Susan's Place Transgender Resources

So, I was thinking about (good) songs for/about transgenders.  I only know of two on top of my head... Lola by the Kinks and Walk On The Wild Side by Lou Reed.  Any others?  :)

I cannpt think of any specifically transgender songs right now, but I will look. There are some transgender artists like Dana International and of course Laura Jane Grace.

"Daddy's Little Girl" by the Grindcore band, Cretin. The vocalist/guitarist in the band is a transchick.

not sure if you're into punk rock or not but if you are against me latest album is called transgender dysphoria blues 4 or 5 transgender songs on there. My favs are F### My Life 666 and true trans soul rebel! Rachel mentioned Laura Jane grace and lately I just can't get enough of this album, not sure why,  I've always liked against me and this album just relates!

I know it's not for every one being heavy heavy metal but slipknot has a lot of angry songs about being yourself n not giving a >-bleeped-< what people think like
before I forget (a bit of a trigger)
N a rather heavy one called surfacing
but they do have a lot of trigger songs, just a warning.  >:-)

Before I forget is one of my favorites, tho it's not exactly a transgender song but part of it's lyrics goes
"Iam a world before Iam a man, I will remember before I forget, before I forget that" 

Every song I play or sing.

I always thought Brave by Sara Bareilles was a great track, it's the lyrics that make me think of transgender stuff.

Quote from: Clhoe G on November 22, 2014, 03:39:04 AM
I know it's not for every one being heavy heavy metal but slipknot has a lot of angry songs about being yourself n not giving a >-bleeped-< what people think like
before I forget (a bit of a trigger)
N a rather heavy one called surfacing
but they do have a lot of trigger songs, just a warning.  >:-)

Before I forget is one of my favorites, tho it's not exactly a transgender song but part of it's lyrics goes
"Iam a world before Iam a man, I will remember before I forget, before I forget that"

xD I love heavy metal, especially slipknot.  I range from light rock, hard rock, industrial, metal, heavy metal, deth metal.... to country, classical, jazz.  I can pretty much say I like nearly any type of music, except, rap :)

Huge plug for the incredible song "Demons" by Hirstbird: hirstbird.bandcamp.com/track/demons (http://hirstbird.bandcamp.com/track/demons)

QuoteThis is a song I wrote for my mama and my papa
And all my friends back home
This is a song I wrote for my two older brothers
When I called them on the phone, and I said,
"I'm going by a new name now
That I picked out on my own
So don't you worry about the boy
Who was your sister"

I wonder who is gonna love me
If I don't fit the mold
I wonder if I'll have regrets
Later on when I am old, but
There's one thing that I know for sure:
I've always done just what I'm told
So I will try to leave this girl
And not to miss her

Antony and the Johnsons, all the way.

Bad Suns - Salt,  written by Christo Bowman, inspired by a friend dealing with GID,

the official music video is magnificently done, but heavy on triggering images/scene, so careful  if you go hunt it down,

strait music, not the offical video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWAG1hmLPho


I'll also second the mention of Against Me!'s  Transdysphoria Blues, great album start to finish.

Pretty Boy by Young Galaxy is a good one!


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I really like Against Me's song The Ocean. In my mind this was Laura Jane's coming out to herself when she wrote it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvWeP18RpmM

Quote from: Jill F on November 22, 2014, 03:42:58 AM
Every song I play or sing.

I know the feeling. :)


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if you're into fantasy/folk music check out Alexander James Adams, his first few albums as AJ feature his old voice as Heather Alexander in duet with himself (Wintertide album) and a bunch of fantasy metaphors for transition (Balance of Nature album) I posted some links over in the Pagan thread to a couple of those songs earlier in the week.

So there is a song by the band "The Cure" that I maintain, is about the transgender bomb going off in a marriage of many years. Its one of my all time favorite albums called "Bloodflowers". The song is aptly named "The loudest sound." Coincidentally the original guitarist for the band is also a mtf TS.

Quote from: Jenniferinutah on November 28, 2014, 11:56:32 AM
So there is a song by the band "The Cure" that I maintain, is about the transgender bomb going off in a marriage of many years. Its one of my all time favorite albums called "Bloodflowers". The song is aptly named "The loudest sound." Coincidentally the original guitarist for the band is also a mtf TS.

"About my biggest fear about the future: it was inspired by staring an old couple walking along the beach in front of my house." - Robert Smith


Though after reading the lyrics, I can very much see the tone of 'destructive revelation' being an easy fit with all the stories I've read of people's  marriages collapsing from coming out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHRq4xv4wcA

Also I have a playlist of songs that probably aren't deliberately written that way, but putting your own context on the lyrics they take on a new meaning, some fit better than others but mine includes:

Somebody Told Me (The Killers)
He Lives In You (From the Lion King stage show)
Epiphany (Staind)
Rebel Rebel (David Bowie)
Wake Me Up (Avicii)
Girls & Boys (Blur)
Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars (Bon Jovi)
I Want To Break Free (Queen)
Beneath You're Beautiful (Labyrinth/Emeli Sande)
Not That Girl (from Wicked)

Brickface & Stucco by The Lunachicks

Brickface grew his short hair long
Bought some wigs and tried them all on
Cheap perfume and old lame'
Gonna wax his legs today

right now, my TG song is Paralytic States by Against Me. :'(

She could hear them f*cking through those thin hotel walls
…She heard baby’s crying, she heard laughter, she heard sirens
Red and blue lights flashing through those cheap hotel drapes
Blood spilled out on the porcelain
The bathtub’'s overflowing

Paralytic states of dependency
Our waking life’'s just a living dream
Agitated states of amazement
Never quite the woman that she wanted to be
Never quite the woman that she wanted to be

Spread out face down on those stained, cheap hotel sheets
She spent the last years of her life running from the boy she used to be
Cut her face wide open, shaved the bone down, then pumped her lips up exaggerated,
A f*cked up kind of feminine

Paralytic states of dependency
Our waking life’'s just a living dream
Agitated states of amazement
Never quite the woman that she wanted to be
Never quite the woman that she wanted to be

Night time at the hotel, there was fighting in the hall
Thin chain lock to keep the world out, she held her breath till it was gone
Standing naked in front of that hotel bathroom mirror,
In her dysphoria's affection, she still saw her mother'’s son.

Paralytic states of dependency
Our waking life'’s just a living dream
Agitated states of amazement
Never quite the woman that she wanted to be

By the time the ball dropped, it was already over
No resolutions for the new year beginning tomorrow

I  agree with those mentioning Against Me!, especially 666 and Paralytic States off the new album, but I would probably have to go with Searching for a Former Clarity, along with a few others on the album as the defining songs.

Quote from: ErinReign on December 25, 2014, 12:55:34 AM
I  agree with those mentioning Against Me!, especially 666 and Paralytic States off the new album, but I would probably have to go with Searching for a Former Clarity, along with a few others on the album as the defining songs.

I looooove SFAFC! Probably my favourite AM! song. Really simple, but oh so effective. I have to agree w/ yr choices from TDB too.... Those songs can get quite emotional for me at times.

But yeah, they're definitely the most heavily trans themed albums in their discography. I find it really interesting to compare the two albums, considering that SFAFC was made while Laura was still in the closet and TDB was, of course, her coming out party. :)

I can't seem to post a video for some reason but:

Cameron by Jillette Johnson

Even though the song isn't by a transchick or about trans stuff, specifically. The song "Change" by Conor & Jay fits the bill. I remember when I heard that song for the first time on GTA 3, it totally fits with that theme.

As far as Against Me is concerned?  :icon_blah: I think they suck. Yeah, there's a transchick in the band. Yeah, she writes about that sort of thing. But, that isn't enough for me to support them. If I can't get into what they are playing. Then none of that matters to me.

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on January 07, 2015, 11:09:56 PMAs far as Against Me is concerned?  :icon_blah: I think they suck. Yeah, there's a transchick in the band. Yeah, she writes about that sort of thing. But, that isn't enough for me to support them. If I can't get into what they are playing. Then none of that matters to me.

Eh, to each their own. I probably wouldn't have ever heard them if Laura hadn't come out, but as it turns out, I like their music a lot and the fact that some of the lyrics are trans themed is great because I'd never found music that connected with that part of me.

It's not like yr morally obligated to like AM! because Laura is trans and has trans themes in her music....

Quote from: Ally_B on January 07, 2015, 11:25:38 PM
It's not like yr morally obligated to like AM! because Laura is trans and has trans themes in her music....

:D I know. I'm just a cynical broad that thinks that some people like them only due to the trans connection. But, I'm just cynical and full of hate.  :D :D :P (Not to mention having a screwed sense of humor.)

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on January 07, 2015, 11:32:14 PM
:D I know. I'm just a cynical broad that thinks that some people like them only due to the trans connection. But, I'm just cynical and full of hate.  :D :D :P (Not to mention a screwed sense of humor.)

I know, after all you listen to A.C.! lol

Which I was also this morning, to ease the pain of being stuck on a crowded train (complete w/ smelly old man cramping my personal space and murdering my sense of smell) for an hr and a half!

Quote from: Ally_B on January 07, 2015, 11:40:06 PM
I know, after all you listen to A.C.! lol

:D :D True...true.

Even my anthro fanfic character that is inspired by myself (but she's a GG), is an A.C. fan.

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on January 07, 2015, 11:51:03 PM
:D :D True...true.

Even my anthro fanfic character that is inspired by myself (but she's a GG), is an A.C. fan.

GG.... As in Allin? Who wrote a song called.... Oh dear lord, it's all coming together.... :o

Quote from: Ally_B on January 07, 2015, 11:55:12 PM
GG.... As in Allin? Who wrote a song called.... Oh dear lord, it's all coming together.... :o

No.  :D :D She's a genetic girl. (Although I do like some old GG Allin stuff)

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on January 07, 2015, 11:56:43 PM
No.  :D :D She's a genetic girl. (Although I do like some old GG Allin stuff)

I figured that's what you meant, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a dumb joke! :D

Quote from: Ally_B on January 07, 2015, 11:57:52 PM
I figured that's what you meant, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a dumb joke! :D

:D :D Of course.

Erm, and to get back on topic.... Here is a song from one of my favourite bands, the Manic Street Preachers....

BORN A GIRL
Do I look good for you tonight
Will you accuse me as I hide
Behind these layers of disguise
And the mirrors of my own happiness

I've loved the freedom of being inside
Need a new start and a different time
Something grows in the space between me
And it's twisting and changing this fragile body

And I wish I had been born a girl
Instead of what I am
Yes I wish I had been born a girl
And not this mess of a man

The censorship of my skin
Is screaming inside and from within
There's no room in this world for a girl like me
No place around there where I fit in

And I wish I had been born a girl
Instead of what I am
Yes I wish I had been born a girl
And not this mess of a man

And as an extra bonus, here's a cool li'l write up about the Manics + gender....

oneweekoneband.tumblr.com/post/66185992048/this-mess-of-a-man-the-manics-and-masculinity

I love poppy punk, so ofc I second those AM! songs that have been mentioned.  That's abt max heavy music for me.  Namoli Brennet is another trans singer songwriter type, I think she is good, esp recent album We Were Born To Rise.

While not specifically trans, Fiona Apple's album Extraordinary Machine reeeealllly really resonated with me when I was first transitioning.  Here are some lyrics from the song Better Version Of Me and you can start to see why:

QuoteSo I will keep a delibrate pace
And let the damned breeze dry my face

Oh, mister wait until you see
what I'm gonna be

I've got a plan, a demand, and it just began
And if you're right, you'll agree

Here's coming a better version of me

...It still brings tears to my eyes, I won't lie.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lAVsiW4nyjo

I feel like "Brave" by Sara Bareilles has been my anthem lately.

I always felt like Billy Joel's "Code of Silence" was written about me and the lyrics resonate with me.

But you swore to yourself a long time ago
There were some things that people never needed to know
Guess there's one that you keep
That you bury so deep
No one can tear it out

And you can't talk about it
And isn't that a kind of madness
To be living by a code of silence
When you've really got a lot to say

I also like some of the lyrics in Sinead O'Conner's "The Emperor's New Clothes." 

I see plenty of clothes that I like
But I won't go anywhere nice for a while
All I want to do is just sit here
And write it all down and rest for a while

Whatever it may bring
I will live by my own policies
I will sleep with a clear conscience
I will sleep in peace

Hey!

I have a few suggestions, they're quite different but I think that's important.
This one is Fagette by Athens Boys Choir.  It's about being a pansexual trans guy.  I like the sound of it and how he's very open about having a vagina and being a queer man.  It's also really body positive, sex positive and just quite catchy!  I don't have much else to say about it, I'm not a queer transgender guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ayyPzuHGNU&spfreload=10


This next one makes a lot of people uncomfortable, so beware!  The opening lines refer to genital mutilation, in my mind they're simply metaphorical for casting off a masculine identity and then casting off the feminine identity as well.  That's right, it's a NON BINARY song :D  Patrick Wolf, the singer, is a bisexual male and I think either identifies as a man or as androgynous.  I like how it doesn't go talk about physical dysphoria, wanting to be seen in a certain way or anything like that.  It talks about being your own hero, becoming strong and not letting people hold you down.  (Some of those were actually lines in the song.) 
I don't think everyone will like it.  It's one of my personal favourites to be honest.  I'm (probably... I'm new to this but pretty sure at this stage) a trans woman who doesn't identify as particularly feminine or masculine, and gender has mostly hurt me throughout my life.  Transitioning for me is as much about casting off gender as it is about physically moving from one body to another.  I'm not becoming a woman in the sense of attaining a particular social role, because I personally don't think that's a definition of woman that we should be aspiring to.  Women should be able to be anything, and trans women should be able to become anything. 
That's what I get out of this song.  In particular I do really like the graphic lines at the beginning.  It's shocking, but to most people so are gender reassignment surgeries.  I like the idea of cis-people in particular being shocked by these lines because it claims them as ours.

I'd like to hear other people's opinions on this song.  Feel free to message me about it if you have thoughts (can we do that over this forum?). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPeDqTCJk3U&spfreload=10

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MNAxIeqilSA (http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MNAxIeqilSA)

my dad showed me this song. It helps me look at my transition in a comedic way.
;D or when I need a good laugh.

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on January 07, 2015, 11:56:43 PM
No.  :D :D She's a genetic girl. (Although I do like some old GG Allin stuff)

All GG Allin stuff is old now.  *le sigh*  Oh well, file him under "dead rock stars I've partied with".  Sadly, that list gets longer every year.

Quote from: Jill F on January 22, 2015, 01:04:51 AM
All GG Allin stuff is old now.  *le sigh*  Oh well, file him under "dead rock stars I've partied with".  Sadly, that list gets longer every year.

Yeah, but I meant "80's GG".

I know one which is very very very unknown and very very very good, but it's a french song... It's based on a poem from Louis Aragon (a very famous XX century poet)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnmJxXcDIkU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnmJxXcDIkU)

"La Folle", which could be translated by "the mad" or "the queen". Aragon used to transvestite a lot at the end of his life. This poem is really beautiful, sadly it's hard to translate and I'm not really confident in my ability to do it.

The last two verses :
"The real 'mads' are the ones
That pretend to be someone they are not"

However if you understand french you will enjoy it I'm sure.

It's one of my favorites.

Thread resurrection time!

I've been noticing transgender themes in a lot of songs, recently, and thought I'd share a couple.

After all the commotion about Jared Leto being awarded for his portrayal of a transwoman last year, I noticed some strong trans themes in "A Beautiful Lie" and "Bury Me" by 30 Seconds to Mars.

More recently, I have been listening to a lot of Eels. The song "Spunky" seems like a love song to a trans woman...

Quote
Spunky don't like her uniform
It never fit so good
Going back to the orphanage
In the place where a garage once stood

Well it's a free-for-all
Free-for-all, free-for-all
It's a free-for-all, you and me
And if you don't like what they are telling you
You can't teach a blind man to see
Well I can see

Spunky looks good in her bright red wig
Eating chocolate chip mint ice cream
A cat named Lola with a violent past
Is balled-up asleep 'cross her knees

And it's a free-for-all
Free-for-all, free-for-all
It's a free-for-all, you and me
One day the world will be ready for you
And wonder how they didn't see

Spunky knows she can save the world
In her own little way
Turning in her old uniform
'cause you know it really didn't pay

'cause it's a free-for-all
Free-for-all, free-for-all
It's a free-for-all you and me
I'll walk through the world with your name on my tongue
And your picture etched on my screen

Cherry lips by garbage, the video is even about a transwoman

These songs are all by Trans artists, though the lyric's are not necessarily about being Trans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgdzz_UEuMM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgdzz_UEuMM)

Lucas Silveira of The Cliks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i76zgZozPMY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i76zgZozPMY)

Shawnee Talbot AKA She King (Is "Two-Spirit")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSOq5wUgLIQ

did someone already say silhouettes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VJBBUqr1wM

As Girls Go by Suzanne Vega 1992 was ahead of her time

You make a really good girl
As girls go
Still kind of look like a guy
I never thought to wonder why

If I could pull this off
Would I know for certain
The real situation
Behind the curtain

So beautiful
damsel in distress
Not exactly natural
Stunning none the less

What happened to you?
To make you more girl than girls are
Would you ever show or tell
Cause you're so good so far

You make a really good girl
As girls go

Let's chronicle
The dark side of the life
Did you ever keep the date
With the steel side of the knife

Doesn't matter to me
Which side of the line
You happen to be
At any given time

You make a really good girl
As girls go

I always saw The Kills' Baby Says as a trans song, the video also focuses on a trans woman. And isn't it a bit of a reference to The Velvet Underground song Candy Says? So yeah.

I totally forgot about that Suzanne Vega song.  I listened to it all the time when I tried transitioning in college.  Great song.

Not exactly songs about trans issues specifically, but two of my favorite songs about life.  Looking at it through this new lens of trans self-discovery makes them take on new meaning though, heh.

Sister Hazel - Change Your Mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y944YxuE1OU

Blue October - Hate Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDxgSvJINlU

Well, back when Pink Floyd was The Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett wrote a song called Arnold Layne. Which is about  a transgender woman, who collects clothing from clotheslines. It's written from a CIS POV, but it's not offensive, perhaps a touch comical.

There's a lovely indie folk band called cyberbully mom club fronted by someone who is gq and this song is just one of the many about gender issues: https://vimeo.com/94311420

also, a local dj called All Levels At Once has this song which is about a friend coming out as transgender
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvbo5fEO4BU

Also!! toy life (https://soundcloud.com/toy-life) is a band that one of my friends is in. she is so amazing please listen to every song