Why? Today is something a bit different: an anthology cover album for trans rights! The indie label FADER has brought together a bunch of artists, including trans and queer artists I've shared here before, to raise money for the Transgender Law Center, Mermaids UK, and Rainbow Railroad. Buy it on bandcamp to support these organizations!
Where to start?
I mean, if Ezra Furman is doing something, I’m probably going to talk about it. This is probably one of her folksiest tunes, a cover of “12,000 Lines” by Big Thief.
Importantly, this anthology album is a limited time fundraiser to support trans rights. So give it a listen today, and pick it up before it disappears!
Listening to this all day and probably going to be highlighting some of my favorite tracks for #TransMusicMonday
Because I am a sucker for synthesizers, I am probably listening to blackwinterwells' cover of "Honest Mistake" on repeat for a while....holy cow, she makes this her own and I think it might be the only valid version of this song for now on 🤩
Okay, now that I stopped listening to that on repeat, continuing my listening of the FADER and Friends trans rights anthology fundraiser, and so many of these are amazing.
And Free Range blue me away with this cover of "Waterloo Sunset" by the Kinks. It was always a song I thought was just alright, but the flourish of their vocals just really brought the feels of this song alive.
I think Hedra Rowan just broke my heart with her cover of "You Don't Love Me When I Cry" by Laura Nyro. She really shows off the startling and powerful range that trans voices are capable of. If you need a moment to sit with your feels, give this a listen today:
Why? What kind of music can you make when you combine Enka, the genre of Japanese ballads and classics, with rock music? Whether you feel melancholy, nostalgic, or joyful, Nakamura's music will fit the mood. Also, Nakamura's lyrics are wonderful.
The song that made her famous that’s more in classic Enka style is “Song for a friend” (友達の歌) about a friend she was in love with but he couldn’t really see her because she hadn’t transitioned yet.
Why? Glenn’s talent may have been a part of your childhood, as he composed, wrote, and acted in Sesame Street and Mr. Dressup. His 1986 self-recorded album, Keyboard Fantasies, has been placed on top 100 lists, a pioneer in electronic music.
Where to start?
I rather like this minimalistic, calming piece, “Sunset Village,” recorded in 2020. https://youtu.be/3I6wffi4P-U
Why? A pioneer that shaped the sound of R&B in the 1960s (esp. the Toronto Sound), helped cultivate Toronto’s early queer community, and influenced glam rock and funk.
Where to start?
“Sticks and Stones” probably sums up her ethos best, as a trans woman who lovingly presented her queerness on stage. https://youtu.be/u00HYZXxxOA
Many of Jackie’s most beloved performances are covers making them entirely her own. “Any Other Way” is her most famous single. She has a smoldering and heartfelt voice feels like it’s singing just for you. The lyrics take on a double meaning for Jackie, living far away from her mother who she cared dearly for:
“She wants to know how I feel
Tell her that I am happy
Tell her that I am gay
Tell her I wouldn't have it
Any other way”
“Walking the Dog” is one of the few video recordings of her performing that’s widely available. You can get a taste for her style, all the more impressive because she was out and proud at time when it was illegal for her to dress the way she did. That said, the descriptions others give, and the impression you get in the only live recording of a concert of hers is that she was a unforgettable and divine presence.
When you look at comments on Jackie’s songs, people come out of the woodwork to say how unforgettable she was. Sadly, the wider world neglected her legacy after she retired in 1971. This may have been in part due to her unwillingness to compromise with the queerphobic and exploitative music industry, as well as wanting to take care of and be close to her mother in the US.
Remember the transcestors during #TransAwarenessWeek! Boosting Jackie Shane, a pioneer that broke ground on the R&B sound that would inform so much of modern music. She was an out and proud trans woman at a time when it was illegal to be us. Go through this #TransMusicMonday thread and listen to her amazing voice. Connect with the legacy of creativity our trans elders have gifted us. 💖
Welcome to the first Trans Music Monday! Need something fun or cathartic to ride into the weekend? Don't have enough trans genius in your playlists? I got you!
Artist: Dorian Electra (Genderfluid, they/them)
Why? You need to have your brain exploded by multimedia genius. Burning edge of hyperpop and playing with genre. Can invert your presumptions on gender and sexuality on a whim.
Where to start?
I suggest their song, "Career Boy"
From there, I think their first album, "Flamboyant" is the most approachable and just plain fun and gay. Starting here: https://youtu.be/3GkLpu2kSOU
Their second album, "My Agenda," is a drag king hyperbole of incel culture and right-wing conspiracies. The music goes harder and might be less approachable for those not interested in hyperpop. Starting here: https://youtu.be/AOgI5qsAB4w
Did you know my first ever #TransMusicMonday was actually on a Friday? In case you weren't following me then, go check out the reigning monarch of hyperpop: Dorian Electra. Especially because they released a new album last month, "Fanfare," and it is soaked in sodomy, sex, and satirical critiques of rainbow capitalism and the music industry. Definitely worth your time to give it a try:
Why? Mykki might be described as hip hop with riot grrrl edge and queer joyous exuberance. Her lines and sampling remind me of the best of 90s hip hop, while pushing past genre into something wonderfully fresh.
Where to start?
The GucciGig video highlights how fluidly they move between brilliant rap and into melodic ballad and hip-hop, with rapturous artistry abounding. https://youtu.be/TXqSIs-i_h8
She first blew me away with the video for “Wavvy,” just all the gender and music in a hardcore edge. Stick through the whole video, because they own the old masculine rap kayfabe and then blow it out of the water with her unapologetic transfemininity.
Also, want to mention how her “High School Never Ends” keeps hitting me hard, as someone who carries too many lost friends left back in a time that never seems to end now. The video is also poetic, moving, and troubling.
Artist: G.L.O.S.S a.k.a. Girls Living Outside Society’s Shit
(Corey, Sadie Switchblade, Jake, Tannrr, Julaya)
[NOTE: Does anybody know pronouns for all members of the band?]
Why? Legends of hardcore punk, G.L.O.S.S. showed up on the scene when so much of the US alt/punk scene had become dominated by manchildren singing about beer, cars, and the girls they mistreat. While they were only around for a few years, they flipped the table over, challenged sexism and transmisogyny, and helped foster “safe and tough” queer punk spaces. Their sound is all over many of my favorite trans fem bands today, speaking to how they changed the scene.
Where to start?
“Trans Day of Revenge” feels like one of those old DIY hardcore riot grrrl cassettes you happen upon in a record shop. It charges headlong into confrontation with fucked up world, short but with unrelenting energy that doesn’t stop to take a breath.
Also, a little note for my #TransMusicMonday followers, I'm going to be reboosting and sharing my trans music posts from the entire year for #TransAwarenessWeek! So keep an eye out in your feeds throughout the week for more great #Trans and gender diverse artists!
As with any hardcore band, I think you will always see them at their best live. The set below came after they were thrown into a shitstorm by transmisogynist jerks in a different band, and it captures perfectly the moment.
Much like Bikini Kill, they lead into their set by declaring a transfemininst manifesto that slaps:
“They told us we were girls
How we talk, dress, look, and cry
They told us we were girls
So we claimed our female lives
Now they tell us we aren’t girls
Our femininity doesn’t fit
We’re fucking FUTURE GIRLS, Living Outside Society’s Shit!”