Worth Repeating

While we are out observing Columbus Day (in other words: shopping), we’re also recycling: Here are two of our favorite recent Modern Tonic recommendations, both available now.

Jobriath/Creatures of the Street
Jobriath

The openly gay ‘70s glam artist Jobriath called himself rock’s first “True Fairy.” His music was filled with barroom glam, campy theatrics and genre-bending vocals that have inspired such queer artists as Morrissey and Neil Tennant. But his albums never charted and he died of AIDS in 1983, alone in his Chelsea Hotel room, virtually unknown. Still, his music survives. With a new set of quality reissues, it’s time to reclaim Jobriath’s sparkle from the vaults of obscurity and celebrate a true fairy ahead of his time.


The Nude Male: 21st Century Visions
David Leddick

From Abercrombie & Fitch ads to Falcon videos, images of male beauty in media are largely the same: Young, well-toned and white. Photographer David Leddick strives for more inclusion. His stunning book of photography, The Nude Male: 21st Century Visions — a compilation of more than 120 artists’ works — is an appreciation of men in all their wonderful variations. He presents thought-provoking images not traditionally thought of as attractive, which seem at home among photos of youthful, muscled men. Turns out they share a common trait which, the photos indicate, is the true source of beauty: Confidence.