Hello curious onlookers, friends, and professor,
If my extensive Spotify-browsing and exposure to pop culture has convinced me of anything, it is this: queer musicians smashing barriers in the music industry is a //fact//.
Essentially, my blog for the Digital Media Criticism (INGL3300) course served as a space that explored how musicians' queer (non-heterosexual identifying) identities transcended into their music.
In an attempt to be cohesive and organized, I created a [[Library]] of all things queer.
To learn some trivia about the author behind the blog, [[check this out]]
That being said, what //is// queer and why is it relevant that a musician express that part of their identity?
Fall into this [[queer rabbit hole]] to find out.Library:
[[Articles]]
[[Podcast]]
[[Video criticism]]
[[Spotify Playlist Featuring Every Song Analyzed in Queer B-Sides]]
Return to [[introduction]] Julianna M. Canabal-Rodriguez is an aloof 20-year-old who enjoys dogs, words, fro-yo and the sounds of The Internet (the band). She is currently the Senior Editor for Her Campus UPRM and a (not so) fresh-faced peer tutor at the UPRM English Writing Center.
She hosts Spoti-fests and spends much of her spare time digging up the music-verse for tunes, as well as compartmentalizing her emotions into playlists as a kind of diary.
This is she:
<img
src="https://queerbsides.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/jul-n-dog.png">
Go back to [[introduction]]
or perhaps find yourself back in the [[Library]]In Peter Orlik's work, //Media Criticism in a Digital Age//, he writes that legitimate criticism results from "conscientious comprehension leading to an informed judgment that includes the responsibility to formulate //positive// as well as negative opinion."
So, Orlik argues that the critic who approaches any subject must decipher the media product through a nuanced approach that evaluates both its positive and negative elements.
In my first <a href= "https://queerbsides.wordpress.com/2017/02/01/frank-oceans-case-of-bad-religion/">article</a> as a critic, I examine Frank Ocean's heartbreak over his unrequited love for a man in his song "Bad Religion"
If you're interested in more Frank Ocean content, there's a feature-length [[Podcast]] dedicated in its entirety, about him.<img src= "https://68.media.tumblr.com/2b837380eb97818041e548d80b98b463/tumblr_os9raiDVd61wtnnnso1_540.jpg">
A wild Shamir bursting in color.
<img src= "https://68.media.tumblr.com/b8e43030236809c3360f054213f66498/tumblr_os9refXfN31wtnnnso1_500.gif">
A cross-dressing Freddie Mercury who just wanted to break free.
<img src= "https://68.media.tumblr.com/4f59aa105ecff471abe03be3c6fcfe84/tumblr_os9rg87KPq1wtnnnso1_400.gif">
Some machines spinning in a record studio.
<img src= "https://68.media.tumblr.com/350f78b3e9d8ddc21e82c3f4703e5f61/tumblr_os9rdbOG2G1wtnnnso1_540.gif">
My platonic crush Rostam Batmanglij singing in his music video for "Gravity Don't Pull Me"
<img src= "https://68.media.tumblr.com/8a7dce40ac43aa56491703b852e15a38/tumblr_os9rhf32W91wtnnnso1_540.png">
An image of my indecisive self wearing headphones when I felt pressured to decide on a topic.
<img src= "https://68.media.tumblr.com/dab2d115ff4846854bf9472a3697a2c0/tumblr_os9ri1f0361wtnnnso1_540.jpg">
A mixtape cassette.
<img src= "https://68.media.tumblr.com/6d2a545669f73087e534ddf66b78006f/tumblr_os9sv0ANld1wtnnnso1_540.png">
Sample breakdown videos from my favorite artists.
<img src= "https://68.media.tumblr.com/0c738e82b1faaceda8a185fdd8623f49/tumblr_os9ri02SfA1wtnnnso1_500.gif">
A person who doesn't fit into any boxes.
--
Suddenly, I had a Eureka and, then, I //[[knew]]//.
To return to the [[queer rabbit hole]] or to the [[introduction]]
[[Frank Ocean's Case of "Bad Religion"]]
[[Rostam Reimagines Queer Love Songs With "Wood"]]
[[KAYTRANADA Takes A Trip To The '90s With "You're The One" Video]]
[[St. Vincent Presents: Gender-Defying Prince Johnny"]]
[[6 Criminally Underrated Breakup Anthems For Crying Or Hell-Raising]]
[[Contrasting the Aesthetics of Syd's "Fin" and The Internet's "Ego Death"]]
[[5 Protest Songs About La Lucha Puertorriqueña]] In my feature podcast entitled //Channel Ocean//, alongside Broadcast Noise blogger Claudia Irizarry, we delve into Frank Ocean's artistry by exploring his roots, the significance behind his biggest hits, and what sets him apart from other artists in the realms of R&B and hip-hop.
<iframe width="100%" height="450" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/315776518&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true"></iframe>
Return to the [[Library]] or
if you're starving for some more premium Frank Ocean content, (re)visit my article [[Frank Ocean's Case of "Bad Religion"]]
or even my Spotify playlist <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/1241692302/playlist/0SsTbHBhi5L8Cz2mBoOnnw">Franki (full)</a>, a discographic playlist of Franki's music.As a Spotify junkie, I habitually log my feelings onto playlists I make. To simplify the process of listening to the music I wrote about (for readers), I am linking a page that contains playlists I made for this blog:
<a href="https://queerbsides.wordpress.com/queerbplaylist/">Queer B-Sides Spotify Playlist Masterpost</a>
Enjoy!
<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/846ad967b5b616787b76b1a2979b0c5f/tumblr_osagbgkRIK1wtnnnso1_540.jpg">
Return to [[Library]]The brave new world of INGL3300, dubbed [[Digital Media Criticism]], took a turn, both wonderful and strange, when Dr. Leonardo Flores instructed us to pick a topic we were enthused enough about to blog about for a whole semester.
After cracking my head about what I would possibly write about, this is what I [[found]].//"Prince Johnny, you're kind but you're not simple / By now, I think you know the difference"// is just one way Annie Clark begins a ballad dedicated and loosely based on her transgender friend Johnny.
While Annie Clark of St. Vincent has mentioned feeling as though she could fall in love with anyone, she'd rather sing about Johnny, who spends his nights roaming the “downtown freak, weirdo, queer scene” of New York, but comes home to hollow heartbreak from others’ rejection of his authentic self.
<img src="https://queerbsides.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/chi-pitchfork-lineup-20140320-001.jpg?w=1000">
My article <a href="https://queerbsides.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/st-vincent-presents-gender-defying-prince-johnny/">St. Vincent Presents: Gender-Defying "Prince Johnny"</a> explores the dimensions of her ballad to her queer friend.
If you're unsure of where to go next, visit the [[Library]]
or
Curious to learn about the emerging solo artist Syd whose neo-soul voice makes listeners swoon?
Then what are you waiting for? Syd awaits in her own page [[Contrasting the Aesthetics of Syd's "Fin" and The Internet's "Ego Death"]].
PWR BTTM were (once) on a rollercoaster that only went up. They were queer icons in their own right, and formed a band that spoke up for its transgender fans by performing at venues with gender-neutral bathrooms and redefined what it means to make queer punk rock.
And then, PWR BTTM were accused of sexual assault.
Claudia Irizarry from <a href="https://broadcastnoise.wordpress.com/">Broadcast Noise</a> and I teamed up to document PWR BTTM’s downfall and unpack the harsh backlash that followed.
We sought to answer two essential questions: why were PTTM punished so severely in contrast to other musicians and, perhaps most importantly, //why// doesn’t this happen more often?
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xdi_U5DrKTc?list=LLR4JmseRblLZgcapCchZAxA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>">
Return to [[Library]]I wanted to investigate some of my favorite and most admired queer musicians. I wanted to know: why I loved them so much, what the elements in their music were that made them superb, and why they should be celebrated or, at the very least, given a chance.
<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/0e78828082be6edbc9c1e2ffca191f83/tumblr_osafwchTR21wtnnnso1_540.jpg">
Understanding my favorite artists' work was intrinsically related to their queer identities. So I made it my mission to explore how.
But before you read on, read about what it means to be <a href="https://queerbsides.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/what-is-queer-and-why-does-it-matter-that-a-musician-identifies-as-that-an-introduction/">queer. </a.
<img src= "https://68.media.tumblr.com/e178a53d10730fe617deb2a718b0a0c2/tumblr_os6oizza4j1wtnnnso1_540.jpg">
return to [[Library]]Frank Ocean is an anomaly to the black community within a predominantly homophobic hip-hop/R&B scene, and he knows it.
Before Ocean, the hip-hop and R&B community lacked a voice that crooned about what it was like to be a bisexual black man in love with another man.
My first blogpost, <a href="https://queerbsides.wordpress.com/2017/02/01/frank-oceans-case-of-bad-religion/">Frank Ocean's Case of "Bad Religion"</a>, delves into Ocean's legendary (and bold) breakthrough in the music industry, starting with the famous confessional love letter he posted on Tumblr about his first love, who happened to be a man.
Go back to [[Library]]Rostam Batmanglij, the Iranian-American gay songwriter extraordinaire, besides being the former the production mastermind behind Vampire Weekend's exquisite baroque pop, is also currently at the helm of contemporary pop music. Producing masterful tracks from the likes of Carly Rae Jepsen and HAIM, Rostam's talent is on-demand.
While artists like St. Vincent's Annie Clark prefer to keep their sexuality in the background, he taps into his desire for openly gay anthems, and in my article, I write about the ways in which <a href="https://queerbsides.wordpress.com/2017/02/13/rostam-reimagines-queer-love-songs-with-wood/"> Rostam Reimagines Queer Love Songs With "Wood"</a>.
<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/07b7612f2a4353fe95feddc9bb6dbe66/tumblr_inline_osa6wieRa31r14377_540.jpg">
Return to [[Library]]KAYTRANADA, the producer of one of the funkiest records of 2016, //99.9%//, knows how to get his audience to reminisce about the '90s.
In <a href="https://queerbsides.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/kaytranada-takes-a-trip-to-the-90s-with-youre-the-one-music-video/">KAYTRANADA Takes A Trip To The '90s With "You're The One" Video</a>, I walk readers through a viewing of the music video for his track "YOU'RE THE ONE", in all its effervescence (and //Martin// references).
<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/ff3190943cb1dd6035ee4b132fbb0424/tumblr_inline_osa7aqPnQj1r14377_540.gif">
Curious for more YouTube content featuring the authors of Queer B-Sides and Broadcast Noise? Click to be teleported to our debut YouTube [[Video criticism]]
OK, it wasn't this simple.
Syd isn't just an emerging solo artist, she's the gay frontwoman of a neo-soul collective called The Internet.
<img src="https://queerbsides.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/chjkv2lxeaavb5u1.jpg">
As a part of the chapters on Aesthetics we examined in class, I chose to deconstruct my conflicted emotions through an individualistic perspective about my preference for Syd's aesthetic contributions in The Internet's album //Ego Death// rather than her debut solo album //Fin//, focusing on the sonic and lyrical distinctions of //Ego Death// while I wrestle with my disappointment for her simplistic lyricism in //Fin// in this <a href="https://queerbsides.wordpress.com/2017/03/19/contrasting-the-aesthetics-of-syd-ffin-and-the-internet-ego-death/">article</a>.
<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==">
To return to the [[Library]]Breakups, like people, contain multitudes. Every breakup is dependent and is molded (in part) by the heartbreaker and its reaction solely dependent on the heartbroken.
Though the post-breakup emotional spectrum varies on an individual level, I compiled a <a href="https://queerbsides.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/6-criminally-underrated-breakup-anthems-for-crying-or-hell-raising/">listicle</a> of songs in which queer musicians like Rostam, Shamir, and Shura manifest their pain, emotional catharses, and eventual hell-raising with these heartbreak anthems.
<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/6a02bf96c225ebcff3cf6ba6bd069155/tumblr_osaa3tEu9E1wtnnnso1_500.jpg">
(Picture alludes to Frank Ocean's emotionally devastating song <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5GUYJTQap5F3RDQiCOJhrS">"Self Control"</a>)
To return to [[Library]] or [[introduction]]In light of the UPR system's systemic strike in protest of the Fiscal Control Board's proposed $512 million dollar budget cuts, our class delved into the creation of alternate forms of digital activism.
Suddenly, Puerto Rican mothers’ claims that they are //"en la lucha”// ,ake more sense under the context of the socio-economic catastrophes we are presently riddled with.
Hundreds of Puerto Rican musicians have doubled as social activists through their music, and as Puerto Rican readers (and mothers) are well-aware, //siempre estamos en "la lucha"//. As a form of digital activism, I produced a listicle on <a href="https://medium.com/@julianna.canabal/5-puerto-rican-protest-songs-fc031603d2e3>5 Protest Songs About La Lucha Puertorriqueña</a>.
<img src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*mYcvyaVxIZ5nRwAd4yrY3Q.jpeg">
To return to either the [[Library]], the [[introduction]], or a [[meme]]-infested pageDigital activism manifests itself through alternate models. Memes, which according to Limor Shifman could be defined as "cultural
units that spread from person to person", are pervasive in today's social media landscapes. As is encapsulated in Shifman's paper, "Memes in a Digital World: Reconciling With a Conceptual Troublemaker", contemporary internet users have turned the spread of memes into a "highly visible practice", which could be rendered useful for spreading a critical commentary on whichever subject matter one wishes.
My meme draws attention to the discomfort black people are subjected to by white people when they attempt to diminish the point that the Black Lives Matter movement is trying to make.
<img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C6668a_VsAExJtT.jpg:large">
And lastly, as a means of protest, I created a <a href="< https://twitter.com/r4cistwhiteppl?lang=en">Twitter bot</a> named "Silly white people!" that posts microaggressions that people of color face in the United States on a daily basis, every three hours.
Preview of my Twitter bot:
<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/9868e9e883f82bd7ab72fcce26f7c9a9/tumblr_osaeuwkCmX1wtnnnso1_540.png">
back to [[Library]] or [[introduction]]