Rufus Wainwright part 2

Rufus' 2nd album came out in 2001 and was called Poses. Once more, it brought about generally great reviews and various awards, but commercially there was once more limited success.

The album was even more about the gay experience than its predecessor. The opener, Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, directly addressing decadence and desire. Some of the lyrics:

And then there's those other things

Which for several reasons we won't mention

Everything about 'em is a little bit stranger, a little bit harder

A little bit deadly

It isn't very smart

Tends to make one part

So brokenhearted

Sitting here remembering me

Always been a shoe made for the city

Go ahead accuse me of just singing about places

With scrappy boys faces have general run of the town

Playing with prodigal sons

Takes a lot of sentimental Valiums

Can't expect the world to be your Raggedy Andy

While running on empty you little old doll with a frown

You got to keep in the game

Retaining mystique while facing forward

I suggest a reading of a lesson in tightropes

Or surfing your high hopes or adios Kansas

The video:

Greek Song was about a Greek young man who caused Rufus' heart to skip a beat when he visited Greece:

You who were born with the sun above your shoulders

You turn me on, you turn me on, you have to know

I quite like this song. Here's the video:

Grey Gardens is written as if Tadzio (a strikingly beautiful boy from the novel and subsequent film Death In Venice) is in the Beales' mansion and Wainwright is Little Edie Beale (the famous inhabitant of Grey Gardens).

Video:

Evil Angel in the words of Rufus himself: " Evil Angel is an interesting song. It's actually to do with a journalist who, uh... I was in France at the time and quite delicate... and this guy basically seduced me in Strasbourg... he gave me a tour of the town and it was very romantic, and we did actually make out in the middle of this town square... and then I went and did the show and I never heard from him again. And I just felt incredibly used. I think a lot of it has to do with, once you get into this business, you do have to become some kind of a machine. You do have to be heartless at times and be able to plough through certain situations. I don't want to totally become that person, but it's good that I'm thinking about it."

Video:

He followed Poses up with two albums, Want One (2003) and Want Two (2004). The latter includes Peach Trees, a romantic ballad that closes with the lyrics:

And I really do wish you were here next to me

'Cause I'm going to see James Dean

There I will be, under the peach trees

Under the peach trees, under, under

Under the peach trees with him

Video:

Another song from the album is Gay Messiah. Great sacrilegious fun. Here's what it says:

He will then be reborn

From 1970's porn

Wearing tubesocks with style

And such an innocent smile

Better pray for your sins

Better pray for your sins

'cause the gay messiah's coming

He will fall from the stars

Studio 54

And appear on the sand

Of Fire Island's shore

Better pray for your sins

Better pray for your sins

'cause the gay messiah's coming

No it will not be me

Rufus the baptist I be

No I won't be the one

Baptized in cum

Video:

Closing the album a fun collaboration with Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons called Old Whore's Diet. Here's the video:

His next album, Release The Stars (2007), was his most commercially successful to date. It contained the song Tiergarten, which is about Wainwright's then boyfriend (husband since 2012), German Jörn Weisbrodt.

The video:

The next two albums were live ones, the first one a recreation of Judy Garland's famous 1961 Carnegie Hall concert (2007) and the next one a recording of a show of his in Milwaukee (2009).

The following album (2010) contained 3 Shakespeare sonnets set to music and was generally inspired by the character of Lulu, as  portrayed by Louise Brooks in the 1929 film Pandora's Box. He then released a box set containing everything that he had recorded up to that point (2011).

The follow-up, Out of the Game (2012), was produced by Mark Ronson and was influenced by David Bowie, Elton John and Queen. In it, Perfect Man is about the never-ending quest to find that elusive specimen. The closing lyrics go like this:

After another unveiling of the bright red herring

I walked down Rufus Street

Thinking over it over it how can I get over it

And where in the world will I meet

That literary, lean, stripe suited lover

Ive read about all of my life

Which I fear is a ruse and explains

All the walks through all the parks of Europe

And why I never will tell you I love you

And why there is just but

A vision of perfect man

The video:

A "Best of" and yet another live album followed, both in 2014, then in 2015 came an opera called Prima Donna. His latest, just released, features nine adaptations of Shakespeare's sonnets. Apparently, Wainwright is still going strong and is very keen on experimenting with different musical genres. We have definitely not heard the last of him.