To commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall riots on June 28th, 1969, every June has been designated LGBT Pride Month in the United States. In honor of the 45th anniversary of the riots, here's a list of eight incredible alternative songs with LGBT themes.
1. Green Day - "Coming Clean" (1994)
Though there appears to be a gay joke in the lyrics to Green Day's "Basketcase" ("I went to a whore, he said my life's a bore..."), there's actually some truth behind this line. Billie Joe Armstrong may never have actually visited a male prostitute, but he did struggle to come to terms with his bisexuality, something that he sings about in "Coming Clean" from Dookie.
2. Sleater-Kinney - "One More Hour" (1997)
When Sleater-Kinney first formed in 1994, guitarists Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker were a couple, something that was revealed without their permission in an article for Spin. The relationship didn't last long, and for 1997's Dig Me Out, Tucker would write the song "One More Hour" about the breakup of the relationship.
3. Frank Ocean - "Forrest Gump" (2012)
When Frank Ocean revealed in 2012 that he had once fallen in love with another man, he became one of the first major R&B/hip-hop stars to out himself as a member of the LGBT community. With the knowledge of his sexuality, the songs on his album Channel Orange take on another dimension, including "Forrest Gump," which on the surface seems to simply be a song about Forrest Gump from the perspective of Jenny, but actually represents his feelings for another man.
4. Lou Reed - "Walk On the Wild Side" (1972)
Lou Reed was famous for bringing dark and taboo subject matter to rock music, and his most famous song as a solo artist is the perfect representation of his lyrical aesthetic. 1972's "Walk On the Wild Side" was inspired by some of Andy Warhol's superstars, including transgendered actresses Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling, whom Reed refers to by name.
5. The Smiths - "This Charming Man" (1983)
Until the release of his autobiography in 2013, Morrissey had never officially come out as gay or bisexual, though he's been dancing around the subject since the very beginning of his career. He wrote the lyrics to the Smiths' second single "This Charming Man" as a reaction to his distaste for mainstream gay culture at the time, telling the story of one man quaintly attempting to seduce another.
6. The Magnetic Fields - "Andrew In Drag" (2012)
Indie pop band the Magnetic Fields has a close relationship with LGBT culture, as lead songwriter Stephin Merritt is gay and originally wrote the album 69 Love Songs for a drag queen revue. One of the most explicit LGBT-themed songs in the band's catalogue is 2012's "Andrew in Drag," about a man who falls in love with another man after seeing him dressed as a woman.
7. Bikini Kill - "Rebel Girl" (1993)
Kathleen Hanna and Bikini Kill were at the forefront of the riot grrl scene in the Pacific Northwest, fusing their lyrics with plenty of feminist and LGBT rhetoric. The band's best known song is "Rebel Girl," about a young girl, possibly a lesbian, who moves into the neighborhood, and depending on the gender of the song's narrator, which is never specified, the song takes on two different meanings. If it's a girl, the song is about a young girl discovering that she's a lesbian ("In her kiss, I taste the revolution"). If it's a boy, then the song is about a young boy discovering that he's transgendered, or at least a cross-dresser ("I want to take you home/I want to try on your clothes").
8. Neutral Milk Hotel - "Little Birds" (2011)
"Little Birds" is one of just two new songs that Neutral Milk Hotel has released since its 1998 album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Though singer Jeff Mangum's explanation of the song involves a surreal story of a boy who's murdered for having birds inside of his body, the song's true meaning is revealed in its dedication to Matthew Shephard, who was murdered in 1998 for his sexuality.
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