Jay Brannan's interview

This guy is so much like me! NO NO - not in terms of looks (of course he is drop dead gorgeous and I am just the opposite), but in his outlook - be it his masochistic attitude or his hatred at 'branding himself as gay'. Read the interview to know better. The important lines in green.

Jay Brannan interview - Shortbus star gets intimate

Because your album is so confessional, do people get obsessed with you?

All the time. Obsessed is an extreme word, but I get a lot of emails and people always want to hang out.

Have you ever met up with them?
I have a couple of times, but it never goes well because I never live up to the expectations they’ve created. It actually inspired At First Sight, one of the songs on the album.

Your CD is like 90s coffee shop folk – since we’re in the thrall of the 80s, that puts you ahead of trend
I really am into 90s women such as Lisa Loeb, but I never tried to emulate her. My inspirations are anger, frustration and sadness.

How old are you?
26 years old. Ha ha, is it too late?

No, you might grow out of it
I don’t want to grow out of it. Happiness is overrated and possibly fictional.

Why do you hate yourself so much in your songs?
You know what? My way of dealing with it is to express it constantly, and that’s what keeps me from killing myself. Are you repulsed by that?

Not at all, on record it’s totally charming. How easy was it growing up gay in Texas?
It’s always hard being anything that isn’t totally socially acceptable in Texas. I graduated high school in three years [instead of the usual four] because I wanted to get the f*** out of there.

Any Brokeback fantasies or realities?
I haven’t seen it. It’s a love story and a western, two things I would never go see.

Can I bill you as the first genuine gay heartthrob?
No, I will kill you! You bill me with anything with the word “gay” in it and I’ll slap you in the teeth. I hate wearing it on my face as some kind of title. “Gay” has become its own industry and I won’t be pushed into that.

(Think I hit a raw nerve here)
What was the phrase again? “Genuine gay heartthrob” – I guess I could live with that, not that I’m a heartthrob. I heard the word gay and I freaked out. I don’t want to be a professional gay, but your question was different from that.

I’m sorry.
Don’t be sorry.