He WAS the slot machine, r102.
| by Anonymous | reply 105 | June 22, 2016 12:51 AM |
Several years ago I saw a New Year's show with Rufus, Loudon Wainwright III, and Lucy Wainwright Roche (Loudon's daughter with Suzzy Roche, and Rufus' half-sister). It was actually a pretty great/fun show, but afterwards the woman who organized it told my brother that they all fought so much she'd never work with them again.
As for Kate & Anna McGarrigle..."Dancer with Bruised Knees" is also a fantastic album, even if it never sold much.
| by Anonymous | reply 106 | June 22, 2016 12:56 AM |
I was a fan of Rufus' music until around the time he did the Judy Live at Carnegie show, in which he lost his musical direction and records music that doesn't appeal to me at all.
| by Anonymous | reply 107 | June 22, 2016 1:04 AM |
Martha is the more talented sibling.
| by Anonymous | reply 108 | June 22, 2016 3:06 AM |
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, r108
| by Anonymous | reply 109 | June 22, 2016 4:41 PM |
Love Martha's Piaf album.
| by Anonymous | reply 110 | June 22, 2016 4:52 PM |
He's the gay Neil Young. Sexy, and yet not remotely sexy. Makes for a perplexing wank.
| by Anonymous | reply 111 | June 22, 2016 4:57 PM |
He isn't even the gay Neil Sedaka, r111.
| by Anonymous | reply 112 | June 23, 2016 1:17 AM |
boy she's gotten old and F A T
| by Anonymous | reply 114 | July 11, 2016 12:09 AM |
R81, here's the clip of him in Ab Fab, in the middle of the meth bender that made him decide to finally go to rehab. At 22:40
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 115 | July 11, 2016 12:23 AM |
[quote]I thought it was weird that he seemed to think his parents were famous. I don't think anyone outside of Canada had heard of them.
I became a fan of the McGarrigle Sisters in 1976 in New York. Dancer with Bruised Knees is one of my favorite albums.
| by Anonymous | reply 116 | July 11, 2016 4:41 AM |
Saw him open for Sean Lennon and when people at the bar were talking during Rufus's set, Sean came out and yelled at them...Rufus said he probably would have been one of those people at the bar.
| by Anonymous | reply 117 | July 11, 2016 4:59 AM |
People with taste have always known about the McGarrigles.
| by Anonymous | reply 118 | July 11, 2016 4:50 PM |
[quote] Pretentious hipster twats have always known about the McGarrigles.
Fixed
| by Anonymous | reply 119 | July 11, 2016 5:50 PM |
Kate & Anna McGarrigle's "Heart like a Wheel":
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 121 | July 11, 2016 6:11 PM |
This is goosebumpingly good. "Hard Times Come Again No More" with Kate, Anna, Rufus, Emmylou, and some people I don't recognize.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 122 | July 11, 2016 6:18 PM |
Mary Black, Karen Matheson, and Rod Paterson are the unfamiliar names from R122.
| by Anonymous | reply 123 | July 11, 2016 6:21 PM |
You don't know Mary Black or Karen Matheson?! You'll never eat lunch in Brooklyn in again!
| by Anonymous | reply 124 | July 11, 2016 6:22 PM |
My friend and I went to a jazz festival years ago in southern NJ where Rufus was appearing along with many other jazz musicians. We wanted to beat the thousands of cars out of the parking lot, so we waited until he appeared onstage (thank God, it was near the end of the festival) and booked. We knew we weren't missing anything.
| by Anonymous | reply 125 | July 11, 2016 6:29 PM |
I'm actually not a hipster, R124, pretentious or otherwise. I'm simply old enough to have been a fan of the McGarrigles years before one of them was (arguably) better known for being Rufus Wainwright's mother. I bought their first album when it was new (1975?)
| by Anonymous | reply 126 | July 11, 2016 6:32 PM |
I've been a fan of Loudon for 20+ years now, he's a fantastic songwriter, with an underrated singing voice. Feel like he's kind of overlooked as one of the great popular music songwriters.
| by Anonymous | reply 127 | July 11, 2016 6:54 PM |
Where to start on Loudon Wainwright, R127? What is his "Pet Sounds"?
| by Anonymous | reply 128 | July 11, 2016 6:56 PM |
I hung around him a little back in 2000-2002, when he was a regular at Phoenix bar in the east village. The place was kind of a luminary hotspot then. It was where you'd see Stephen Merritt writing songs on cocktail napkins for what would become the album "i". And Drea De Matteo and her posse of very hot ladies could be spotted there on any given Saturday night.
Anyway, Rufus was a pompous fucking prick. Not towards me (I was fucking a friend of his)...but to other people who tried to engage him. He snarked and snickered at young guys who chatted him up. Or he would let them buy him a drink and then hiss "Oh what, Im supposed to sit here and talk to you now?"
Yeah yeah, it was at the height of his drug addiction so I guess he should be given a pass. But I kept thinking to myself "these people SUCK, what am I doing here?" He really made being loathsome seem so effortless that it actually inspired me to stop going out so much and get my life together. So I disappeared and did just that.
For what it's worth I hear he is much nicer now.
| by Anonymous | reply 129 | July 11, 2016 7:05 PM |
[quote] Stephen Merritt
Speaking of pretentious twats.....
| by Anonymous | reply 130 | July 11, 2016 7:46 PM |
"Speaking of pretentious twats....."
oh yeah. that could be a whole 'nutha thread.
rufus' cunt ways were situational. this guy is one for life.
| by Anonymous | reply 131 | July 11, 2016 8:39 PM |
You, Stephen Merritt is the prissiest, cuntiest shopbottom there ever was.
Don't look at her during a concert
Don't smile
Don't laugh
Don't clap
Sit still
Smell us and leave
That's her attitude towards concert goers....
| by Anonymous | reply 132 | July 11, 2016 8:56 PM |
Sorry, that should say Yes, not You.
| by Anonymous | reply 133 | July 11, 2016 8:56 PM |
I actually like him as a singer. The only one ever to do a cover of "Free Man in Paris" that I thought did justice to it. But I wish to hell he would butch himself up, for God's sake. Feminine doesn't work on him.
| by Anonymous | reply 135 | July 11, 2016 9:09 PM |
I don't find his droning voice to be one bit feminine, R135.
| by Anonymous | reply 136 | July 11, 2016 9:12 PM |
[quote] Yeah yeah, it was at the height of his drug addiction so I guess he should be given a pass.
Sorry, that's not how it works. You're responsible legally and morally for things you do under the influence.
| by Anonymous | reply 137 | July 11, 2016 9:21 PM |
He's feminine and nasal as the day is long~
| by Anonymous | reply 138 | July 11, 2016 9:35 PM |
[quote] You're responsible legally and morally for things you do under the influence.
FUCK YOURSELF.
| by Anonymous | reply 139 | July 11, 2016 10:27 PM |
Good story, R129, thanks for sharing. Especially like the line about how he made being loathesome look so effortless you quickly reevaluated your whole life.
| by Anonymous | reply 140 | July 11, 2016 11:24 PM |
Joan Wasser is a total unmitigated irredeemable CUNT and Teddy Thompson is a much better singer-songwriter with musical geniuses for parents. Carry on.
| by Anonymous | reply 141 | July 11, 2016 11:27 PM |
When I saw Teddy Thompson live he decided to let the audience know how he was out of sorts. His voice was perfectly fine. His repertoire was as expected. I don't know if he was trying to explain his lack of warmth or stage presence but it was a vibe killer to say such a thing.
I'd take Rufus' spoiled child crap any day over Thompson Jr. fading into the background. And he's not a better songwriter than Rufus.
| by Anonymous | reply 142 | July 11, 2016 11:52 PM |
God forbid he was having on off night and admitted to it. Off with his head!
| by Anonymous | reply 143 | July 12, 2016 12:50 AM |
Teddy's own songwriting can be hit or miss, but he did an album of classic country covers (Upfront & Down Low) that I liked quite a bit. He's got a nice voice for that kind of thing.
| by Anonymous | reply 145 | July 12, 2016 12:53 AM |
r145 I like Teddy's version of "She Thinks I Still Care." I could only like it more if it were "He Thinks I Still Care."
| by Anonymous | reply 146 | July 12, 2016 12:56 AM |
Thompson does have a much nicer voice than Rufus, I'll give him that.
And there was nothing to prompt him to tell us he wasn't feeling it or whatever. It was a small club gig with an appreciative audience. No one was demanding he sing a particular song, no heckling or anything. And his material is rather downbeat so if he was having a shitty day, it would hardly make a difference to his general vibe.
A performer should never tell their audience they're going to see an off show. It's disrespectful.
| by Anonymous | reply 147 | July 12, 2016 1:01 AM |
I didn't even have the impulse to slap him viciously, so no.
Simply put, he was unengaging, wilfully so. And that's called bad.
| by Anonymous | reply 149 | July 12, 2016 1:15 AM |
Loudon has two pretty stellar albums from the 90s, History and Last Man On Earth. Some of the songs are remarkably good, yet so personal and sad that it almost feels intrusive to listen to them.
| by Anonymous | reply 150 | July 12, 2016 5:55 AM |
I will explain my comment. I don't really know Joan Wasser but I have met her. Knew of her as a member of the Johnsons (So is Julia Kent of Rasputina whom I also met after a show at Shine in Soho many years ago-a lovely woman). Was at a show in 2008 (wow eight years ago already) at the Apollo theater. Antony was performing solo on stage with musicians in the orchestra pit. Joanie was obviously not playing that night. Antony was singing a song called Another World and I started to cry. I challenge anyone to try and get through that song without weeping for our world. Who should turn around and give me one of the iciest stares I have ever encountered but good old Joan Wasser (clearly the hounds of hell are after her when the clock strikes twelve-RIP Jeff Buckley).
| by Anonymous | reply 151 | July 17, 2016 1:01 PM |
Like other posters I enjoyed his first two albums. It was a big deal at the time (late 90s) that he was an out singer-songwriter signed to a major label. Dreamworks, I think: wonder if David Geffen had him?
Around 2004 he gave a disgustingly self-pitying interview to the New York Times about his time as a meth addict. I remember the line "I've been through gay hell", as if he'd grown up in Iraq or something. Basically taking no responsibility for his fuckups, instead blaming "society" or homophobia, as if he hadn't received every advantage (including a supportive family with significant music connections) and other people didn't have it far worse. It turned me off big time.
Since then his output has been a series of gimmicks mostly piggybacking on other, more famous and talented performers: the Judy album and concert (to be reprised this year), the endlessly repeated Leonard Cohen cover, the baby with Leonard Cohen's daughter, and so on.
| by Anonymous | reply 152 | July 17, 2016 2:14 PM |
Well put r152 . Thanks for writing that post so I don't have to feel guilty and apologize for my earlier comment that seemed dismissive of an out gay talented musician who really was great and admired by many fans myself included.
| by Anonymous | reply 153 | July 17, 2016 2:26 PM |
I get taking umbrage at Rufus' "gay hell" shtick but all that tabloid stuff (including TV docs) got Rufus real attention in the UK, to the point that's he's had high charting albums in the UK.
I think he's talented so I'm happy at that measure of commercial success.
And his interviews haven't been nonstop self pity. There's always that admitted arrogance there and implication that his self image as an artist fueled some of his excesses. It's no coincidence that he chose to cover Chelsea hotel.
Didn't he talk about the drugs giving rise to thoughts about abusing kids? That's pretty ballsy to admit and rather risky if one aims to merely make a name for oneself to plug music.
| by Anonymous | reply 154 | July 17, 2016 3:33 PM |
Has anyone here fucked him?
| by Anonymous | reply 155 | August 9, 2016 12:39 AM |
He claims to have been raped...should we believe him?
| by Anonymous | reply 156 | August 9, 2016 12:40 AM |
[quote]Didn't he talk about the drugs giving rise to thoughts about abusing kids?
Wait, what??? Come on, don't just lob a bomb like that and then walk away without explanation. You're saying Rufus has been quoted as saying that his drug use turned him into a... theoretical pedophile??? Source, please.
| by Anonymous | reply 157 | August 9, 2016 1:13 AM |
Agreed Martha isn't very good. Without the famous surname. She also makes a horrible talking head, doesn't say anything of substance, usual left-y vagueness. And don't get me started on Rufus' "My Drug Hell" schtick. As bad as Lily Allen.
| by Anonymous | reply 158 | August 9, 2016 11:36 AM |
I used to see him at the Cock when it was still on Ave A. Always high, back and forth from the back room. I think I saw him get fucked back there once, but he was usually just a staggering mess.
| by Anonymous | reply 159 | August 9, 2016 11:50 AM |
I came in him during a pretty once.
| by Anonymous | reply 160 | August 9, 2016 11:59 AM |
Meant: pretty fun orgy once
| by Anonymous | reply 161 | August 9, 2016 12:00 PM |
Did he smell, R160? B.O., right?
| by Anonymous | reply 162 | August 9, 2016 3:32 PM |
Give us more details, R160!
| by Anonymous | reply 163 | August 27, 2016 11:45 PM |
I've always been more of a fan of Kate and Anna than Rufus.
| by Anonymous | reply 164 | August 28, 2016 1:28 AM |
I think they all suck. But I have taste.
| by Anonymous | reply 165 | August 28, 2016 1:58 AM |
Didn't he write a song about Brandon Flowers?
| by Anonymous | reply 168 | May 13, 2017 3:39 PM |
Rufus was so much fun when he was a drunk meth head. His intimate shows at (the old) Largo in LA were so much fun. I mean, good for him for getting healthy and getting a husband and kid and all, but, GOD, is his music dull now. He's rarely had a good song, let alone album, since Poses.
| by Anonymous | reply 169 | May 13, 2017 5:34 PM |
Gosh, I just totally disagree with most of the hating here. I really love Rufus, still, and think he's gotten more interesting, experimental, deep, and gay in recent years. Not everything works, but he's a real artist.
| by Anonymous | reply 170 | May 13, 2017 6:30 PM |
I saw him play in NYC a decade ago. The most boring concert ever. Each song sounded just like the others. Slow and lumbering.
| by Anonymous | reply 171 | May 13, 2017 8:05 PM |
I can forgive him for a lot because of 1) San Souci, 2) Tulsa, 3) Dinner at Eight and 4) his cover of Hallelujah.
| by Anonymous | reply 172 | May 13, 2017 9:40 PM |
His first two albums are absolute gems. The third has some wonderful moments, but after that he really lost the plot. He lost the chamber approach and tried to get too bombastic and he just doesn't have the chops (vocally or stage presence'lly) to pull off BIG songs. His style of playing the piano was always flowery -- his mother would apparently admonish him for it -- but underneath all that floweriness were brilliantly structured songs. There's not much craft in his recent work, though.
I mean, remember when he could write something so subtle, so strangely beautiful as 'Barcelona'? I had no idea, until years later, that the song was about AIDS and his own fear of becoming positive after being raped. For whatever reason, today, he doesn't seem capable of writing something as interesting and emotionally complex as this. And he wrote this when he was, what? 24?
It's a shame he didn't keep working with the wonderful Jon Brion (who produced his first album). I think Brion knew how to reign in his excesses without diluting his queerness.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 174 | May 14, 2017 10:33 AM |
RW won me over for life when I saw him in a small venue ten years ago for the "Release The Stars" album, a show which ended with ended (sensationally) with excerpts from the Judy show.
What's endearing is the fact that his high talent is almost enough to fulfil his huge ambition: excellent original songs, a keen interest in every genre, writing opera, going the distance with the whole Judy show, touring incessantly.
Artists of such protean interests usually put out clunkers among the gems, and the gems make it all worthwhile. I like his passion and range, and the fact that he's always restlessly reaching. Fine body of work already, more good stuff to come for sure.
| by Anonymous | reply 175 | May 14, 2017 2:15 PM |
Isn't this thread supposed to be about gossip? It has become "why I love/hate Rufus Wainwright".
| by Anonymous | reply 176 | May 14, 2017 5:31 PM |
But I want to know what he's like in bed. Top/bottom? And just how bad were his methhead days?
| by Anonymous | reply 177 | May 14, 2017 11:16 PM |
Has anyone met his husband, aside from the poster above who used to be neighbors with them?
| by Anonymous | reply 178 | May 15, 2017 12:37 AM |
But, there's probably not that much gossip these days. He's married, settled down, has a kid, lives on the coast, tours a lot. We all know about his past -- meth addict, blacking out as orgies where dozens of guys fucked him in one night. Now, the scandals probably involve the kid spilling his juice box in the back of the Volvo.
| by Anonymous | reply 179 | May 15, 2017 12:49 AM |
Well what is some of the old gossip about him? Did anyone meet him during his party days? What was he like?
Was he really the type to black out at an orgy?
| by Anonymous | reply 180 | May 16, 2017 1:03 AM |
I'm watching the Judy Garland episode of "Too Young to Die" and he claims Judy babysat his father in Beverly Hills. Bullshit. His father was born in 1946 according to Wikipedia. He wants us to believe Judy herself was babysitting a neighbor's child after WoO/MMISL and the birth of Liza?! What a blowhard.
| by Anonymous | reply 182 | March 11, 2019 5:26 AM |
Met him and found him to be absolutely charming, very down to earth. He was much taller than I expected and also extremely handsome (sexy) up close. So suck it haters.
| by Anonymous | reply 183 | March 11, 2019 7:58 AM |
