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Tag: Pop

  • Queering The Airwaves

    Queering The Airwaves

    Have you spent Pride Month wishing and hoping for something new and queer to listen to while you’re ironing your flags for marches? Better to come in with a noncomprehensive list of suggestions late than never, right? Besides, you should Hear Queer All Year, so even though it’s almost over, you can take these suggestions into next month, too. No one is going to stop you. I’ve made it a little easier and compiled some of my favorite songs from the artists mentioned into a playlist, which will be added to periodically. 

    For those of you interested in electropop, Die Shiny is a self-described ‘conscious art pop’ group based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Even though they’re just getting started in their career in surreal music made for anti-capitalistic, anti-AI queers, they’ve had a fucking amazing go of it so far. Maybe it’s because I am a human who wants the ruling class to be Embalmed, but the music they create is insanely relatable. All around, it is easy to get absorbed in the music and the message. 

    Speaking of artists with only a handful of incredible songs, cyberpunk duo Chromera is playing during an apocalypse near you! If you’ve ever done something completely normal, like bought groceries, and still felt that the world around you had turned into a dystopian hellscape, you’d probably get a kick out of Save Urself. There’s something so personal about imagining the song you’re listening to playing in some fucked up club scene in a dark dramedy. But hey, that’s just life as a nonbinary emo, I fear. 

    Ska? Ska anyone? Would anyone like some fucking ska??? JeR is here, queer, and ready to tell you to get with the fucking program. They’re not going to let you get away with being complacent. Music has always been a tool for protest and JER took the idea to heart. The thinly veiled threats in Say Gay or Say Goodnight are incredibly enjoyable when paired with that certain flare ska is known for. 

    Tay Jardine. What can I say about Tay Jardine? I’ve been a fan since 2010 when I first heard We Are the In Crowd and had the pleasure of seeing the band at Warped Tour. Tay definitely creates pop punk music for sad as fuck sapphics. I love all her projects, and I’m so excited to see what she comes up with next. If you’re looking for a set place to start, head over and listen to her self titled EP.

    Grunge pop band Gully Boys from Minnesota? A.K.A the hottest boy band in the midwest? If you’re looking to shake ass in a gay way, listen to Big Boobs. All around, Gully Boys proves to be just a fun romp in what feels like nostalgia but is probably just wistful imaginations of all the neopets we wouldn’t severely neglect this time, knowing what we know now. 

    I’m not too much of a genre buff, so forgive me if I’m wrong but Elio Mei is something of an indie folk anomaly. I certainly don’t know What’s Going On either, Elio, but I’m here for it. Their music invokes this sort of whimsical imaginary world while still remaining relatable in a queer clown sort of way. 

    Did someone say Lesbian Punk? A little old school as they’re a band from the 90s, but I’d be remiss not to mention the pioneers of the genre Team Dresch. As disheartening as a 30 year old song like I’m Illegal still being painfully relevant today is, it at least provides comfort that queer people have gotten through it before and we will make it through still. I’d give them a listen if you love girls and are mad at the government. Which I think would totally make an awesome Team Dresch t-shirt. 

    Another throwback and maybe someone you weren’t even aware had come out is David Archuleta. I know recommending someone of American Idol fame isn’t an original idea, but it’s as I said, maybe you didn’t know he was queer. Now you do! And while songs from his Mormon Heartthrob days are still worth a spin, I definitely will be listening to Creme Brulee on repeat even after Pride Month ends. (Sneaky book rec for his new memoir “Devout”). 

  • Harper Kill by Harper Kill

    Harper Kill by Harper Kill

    Artist: Harper Kill 

    Album: Harper Kill 

    Release: April 10, 2026; Tiny Lighter Records 

    I am going to be real with y’all, I don’t know much about the musical history of Michigan other than the fact that Eminem vomited his mom’s spaghetti onto a sweater there once, and a guy named Andy likes to party really hard there. Well, those 2 things, and the fact that one of the most interesting  punk bands I have heard in recent times call Grand Rapids, Michigan home. Harper Kill roughly 2 years ago served up a tiny taste of what they had to offer when they released their first EP “A Taste of Harper Kill”. I was absolutely enamored by it. So it is an understatement to say that I am stoked to just now be dished out a full helping of Harper Kill. 

    First, I want to point out the the songs from the EP are also included on this album. It kind of amuses me that they literally said they were giving us a taste of “Harper Kill” their full length album. I adore the pun. Seriously! For real I am only bringing this up because I had assumed my favorite song on the album would be “Death and Taxes” from the EP. I wrote about how much I loved it [here]. Boy was I wrong. While that song is still at the top “The Sun Will Do You Good” instantly won me over as my favorite from this release. It starts out with almost cartoonishly bright guitar. Then, the first words drift in sounding up beat and well meaning “We think its time to go outside, the sun will do you good”. Yes, the stereotypical advice delivered to individuals dealing with depression. Well intentioned, but realistically never a fix all. It is a great way to start a song that is about struggling with mental health and dealing with people who do not really understand, but try to help anyway. The line that really hits for me is the line from the chorus “I’ve got swagger like I’m Anthony Bourdain”. First off, of all the pop culture celebrities, he is probably the most punk and definitely has massive amounts of swagger. More importantly, however, is that he was an individual who battled with mental health even though he wasn’t very candid about it while he was alive. So, in a sense, this line has a double meaning. Its saying I am a cool guy while also saying—secretly, I am struggling y’all. This combined with the contrast of bright positive sound of the music and the grim reality of the lyrics make the song something really special. 

    “B.L.O.A.T.” is the sleeper hit to come over from the EP. It is such a great song and the opening guitar and bass are just super engaging and the guitar solo towards the end is the pure cherry on top. I must confess that the opening verse really sent me into a mini existential crisis. It straight up got me wondering if I am the B.L.O.A.T. I am constantly complaining about the government, about how things need to be run differently and I often do it with little regard for appropriate timing. Ultimately, the song is about the struggle of cutting a longterm friend out of your life after you have clearly grown past them. However, for me at least it is a nice reminder to maybe be a little more chill and self aware in regards to how I interact with my friends.  

    I am sure that I have said this a few times in the past, but I am mostly a lyrics and meaning kind of guy. The music is often secondary for me as a way to help convey and enhance the way the song is supposed to make you feel. “Antidote” makes me crumble up that belief and throw it in the bin. The guitars in this song are so swanky so cool that I just want to sit there and listen to them all day. The PA bit and bell that periodically rings through out the song adds this additional richness to the song that I love. The vocal performance becomes secondary in the song. Dylan Perkins has an exceptional voice especial for a punk band and here in this song it punctuates the music in a fantastic way. The lyrics become somewhat tertiary in my total enjoyment of this particular song.  The lyrics are about the souring of a relationship and I find myself wondering if it is the same relationship featured in “B.L.O.A.T.”. “Antidote” is the point in the relationship where the realization is made that it is toxic. And “B.L.O.A.T.” is the actual end. This is my head canon, anyhow. 

    Harper Kill, the album, is a great full length initial offering that has somehow exceeded the high expectations I had for it after the release of the 2024 EP. Every song on the album is a banger. Harper Kill, the band, manages to capture a sound that is high reminiscent for early 2000’s pop-punk while having their finger firmly on the pulse of modern culture and issues. Their willingness to engage with those issues is admirable and very befitting a modern punk band. I honestly feel that Harper Kill is going to go places. If I were you, I would definitely invest early in Harper Kill—as the kids say—because there are gains to be had.