Give it up for week two! Pride month is raging on, despite what some people in this country have to say about it, and we hope you’ve been making the most out of this celebratory month for our community. Whether you’ve been out and about or staying in this June, one thing that cannot be overlooked to ring in any Pride festivities is the music. Thankfully, this month is packed with outstanding and versatile new releases from a ton of queer artists.
This week, we have been graced with show-stopping collaborations, stellar singles and shimmering songwriting from a variety of queer musicians. Let’s keep the joy of this month going and take a gander at some new releases in this week’s edition of “bop after bop”:
“VULGAR” by Sam Smith & Madonna
Madonna is no stranger to backlash, and when Sam Smith faced massive blowback after the release of “Unholy,” it appears the Queen of Pop took matters into her own hands and teamed up with the Grammy-winning artist for “VULGAR” as a response. The track is both fierce and ferocious, featuring chants telling haters to “go f**ck themselves” atop a club-ready, ballroom-inspired beat. The song not only vigorously defends queer expression but also empowers it, as Sam sings, “Look like I’m dressed to kill, love how I make me feel / You know you’re beautiful when they call you vulgar / I do what I wanna, I go when I gotta. I’m sexy, I’m free.” S&M (as this iconic duo calls themselves) has cooked up just what we needed this month, and we’re HERE for it.
“Oh The Glamour” by Aluna, Pabllo Vittar, & MNEK (with Eden Prince)
Aluna, who makes up one-half of the electronic duo AlunaGeorge, has teamed up with Pabllo Vittar and MNEK to make us feel glamorous with the new track “Oh The Glamour”, produced by Eden Prince. The song kicks into a smooth, infectious house-inspired beat with Aluna opening the track, and listeners are soon christened with the shimmering, sensational vocals of queer music royalty MNEK and Pabllo Vittar, all so casually humming “Oh, the glamour / to be glamorous every day” It’s communal, celebratory and entices you to strut down the sidewalk in all your glamour, day in and day out.
“Oversized Sweater” by Shamir
Tinted with nostalgia and melancholy, Shamir plucks at our heartstrings with their touching new single “Oversized Sweater”. It marks a welcome shift to a guitar-driven, alternative sound from the 28-year-old artist, and serves as the opening track for their upcoming album “Homo Anxietatem”, out August 18th. It evokes the sensation of sitting in your room, reflecting on a lost love in a diaristic state, and the accompanying music video reflects just that. Both mournful and hopeful, Shamir delivers another precious piece of art, and their next body of work promises to deliver just that.
“Out Of Time” by Slayyyter
She may be out of time, but we have ALL the time in the world for Slayyyter’s new track. “Out of Time” is a stellar, self-assured pop spectacle, with Slayyyter delivering one of her most infectious songs to date. Effortlessly evolving from her hyper-pop past, the track is an electrifying, retro-pop soundscape that perfectly mirrors what’s hot in the music scene at the moment, but nobody can quite deliver that killer, dancefloor edge that this artist’s vocals give. The lyrics take you there as well, setting the scene for this 80’s-inspired banger, “Feels like you could die in the city lights / Better say goodnight, kiss it all goodbye / Say goodnight, angel eyes / You could be out of time” It’s a polished pop gem, something Slayyyter is no stranger to serving, and it only leaves us craving more from her new era.
“Obvious” by The Drums
Jonny Pierce’s one-man indie-pop project The Drums is making it “Obvious” just how talented he is at crafting a solid, summer tune. Lyrically, the track is a radiant reckoning with the love that Pierce is surrounded by, and the transformative notion of realizing what’s been there all along. Sonically, it delves into the dreamy, guitar-driven alt-rock sound Jonny has come to be known for. Marrying these two elements creates a unique, buzzing joy of a single, and guarantees us to stay tuned in for the artist’s forthcoming sixth studio album.
Gabby
“Mood like Madonna”
Pietro D
OBVIOUS is “obvious!
Joshooeerr
Does pop music get any more narcissistic and self-important than this?
abfab
Yes.
“I’m Beautiful”
Uncanny Alliance/Bette Midler
“That’s it, baby! When you got it, flaunt it, flaunt it!”
“This is the Divine Miss M
and I’m here to share with you some rare
and stimulating insight into my cosmic fabulosity.
It’s really very simple. I smiply believe with all my heart:”
I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, dammit!
I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, dammit!
I’m beautiful, so beautiful, I’m beautiful, dammit!
I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, dammit!
“Go away, little girl,” they used to say.
“Hey, you’re too fat, baby, you can’t play.”
“Hold on, miss thing, what you trying to do?
You know you’re too wack to be in our school.”
Too wack, too smart, too fast, too fine,
too loud, too tough, too too divine.
I said you don’t belong. You don’t belong.
Too loud, too big, too much to bear,
too bold, too brash, too prone to swear.
I heard that song for much too long.
Ain’t this my sun? Ain’t this my moon?
Ain’t this my world to be who I choose?
Ain’t this my song? Ain’t this my movie?
Ain’t this my world? I know I can do it.
I’m not too short, I’m not too tall,
I’m not too big, I’m not too small.
Ooh, don’t lemme start lovin’ myself!
Ooh, don’t lemme start lovin’ myself!
I’m not too white, I’m not too black,
I’m not too this, I’m not too that.
Ooh, don’t lemme start lovin’ myself!
Ooh, don’t lemme start lovin’ myself!
I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, dammit!
I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, dammit!
It’s time to call it what it is. Don’t play the naming game.
Become what you were born to be and be it unashamed.
“Go away, little boy,” I can hear them say,
“Everybody on the block says they think you’re gay.
Hold on, my friend, do you think we’re blind?
Take a look at yourself. You’re not our kind.”
Too black, too white, too short, too tall,
too big, too green, too red, too small.
I said you don’t belong. You don’t belong.
Too black, too white, too short, too tall,
too blue, too green, too red, too small.
I heard that song for much to long.
Ain’t this my sun? Ain’t this my moon?
Ain’t this my world to be who I choose?
Ain’t this my song? Ain’t this my movie?
Ain’t this my world? I know I can do it.
People always ask me,
“Miss M, how did you get so far
on so little?” Shut up!
Well, I woke up one morning,
flossed my teeth and decided,
“Damn, I’m fierce!” You look good!
You can be just like me! A goddess? Yeah!
Don’t just pu ss y foot around and sit on your assets.
Unleash your ferocity upon an unsuspecting world.
Rise up and repeat after me: “I’m beautiful!”
I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful!
Can you say that?
I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful!
I don’t hear you!
I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful!
Louder!
I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful!
Hey!
That’s it, baby, when you got it, flaunt it, flaunt it!
Aaaaaah!
Ain’t this my sun? My sun! Ain’t this my moon? My moon!
Ain’t this my world to be who I choose?
Ain’t this our song? Ain’t this our song?
Ain’t this our movie? Ain’t this our movie?
Ain’t this our world to be who we choose?
I’m not too short, I’m not too tall,
I’m not too big, I’m not too small.
Ooh, don’t lemme start lovin’ myself!
Ooh, don’t lemme start lovin’ myself!
I’m not too white, I’m not too black,
I’m not too this, I’m not too that.
Ooh, don’t lemme start lovin’ myself!
Ooh, don’t lemme start lovin’ myself!
I’m beautiful, dammit!