An LGBTQ+ Inspired Playlist to Close Out Pride Month

As June draws to a close, so too does our Pride Month series here at The Persistent's You Might Like. We’ve explored LGBTQ+ friendly travel destinations, LGBTQ+ books to take on your next adventure (or to curl up at home with), and compelling LGBTQ+ forward shows to stream. Now, it’s time to pump up the volume with a selection of queer tunes and albums suggested by The Persistent staff and contributors, all guaranteed to make you feel something.

You’ll find them all in a Spotify playlist at the bottom, interspersed with some of our favorite modern classics. Happy listening!

MUNA’s album "Dancing on the Wall" celebrates emotions of queerness that the typical tropes (sadness, love) tend to overlook. “Eastside Girls” is a love letter to LA’s queer scene and the community that comes with coming out. “Wannabeher” describes the classic experience of not knowing whether you want to be, or be with, a hot woman. And “Big Stick” is the band’s most overtly political song yet, detailing the effects of late-stage capitalism under authoritarian rule.
— Han Goldstein, social media editor

One artist, one song for me: It’s “People’s Faces” by Kae Tempest. Put this on, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let the words wash over you. “We got our heads down and our hackles up, our backs against the wall … I can feel things changing even when I’m weak and I’m breaking … because I can see your faces.” The song was released in 2019, but it feels more prescient by the minute. 
— Francesca Donner, editor-in-chief

I graduated from an art college roughly two decades ago, and Lynks' tongue-in-cheek anthem “I Didn't Come Here For Art” took me right back, capturing the awkward, pretentious dance floor of a freezing East London squat party: "There's a huddle of people watching an interpretive dance performance / Someone's painting a wall with their hands / A girl's in the corner drinking orange wine talking about how her flip-phone saved her life." I'm now a Lynks convert. Their new single "Kick the Ball" explains World Cup soccer in terms I can just about grasp: "Kick the ball / into the goal / that's the net between the poles."
— Emma Haslett, managing editor

I love the song "This Was Me" from the film version of "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" (which originated on stage as a musical, and is now streaming on Prime). The film is based on the true story of a 16-year-old British boy growing up in a former mining village in the 2000s, who achieves his dream of becoming a drag queen with the help of Hugo, an '80s drag performer. In the song, performed by Frankie Goes to Hollywood singer Holly Johnson, Hugo tells Jamie about the joys of the '80s club scene and the devastation of the AIDS crisis. You can read about the backstory to the song in the LA Times.
— E.B. Boyd, contributing writer

I'm going to resist the urge to be a lesbian cliché by suggesting Chappell Roan and instead go for “Lipstick Lounge” by 76th Street. It's a love song about a queer bar and the friends made there. I always say community is the love of my life and this song really encapsulates that. It's also just very gay and very catchy!
— Lucy Webster, contributing writer

When I saw Anohni live at the Barbican earlier this year in London, she performed this song about climate change, “4 Degrees” and it really struck a chord. Not only is it one to belt out in the car but it also hits hard, especially as I write this in the midst of a crazy London heatwave.
— Natalie Newsome, contributing illustrator

Last year I went to see Kylie Minogue in concert and, as I wrote for The Persistent afterwards, it was the first time in weeks that I experienced unapologetic, brazen joy. In Kylie's world, love always trumps all. Put on her song "All the Lovers," turn up the volume, and revel in the glitter, glamour, glee, and goodness of the goddess of gay — the queen of queers. If there was ever a soundtrack for choosing love over fear, this is it.
— Josie Cox, founding editor

Turn Up the Volume.

What’s your favorite queer anthem? Send it our way at hello@thepersistent.com and we’ll add it to the playlist. We'll be back with more recommendations next Friday.