Brad & Angelina: Art Gallery

# 763 | ntt | Hey there ,we missed hearing from you so no more lurking we want posts from you !come on lady!!!!! We really want to hear from you….

This is very interesting, Brad interviewing Melissa Etheridge in 2001.**********************************Melissa Etheridge - InterviewBy Brad Pitt(Interview Magazine, August 2001)The questions no one else dares to ask Melissa Etheridge didn’t sell 27 million albums worldwide by keeping her feelings to herself. Since her 1988 debut, straightforward rook ‘n’ roll declarations about love, truth and identity have been the Kansas native’s stock-in-trade. Etheridge was one of the first gay pop stars in the post-Reagan era to come out of the closet. Sales soared. She and her then-lover, filmmaker Julie Cypher, made headlines again when they had two children: Bailey, four, and Beckett, two. Then they nabbed a Rolling Stone cover when they announced the baby’s father: rocker David Crosby. The latest headlines caught them unprepared, though, when last year a tabloid leaked the news that the couple was splitting. Etheridge handled the breakup by diving into the studio, just her and an engineer, and recording the 10 searingly honest songs on her new album, Skin (Island). She also immersed herself in her book of lyrics and reminiscences, The Truth Is … My Life in Love and Music (Villard), which came out in June. Far from secluding herself with demands for privacy, Etheridge tackles the breakup head-on on Skin, and in conversation. Here, revealing the kind of intimacy you can only have with an old friend, she talks to Brad Pitt–whom she’s known for 18 years and who crashed on her couch when he first moved to L.A.–and (on page 121) to music critic Evelyn McDonnell. "My battered heart will make a new start" BRAD PITT: You have a date tonight? MELISSA ETHERIDGE: Yep. For some reason I offered to make dinner, but I can’t cook. BP: What are you gonna make? ME: I don’t know. I’ll be going, "What does she eat? What does she eat?" Oh, no! [laughs] BP: Pasta’s easy. Can’t go wrong with pasta. ME: Except it can be too oily; it can be too dry. Oh, my God! [laughs] I never thought I’d be back here. But, then again, it’s not really being "back." I’m a completely different person these days. I have a certain amount of success, a certain level of therapy, a better understanding of sex and my own body. I now have kids. I have just entered this world of divorcee, single mom, gay celebrity … What the hell? [laughs] "I lay me down in this sweet perfection" ME: Divorce is hard. Divorce with children is hard. BP: Ouch. ME: Yes. You structure it completely differently because there are kids. I did not want to lose my everyday connection with the kids, so I was willing to move in close proximity to Julie [Cypher]. So that when the kids are at her house, if my heart is just aching I can go over there and have dinner with them, or bring them over to my place for an hour. BP: Explain the setup for us. ME: We have two houses. They are back-to-back. It’s completely private in that I never see her house or what’s going on there unless I drop the kids off. BP: Except for the portal in between. ME: [laughs] Yes, the gate, the little hole, the time portal that they pass through. "The kids are all right" BP: Your relationship is a case study for modern living, but the first thing the Jerry Falwells are going to say is, "See, told ya." ME: Yes. BP: But were they to really look in there, they’d see that your life is completely geared towards the kids–kids first, rock star second, relationships third. ME: Exactly. Once you become a parent, there is no other way. I wouldn’t allow my own hurts or fears or disappointments to keep me from being the best mother that I can be. And the best parent I can be is one who is there. It’s not just quality time, it’s quantity time. It is, "I am right here, every day when you come home. And come the day when I must be on the road, I’m calling you every day, and you’ll know where I am and what I’m doing." BP: Will they go with you on the road at all? ME: They’re not so good on the road right now because they get out a few days and they’re like, "Where am I?" BP: And where are my toys?" ME: Exactly. Children love routine. So there are times when I’m in New York City for a week that they will come out and we’ll be in one place and it won’t be that every day travelling stuff. But otherwise, the rule is no more than 10 days apart. So I come back from the road for four days and then I go back out. BP: And you and Julie share equally? ME: Yeah. We are willing to help each other out. No matter what either of us does, the children’s well-being, happiness and health is most important–that they never feel like they lost either of us. Our own personal complicated issues are ours and never came from them. "But my skin is painfully new" BP: The structure of your new album seems to be a journey, from losing yourself to finding a new sense of self. ME: Yes. I couldn’t necessarily define much of it at the time. Much of it sprang from the subconscious–the Melissa that saved me when I was 10, saved me when I was 14; the one inside myself that’s let me know what’s going on. BP: Break the album down for us, would you. ME: The first song, "Lover Please," is about betrayal, not as an infidelity, but of truth, of trust. It is also about pain and abandonment. Then the album moves into "The Prison," which is the recognition of that fact, to "Walking on Water," which signals the end of the relationship and feelings of guilt. "Down to One" is about acceptance and the search for one’s own culpability. "Goodnight" has a sort of sweet pain, and "It’s Only Me" says all I have is myself; I better love myself–and then what do I want? "I Want to be in Love" is a realization of worth and of deserving more, and then comes the anticipation of new beginnings in "Please Forgive Me" to "The Different," which is pure empowerment and sex and celebration. BP: And should be played as loud as possible. ME: Finally, "Heal Me" is, for me, a future projection of a complete rebirth. Whew! "Called a new friend for the second time" BP: Your mom’s still in Kansas? ME: No. There is no family left in Kansas now, just my past. But I went to my high school 20th reunion two years ago. Spent half the time taking pictures and signing autographs. BP: Sounds like a premiere. ME: But I spent the other half really seeing old, old friends. BP: Could you connect? ME: Yeah. BP: But you had not kept in touch? ME: No, there was nothing to really keep in touch with. BP: It’s two distinctly different worlds. ME: Completely. But on that one night we remembered crabapple fights and how we used to hike down to the stream. BP: When you do get back, do you run into any of those old attitudes? ME: At my reunion? Well, other than Reverend Fred Phelps. BP: Who? ME: You know, that guy that showed up at Matthew Shepard’s funeral with signs saying "Matt rots in hell" and "God hates gays." Horrible, horrible things. There’s only about 12 of those guys, but they show up everywhere and, of course, they showed up at my reunion. So, all my high school friends had to walk past that. But I think my experience is definitely different because I’m a celebrity. I think celebrity trumps homo. If I were to just go home and be a big gay and not be famous, my experience would be different. I even had some people who weren’t close to me in high school who had to go through the picket line to go to their reunion and they just said, "Gosh, I’m really sorry. I go to church and I’m really ashamed." I felt accepted and warm. "All the things that held together my life" BP: Did you guys have a Skateland you used to hang out at [when you were growing up]? ME: Oh, yeah! I was a mean roller skater. BP: It was all about "Magic Carpet Ride." ME: With gold sparkled skates– BP: –and make-out sessions. ME: We did that behind the building, me and Mike Strange. BP: Did you have couples skate? ME: Uh, yeah. The girls could skate together but the boys could not. BP: There’s some irony. "Come with me now" BP: You came out very publicly during Clinton’s first inauguration. I’m assuming you didn’t get a call from the Bush people to play at their party. ME: Nooo. BP: And if you had? ME: I think the record is pretty clear on Republican social issues. BP: Being one of the first to step out, did you anticipate the responsibility and microscopic focus placed on your life? ME: I didn’t know what it would be like. You knew me around then. I had no idea. All I knew was that it wasn’t right how it was. It wasn’t right during interviews. When they’d say, "Well, gosh, men have really been awful to you, [based on] these songs you’ve been writing." BP: But what about the universality–and beauty–of your songs? ME: Yeah, and I have continued to write in that universal matter. But when they asked me personal questions and I would do my own little non-gender-specific dance–my partner, my lover–it didn’t feel right. When it came down to it, even if I was to lose it all, that other way didn’t seem worth it. BP: Yes. I would say not to allow yourself the freedom to be who you are is the biggest crime against the self. ME: Absolutely. I have nothing to preach about except my own experience. All I did was say this is who I am. Very loudly

hi all, i’v been lurking. I saw Ivy and Guli - you two have been posting. How are your sons Korey and Caleb?

# 802 | African Girl | Hey AG before you leave, we did have gents as well ,what happened to them. There was one who traveled alot and pressman did we lose them all due to the haters??? Maybe we can lure them back, I like their opinion even though guys are guys but it is a nice balance :))))

# 797 | guli | - Good, I really hope she don’t come back here and that JJ ban her crazy ass. She is nuts.

# 805 | stardust | Hi Stardust. Caleb is doing pretty well right now. He is having a bit of a problem finding the right medication that will eliminate the seizures but they have lessoned, fortunately. He started school last week and other than having to be careful not to exert himself too much on the playground, second grade seems to be going well.Thank you for asking about him.

# 808 | KearnieLOL I was just checking. For a moment, I was getting a little worried.Good night BAMZS Fans. Sweet dreams and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow.

# 805 | stardust | Hey stardust well Korey’s mouth will ne wired shut until september 7th.. but he can go back to his dorm on the 1st and come back later to take the wires out. Thanks for asking… Hey Ivy how is Caleb?I am so , so sorry I was so concerned about my big K, I forgot to ask how Caleb is doing. Please let us know, you know we care alot……….. Best wishes!

Hi Alex and Guli, thanks for the good wishes| been a long day and will hopefully talk to you tomorrow.Stardust, Yes I have been told by the doctors that it just takes some patience and time. I am trying to explain that to Caleb and I think he understands now. The past week or two have been a bit hard, he really thought he could take the medicine and the seizures would automatically stop. It has been hard to see his disappointment, but I have been a good cheerleader….it is important for us both to be positive. I am sure it is only a matter of time.Been a long day… take care all.

# 817 | Ivy | Oh Ivy my heart goes out to you and Caleb. ITA , that is all we can do, be a cheerleader to show them that it will be OK eventually. Ivy I am so glad you are posting again… I can’t tell you enough about our cyber friends when I was hurting so much they rallied around and were really concerned about him and Caleb. Caleb will be fine since he has such a wonderful mom. Take care Ivy, take care of Caleb, but take care of yourself as well. If we can help and lift your spirits for a few moment (w/o the haters) we are really your cyber friends . Please Ivy. keep on posting, our friends helped me out so much …….

I really am off now # 787 | marla2++++++++++++++This is the only thing this chick said all night that had a shred fo accuracy and truth to it. She should have stopped at this point, but unfortunately she went on to say she’d be back once she got a new keyboard.I’m still laughing at her "Brad and Jen are getting back together and will be in the ‘golden light’ again" bullshit. Hell, she’s not just "off"…she’s ******* delusional! Damn…these X fans are absolutely pathetic! I think she actually believes she has a cousin who works at Paramount. If she’s got one, then I’ve got one, too. And my cousin is telling me that Marla2’s cousin is as freaking crazy as she is!

wow that mar..um person was back. Ivy, I’m glad Caleb is doing wellc=DGuli, I’ve never heard anything from rizos either. She has been gone for like eternity. I hope she’s doing well with her culinary arts.

OT: Moi Jade,The event was a good experience yet saddening at the same time. I was overwhelmed that many people did not care to help fight against poverty and aids, it was just unbelievable. This one lady was a total hypocrite imo. She stated that we have poverty in some parts of America and of course I agreed with her and explained a little more about the organization, that 1 is a collation of diff orgs i.e. data, oxfram, care, etc. working together to fight against extreme poverty internationally as well as here in the U.S. During the convo, I uttered countries and she immediately slapped me with "no, I’m not going to sign up" saying. I was like going wth on my mind. I guess she didn’t like the idea of the org helping other countries that have far extreme poverty. It is a shame that most people don’t care ’bout these vital issues, no wonder poverty and aids are still big time factors that portray n taking innocent lives everyday..ah more to add but the energy is just poignant and annoying..grr. ok my rant is fini.