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Michael Tharrington Subscriber for The DEV Team

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Music Monday — What are you listening to? (Gender-nonconforming Edition)

cover image source: Giphy

I've got another Music Monday for y'all that is closely tied to we_coded! This time around we're shining a light on all those artists who do not conform to the gender stereotypes and expectations of the societies in which they live. The reasons for which they do so might vary — whether they are openly defiant of gender roles that have been forced upon them or are just embracing their natural inclination to be themselves, whatever it may be these folks have forged a path that is extraordinary and outside the established gender norms. Likewise, it's interesting to reflect on how these artists have shaped our culture — did they help normalize the fluid nature of gender today? Were they accepted or shunned by society? How was their art different than their contemporaries? This subject is rich for analysis. As with all discussions on DEV, let's keep this one respectful and empathetic. And as with all Music Mondays, feel free to step outside the theme and share something else you're into!

Prince is climbing out of a bath tub naked. You can't see anything, but he's very naked. There is steam rising up all around him and he is surrounded by purple. He is staring directly into the camera seductively as he reaches his hand up slowly reaching for the camera.


How we do

In this weekly series, folks can chime in and drop links to whatever it is they've been listening to recently + browse others' suggestions. You can follow the suggested genre if you'd like, but don't feel confined to it; you're free to suggest whatever you wanna. 🙌

If you're interested in having other discussions about music, consider following the aptly named #music discussions organization.


Alright, let's hear it for all the gender-nonconformists out there breaking down barriers!

Note: you can embed a link to your song using the following syntax {% embed https://... %}. This should work for most common platforms!

Looking forward to listening to y'all's suggestions! 🎶


🚨p.s. Check out @rachelfazio's sister series to Music Monday, called Podcast Palooza!🚨

Top comments (13)

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moopet profile image
Ben Sinclair

Ok, I missed Monday by a hair, but I'm going to introduce you to a modern, 80s-ish band who fit the theme: Powderpaint. They're always on my playlist.

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Michael Tharrington

Nice!! This is awesome, Ben. Def a catchy tune and I'm feelin' the music video. Great share! 🔥

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Michael Tharrington

One of my all-time faves is David Bowie and this performance of his on Top of the Pops playing Starman is freaking amazing!

It seems so tame nowadays, but his cozying up to Mick Ronson (blonde guitarist) apparently was a pretty risque move during the early 70's. But David Bowie (along with others like Marc Bolan & T-Rex) changed the game... opening the door for more glam, androgyny, and ambiguous sexuality.

Interestingly, a 17-year-old David Bowie had formed the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men. It was at least somewhat satirical, but still gotta love his awareness and respect his lived experience of being a guy with long locks who received abuse for his feminine looks. I gotta think that some of this must've fueled his rebellion.

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Debajyati Dey

Listen to this soothing masterpiece -

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Michael Tharrington

Woooooaaaaaa! I am loving this one. Good stuff Deabjyati! This is right up my alley.

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ddebajyati profile image
Debajyati Dey

Glad you realised the depth of this beautiful piece of art.
Wojciech Kilar was really a true Oscar worthy musician. Sadly very few people have heard of him.

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Keith Solomon

I mean, a gif just isn’t enough…

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Michael Tharrington

Haha damn straight! And gah... what an amazing live performer. Great version of Nothing Compares 2 U. 🙌

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Keith Solomon

There's not many names on my list of acts that I'm disappointed having never seen live, but he's #1 there.

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Michael Tharrington

I actually got pretty damn lucky and saw him in 2011. He was one funky force!

He must've had 15 musicians on stage with him and he constantly jumped between playing different instruments, singing, and dancing. He was like 50 years old at the time and I remember at one point the dude jumped from standing position up on top of a grand piano, landed perfectly in time to the music, and continued on dancing (in heels mind you) ... It was seriously a phenomenal show! Everyone in the Greensboro Coliseum was going nuts, and he totally deserved every bit of it, haha.

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Michael Tharrington

One musician I recommend checking out that I think pushes gender boundaries is Moses Sumney. Check out this performance of Cut Me:

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Josef Nobach

A colors show is great so many great artist that I noticed from this show, this one was new to me thx!

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Josef Nobach • Edited

My favorite song of all time.

Ulrich Schnauss Monday Paracetamol