I'm working on a very very long review of Indigo Girls' albums. All twelve-ish of them. It's going to take me awhile, mostly because if you listen to so much of acoustic guitar rock with country vocals, it all sounds the same. Yet I didn't want to abandon the project, so I'm going to do a shorter review of a few songs from various artists. These artists are chosen because the mass quantity of their music isn't considered by the masses (read: the few blogposts on lesbian music I've found) to be all that gay-related.
Garbage, the ninety's grunge rock/pop band isn't all that gay, I've found but their music could sure trick me. Mostly because their music is pretty obsessive and intense, and seems to be a trademark of lesbian tunes. The two songs from them I'm looking at: "Androgyny" from Beautiful Garbage (2001) and "Queer" from Garbage (1995). "Androgyny" is fucking sexy, and that's about it. The chorus makes me want to whisper sexily while giving smoldering looks through heavy eyeliner. It's a very cool look at sexuality and from the comment on SongMeanings, a lot of bi kids heavily identify with it. "Queer" is much more ambiguous- it could be about being different, or about being gay. Either way, it can extend to sexuality and the pressures people are often having to deal with.
Also, Shirley Manson is incredibly hot. Just saying.
Franz Ferdinand has been a massive influence in my life and there is never going to be a time when I don't want to listen to their music. I stop talking and listen, or dance, as is called for. Magical way to make me shut up. Anyway, the best pick for a gay melody of theirs is "Micheal" about boys dancing with boys. I don't even like boys and this song turns me on. It is super sexy, and I'm listening to the album version. Live, it gets even more risque, and I bet singing and sweating to a sea of grinding hips only makes it hotter. Interesting note- There's a secret message revealed if you play the song backwards between 1:35 and 1:39 saying "She's worried about you, call your mother." They put it in because the bassist was worried about calling his mom, but he thought it was just an uplifting reminder to the fans.
The Franz Ferdinand song that means the most to me is "Katherine Kiss Me". I played it incessantly when I was deciding to come out of the closet. The thoughtful, sweet lyrics hit a chord with my unsure self. Especially "Do you ever wonder how the boy feels?" Yes. All the time. I wonder how they felt when they were kissing the girl they thought they would marry, and how they feel now they know she's a lesbian. I wonder how they feel, if they know how much it hurt to lie to them. I wonder all the time. I also wonder what my girlfriend feels when I kiss her, and what any onlookers feel. It's a natural curiosity and I love that there was a song that expressed it for me. So I sang it all the time and drove my parents mad.
Four down, one to go. Who sings a gay song and isn't? This is harder than you think- most LGBT songs are by LGBT artists, or at least artists recognized as important in the community. Hmm.
I'm bending the rules a little. Here's a band that is maybe lesbian, maybe not, and sorta kinda but not really, is for the LGBT cause. t.A.T.u. are the girls who made a big deal about being super sexy maybe lesbians maybe bi girls (the never said). The reason it's such a mixed up thing is that they allow for more coverage of lesbians in the media, but it's highly sexualized coverage- obviously marketed to straight guys. This was going on in 2002-03, when there really wasn't anything, and they were HUGE. So it was nice to see lesbians, but they weren't actually lesbians, and here they are creating this idea that lesbians are totally okay with making out in the rain for horny frat boys.
For me, I had already began questioning my sexuality at this point. I was twelve, and I was beginning to crush on girls when I knew I should be crushing on boys. When I saw t.A.T.u on MTV making out and the giant fleet of girls in boy shorts and wife beaters kissing, the light bulb clicked. Oh! I'm like them, duh. I still like them for nostalgia, though I feel their portrayal of girl-on-girl was a bit of a step back. Song wise, it's damn catchy and never ever leaves your head.
So that's five pretty gay songs by not explicitly gay artists, and a bit of what they meant to me.
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