Why? Flummox confounds genre and conventions in their music. While their songs always come at you hard, they often remind me of a much more queer or punk Primus, mixing a metal core with elements of funk, punk, and other genres.
Where to start?
Honestly, one of my favorite recordings of theirs is a live E.P. set. Something Flummox astounds me with is that even in live recordings, they somehow balance and mix their sound perfectly so that no part is lost but all is there in full. And this live performance really highlights that: https://youtu.be/TuPOualU60A?t=86
Of course, I think Flummox made their biggest splash a few years ago with "Trans Girls Need Guns." This one feels like someone jazzed up stoner metal that explodes into hardcore punk. Not to mention, a pretty solid thesis to the song 😈🤘
Why? While they may have split up for now, Girlpool's music is something that keeps re-emerging for me. Towards the start of their career, the sound might remind you more of the 90s and 00s indie scene, but their style was restless and traveled into spaces that are haunting and intimate, frivolous and lively.
Also, #Trans friends, especially #TransMasc folks, could you comment to this post about some other trans masc and trans men musical artists you love and songs of theirs that speak to you?
I have a few that I go back to again and again, but I feel like I need to expand my rotation of transmasc musicians/singers and want to share more here for #TransMusicMonday. I'm especially curious about music that maybe speaks to you all in the intimate ways some of my favorite trans fems can do.
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
I realized that I didn’t know many Black trans men artists, so decided to search! Discovering Glenn-Copeland was an absolute treat and I knew I wanted to share his music during #BlackHistoryMonth.
Articles point to how jazz, folk, and R&B influenced him, but the first thing that struck me was his composition reminds me of Japanese pieces I have heard on the koto and shamisen. He actually identifies traditional Chinese music and his Buddhist faith as an influence.
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
Boosting the glorious Jackie Shane for #BlackFriday
I shared about her on #TransMusicMonday this week. An R&B singer from the 60s who shaped the Toronto Sound, she left the segregationist South in the US to be an unapologetically beautiful presence in night clubs in Toronto and LA. Give her a listen today in the thread above if you haven't had the chance before.
Why? Because this is the kind of folk-y emo punk that I can't help but come back to again and again and again. Unapologetically queer and feminist, with lyrics that you can't help but let turn into earworms. You can also hear how she keeps working on her sound as the years have gone on.
Where to start?
"Gender is Boring" is the kind of awkward, ranty song that the trans heart can't help but sing.
As someone who didn't grow up knowing she was actually a girl, the first verse always hits hard, which ends with:
"Gender never really meant that much to me
Til' people started telling me how it was supposed to be
Til' the people that I loved started to say
Boys don't talk that way
Boys don't dress that way
Boys don't act that way"
Back when I thought I would always be visibly trans and queer, the song "Nvr Pass" encouraged me so much. And now that I accidentally pass more often than not, I still love the unapologetic queer ethos because this will always be true for me:
"So I'll probably never pass
Seems more like hiding than being who I am
And I'll probably never pass
I'd rather live my life visibly trans"
"Kill the Boy Band" is a manifesto criticizing the boring and uncreative music created by the endless cishet guy dominated underground scenes, and the need for radically inclusive and expansive musical acts
Also, I didn't know I needed it until I heard it, but a folk punk cover of Rilo Kiley's "The Execution of All Things" is the perfect version of this song in my mind.
#TransMusicMonday
Here's a Belgian band called K's Choice, the singer Sam Bettens is a transgender man and came out in 2019. I've known this band for a while, I've still got their 1998 album 'Cocoon Crash' somewhere. Decided to check out their new music. I like this song.
Why? Shawna's music as actually had a quiet but meaningful impact in trans communities and literature. More than once I've seen a concert of hers or mention of her pop up in a short story, and there's a reason. Her music captures the joys and struggles of a community on the margins in a way that often only folk or country music can.
Where to start?
"Gender Armageddon" is one of my favorites. It is a tight, well-written, and energetic song that releases something from inside many of us.
It has also been on my mind a lot this last week. The story the song tells parallels a loss and trauma in my own life, and the way the boy those moments centers around comes back to me in my dreams.
Because I need to "keep my body moving" as Tunde says, and their music helps me move on a Monday morning.
Where to start?
The song that told me I would fall in love with Tunde's music was the first song on their album of the same name, "Transgressor." They sing about breaking through walls, but keeping a brick to remind them of things they've done. If that's not trans power, I don't know what is.
As I mentioned, if you need to get yourself moving this Monday, I suggest "Keep Your Body Moving." It is an irrepressible dance beat that will get you up out of your seat.
Why?
To make up for this oversight, I am going to remind you all that Dorian Electra has a new album coming out and their new music is absolute fire.
Where to start?
"Sodom and Gomorrah" was exactly the energy we all needed for Pride this year.
It features amazing lyrics like this verse:
"I wanna know what they did to make him bring his wrath (Ah, ah)
Yeah, I wanna know what they did, can you show me with that ass?"
Their most recent release, "Anon," actually has been one I've chewed on a bit because I'm still not sure I have a read on it despite having hooked into my brain
One thing to keep an eye on with all of Dorian's music videos is the head smash. In every single music video, they smash at least one object on their head. It started with coffee pots and drinking glasses. They continue to find new objects to utterly destroy by smashing it on their head.
Another note on "Anon," I can't help but see the fashion as a statement on the maximalist evolution of their music from one of their earlier bangers, "Career Boy" (https://youtu.be/MDDukLyXY-M)
Also also, am I the only one that somehow gets intensely masculine vibes from their stereotypically "feminine" outfits? And sometimes more feminine vibes from their "masculine" outfits? Their power for gender inversion just blows my mind.
Why?
Because her music has been my companion during countless writing sessions and slow afternoons. It never fails to lift my spirits a bit and help me find a playfulness, even when I'm feeling like a grump.
Where to start?
I think it was "we've never met but can we have a coffee or something" where I first heard her music described as being like the moment you're sitting in a cafe when the love of your life, who you have yet to meet, happens to sit down next to you.