How many of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day with a special love? Aw, good for you. While you're still hooked on the feeling and high on believing, revisit our celebration of love songs and have a nice weekend.

Now, how many of you got dumped yesterday, right on the buttocks? If so, you have plenty of company. According to canada.com, six million people break up on Valentine's Day. And even more break up in the two weeks leading up to February 14.

OK, I know that doesn't help much. But the fact is that most, if not all, of us have had a bad breakup that devastated us or royally pissed us off — or both. And that's the beauty of breakup songs. They're written by people who have been stepped on, lied to, cheated on and treated like dirt. So no matter how alone you feel, you always have musical company. In fact, let's help out Alice with the track scribe suggested for the breakup scene with Tasha. (For you young'uns, this is The 5th Dimension.)

My favorite breakup songs tend to be of the angry variety. I confess, every Valentine's Day I commemorate a Very Special Breakup by singing "I'm the Only One" along with Melissa, at the top of my lungs.

Ah, the sweet pill of bitterness. You never forget your first cheater.

Another good top-of-your-lungs number is an oldie, but goodie, from Nancy Sinatra. Are ya ready, boots? Start walkin'. … continue reading

Admittedly, I've been kind of cynical about love songs since a girlfriend gave me a Tuck & Patti cassette (yes, cassette) and said she wanted "You Take My Breath Away" to be "our song."

I was newly out and a novice in all things lesbian (well, most things lesbian), so I put aside my qualms about choosing a song in such a non-organic manner, thinking that perhaps this was The Sapphic Way. But Tuck & Patti's version of "My Romance" completely swept me off my feet, so I suggested we adopt it instead. GF acted affronted at the suggestion and said she really loved her choice. Well, OK. After we broke up, I learned that she gave that recording to each of her girlfriends and "My Romance" had already been allotted to a previous GF. That's the story of, the glory of, love.

That said, Entertainment Weekly's list of the top 25 love songs doesn't do much to inspire me. I mean, the No. 1 song, the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" is the theme song to the No. 1 show about polygamy, Big Love.

Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" (No. 2) is better, although, at the risk of incurring all sorts of wrath, I like UB40's version better. But the first song on EW's list that I can really get down with is Aretha Franklin's "You Make Me Feel," which ranks fourth. … continue reading

It's January. Election Day is ten months away. Yet the campaign has been underway for several months already. And as expected, I am already bored with it. I have no idea who I will vote for come November, and I likely won't know until I actually cast my vote behind the little curtain of my portable voting booth. What I do know is that the face of Chuck Norris was grinning at me from behind Mike Huckabee when he congratulated himself on a victory in the Iowa caucuses last week. And I asked myself, "What the hell is Chuck Norris doing in Iowa? And why does he look like a life-sized plastic cutout of himself?"

I'm guessing you may be asking yourself a similar question right now. Namely, what the hell does this have to do with women in entertainment? Well, Chuck Norris' plastic mug got me thinking about the role of celebrity in politics. Politics is one big popularity contest, after all, the likes of which many of us dreaded in junior high. So, does having a celebrity by your side actually get you anywhere in politics? Actually being a celebrity worked well for Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. But does having the vocal support of Oprah Winfrey and Halle Berry actually do anything for Barack Obama come election day?

There has to be something to this celebrity endorsement thing, right? It's not like Obama is the only one with big name celebs lining up to offer support, usually in the form of money and publicity, which inevitably generates more money, which may or may not win someone the White House. Rudy Giuliani has the support of some 1970s pinup girls in the form of Bo Derek and Cheryl Ladd. No word on whether the rest of the angels view him as a perfect 10 or not. … continue reading

Some things just naturally go together. Chocolate and peanut butter. Ebony and ivory. Laurel and Hardy. Other stuff, well, it needs a little more explanation. Like, I’ve always been a little confused by the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. It’s not that I think the winners of the Peace Prize don't deserve a good show. Quite the contrary. But I’ve been somewhat intrigued by the lineups in the past. What, exactly, do pop megasuperstars have to do with world peace?

Since it began in 1994, some of the hottest international performers have played the concert to honor the winners of one most respected international awards. This year the lineup includes Melissa Etheridge, Kylie Minogue, Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox and KT Tunstall. The show was hosted by Uma Thurman and Kevin Spacey. Great lineup. Cool hosts. But I’m still perplexed. Should we now change it to "all we are saying is give Uma a chance"? … continue reading

Believe it or not, 2007 is quickly winding down. The new year will be upon us before you know it. As a result, I am currently trying to decide which new calendar will adorn my sparsely decorated cubicle in the coming year. Really, the idea of shopping around for a new calendar is the fault of Sporty, Posh and the rest of the Spice Girls. They will not be adorning my walls, but news of their new 2008 calendar is what prompted my train of thought.

Sure, they're not horrible to look at or anything, but the two-month reunion tour will be more than enough Spice Girls for me. A full 12 months would just be overkill in my world. Paris Hilton has a 2008 calendar too, but any time spent with her would be too much for me.

Instead, I'm thinking something more along the lines of Battlestar Galactica or The L Word. The only problem is, while my cubicle is sparsely decorated, I have room for only one 2008 calendar. And frankly, the options are almost endless. So, instead of shelling out my hard-earned cash for something published by someone else, I decided to create my own calendar for 2008. And what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't share my latest brainstorm with all of you? (A non-working one, that's what kind.) So, for your perusal and enjoyment, here is Siege's 2008 wall calendar.

January — Melissa Etheridge

Her voice alone would keep me warm on a cold January night in the Midwest, and frankly, it has. Oh, to be the lucky farm girl who gets to curl up next to this every night. … continue reading

My friends John Polly and Colin Schoenberger over at the Logo pop culture blog NewNowNext.com have started doing their own weekly video blog called NewNowNext Noise, in which they discuss the latest music news and releases, and some general pop culture stuff from a gay angle.

In this episode, they were joined by friends Robin and Francine to discuss Jennifer Lopez, Melissa Etheridge's new album, and the train wreck that will be the Tila Tequila show (Francine's a fan, Robin not so much).

Funny banter, debate over which J.Lo song is the best/worst, and cute queer women? More please!

Watch it here now: … continue reading

After last night's premiere bonanza, tonight is all about the returning shows.

On CSI (CBS), we may find out whether Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) escaped from the miniature killer's clutches. We still won't know what she ever saw in Grissom.

On The Office (CBS), Michael thinks the office is cursed. The first four episodes this season are hour-long Pam-apaloozas. (No, they don't really focus on Pam, but I will.) … continue reading

I'm a visual person. I think in images. I can't really help it. It just happens. I'll be sitting at my desk or driving around town and something I hear will cause an image to pop into my head. Usually, such images spring to life when I hear a song from a movie soundtrack. For example, Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me" causes Ally Sheedy and the Breakfast Club gang to appear in my brain. Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" causes visions of John Cusack's boom-box serenade for Ione Skye in Say Anything to dance through my memory. I try hard to avoid Celine Dion, but at least when I hear "My Heart Will Go On," Kate Winslet appears to make it all better.

The other day, while driving aimlessly about town, I was listening to one of my homemade CDs when Erasure's "A Little Respect" started playing. As always, visions of Jordana Brewster dancing with a pool cue overwhelmed my senses.

I really should keep that CD out of my car. Such images tend to make driving hazardous. In any event, it got me thinking about other tunes from lesbian-themed flicks that cause pleasant images to wander through my mind. I decided to see if I could create a playlist to keep my overactive imagination occupied for a while. Here are a few of the options I came up with. I'm hoping you can help me round out the list. I promise to keep these tunes out of the car for safe driving purposes. … continue reading

I spend most of my time hiding my iPod from Sarah since she tends to "borrow" it for my '70s, '80s and 90s music. But she recently found where I'd hidden it and teased me about one of my playlists, "Hot Rocker Chicks." What can I say, the women rockers in this playlist are hot!

Since I can't find a way to talk about hot rocker women on our video blog "She Made Me Watch This" (we only discuss TV shows and movies), I thought I'd share my Hot Rocker Chicks playlist here. As a pre-emptive disclaimer, I don't consider these guilty pleasure songs, but if that keeps me from looking too shallow, then they are!

"Kiss Me Deadly" by Lita Ford

Sarah and I were in Palm Springs with scribegrrrl when scribegrrrl posted "These '80s sisters are twisted" and added "Kiss Me Deadly." Sarah had to listen to scribegrrrl and me go on and on about how hot Lita Ford was in the video.

I'm not a fan of Sarah's guilty pleasure song, "Close My Eyes Forever" by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne — the only Lita Ford song I play and watch is "Kiss Me Deadly." Have you seen Lita slink around at the beginning of the video? She's in black. Has long, blond hair. And she's hot! I'm a sucker for blondes with long hair dressed in black (that's how Sarah got me).

Here's the video: … continue reading

Love her or loathe her (though how a person could do the latter, I don't know), it's tough to deny that Dolly Parton is one of a kind — the sort of celebrity whose unique public persona is as well known in a country kitchen as it is in an industry board room.

Since I fall squarely into the love her camp (pun adoringly intended), I've got a lot to look forward to. Last week, Parton announced that in February of 2008, she plans to release a new studio album, followed by a tour with stops in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. Add this to earlier summer news that the long-planned 9 to 5 musical is getting closer to opening curtains, and it's a darn good time to be a Parton fan. Just look at how happy she and her 1980 9 to 5 costars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda were at last year's Sexist, Egotistical, Lying Hypocritical Bigot Edition release party. … continue reading