I just saw Gus Van Sant’s Milk last night. Of course it was great and moving and sad and informative. And of course Sean Penn wowed us with his performance, even though we already knew it was going to be good.
But amidst all the drama and sadness and history, I got a little nugget of sweetness when they had a scene recreating a Harvey Milk birthday party, including Sylvester singing him “You Make Me Feel!” God, I love that song, and I thought the drag performer Flava (er, real name is apparently Mark Martinez) carried the outlandish role of Sylvester pretty well.
One purchase I really want to get in the near future is Sylvester’s first album, Sylvester and the Hot Band. After his stint with the Cockettes, he initially moved in kind of a funk-rock direction, including a cover of Neil Young’s “Southern Man” that I still have not heard, though the reviews are incredible! Here’s one of the few tastes of this album I’ve gotten, and it’s a goodie: