Robyn - “Hang With Me”
This song reminds me of hanging with my gay friends. Like how there’s always a line to hold between friendship and anything else, that fun should be the end goal off all hang outs, and that trust is something that’s reciprocated.
Life In Technicolor - Coldplay from Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Coldplay - Life in Technicolor
For those of you who don’t know the reference to this blog’s title, here’s the song. Here’s what I wrote in my introduction entry, for those of you who haven’t read it:
“I picked “Living in Technicolor” as the title because “Life in Technicolor” is my favorite Coldplay song off of their Viva la Vida album, mostly because Chris Martin doesn’t have any lyrics in it. I guess it figures into my life as I try to realize myself and part of that means being more open with my sexuality.”
It’s a stereotype that gays like musicals. Unfortunately, I’m one of those that tend to confirm it. Growing up, I think I’ve watched more musicals than most people. Maybe that affected my sexuality in some subconscious way. Maybe it didn’t. If anything, it probably makes me predisposed for dramatic showy moments and bad karaoke attempts.
Some that I’ve seen: most Disney movies, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, West Side Story (the video is “I Feel Pretty” from that movie), Mary Poppins, Singing in the Rain, Grease, Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Prince of Egypt, Anastasia, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Moulin Rouge, Phantom of the Opera. I’ve probably seen more than that but there are many that I didn’t care for.
I like musicals more when they elevate an emotionally charged moment with a powerful song or a well-choreographed dance. At the same time, I hate it when musicals use song as a montage to make time fly faster, or when a song substitutes actual dialogue/character development. Dreamgirls makes excessive use of these latter tricks. There’s a big difference between a musical and a music video.
Unfortunately, I’m not much of a High School Musical or Glee fan (which seems like a can of worms that would take time to catch up on). There’s a lot of musicals I have not seen, both from a long time ago and a few years ago. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen one that has stuck with me though so for now, I’ll sing the ones that I do like to myself.
Initially, I was going to name this Tumblr “Mr. Brightside” after the Killers’ song. It’s one of my favorite Killers songs due to its fast pace, deep bass and synth melodies. But what I like the most is the song’s sexually ambiguous treatment of its lyrical romance (“Somebody Told Me” is a lot more upfront about it).
For me, this song is about a recently out guy (coming out of my cage… gotta be down(e) because i want it all) who kissed a straight guy and has feelings for him (started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?). The gay guy’s mind wanders as he imagines the straight guy having sex with a girl. He imagines the straight guy taking “off her dress now, letting” Mr. Brightside and their brief romantic connection go. Mr. Brightside feels insanely jealous of them and it takes over his feelings. Easily this song could be just a normal Moulin Rouge situation, which is what the music video is about. But I like how the lyrics allow for such reinterpretation to occur.
Personally, this song described a lot of my feelings in high school. I had a crush on a straight guy, admitted it to him, was turned down and then consumed with jealousy as I watched him date girls and serenade my friends away from me without consideration of my feelings. I had even written a short story in Creative Writing in 12th grade about my situation titled “Mr. Brightside.” It was a lot of drama, but at times, it felt like I was the only involved in it. I guess this song will always bring back memories of that time and how much has changed since.
