Chill Pride Tunes To Play And Cheer Up To

As everyone who has ever grown up knows, representation is important. Queer kids have been under-represented in the media, and during Pride month it is important to uplift and promote the work of queer-identifying artists. As a bisexual woman, I have found solace in the songs I recommend below. Most of these songs are about WLW (bisexual and lesbian women), although some other identities are represented. The artists include Janelle Monáe, Lil Nas X, Haley Kiyoko, King Princess, Ashnikko, dodie and others.

Janelle Monáe

I would have made this entire playlist of Janelle Monáe songs if I could. Monáe is a visionary and a storyteller. Her work highlights black artists and Afrofuturism, a genre of speculative fiction that focuses on Black futures. In her albums she tells the stories of Black android characters including Cindi Mayweather on her first album The ArchAndroid and Jane Appleseed on her latest album and emotion picture Dirty Computer. The latter is a conceptual short film that features subversive black androids who are creative thrill seekers and who are routinely kidnapped by white police and given a gas that erases their memories. If you have not yet watched this film, please do yourself a favor and watch it.

The songs are social commentary as well as catchy, upbeat songs that make you want to dance. The film depicts Jane Appleseed’s relationship with Zen and Ché, played by Tessa Thompson (whom Janelle Monáe was dating at the time) and Jayson Aaron, respectively. Jane Appleseed’s character is portrayed as bisexual and polyamorous. I included the song Pynk, which is about women’s bodies and women who love other women. The dancers in the video wear very comfortable pants shaped as labias, which received lots of media attention and some backlash (America…your misogyny is showing). The second song of hers I included is Make me Feel, which is a celebration of love, life, bisexuality and polyamory.

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X has been massively popular since his collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus on Old Town Road. In Montero (Call Me by Your Name) not only does the title reference the popular book and movie by the same title (I wrote a poem inspired by this book not too long ago…), he appropriates Christian imagery to subvert the oppression that LGBT people have faced from Christian communities. Janelle Monáe does this minimally with the name Appleseed, the origin for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tattoo of a crucified woman with a TV in place of a head. Lil Nas X takes this to the next level, the music video opening with a giant snake, also played by Lil Nas X, slithering down a tree to kiss him at the bottom.

Haley Kiyoko

I include Haley Kiyoko’s newest song, Found my Friends, which, as the title suggests, is about finding a sense of belonging and community. These are foundational pillars of the LGBT community, and one of the main reasons people seek out these communities. Haley Kiyoko is most famous for her song, Girls like Girls, and has earned the title ‘Lesbian Jesus’ on the internet.

King Princess

King Princess’ songs have been my personal queer art relief the last couple years. In the throes of gay heartbreak I would walk home from university at night, in the snow, singing Talia on the way back to my apartment, empathizing with the lyrics:

“I can taste your lipstick, I can lay down next to you

But it's all in my head

If I drink enough I swear that I will wake up next to you”

I include Homegirl as well, as the lyrics:

“We’re friends at the party, I’ll give you my body at home”

paint the picture of longing and unrequited love, as well as feeling the need to conceal love, that are common instances among queer people.

Ashnikko (ft. Princess Nokia)

Ashnikko’s newest album, Demidevil has been on repeat on my Spotify since it came out. Her song Slumber Party became popular on TikTok among queer women. The song is a collaboration between Ashnikko and Princess Nokia, (Ashton Nicole Casey and Destiny Nicole Frasqueri respectively) who each identify as bisexual. It is explicit about lesbian sex with lyrics like:

“She do that thing she usually do

Spell my name with her tongue, like (uh)”

without going too far in the direction of pandering for the male gaze. The choice to feature a vibrator and to keep Ashnikko’s index and middle nails shorter than the rest in the music video are each nods to real and tangible WLW sexual experiences.

dodie

dodie became famous from her music uploaded onto YouTube. Her song She is compelling and tragic. The lyrics speak of queer shame and unrequited love, perfectly encapsulated in the first, heartbreaking line:

“Am I allowed to look at her like that”

dodie writes along a similar theme in the song Would You Be So Kind from her older album, You. Again, this is an instance of unrequited love; however, this song is much more upbeat and hopeful.

Girl in Red

It has become somewhat of a meme on TikTok to come out as a queer woman by admitting to listen to Girl in Red. People have even gone as far to suggest that Taylor Swift, who recently posted Girl in Red’s new music on her Instagram story, was publicly admitting to being queer. I include the song Girls, with the classic lines:

“They're so pretty, it hurts

I'm not talking 'bout boys, I'm talking 'bout girls”

and two queens in a king sized bed, which is a queer WLW Christmas song to add to your holiday playlist. While having the repeated morbid lyric:

“Let me wrap you in with my skin”

the lyrics I always return to are:

“My only wish is one more year

And then I want them all”

a plea that their relationship will never end.

Frances Forever

Frances Forever’s song Space Girl grew in popularity after TikTok user @angele.tarte choreographed a dance to it and posted it on TikTok. This dance is simple enough, if you are bored and in need of something to do, and the song is cute and romantic.

Kailee Morgue

I included Kailee Morgue’s song Medusa. I love art that references Greek mythology--a symptom of growing up reading Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, I suppose. This song may be about feeling petrified to speak to women, or it can be taken more literally. There are no recorded instances of Medusa turning women to stone, leading her to potentially being a queer, feminist icon. The other song of hers here is her collaboration with none other than Lesbian Jesus, herself, Haley Kiyoko on their song, Headcase.

Remi Wolf

Remi Wolf’s song Woo! is a high energy investigation of the meaning of love. The music video features an eclectic, CGI-ed background. Like her music video, the song is a mashup of different sounds and sound editing. The lyrics:

“(Woo!) Love, it's not the answer, it's the mindset

The question's not about who, it's how you find”

allow us to question the ideals of love at first sight, or true love. These observations put the responsibility to find a good match on the person who is searching for a romantic connection, rather than holding out expectation for a future 'perfect' person.

Cavetown

Cavetown artist, Robin Daniel Skinner, identifies as asexual and aromantic, and highlights this in his song This is Home specifically in the lyrics:

“Often I am upset that I cannot fall in love but I guess

This avoids the stress of falling out of it”

I wanted to include this song, as people on the asexual and aromantic spectrum are often not represented in popular music that is almost exclusively about falling in love, and experiencing heartbreak. I find Cavetown’s bedroom pop sound comforting.

Jaden (ft. Willow)

Jaden and Willow collaborated on Summertime in Paris back in 2019. While Jaden has never confirmed that he identifies with one of the LGBT sexualities, he has on multiple occasions dressed in stereotypically feminine manner, and declared that Tyler, the Creator is his boyfriend. His sister Willow, on the other hand, has come out as both bisexual and polyamourous. This song is ambient and romantic. The repeated lyrics:

“Summertime is meant to fall in love

I could fall asleep and stare in your eyes, we'll dance all night”

are pleasant and daydreamy and, as the title suggests, perfect for summer.

Clairo

I chose to include Clairo’s song Sofia (What is it with girls whose names end in ‘ia’?) which again speaks to feelings of guilt that surround some queer relationships, as a result of being raised in heteronormative communities. Specifically in the lyrics:

“Sofia, know that you and I

Shouldn't feel like a crime”

This speaks to the need for more mainstream inclusion and acceptance of LGBT people in contemporary popular culture narratives.

chloe moriondo

chloe moriondo identifies as a nonbinary lesbian. I included their song Girl on TV as I liked the beat and message of wishing to have the idealized life from television. The entertainment industry has become the religion of the contemporary West, as evidenced, by contemporary peoples' obsession with actors' lives. This religion; however, has neglected to fairly represent the lives of queer people, and as a result, leading to chloe's wish for the idealized life she sees on TV but does not anticipate for herself.

Off-Broadway

I could not help but include a couple musical theatre tracks from my favourite, queer Broadway shows. The first is Wig in a Box from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. This is a lament for the American Dream. The lyrics:

“And pull the wig back on my head

Suddenly I'm Miss Midwest Midnight checkout queen

Until I head home

And I put myself to bed”

represent Hedwig’s transformations from man to women, after receiving a botched sex change story to escape East Berlin by marrying an American man who takes Hedwig back with him. To be accepted in America, Hedwig must perform as a straight woman, which is symbolized by the putting on and taking off of the wig.

The second is Ring of Keys from the musical Fun Home based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel who originated the Bechdel test. This song describes young Alison’s first admiration of a butch woman. The “ring of keys” might symbolize unlocking this part of her personality.

A link to the complete playlist is below:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkvHXNqJByHCyyteai5tPaY6DEFUCu3u5&feature=share