andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Canadian musicians Tegan and Sara have weighed in on the recent passing of California’s Proposition 8.

In their blogs for Spinner.com, the Quin sisters drew on personal experience in denouncing the amendment, which will take away the right for same-sex couples to marry.

“I have been living in Montreal for six years. Montreal — and Canada in general — has the reputation for being a more lenient, understanding and open-minded country. Although I am grateful for the legislation that has made me ‘equal’ in the eyes of the law, you cannot legislate away people’s disgust or ignorance. You can’t remove the stinging intolerance and slurs of homophobic audience members’ words in my ears,” wrote Sara.

“… As of 2005, I, as a Canadian, can marry. It is truly sad for me to think that there are millions of people like me, who cannot access these rights, these customs.

“‘Gay marriage’ is not what is at stake. It’s the right to choose to marry, the right to benefits, the right to adopt, the right to access the same set of rights extended to every citizen in the United States of America. Those rights do not extend to homosexuals. And it’s f—ed up. And you should care, straight or gay, white or black. Canadian or American.”

In her own blog, Tegan wrote: “I feel rage when I imagine the Prop Yes people celebrating, thinking they’ve won something, when, in fact, they’ve just stolen something.”

She expressed her hope that the passing of the proposition would inspire greater movement in the fight for the civil rights of all people.

“My rage is slowly transforming. It started as a rock in my stomach. Then a fire in my heart. Yesterday it was a fog in my mind. As the days have passed, I’m becoming focused and I am starting to feel brave again. I want to rally and march and be proud. This morning I felt triumphant. 67% of people who voted No on Prop 8 were under 30! Change is coming! As Melissa Etheridge wrote in a recent article, “Gay people are born everyday. You’ll never legislate that away.”

Tegan and Sara will be blogging for Spinner.com for the next six weeks.

Canadians Tegan And Sara and City And Colour will be among the bevy of musicians descending upon Texas this September for the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

More than 100 acts are slated to play this year’s edition of the annual extravaganza, including such heavy-hitters as Foo Fighters, Raconteurs, Beck and Gnarls Barkley.

Among the Texan natives returning to their home state are Erykah Badu, Robert Earl Keen and Roky Erickson.

The festival, featuring eight stages, will take place at Austin’s Zilker Park from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28.

Three-day passes are being sold for $170 U.S. on the festival’s website.

In 2007, Austin City Limits grossed $11.3 million and was attended by 225,000 people during three sold-out days.

Here’s the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival lineup:
• Foo Fighters
• Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
• Beck
• Manu Chao
• John Fogerty
• David Byrne
• The Raconteurs
• The Mars Volta
• Gnarls Barkley
• Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
• N.E.R.D
• Erykah Badu
• Robert Earl Keen
• Patty Griffin
• Tegan And Sara
• Iron & Wine
• G. Love & Special Sauce
• Neko Case
• Band Of Horses
• The Swell Season
• Silversun Pickups
• Gogol Bordello
• Gillian Welch
• Eli Young Band
• The Black Keys
• Against Me!
• Jakob Dylan And The Gold Mountain Rebels
• Okkervil River
• Galactic
• Kevin Fowler
• Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings
• Hot Chip
• Vampire Weekend
• Slightly Stoopid
• Duffy
• Alejandro Escovedo
• Roky Erickson
• Yonder Mountain String Band
• Spiritualized
• Flyleaf
• Drive-By Truckers
• Ingrid Michaelson
• Stars
• Jose Gonzalez
• CSS
• Del Tha Funky Homosapien
• Man Man
• Jamie Lidell
• MGMT
• What Made Milwaukee Famous
• Jenny Lewis
• M. Ward
• Asleep At The Wheel
• Mason Jennings
• Heartless Bastards
• Antibalas
• The Nachito Herrera All-Stars
• Shooter Jennings
• Xavier Rudd
• Yeasayer
• Octopus Project
• Joe Bonamassa
• The Kills
• White Denim
• Louis XIV
• Delta Spirit
• Mates Of State
• Nicole Atkins & The Sea
• Electric Touch
• Black Joe Lewis & The Honey Bears
• Back Door Slam
• Tristan Prettyman
• The Strange Boys
• Ryan Bingham
• Scott Biram
• Freddy Jones
• Colour Revolt
• Five Times August
• Langhorne Slim
• Sybris
• Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves
• Bavu Blakes And The Extra Plairs
• AA Bondy
• Christopher Denny
• Mike Farris
• The Lee Boys
• South Austin Jug Band
• American Bang
• Bobby Bare, Jr.
• The Massacoustics
• The Belleville Outfit
• We Go To 11
• The Band Of Heathens
• City And Colour
• Sunny Sweeney
• Elizabeth Wills
• Autamata
• Bonnie Bishop
• Ben Solee
• Ben Cylus
• The Concert Supremes
• River City Christionettes
• Shields Of Faith
• The Jones Family Singers
• Nakia And His Southern Cousins
• Brotherly Luv
• The Hensley Ensemble
• School Of Rock
• Jambo
• Q Brothers
• Buck Howdy With BB
• Uncle Rock
• Big Don
• Mr. Ray
• The Jimmies

Canadians Tegan and Sara and pop icon Cyndi Lauper are among the headliners for this year’s True Colors tour.

Other artists on the bill include Regina Spektor, The B-52s, Andy Bell of Erasure, Indigo Girls, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and The Cliks.

The tour, now in its second year, was created by Lauper to promote equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. Proceeds go toward organizations that work on their behalf, including the Human Rights Campaign and the Matthew Shephard Foundation.

The tour kicks off May 31 in Boston and will hit almost two dozen cities, including Toronto (June 4) and Vancouver (July 3), before wrapping up in Morrisson, Colorado on July 5.

The shows will be hosted by Carson Kressley of “Queer Eye” fame. Last year’s tour was emceed by comedian Margaret Cho and featured such acts as Lauper, Debbie Harry, Erasure, The Dresden Dolls and Rufus Wainwright.

Here are the tour dates for the 2008 True Colors tour:

Boston, MA Bank of American Pavilion (May 31)
Wantagh, New York Jones Beach Theater (June 1)
New York, NY Radio City Music Hall (3)
Toronto, Ontario Molson Amphitheatre (4)
Mashantucket, CT Foxwoods Casino (6)
Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall (7)
Minneapolis, MN Target Center (9)
Chicago, IL Chicago Theater (10)
Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Resort Spa and Casino (13)
Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (14)
Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheatre (16, 17)
Clearwater, FL Ruth Echerd Hall (18)
Ft. Lauderdale, FL Bank Atlantic Center (19)
Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (21)
Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theater (25)
Alpine, CA Viejas Casino (27)
Los Angeles, CA Greek Theater (28)
Berkley, CA Greek Theater (29)
Seattle, WA WaMu Theater (July 1)
Vancouver, British Columbia Deer Lake Park (3)
Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre (4)
Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre (5)

Joining such celebrities as Pamela Anderson, David Cross, Le Tigre and Charlize Theron, Tegan and Sara have spoken out against wearing fur by shooting an ad for PETA.

The Canadian indie-rock act visited PETA headquarters in Norfolk, Va., during a recent tour stop to shoot the anti-fur public service announcement for peta2, PETA?s youth division.

In the print ad, Tegan and Sara are shown with Liby, the adopted dog of a PETA staffer. The tagline reads: ?If you wouldn?t wear your dog, please don?t wear any fur.?

?I do feel like there are alternatives to killing animals for foods and materials,? said Sara, according to antimusic.com. ?I don?t wear fur myself.?

Sara, one-half of the twin-sister team, also strongly opposes factory farming and its negative impact on animals, the environment and human health.

?We just have no idea why anyone would want to wear fur,? said Tegan. ?I’ve never thought, ?I want to wear an animal around my shoulders.? I don?t think fur looks very good on people. ? I think it?s really unattractive, and it?s ridiculous.

?I don?t think the fur industry has a chance. I have the feeling that young people today are intelligent enough.?

On top of the success of their latest album ?So Jealous,? Tegan and Sara will release a DVD titled ?If It?s Not Fun, Don?t Do It? on Feb. 7.

The White Stripes also recently recorded a cover of Tegan and Sara?s track ?Walking With a Ghost? for the Stripes? upcoming EP.