Do queer singers have a responsibility to sing about queer things? According to Jake Shears and his Scissor Sisters, no. The American popsters recently sat down with Me-me-me to discuss the art of queering it up. Or, rather, not queering it up.

Debating whether or not the band's so-called queerness informs their music, Shears insists,

I think it’s shaped our aesthetic. There are no gay lyrics, it’s all totally coded. If you’re looking for a gay message, you totally have to dig.

I’m not interested in singing about gay people... I wanted the music to be accessible. I don’t want to appeal to just a tenth of the population.

The interviewer presses the issue, explaining that straight people identify with "straight" music, so it follows that gay people should be able to identify with 'gay" music. To this the openly gay Shears claims that being gay is but a mere part of his identity and admits that he finds queer-centric tunes to be a bit of a bore...

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Let's start this week on a high note, shall we? And ain't nothing as high as Beyonce's dress in his video for "Get Me Bodied" of B'Day.

We have the exact same piece, but the NYPD asked us to retire the look after it proved too short to accommodate, if you know what we mean. And we think you do...

The sounds a bit wonky, so we're also including the pop star's "Upgrade You" featuring her main squeeze, Jay-Z. After the jump, of course...

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• If there's one thing lesbians love, it's ladies. Yep, they're all about the chicks. So, of course the sappho-journos over at AfterEllen were all over the Shakira/Beyonce mega-collaboration, "Beautiful Liar". We've reposted the video after the jump, but you should head over and see what the girls had to say. "Sometimes, it’s difficult to distinguish Beyoncé from Shakira and Shakira from Beyoncé. But, really, who’s complaining?" Sluts. [AfterEllen]

• Now this is slutty: NYC Man seeks all of Hell's Kitchen. [craigslist]

• But the ladies at The View think Paris Hilton's the biggest slut of all. She's so slutty, in fact, that she could feasibly have sex with a horse. That's what Joy Behar says... [BWE]

• Peter Tatchell doesn't think London Mayor Ken Livingstone's a slut, but he does think he needs to check himself before wrecks himself. Livingstone implied that Tatchell's an Islamophobe. Tatchell says, "That ain't so, buster!"

• Michael Savage may be a total homophobe prick, but he's going to make CAA lots of money. [TMZ]

• Playboy TV is dead! Oh, dead god, no! Playboy TV is dead!! How ever will we go on? Oh, well,, we'll just have to use the internet. Like everybody else. [Jossip]

• The Black Party's Back. And this time it's holy. [Saint At Large]

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Remember Greg Garnici - the man who brought us the Best Week Ever-winning Parodic Beyonce Video? Well, he's just sent us this video. It's a special holiday message from Britney Spears, Prince and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Okay, it's actually Lilliana Stankovic, Scarnici and Desiree Cobb, respectively, but the holidays are all about fantasy, right?

If you want to see the unedited version, head over to Greg's website

Beyonce may be young, rich, talented, famous and gorgeous, but that doesn't mean she doesn't yearn for more. Like what? Well, like the undying love of the world's homosexuals.

Those crazy kids from here! (the other gay television network, i.e. not Logo) caught up with Ms. Knowles at last night's Dreamgirls premiere. As true queer journalists, they got to the meat of the matter:

HERE TV – “How do you feel about being a gay icon?”
BEYONCE – “It’s definitely my goal, and my dream.”
HERE TV – “To be a gay icon?”
BEYONCE – “Oh absolutely. That’s the ultimate thing I could be. That’s the ultimate compliment for me.”

Survival of the shameless: that's the name of the publishing world game. And HX features editor Brandon Voss may be one of the most shameless people we know. Aside from a few public displays of sluttery, he just sent us his interview with former American Idol contestant and one of the stars of Dreamgirls, Jennifer Hudson.

In addition to chatting about her gaggle of gay friends, how she spends her dough and coos about her boyfriend, Hudson lobbs a bit of bitchiness:

HX: Had you won American Idol, do you think you’d still be where you are now?

Jennifer Hudson: Not at all. It’s like a fate thing - Idol was for Fantasia and Dreamgirls was for me.

As for Voss - he may be shameless, but we still love him. Sometimes.

The more we thought about yesterday's report about how Beyonce and Eva Longoria will be starring in the Sofia Coppola adaptation of Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, the more excited we got.

Sure, we thought it a bit of an odd match-up, but the prospect of injecting a little color (if you will) into the book seemed pretty radical to us. But now Eva Longoria's gone and ruined it all by saying she's not in the movie. Nor, it seems is Beyonce.

Pretty heart breaking stuff, no? Well, here's a quote from People Magazine. That is, if you can read through the tears.

Longoria says the rumor, which she has seen repeated on numerous Web sites and even on television, started about a week ago – before she had ever even met Knowles. Many of the false reports also alleged that Sofia Coppola had been tapped to direct the film.

Since this deal's non-existent, we'd like to suggest an alternate dream team: Rosie O'Donnell and Bea Arthur directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

What? Hitchcock's dead? Even better!

Ug, that last story really brought us down. Luckily, we have the perfect pick-me-up (no, not cocaine): Greg Scarnici.

Remember good ol' Greg? No? Well, he's the genius who brought us the parodic Beyonce video that scored him a spot on VH1's Best Week Ever (actually, if we remember correctly, he had the best week ever according to those sarcastic scamps).

Anyway, this new offering lampoons Madonna's ever-evolving look, sound and scandals. Do yourself a favor and have a laugh. You know you need it.

For more of Scarnici's demented videos, check out his website

We've never read Tipping The Velvet by Sarah Waters, but we were just discussing it last night, which makes the discovery of this story all the more surprising.

Apparently Beyonce Knowles and Eva Longoria have signed on to play repressed lesbian lovers in Sofia Coppola's big-screen adaptation of the novel. Those of you familiar with the text (or the BBC version) know that things get pretty sexy, including a scene in which one of the characters gets fucked with a strap-on. Of course, as pioneering career women, Longoria and Knowles are jumping at the opportunity.

Beyoncé and Eva are said to be incredibly excited about the steamy love scenes and can't wait for filming on the project to start.

A source revealed: "They weren't at all coy about the sex scenes. In fact they both seemed to think it would be more fun than doing the same work with a man. It's going to be very hot."

(Oh, and in case you don't know: "tipping the velvet" is code for cunnilingus.)

By now you've probably seen the video for Beyonce's single, "Ring the Alarm," in which she lets it all hang out and goes a bit berzerk. Well, Greg Scarnici, a film maker from New York, has made a bit of a spoof.

While we've never met Mr. Scarnici, he was kind enough to share the video with us. And, in turn, we're sharing it with you. Pass 2:37 of what's most likely an arduously slow Friday afternoon and have a laugh. You deserve it.

We especially enjoyed the dancing related injuries. See for yourself, after the jump.

And, of course, check out Greg Scarnici's website to find out more about him and his work.

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Forgive her "Deju Vu," won't you? Beyonce's new album B'Day actually does carry some worthwhile tracks, even if her stabs at radio play are anything but impressive ("Ring The Alarm" is a step in the right direction). Let us point you to "Get Me Bodied," a guaranteed hit if only daddy Matthew Knowles released it as a single. B'Day also includes a remix of the track, which turns a hot beat into a sizzling one. Hear for yourself, below.

Download (or live stream) the track here

Even though it looks like she is being enveloped by a giant gold lamee anus, Beyonce still looks good here on the cover of France's Maximal magazine. We think it's like Maxim, except without the airbrushed nipples. Between these nice photos and her totally nuts performance in her latest video, Beyonce is about to win back our hearts.

See a couple more photos from the shoot after the jump.

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