So, what are our thoughts on our favourite pouty man? How does Want; Two compare to Want; One and how do they tie in together?

After one first listen, Want; Two sounds more even, less ethereal than One. It's more firm.

Waiting For A Dream jumps at me as my first favourite. I love Little Sister too. I love the way Wainwright incorporates that faery magical sound into his music, totally befitting his witty lyrics.

www.allmusicguide.com says;

Picking up where Want One left off, Rufus Wainwright's Want Two is a deeply introspective, sometimes kinky, and often personally critical set of mini-operettas that ruminate on his various relationships, drug abuse, and image in the media. Metaphorically liturgical and often classical in sound, Want Two touches on such inner-related themes as love, loneliness, sin, and sacrifice.

It's more focused than Want One and as such packs more of a wallop both musically and emotionally. On the cover of Want One, Wainwright appeared as a chivalrous knight in armor, bringing to mind the conquering crusader — Sir Gawain the gay knight? Conversely, on Want Two he appears as a dark-haired maiden — the suicidal Ophelia? The imagery not only speaks to the campy and loaded cliché of the male-and-female, yin-and-yang drive of the gay male persona, but more importantly how one's personal desires are often sacrificed because of public successes.

Never one to shy away from personal issues, Wainwright deals explicitly with how his sexuality has affected his life and career, not merely as a gay man but as a burgeoning gay icon with a complex desire to both embrace and ignore all that entails.
This is no more apparent than on the album centerpiece, the iconoclastic "Gay Messiah," in which Wainwright both mocks gay pop culture and laments his ability to live up to his fan base's desire for a artistic hero in the culture wars. He sings, "He will be reborn/From 1970s porn/Wearing tube socks with style/And such an innocent smile," and later, "No it will not be me/Rufus the Baptist I be."

Similarly, on the opening track, "Agnus Dei," he croons, "Agnus dei/Qui tollis peccata mundi/Dona nobis pacem." Translated it means, "Lamb of God/Who takest away the sins of the world/Grant us peace." It's Wainwright's most direct plea for both personal and public absolution and helps leave the impression of an artist attempting to find emotional buoyancy in the often perilous waters of both the music business and the dating scene. Musically, Wainwright has never seemed more in command of his muse.

References to Nilsson, Brian Wilson, and Randy Newman are a matter of course, but Wainwright's growth as a pop craftsman with his own unique lyrical voice — both conceptually and literally — makes such comparisons unnecessary. To these ends, lush string orchestras, cheery choirs, and piping horn sections decorate the impeccably scored album and perfectly complement Wainwright's swooning vocals. Taken as a whole, Want One and Want Two work well together as a sprawling and ambitious double album that is camp, serious, and utterly compelling.

usually i think a song is good if i want to sing it myself on stage.

THE ART TEACHER is a song i desperately want to sing.

dawntreader said:

"There I was in uniform...."

*sigh*

i still want to sing CIGARETTES AND CHOCOLATEMILK too.

downloaded it, and have been meaning to buy it, but just haven't gotten around to it (and haven't even listened to the mp3's).


but i wasn't impressed with the 3 songs on the Waiting For A Want EP, so i hope they're not representative of the entire album. they were just too dull and snoozy.

i have to say upon my first few listens want 2 is my least favorite rufus release. that's not to say i dislike it because i actually enjoy some moments very much (little sister, this love affair, the one you love, and old whore's diet are just too great for words!). there's just, in my opinion, some awful moments as well. gay messiah is ridiculous...i can't tell if he's making commentary on gay culture or religion or both...its just too sloppy for me. the art teacher is possibly rufus's worst song to date. i actually laughed during the bit where he tries to sing about the met (and is this a song about jane fonda?!?) because it just sounds SO forced...and bad. i also don't care for how the record, as a whole, flows. i think its very sloppy (and there's that word again).

maybe in time it will pick up for me but that's never been an issue with rufus before. i'll probably just take the tracks i like and load them to my ipod.

it's just so much effort to listen to this album.... I don't know why....

SassyBritches said:

well and that's my favourite ! that is funny and i guess it goes to show that opinions are really based on taste.

what would be your favourite from Ruf Sassy ?

SassyBritches said:

I was not much aware of him until Want One and working my way back. What I like about the two albums is the way he works with words, which I admire.

The music of Want One was sophisticated, which liked, with influences that made me want to listen to Joni for a while somehow. I like tunes like Vibrate, where he mixes a classical musical track with modern lyrics.
The song that got me was I Don't Know What It Is, with it's Beatle-esque melody.

I am very aware of the attention span I can muster for his voice though. I need to be in a mood. Slightly drama-esque. Don't care much for Gay Messiah songs...

i think THE GAY MESSIAH is a good song too. but i like gay porn a lot.

dawntreader said:

So do I. Liked it live though, but like it less on record.

GooeyTheHamster said:

i know

we watched it together.

(the porn and the show for that matter)

dawntreader said:

I need new porn.

He Aint Heavy, He's My Brother

Where does it come from? On which album is it?

GooeyTheHamster said:

you can borrow.

GooeyTheHamster said:

it's on the zoolander soundtrack !

(bad bad boy edit !)
[Edited 12/24/04 14:41pm]

GooeyTheHamster said:

it's on the Zoolander soundtrack.

GrayKing said:

Thanks! I thought that only had 80's originals!

GrayKing said:

ah great another soundtrack i have to buy because of mister Wainwright.

I think it's actually my favorite of his yet! Want One was too reaching-to-be-epic that I thought it sort of stumbled under its own heavy expectations. Plus the songs sounded too samey-samey. This one is varied, funny, loose, folky, gorgeous. It's such a nice collection of moods, and he doesn't let too much bad programming fuss it up either. It's neck and neck with Poses, but I think this one's better.

dawntreader said:

ever? hmmm...that's too hard. i LOVE rufus's body of work...too hard to pick a favorite out of all those lovely sounds. off of this album...it would be premature to say a favorite but i can say its one of the four i mentioned above. i need to listen to this cd more...luckily i have an 18 hour flight tomorrow morning so i will have plenty of time to listen (not to mention read several of the many books i've started).

GooeyTheHamster said:

i love that he released the record as two pieces. the first being more approachable and poppy while this new one is more on the experimental side. maybe that's why i need some time with this one...it may take a while to fully digest so to speak.

SassyBritches said:

well have a good trip ! and then lemme know...

you should play HEJIRA by Joni on your trip.

who the friggin' hell is that cute guy in your avie ?

dawntreader said:

mmmm...that would be jonathan rhys meyers...

SassyBritches said:

googling as we speak!

(why don't i know him?)

dawntreader said:

of course i know him i have seen VELVET GOLD MINE didn't i!

pretty things, so what if i like pretty things...

I got it for xmas. Can't wait to listen.

I have already heard The Art Teacher, and it's pretty fab.