Tag Archives: music

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Pride Challenge: Day 14

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Your favorite LGBT song or artist. 

So, I’m going to be cliched here and say Mary Lambert.

When I was dating Minx, hearing her songs for the first time – that was revelatory.  Not that I didn’t think that there was something worth celebrating about being in a relationship with a woman, but that there was a relatively mainstream artist who was celebratory about her queer relationships, instead of sweeping them under the carpet.

Then I heard she was a local artist and that she went to school with Lola.  So, yeah, the connection to her music hasn’t withered at all.  “Same Love” still makes me tear up, each time I hear it.

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November Write 11

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It is hard to write about even the very recent past and the emotions of the day when you are in an entirely different headspace, but I will try (though it may be brief).

Last night I went to a concert with Diplomat, June, and Star.  We all met up for drinks and chat a couple hours beforehand, along with one of June’s good friends (who wasn’t going to the concert, but wanted the chance to drink and chat).  Afterwards we walked together to the bar the concert was in (all of a block away or so) during the one of the openers, so I got the chance to meet a number of Diplomat and June’s friends from a different community, which was amazing, and made me feel very loved and welcomed.

The space itself was not very large, with a pretty standard set up: stage in the back with dancing/standing space, door in the front, bar on the left, limited seating on the right.  Good light levels.  There was a fair sized crowd for the space – for me, perfect sized for the space.  Not so crowded that I had to keep a scan for my exits going and there was always space to move around.  So that helped me relax immensely.

The singer was a member of a band I knew in college and whose break up concert I went to about eight or so years ago.  I forgot how fabulous his voice was, especially in person.  Wow.  And he chose to engage the audience, actually had us participate in the experience, which made me very happy.  And the music was perfect to move to, to flow to.  And having such a great part of my chosen family with me – that made the experience many times better.  Such joy, love, and compersion.  Just…wow.

As I posted while I was waiting for my pelmini after the show (Delicious Russian dumplings, either in potato or beef, with whatever toppings you order – I got mac and cheese.  So much cheese!  Also, just about the perfect late night food, especially after drinking), it was the happiest I’ve been for a long time.  Pure, unadulterated, delight.

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November Write 10

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I grew up with a vaguely Christianesque religious background – Easter and Christmas, religious overtones at funerals, prayers at family meals both immediate and extended (my sister and I instituted it in our household – I think more as a measure of gratitude than religiosity), and the Christian bible, both Old and New Testament, was available to read easily (though never mandatory).

I “lost” religion like I “lost” my virginity: slightly awkwardly, but have enjoyed the experience afterwards quite a lot.

Right now, I tend towards spirituality of the loosely pagan sort.  I am agnostic about the existence of a god or gods – no one has proved it, nor disproved it solidly enough for me.  I do solidly believe in the great power of nature to create and destroy.  I have occasionally done tarot spreads to help me figure out something that is troubling me or to meditate on a problem or a joy in my life, though I have not found a deck that pulls me in as an adult yet, though I am looking.  I do get a sense of holiness about certain sites – Stonehenge, some churches, the piazza in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and the ocean, being the ones that come immediately to mind.

Music is my form of worship (which, I think, may explain why I like gospel music so much).  The closer to up close and personal it gets, the more profound the experience is.  It transcends the bullshit, gets right to the sound of humanity.  Music is something humans have used for many thousands of years to express our joy and sorrow – it is a quintessential part of being human, I think, which makes it very holy to me.  Gregorian chanting is very beautiful and profoundly holy sounding to me but so is the experience in a small comfortable bar listening to a favorite band, or sitting on the deck or in the living room of a friend listening to others jam or jamming one’s self.

To top this off, I offer one thing – Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, sung by the man himself: https://youtu.be/YrLk4vdY28Q.  This song has been resonating in my brain.  It is, to me, a holy thing.