Music monday: Pride anthems
Music Monday: Pride Anthems
Time to kick off Pride with Music Monday and some anthems! This month, I’m not following my normal format of just one song; instead, I’ll be sharing a few per post.
Let’s start with Queen. Okay, I’m a big fan of Queen (I’ve posted their music before, so this should come as no shock!). I plan to cover as many genres and artists as possible with these posts, showcasing both the legends and some hidden gems.
“I Want to Break Free” – Queen This song is pure camp and queer excellence. The music video is famous because the band dressed in drag, inspired by soap opera characters it actually got banned in America at the time. Freddie Mercury didn’t actually write this one; it was written by the bassist, John Deacon, who wrote some of Queen’s most famous hits.
“Born This Way” – Lady Gaga Unlike the last song, the meaning here is a bit more obvious! While the Queen video gave the game away, Gaga’s track is a modern anthem made for dancing. It’s a clear “wink and a nod” to all of us.
“I’m Coming Out” – Diana Ross Nile Rodgers wrote this song after seeing some drag impersonators at a New York trans underground club doing their own version of Diana. It’s an anthem aimed at bringing drag culture into the mainstream and a nod to LGBTQ folks. He understood it would be a great song to say “I see you” to the gay fanbase. Ross never understood the meaning, was worried it would hurt her but got convinced to record it.
“Smalltown Boy” – Bronski Beat Alternative synth 80s classic it deals with a young man leaving his home town due to his sexuality. Vocals here are iconic and it became an anthem within the gay community as a result. Moody, bit dark but danceable.
“Freedom! ’90” – George Michael (1990) It is widely considered a gay anthem and a song about liberation. George letting go of his former image and becoming his true self. It is also worth mentioning he made “Outside” in 1998. That was a clever reference to his arrest and the music video is him making a joke out of it. For years there were rumors about his sexuality and well he took the power back.
“Believe” – Cher (1998) This is another anthem from somebody many considered to be finished. Yet Cher was able to make a banger that turned into a queer anthem. She was remaking herself for the era and it worked.
“Beautiful” – Christina Aguilera (2002) This song is just wonderful really. It was a huge moment for self-acceptance in the early 2000s.
“Filthy/Gorgeous” – Scissor Sisters (2004) This one is well very camp coded. Even the band name is well a reference to lesbians. They brought that glam energy that the 2000s really needed.
“I Kissed a Girl” – Katy Perry (2008) Fall Out Boy did a mix tape cover called I Kissed a Boy but they never released it. Katy Perry has always been a bit camp and well this is her most camp record. Sadly she never was able to recapture the magic in her later years.
YES I DO KNOW we have a few 1980s songs on the list so far. That was when queerness broke out into the mainstream. It should come as no shock as the Stonewall riots made sure the 1970s was the rise before the breakout happened in the 1980s. With acceptance becoming a thing in the 90s before widely spreading in the 2000s even further. Humble beginnings of the movement with culture showing the tide was turning. That is why I included the Diana Ross song as an example of that.