The Year in Gay Music: Rufus Rocks, Sisters Soar, and more!

Best Duet

“Toyboat” by Yoko Ono with Antony

Yoko Ono gets a bad rap. But her early 2007 release, Yes, I’m a Witch conjured up a who’s-who of indie-rock tunesmiths who took dusty Ono evergreens into exciting new directions. (Look no further than electroclash rapper Peaches’ re-tinkering of “Kiss Kiss Kiss”). Dark cabaret torch singer Antony Hegarty, meanwhile, contributed his gaunt falsetto on another underrated Ono gem “Toyboat” and yielded unforeseen ethos in this childhood nursery rhyme. It was almost enough to hold us off until Antony and the Johnsons’ I Am a Bird Now follow-up, scheduled for release next year.

Best Remix

"Read My Mind" by The Killers remixed by the Pet Shop Boys

The Pet Shop Boys held back for this track off The Killers’ 2006 dud, Sam’s Town. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe wisely drown the sloppy power chords and Brandon Flowers’ cookie-cuter Springsteen hubris with a lithe synth lilt and a watered down electropop edge. They never overtake “Read My Mind” with their own imprint and instead pump color into the song’s rough edges. Flowers, who’s called “Read My Mind” among the best tracks he’s ever written, should consider using Tennant and Lowe’s services in the future.

Best DVD

Hurrah: A Year of Ta-Dah by Scissor Sisters

Filmed in London’s O2 arena, Hurrah is a sprawling production befitting of the Eurotrash pop stars. Jake Shears himself, a vision in gold lamé and a skintone jumpsuit, prances around onstage like the second coming of a hyper-kinetic Keith Richards. By the time gay hedonism anthem “Filthy/Gorgeous” rolls around, sweat pours off Shears’ face like a dance floor Messiah. The camera pans and captures the enraptured crowd and stunning visuals as silver confetti flutters from the ceiling above. Hurrah: A Year of Ta-Dah may be the most cinematically stunning concert DVD seen in years.

Best Cover

Mark Ronson’s cover of The Smiths’ “Stop Me”

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Uber-producer Mark Ronson, the mastermind behind Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, concocted his own album of dance-soul cover songs titled Version. Pound for pound, the best stuff is Mr. Ronson’s spin on The Smiths’ “Stop Me.” Ronson tapped Aussie R&B crooner Daniel Merriweather’s fluttery falsetto to gloriously cover Morrissey under a blanket of Motown soul, only to merge The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” in a sly mash-up hat trick.