Sunday, May 10, 2009

Coming out soundtrack

Posted by Lorna Bracewell on Sun, May 10, 2009 at 4:26 PM

click to enlarge creative-loafing-lorna_logo2.jpg

A dear friend of mine is in the midst of the arduous, exhilerating, terrifying and liberating process of coming out. She recently wrote to me about the central role certain music has played in helping her to interpret and cope with her whirlwind emotions. I've combined her suggestions with a few of my own favorites to create a soundtrack that is guaranteed to make anyone's coming out possible, bearable and even totally awesome.

Prince, Cream: I've chosen this raunchy classic primarily for the obvious reason, but also for its subtext of affirmation and empowerment: "Do your dance / Why should you wait any longer? / Take your chance / It can only make you stronger." So true.

Bruce Springsteen, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight): I don't think Bruce knew he was writing the following lines for me and gay people everywhere, but we should still thank him for them: "Closets are for hangers. Winners use the door / So use it, Rosie, that's what its there for!" Although set in a fairly cliche heterosexual context, this song is all about sexual defiance, transgression and freedom. It resonates with queer audiences in a profound way.

Ani DiFranco, Shameless: This spunky jam about a clandestine same-sex love affair was critical in my own coming out journey. Ani communicates the experience of being closeted in characteristically clunky couplets like "We're in a room without a door and I am sure without a doubt / They're gonna wanna know how we got in here and they're gonna wanna know how we plan to get out." Check out a rousing performance (complete with a full-throttle audience sing-along) after the jump.

Madonna, Secret: Lines like "Until I learned to love myself / I was never, ever lovin' anybody else" make this song a shoe in for any coming out soundtrack.  Unlike the Springsteen song mentioned earlier, Madonna seems to have been consciouss of the relevance Secret would have for GLBT listeners. The video features an assortment of drag kings, queens, same-sex couples and even Madonna herself engaged in some intense girl-on-girl hand caressing.

Sarah Bettens, Come Over Here: This sensual, low-end driven sexin' jam from the solo corpus of the K's Choice lead vocalist speaks candidly about the costs ("Someone out there will hate you now") and benefits ("Paradise for those who fall") of coming out. It's an extremely compelling and rare combination of pithy and hot.

Melissa Etheridge, Nowhere to Go: This song is a great one to throw on if you're starting to chicken out... or chicken in, rather. The verses speak to the emotional agony of the closet. The song's speaker and her lover must drive to the outskirts of town "past the Wal-Mart and Prison" on "a road that goes to nowhere" to share simple moments of intimacy. The song climaxes with Melissa mournfully bellowing "I'm so close to heaven this hell is not mine." If that's not enough to kick your butt out of the closet, nothing will.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments (25)

Showing 1-25 of 25

Add a comment

How about "i'm coming out" by diana ross??

report   
Posted by James on May 10, 2009 at 12:57 PM

Awesome, Lorna! To these, I would add: Catie Curtis, "Radical" Bonnie Raitt, "Somethin' to Talk About" Dar Williams, "Iowa" + "The Christians & the Pagans" Halcyon, hmmmm...many would do.

report   
Posted by McKell on May 10, 2009 at 10:09 PM

My favorite: "Jesus loves His little children, all the children of the world. Red, brown, yellow, black and white; they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world." He truly does love EVERYBODY!

report   
Posted by Lana on May 11, 2009 at 11:21 AM

what? no abba? no dancing queen? tell your friend to have faith & crank up the following off-the-top-of-my-head tunes! just for the girls... i will survive i'm coming out-- gotta love diana i am what i am cher's believe anything by the pointer sisters, pet shop boys, brinski beat & frankie goes to hollywood-- all equally unisexual love to love you! damn donna! you spin me around girls just wanna have fun-- cindi's gay? who knew? ring my bell that's the way i like it by kc & the sunshine band, & kool & the gang's celebration-- as fun as all these songs are, i think i'm dating myself? chaka chan's i'm every woman and, of course, judy's anthem... over the rainbow hope this short list helps

report   
Posted by lorna's friend byron on May 11, 2009 at 12:13 PM

You all are coming through in a big way. Thank you! I think I was trying so hard to be profound that I really missed the boat on this one. How dare I overlook Diana Ross! Shame on me. Also, "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls. Duh!

report   
Posted by Lorna on May 11, 2009 at 12:18 PM

Lorna, I love your list. And there's so many more good ones it's hard to choose. "Do What You Do" by Pink comes to mind. And once you have a great soundtrack, you need an animated superhero, and for that I'm loving www.lizzythelezzy.com - and she sings, too!

report   
Posted by Mel on May 11, 2009 at 6:50 PM

Being a boring straight dude, I can't totally understand what'd make a good list, but a few songs that I think would work: "Eddie Vedder" by Local H "If I were Eddie Vedder...would you like me any better? That's it, I quit, I don't give a s#$t." -- Sure, this sounds bizarre, but I always took this as a sad song about someone trying to be something they weren't, realizing it was stupid, and giving up .. kind of depressing, sure, but at the same time a song about accepting who you are. in the same vane as Lana -- "God Kicks" by Therapy? -- An Irish band likely no one's heard of, it's a bizarre tune that plays off of an Irish phrasing to ask if you're Catholic or Protestant "With what foot do you kick?", contains the line "God kicks with both feet, and keeps his shoes clean." AKA - God's got all of our backs, yo. Doesn't matter who you are or what defines you, as long as you're a good person. ( /me pours out a 40 for God..er.. ) And anything off the King's X "Dogman" album. Perhaps I'm just reading into it, but I immediately detected personal issues with the lyrics, and later the lead singer / bassist Doug Pinnick came out of the closet. This album seems to nearly document his emotional issues/etc while doing so.. but again, I could be looking too deep there. "Cigarettes" is a great, yet terribly sad tune from it -- "Have you gotten any cigarettes? Have you got anything for me?" Man. I think I just depressed myself. ;) Tell your friend to pay attention to the pop tunes, ignore the crap I recommended ;)

report   
Posted by dave on May 11, 2009 at 10:00 PM

You all need to listen to "Driving Home" by Lorna. It is on her CD titled "God Forbid" This is a great song as well as all the others on the disc. "Litany" ,sometimes mistakenly called "Lick Me", is another great song. You readers need to check these out. Go to Lorna's website and download or buy this truly great CD.

report   
Posted by mike bracerwell on May 12, 2009 at 8:15 AM

Thanks for the shameless plug, dad. I'll have your 20 bucks for you the next time we get together. :)

report   
Posted by Lorna on May 12, 2009 at 9:46 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JuDV6fGBMw&feature=related

report   
Posted by Autopsy IV on May 12, 2009 at 3:05 PM

Students that are willing to have A+ search for a professional media essay service to purchase their term paper format at. These actions we do as well.

report   
Posted by jlLARA on February 23, 2010 at 9:30 PM

And anything off the King’s X “Dogman” album. Perhaps I’m just reading into it, but I immediately detected personal issues with the lyrics, and later the lead singer / bassist Doug Pinnick came out of the closet. This album seems to nearly document his emotional issues/etc while doing so.. but again, I could be looking too deep there. “Cigarettes” is a great, yet terribly sad tune from it — “Have you gotten any cigarettes? Have you got anything for me?”

report   
Posted by mbt changa on April 15, 2010 at 1:17 AM
Posted by Microsoft Office 2007 on May 6, 2010 at 3:33 AM

rc toys your hobbies ,welcome to order .big discount http://www.rctoys2you.com

report   
Posted by rc toys on May 12, 2010 at 9:03 PM
Posted by oxpdffr on November 23, 2010 at 1:32 AM

DllErrorsFix is the best choice for you to fix dll error in one step which you can hold complete trust on.Get rid of unwanted dll error that cause freezing, crashing or blue screen of death.

report   
Posted by Dll Error on December 30, 2010 at 10:29 PM

EXE-Errors.com offers EXErrorsFix Shareware. We currently provide software product, solutions, consulting services and technical support to individuals, businesses and non-profits so they can enjoy a better pc experience and protect sensitive information from exe errors.EXErrorsFix is your complete one-stop resource for EXE errors-related information and solutions

report   
Posted by EXE Errors on January 14, 2011 at 4:58 AM

Welcome to browse our website, welcome to use our product, please click on my user name.

report   
Posted by tiffany on February 12, 2011 at 3:07 AM

This article is very usefull for me! I can see that you are putting a lots of efforts into your blog. I will keep watching in your blog, thanks.

report   
Posted by Cartridge Seal on February 22, 2011 at 3:22 AM

Thanks for writing this blog post, it was informative, enjoyable, and most importantly - a good length!

report   
Posted by evaporator on February 22, 2011 at 3:28 AM

I am glad to talk with you and you give me great help! Thanks for that,I am wonderring if I can contact you via email when I meet problems.

report   
Posted by ball joint on February 22, 2011 at 3:34 AM

www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com www.eyewearlens.com

report   
Posted by eyewearlens on February 28, 2011 at 4:21 AM

i read a lot of blogs specially interesting ones like your blog.

report   
Posted by New Era Hats on March 21, 2011 at 10:23 PM

If you find a really low price on these sunglasses online, are they fake? This is a great question, because often a price that just seems too low really may be a sign that the item is not the real thing.

report   
Posted by Ray Ban Aviators on March 25, 2011 at 4:54 AM

What an inspiring article you wrote! I totally like the useful pandora info shared in the article.pandora jewellery I like your ideas about pandora charms online and I hope in the future there can be more bright articles like this from you.

report   
Posted by pandora bracelets on April 6, 2011 at 4:37 AM
Subscribe to this thread:
Showing 1-25 of 25

Add a comment

Latest in Tampa Calling

Search Events

Recent Comments

© 2012 SouthComm, Inc.