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Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and the Great Gay-Pander-Off of 2010
Nicki, P!nk, Gaga, and those two other ones taste the rainbow
Gomillion & Leupold
Ke$ha, wrapping herself in multiple flags
Details
Katy Perry
(#14 and #27 singles)
Lady Gaga (tie #27 single)
Ke$ha
(tie #47 single)
Pazz and Jop 2010
Rise of the Douchebags
Kanye West and James Murphy turn their private flaws into public triumphs
By Zach Baron
Never Forget
Cee Lo Green sums up 2010 in two little words
By Rob Harvilla
Little Pink Polos for You and Me
Wallowing and/or reveling in social anxiety with Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend
By Eric Harvey
The Wayward Crucifixion of M.I.A.
On the dodgy, opportunistic, truffle-fry-fueled campaign against both Maya and Maya
By Charles Aaron
Attack of the Singing Rappers
On Drake, Nicki Minaj, B.o.B., and the art of the debut-as-pop-crossover
By Clover Hope
Leave Chillwave Alone
In defense of the nostalgia-steeped genre Ariel Pink both invented and abandoned
By Simon Reynolds
The Internet-Rap Atomization
Odd Future, Lil B, Wiz Khalifa, et al. build tiny kingdoms, and rule them
By Tom Breihan
Justin Bieber, Twitter Casanova
The Most Popular Boy in the World rules the only voting bloc that matters: pre-teen girls
By Camille Dodero
The Top Ten
From Kanye West to The Suburbs
Stuff We Like
Rick Ross Lies, the Rolling Stones Plunder, And Taylor Swift Triumphs
The Personals
Industry Woes, Cultural Theories, Polite Suggestions, and Calls of Bullshit
(#14 and #27 singles)
Lady Gaga (tie #27 single)
Ke$ha
(tie #47 single)
Pazz and Jop 2010
Rise of the Douchebags
Kanye West and James Murphy turn their private flaws into public triumphs
By Zach Baron
Never Forget
Cee Lo Green sums up 2010 in two little words
By Rob Harvilla
Little Pink Polos for You and Me
Wallowing and/or reveling in social anxiety with Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend
By Eric Harvey
The Wayward Crucifixion of M.I.A.
On the dodgy, opportunistic, truffle-fry-fueled campaign against both Maya and Maya
By Charles Aaron
Attack of the Singing Rappers
On Drake, Nicki Minaj, B.o.B., and the art of the debut-as-pop-crossover
By Clover Hope
Leave Chillwave Alone
In defense of the nostalgia-steeped genre Ariel Pink both invented and abandoned
By Simon Reynolds
The Internet-Rap Atomization
Odd Future, Lil B, Wiz Khalifa, et al. build tiny kingdoms, and rule them
By Tom Breihan
Justin Bieber, Twitter Casanova
The Most Popular Boy in the World rules the only voting bloc that matters: pre-teen girls
By Camille Dodero
The Top Ten
From Kanye West to The Suburbs
Stuff We Like
Rick Ross Lies, the Rolling Stones Plunder, And Taylor Swift Triumphs
The Personals
Industry Woes, Cultural Theories, Polite Suggestions, and Calls of Bullshit
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Aged gays like Karl Lagerfeld, Bruce LaBruce, and Fran Lebowitz have spoken against gay marriage, conceptually suggesting that the binding normality we're now striving for is antithetical to our previous fight for the freedom to be queer and live outside society's ideals. A song won't get you hospital visitation rights or remove inheritance tax, but there is something uncomfortably normalizing, too, in pop music's faddish embrace of gay acceptance. But then again, Eminem himself said this year, in seemingly reluctant support of gay marriage, that "I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable, if they want." Perhaps all of us have the right to be coddled into buying pop music, but it's not like we weren't already. These purportedly strong, colorful, beautiful, and popular women who sing over cheerful house derivatives would of course appeal generally to gay men; it's nice to be acknowledged, but any fan-fishing by way of pro-gay gestures is strictly redundant. We're 10 steps ahead of you, girls. Once again, the straight world struggles to catch up.
10 comments
what is it with the angry lebians, who commented, on your "soundcheck" talk today? you were talking about gay icons,and they[the lesbians] felt exluded? so much for gay-lesbian solidarity,[which has some truth to it, but also, quite a bit of b.s. anyway]. btw-is not the term gay, supposed to be inclusive in certain contexts,yet we still say, gay and lebian, in other situations. dazed and confused..............the bigger point is that the discussion was more specifically about gay[male] icons. if it were about lesbian icons, it would have been undeerstood as such,and you would have had, angry gay males, calling and commenting. duh.................!!
I don't listen to rap music. As an older woman, most modern, popular music is something I miss (de gustibus non desputandum est). So excuse my ignorance when I state I was shocked to read about the hatred of homosexuals put forth in rap music. I had no idea it was that prevalent!
Is it somehow fashionable for rappers to despise homosexuals? Are gays the new blacks?
"We're 10 steps ahead of you, girls. Once again, the straight world struggles to catch up." I would hope so. How could a straight person or even gay lady be within 1000 steps of of a person that is gay 24/7? Ke$ha, her songs are about being hot for "dudes". She wrote a song inspired by gay bashing that's not enough?. Lady Gaga is bi, wrote a song referencing the experience(Poker Face) and told the world about and titled her album "Born This Way". What is exactly the problem here?. Getting on Kate Bush now, really?. Topically groundbreaking in many areas especially sexuality, Have you heard "Kashka From Baghdad"?. Maybe gays like her and Siouxsie Sioux because their great musicians.(Off topic: Crime they both not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). This article is self centered in any orientation.
Ok, read the article again, dear. He didn't "get on" Kate Bush and SIouxsie Sioux. He's saying they're great examples of gay icons because they inspire the gay men that listen to them, but they don't make a ridiculous show about their gay following and support for gay rights, unlike the previously mentioned women who have just decided to jump along the bandwagon and whose ideas of "individuality" aren't even that solitary in the first place.
Nothing like blasting allies with insults. So typical.
Ryan below is right, they're straight people talking to straight people. And as your own article notes: " these are singers first, not activists or sociologists."
Go after the real culprits (see first half of your article). Challenge the real bigots and the closeted hypocrites (!!!) instead of wasting space being small-minded, condescending and snarky toward people who are trying in their own small ways to be nice.
If you want to challenge such people, do it with love not arrogance.
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They're not allies if they're just using people to make money. And what kind of an ally would let someone yell anti-gay slurs on their song while claiming to have a gay male alter-ego?
Eminem, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, etc are social conservatives? You out of your rabbit ass mind?
Great article. I don't know that I read these songs as courting gay people, though. I think it's safe to assume that the intended audiences for these songs are straight people, not gay people, and that any purported consciousness-raising from them will be on the part of straight people, not gay people (most of whom, as you point out, are already there). If these shiny hooks open the eyes of a few straight people who need to be beaten over the head with gay representation because they struggle with subtext, or if they provide comfort to young gay men and women who are simply seeking mainstream representation where it otherwise so rarely exists, these songs are all right with me.
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