Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (Aug. 3, 2007)

MESSAGE TO SELF: NO THREESOMES AFTER MARRIAGE
Last week, Island Records announced that Melissa Etheridge's ninth studio album (her first since Lucky in 2004), titled The Awakening, will be released on Sept. 25. In the press release, Melissa explains: "The album is my story and my journey. I hope that it will ring universally. I began to retrace the path of my own American dream: from my early years in California in the '80s, to my dream for fame and fortune and my sad realization of the false images that lead so many of us into misery."

If that sounds like a downer, don't forget that the album is called The Awakening — I'm betting there's a light at the end of the tunnel. (Plus there's a track called "Threesome," which the press release describes as "a country-rocker that is unlikely to be covered by Carrie Underwood." Ha! Jokes in a press release!) 

The album's first single, "Message to Myself," just hit the airwaves, and you can watch the video of it here. Billboard describes the song as "Etheridge's most accessible track since 2004's signature 'Come to My Window'" and declares, "It has hit smeared all over it." After watching the video, I had to admit the song is extremely catchy — I had the chorus running through my head after hearing it only once.

But my first thoughts after hearing the single weren't about its hit potential; they were: What's up with Melissa's hair? It's long again! OK, it's in a shaggy shoulder-length do, but I dug Melissa with the short hair — and it was short just a few weeks ago at Live Earth. Is she wearing a wig in this video?

My second thought: Hey, that's Tammy Lynn! And now her hair's short (again)! Yes, Melissa's wife makes a couple of appearances in the video, giving Melissa a cute peck on the cheek and oozing out that "I'm so happy I'm married to you" vibe. It actually made me go "aww." And that's what the video (and the song) is kind of about: love.

The chorus couldn't get any clearer: "I'm sending out a message to myself/So that when I hear it on the radio/I will know that I am loved." It's obvious that Melissa's in a happy place these days, even though she's busy fighting the destruction of our planet through global warming, and honestly, I kinda like it. It could be cheesy, sure, but sometimes it's nice to have an overtly positive message that is obviously sincere. She's not trying to be sappy about anything; she's clearly experiencing joy.

Now's the time for me to make a sarcastic joke, but maybe all that meditation I've been doing has finally sunk in. Congratulations on the new album, Melissa! Glad to see you're doing so well. And I do have a question for you: Who's involved in that threesome, anyway?

LESBIAN QUOTE OF THE WEEK
I just got the CD single for Valeria's pop/dance tune "Girl I Told Ya" in the mail today. If you don't remember who Valeria is, check out her lesbotastic video here, or watch a behind-the scenes video here. Along with the CD single came an accompanying press release in which Valeria explains a bit about why she went in that interesting direction in her video:

"My video is fun and irreverent, with a wink. I mean, who are we without our girlfriends? ... at the very least to practice on from time to time, right?"

I've often thought the very same thing, Valeria.