Our Summer Pride Month Playlist

Here is our playlist for Pride Month. We wanted to capture our experiences through these songs and also shine light on some underrated and “OG'' artists that paved the way for the LGBTQ+ community within the music industry.

Our music taste doesn’t really have a specific theme. Some songs talk about non-traditional relationships, love, heartbreak, self acceptance, and social justice. However, all these songs are meaningful to us in their own ways.

We believe that music is supposed to uplift and inspire others and that’s what these songs did for us. We have some interpersonal struggles that stem from family or society as a whole and all of these songs have positively impacted us. We learned to love ourselves and to accept who we are because love is love no matter the differences.

Conan Gray - Heather

Link: https://youtu.be/24u3NoPvgMw

Personally we feel that Heather speaks for a number of voices and not just one perspective of a character. Conan wrote this song so beautifully about his jealousy in wishing he was like Heather. At first people will think this song is about unrequited love which is not entirely wrong but it is way more than that. The layers of this song provide many ways to interpret its meaning. The gender of the addressee is never really specified, however at the end of the video (SPOILER ALERT) he dresses up as if he was supposedly wearing what Heather wears. In a gay man’s perspective this could be depicted as his love interest being straight and in love with another girl (Heather). In a straight man’s perspective the love interest could be lesbian and again in love with a girl (Heather). We are sure many people have experienced this type of situation - as have we.

Fletcher - Bitter

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDriZp6dTic

This song reminds us of the first heartbreaks that we went through, and usually the first ones are bitter and painful as it's not a mature type of love but rather can be an emotional rollercoaster. Bitter conveys the pain of wondering if the ex partner still thinks about them from time to time even within a new relationship.

Freddie Mercury (Queen) - I Want To Break Free

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Mc-NYPHaQ

Freddie Mercury and Queen are such an impactful group and artist because back in the day being gay was something people were still trying to accept and normalize. This song is also a beacon for being yourself and accepting who you are. As the song states “I want to break free” it is very relatable and surely many as well feel the same when they want to just break free from the people who are trying to say otherwise.

Hayley Kiyoko - Chance

Link: https://youtu.be/1CPzx-l1Vzc

This song well represents first time experiences and first time love. Hayley Kiyoko relates to the audience through a summer love unrequited love kind of vibe. Although it's meant to be somewhat a sad song, the vibes and beat gives it a vibe where it doesn’t drive you to be super sad. She also released this song on the first day of Pride Month - which is pretty clever for Marketing reasons.

Jordy - Long Distance

Link: https://youtu.be/5bD1e8gxbZg

This song is really inspiring considering we are in a long distance relationship ourselves. It really relates to our current situation and how love can be non-traditional. His song is about having long distance relationships and how sometimes it’s worth being far away from each other even if that means you have a stronger connection. Jordy mentions that he would rather be distant with someone he loves than someone who lives near him and doesn’t feel much for. Love can be real whether it is found online or in person. We discovered Jordy on TikTok who was slowly rising to fame.

King Princess - 1950

Link: https://youtu.be/LNxWTS25Tbk

This song targets the social injustice that the LGBTQ+ community faced back in history. This just promotes that nothing is wrong being a part of the community and identifying with different sexualities. Everyone should be proud of who they are without social injustice getting in the way.

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV1FrqwZyKw

Born This Way was Lady Gaga’s freedom song, as the lyrics clearly say “I was born this way”. This just justifies the feelings of being proud to be in the LGBTQ+ community. Even though the statement of being born gay or other can be disputed, this song still remains powerful because, again, being who you are and loving who you want to love should be accepted in society.

Lil Nas X - MONTERO

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6swmTBVI83k

This song, although controversial, packs a punch. The meaning behind this song references a man who Lil Nas X fell in love with but wasn’t out as gay yet. He alludes to him being unhappy pretending to be someone else. This influences others who are concerned about coming out to be happy with who they are and not pretend to be someone who they are not. Creating and releasing a song that speaks to the LGBTQ+ community also provides a voice for those who don’t have a large audience like Lil Nas X.

s o l i - Rebel Angel

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4n6R2FIuvs

This song is very impactful because it has the theme of parents perceiving their kids as being rebels and disobedient when that’s far from the truth. This song can also relate to parents or society not accepting the LGBTQ+ because it goes against their traditions or beliefs. Sometimes growing up it is hard to fully open up and be yourself around parents when they have older perceptions on morals and what is acceptable. s o l i is an aspiring artist who wants to positively impact her LGBTQ+ listeners along with every other listener through music.

Taylor Swift - You Need To Calm Down

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkk9gvTmCXY

This iconic song sent waves through the LGBTQ+ community when Taylor Swift came out. The feeling on this song gives a really chill and empowering summer vibe. The lyrics Taylor rights gives the whole community a sense of strength and power regardless of what views other people may have. The music video of this song is very bright and fun. Taylor Swift cameos a bunch of popular LGBTQ+ people in the MV. The visuals target the haters and people who are against the LGBTQ+ community and prove that they should just “calm down”.

Troye Sivan - Wild

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8G4oaOxyxk

This song promotes the theme of loving who you love no matter what form it is in. Troye sings about new emotions and butterflies when you first meet someone. The common themes, like love is love, appear in a lot of LGBTQ+ songs. This song examines the experience of going through a feeling of what is close to lust, or wanting someone that you know you can’t have or you are told you shouldn’t be with.

Years & Years - Starstruck

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGfaYTIYh40

This song is so classic as it represents self love and self acceptance for oneself. As shown in the music video we see Years & Years running away from himself as his other self is trying to get him to love him. It may sound very confusing at first but as you watch through and read the lyrics it slowly starts to make sense. In fact it also showcases and relates to the artist as one point in their life, they felt like they were disgusted with their own self. It does take a lot of time and healing to eventually love yourself. Its never as easy as it seems but when you do, it is the best feeling.