Adam Lambert Is Caught Between A Snake And A Butterfly

By Amelie Gillette  |  June 9, 2009 | 10:52pm
Music Features Music

One of the American Idolers is on the current cover of Rolling Stone, staring up at us from an old cot covered in laundry (or burlap?) while a snake and a butterfly brooch fight over his lower half.

Clearly, it is an image rife with symbolism. But what do the rubber snake and the butterfly brooch represent? Here's a short list:

—Homosexuality (snake) and Mariah Carey (butterfly)

—Nature, and how it crawls up your leg

—Brooches, and how they land on your leg

—Wildness (snake), like Wet Seal wildness (butterfly)

—It's a visual representation of the ole phrase: "Stuck between a snake and a butterfly."

—The art director's lack of imagination

—Phallus (snake) and Claire's Boutique (butterfly)

—It's a visual representation of the ancient proverb, "If a butterfly flaps its wings in China, a rubber snake is placed on the leg of an American Idol contestant during a Rolling Stone cover shoot."

—Freedom (butterfly) and the Novelties Industry (snake)

While this cover proves that there are other ways to come out via magazine cover besides the usual "[Affirmative], I'm Gay," it also proves that 30 Rock (as always) is right: At photo shoots, don't use the props. "They always try to get you to take one 'funny' photo, and that's always the one they end up using."

Keep scrolling for more great stories from The A.V. Club.
 
Join the discussion...
SELECT permalink, ID FROM `pm_article_index` where`article_category` like '%|music|%' and ID<>1798216824 AND article_type like '%|features|%' ORDER BY post_date DESC LIMIT 7;