The Shuffle: Queer In Queue

By Eli O’Donnell

Something about pride month just makes me crave queer music. Whether it’s about queer people, by queer artists, or for queer audiences, I can’t stop listening. Especially during June. So, to wrap up Pride month, here are just a few of the queer songs you should definitely have queued up.

I Want To Break Free – Queen
“It’s strange but it’s true, I can’t get over the way you love me like you do!” I can’t get over how much I absolutely love this track. I felt it fitting to start with this Queen classic. The music video was banned by MTV, thanks to the Americans believing it was promoting drag. Those Yanks are no fun.

Gay Pirates – Cosmo Jarvis
This one is too cute. It’s a love song featuring a pirate lamenting his love to his shipmate, despite the stigma and disdain of the other crew members. In history, many pirates were actually gay. In a life where there are few women, crews like the Buccaneers were almost entirely and openly homosexual. Really redefines the word “matey”.

Radio-Friendly Pop Song – Matt Fishel
This song is all about when Matt Fishel was first starting in the music business. He was told to hide who he is because the masses don’t want a gay pop star. The whole track is a comment on the state of homophobia in some parts of the music and entertainment industry.

Pussy is God – King Princess
I once had a friend tell me that she couldn’t get enough lesbian pop and in that moment I realized I couldn’t name a single lesbian pop song, let alone any lesbian music off the top of my head. She quickly remedied that with this banger. King Princess often says she wasn’t thinking of any political implications when she wrote this song, and that when she writes music, she writes music first, without worrying about sexuality or politics. Art is art, first and foremost.

Boys Keep Swinging – David Bowie
What list of gay jams would be complete without a little Bowie? Scratch that, what playlist is complete without a little Bowie? A fun fact about this track is when Bowie performed this song on Saturday Night Live, he used a headless puppet and special effects to put his head on the puppet. NBC censors cut out the lyric “other boys check you out” although they didn’t catch the bouncing dick on Bowie’s puppet during the end of the performance (2:05).

Honeybee – Steam Powered Giraffe
Probably my favorite love song of all time, something about it just resonates right with me. The band behind the music is almost even more interesting than the song. Consisting of three members, Steam Powered Giraffes line up all dress like steampunk robots through the use of props and metallic makeup. One of the members, Bunny (formerly ‘Rabbit’), transitioned to female both in and out of character in 2016.

Girls / Girls / Boys – Panic! At The Disco
Ok, so, when this one was first written, it was about a threesome the lead singer Brendon Urie had one time, but since then the queer community has taken the song and turned into a bi/pan pride anthem!

i wanna be your girlfriend – girl in red
This was played directly after Pussy is God in my friend’s quest to educate me in the ways of lesbian bedroom pop. Easy listening, all about a lass in the pursuit of a lover.

Curious – Hayley Kiyoko
“Honestly Hayley Kiyoko is the lesbian QUEEN! Like the lesbian icon.” – My partner, when asked about how they would describe Hayley Kiyoko.

I’m Still Standing – Elton John
Start with a classic, end with a classic. This one is and will forever be one of my hype jams. The way Elton just captivates the feeling of kicking life in the ass despite hardships. Iconic.