Just out., August 17, 2007, Page 37, Image 37

AUGUST 17, 2007
¡UStlOUt.37
Can't Stop the Music
You're never too old to learn
ast August, 1 had a midlife crisis.
“Don’t be silly,” my partner Marc said.
“You’re too old." 1 responded in the time-
honored way: 1 bought a convertible. It’s
not very practical for Oregon, but no one
can be in a bad m-xxl in a convertible.
As I tooled around town, cranking the runes in
my new Mini Cooper, 1 noticed how often people
talk to me when I’ve got the top down. One after­
noon, with Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love"
blaring from the Bose, a young woman waiting at
a bus stop exclaimed, “My mother loves that song.”
And that’s when it hit me. Not only was 1 middle-
aged, my musical tastes stopped developing in 1986.
So, I embarked on the Floyd Music Project, ask­
ing everyone I met to name their favorite artist and
album. The music didn’t need to be current; it just
needed to be new to me. As it turned out, just about
everything post-disco qualified.
So, at James Surgeon and Bill Tolbert’s swelle-
gant garden party, Alex Godinez proudly announced
that Duran Duran’s second album, Rio, helped him
lose eight pounds in six weeks. Eduardo Hernandez
and Nelson Sanjuan listen to Mika, a Lebanese pop
singer with a vocal range of five octaves who, accord­
ing to Nelson (and the critics), “sounds just like
Freddie Mercury." In March, the sexually ambiguous
Mika, who would be in bold if he stopped being so
coy about his preference, reported receiving death
threats from fans because he won’t admit he’s gay.
Stephen Baugh showed off his pearlescent toe­
nails (“Monster frost is my signature color,” he says)
and told me he loves José Gonzalez’s debut album,
Veneer. “It’s gorgeous,” he enthused. “His voice is
high and clear, simple and authentic." Robert Witt
was also there, although we didn’t talk about music.
“Wait ’til I’ve had a few drinks, and then I’ll tell
you my coming-out story,” he promised. Next time,
Robert. Unfortunately, 1 couldn’t wait because
Matt Neupcrt’s 24th birthday celebration was
about to begin.
In Karl Rohde’s stylish loft, a small group of close
friends gathered to toast Matty before getting toasted
at the bars. The birthday boy admitted Sheryl Crow’s
self-titled album is his favorite because “she does both
fun and thoughtful, reflective songs.” Karl, who has
just been hired as a lobbyist by the Bicycle
Transportation Alliance, insisted I hear alt-country
group Old 97’s Satellite Rides, which reminded me of
Fountains of Wayne, a power pop group introduced
to me by Marc Kochanski. Matt Worlock listened to
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Out Going
BY FLOYD SKLAVER
Björk ’s Greatest Hits as he traveled through Europe on
a Eurail pass. And, speaking of travel, Ron Pitt plans
to bring British soul and jazz singer Amy Winehouse
on his iPod when he heads to Bali with a group from
Portland that includes Jerome Guillen, Mark
Dowers and tour organizer Chee Choy.
My quest continued the next day at Our House of
Portland’s anniversary celebration, where Christian
Messner, whose tastes range from Nelly Furtado to
Annie Lennox, confided: “When I was younger, I got
caught up in the heat. Now that I’m older, I can hear
the lyrics.” Nathan Buck likes alternative female
singer/songwriters. Tori Amos is his cunent favorite
because “she combines voice and piano with great
political messages.”
When Greg Smoots isn’t teaching yoga, he lis­
tens to classical or Celtic music. For the past 10 years,
he’s been learning to play Scottish fiddle. Bill Space
listens to opera (Le Nozze di Figaro is his current
favorite) because he loves the “outsized emotions, big
voices and total lack of subtlety.’’ His partner of 17
years, Allen Brady, who works at Our House, loves
Scissor Sisters’ self-titled first album, as do 1, thanks
to Just Out’s Jaymee Cuti, who introduced me to the
indie band. (Incidentally, Scissor Sisters were named
after the lesbian sex position that’s also called touch­
ing tacos.)
Speaking of indie bands, both A Fine Frenzy
and Sean Lennon opened for Rufus Wainwright
recently in Portland, which meant the main event
wouldn’t start until almost 11 p.m. 1 wanted to go,
hut who can stay up that late on a weeknight?
You’ve got to be younger than middle-aged to be
that Out Going.
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Floyd in his new Mini Cooper.
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