Music Reviews! Tegan and Sara

Well, I did a book review, so why not do music? And movies! And blogs! Hmm, how about I review as many lesbian related things I can? Fuck yes.

Of course, I'm saying this now and I'll probably have to repeat it later, but I am not going to review it in an unbiased way. I'm going to be looking at how it effected me, as a baby dyke, in my process. If it was meant to be informative, did it succeed? Was it entertaining?

I'm also going to do all the 'classics'. You know, the stuff that everyone says you're a bad gay if you haven't seen/heard/read it yet. So I'll be improving my lezzie education while figuring out how I stand on such things. For the record, I'm so not a fan of things that are gay just to be gay. It needs to have a relevance more than just being LGBT related- at least in an educational or inspirational sense.  For instance, this blog has personal relevance because it's a means for me to figure out my warped and tangled mind.

So, Tegan and Sara, lesbians and Canadian twins with a really catchy band. I'm telling you right now, if you want a good review of them that's educated on music, it's not me, it's Nash. Click his name and return here tomorrow. Bye!

If that didn't work, I'll give it a shot. I hear all the time from fellow gays how this band is such a lesbian thing to like, and if you look at personals for lesbians, they nearly always list Tegan and Sara among the top five. It seems to be the K.D. Lang of the 00's in that if you like them, you're assumed to be gay, and you're not really a lesbian unless you know the words to a song or two. The thing is, their sexuality isn't all that important, and that makes them great role models, in a sense. They're making good music, have fairly successful careers, try innovative and quirky things, and the who "lesbian identical twins" thing is a side note. No songs about it, on any album. No big deal made. Who cares?

I like that attitude. Being gay shouldn't have to define who you are, what you do, or how you do it, and they prove it.

Oops, off topic. Anywhoo.

Damn catchy songs. Try to get "Back in Your Head" out of your head. You can't. Don't even try.
My favorite songs, by album:

This Business of Art, 2000- "The First", "More For Me", "Superstar"
This entire album has a quality I really like of muttered, breathy lyrics. It's an album for a bad day, or a rainy day. Listen and feel like a disaffected youth.

If It Was You, 2002- "Living Room" (Probably because I have a secret affection for banjos and stalking songs), "Terrible Storm" (It feels like a storm, her voice as a lonesome quality I love), "Want to Be Bad" (Cool harmonies, and who doesn't want to be bad?)
I can't lie, I listened to this album and was disappointed until I found "Living Room". The above songs are the only ones I liked on the album.

So Jealous, 2004- "Take Me Anywhere", "I Know I Know I Know" (I think we all kinda identify with this song), "Walking With a Ghost"
Hmm. Not much to say- the sound makes me dance and angsty at the same time. The first two albums combined, soundwise.

The Con, 2007-"The Relief Next to Me" (There's a cool call and response thing going on), "Back in Your Head"(Their biggest hit), "Floorplan" (I sympathize), "Call It Off"
I'm pretty sure this is when they became mainstream and many hipsters cried themselves to sleep. I love this album quite a bit- I would even dare to say it's my favorite. Most of the songs have a nice blend of poignancy and bounce.

Sainthood, 2009- "Arrow", "Don't Rush", "Hell", "Northshore"
I dance in my undies to this album. Unashamedly. Okay, a little ashamedly. These last two albums are probably their best, as in more of the songs are fantastic. The first several albums have standouts, but the rest of the album is somewhat forgettable, like background to the best songs.

So there you have it. Nothing that's really all that important for LGBT issue, but great tunes. Or maybe I'm missing a hidden message... but I'm pretty sure the message is "We make good tunes, y'all."