Gay Pride Month

Is that a rainbow we see before us? It certainly is, heralding the four-week-fun-fest of Gay Pride Month, the perfect affirmation of strength in unity and a great big kiss-off to prejudice . . . and we get the party started with Lady GaGa’s “Born This Way” — “don’t be a drag, just be a queen” — followed by other great Pride artists, including the Weather Girls (“It’s Raining Men”), Scissor Sisters (“Fire With Fire”), and Madonna (“Celebration”) . . . not forgetting excellent and poignant cuts from k.d. lang (“Sexuality”) and Erasure (“A Little Respect”). Ready for a retro-boogie, Patrick Hernandez-style? Good, because we’ve lined up “Born to Be Alive” alongside dance faves from the Pet Shop Boys and Rozalla — all of which will keep Pride Month grooving throughout the festivities.

The Pride party continues in Next Steps.
Artwork © Joe Phillips

The best of Gay Pride Month’s standards and new hits continues here in Next Steps, where musical royalty, such as Cher (“Different Kind of Love Song”) and Barbra Streisand — duetting with the late Donna Summer on “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” — blend seamlessly with today’s divas, including Beyoncé (“Run the World (Girls)”) and Kylie Minogue (“All the Lovers”). Flawless contributions from ABBA, Depeche Mode, No Doubt, and others signify the harmonious manner in which artists of all persuasions and orientations do their thing for the cause . . . it’s all about having the best of times, side by side, so make like Frankie and “Relax.”

Find more perennial Pride classics in Deep Cuts.
Artwork © Joe Phillips

In our Deep Cuts, we keep it sizzling, as Gay Pride Month turns up the temperature with Judas Priest (“Hell Bent for Leather”), the late Donna Summer (“Hot Stuff”), and the B-52’s (“Love Shack”). If you’re not a part of the party, stay home and read a book, because we intend to boogie all month long with Cascada (“Evacuate the Dancefloor”) and Deee-Lite (“Groove Is In the Heart”). Fact is, all of these tracks represent the prevailing determination to achieve every attainable gay goal . . . and freak it, big time, so stand strong and happy, and tear it up with Duck Sauce (“Barbra Streisand”), Gossip (“Heavy Cross”), and the rest of our Pride-perfect artists.

Artwork © Joe Phillips

What a time it’s been for the GLBT and GLBT-friendly community since the last Gay Pride Month Essentials playlist. A few highlights: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta — that’ll be Lady GaGa to all of us — has joined the ranks of A-list Pride banner-wavers alongside another New York Italian-American pop pioneer (Madonna Louise Ciccone) who took the message to the masses in regal and flamboyant style; and the arrival of Glee, represented here by the Dalton Academy Warblers’ version of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” This Gay Pride Month playlist contains many of the standards that represent the movement, and new songs that are rapidly becoming gay classics, every track a joyous expression of love, pride, unity, and fun.

Artwork © Joe Phillips