music

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga was me getting excited over YouTube, as I awaited the debut of Telephone between college classes. She was me being gagged by her VMA performance. She was the surreal feeling of acceptance of having someone embody the monstrous, but be so universally accepted. She was the comfort of hearing LGBT rights being spoke point blank on the radio, even when they were not legally accepted.

I joke about Lady Gaga only dropping an album when disaster is about to befall me, but her work has been a comfort for so many years. It is a privilege to stan an artist from their debut, and watch their journey unfurl with you. Artpop is not a bad album, btw. 💅🏼

Patrick Wolf

It took nearly a decade of pleading from various recommendation algorithms for me to finally listen to him, but it took only the violin hook from The Libertine for me to stan. His music embodies a quintessential gay mental breakdown, where you want to run off into the woods and turn into a monster. Vulture is an absolute bop, and the (NSFW) pretty much embodies my gender, sexuality, and religion.

Unfortunately, he was overlooked by the GP, who tried to push him into being the next Mika. (During that uncomfortable time when Mika was still trying to look straight for the GP.) Patrick managed to self-publish after getting dropped, but unfortunately his fandom has waned throughout the years. Which is absolutely tragic considering the proliferation of open LGBT artists in music now, and we need his revival! Pronto!!

I was so very close to booking tickets to the UK just to see him in concert, because he's been rather quiet the past few years, but occasionally does random shows. Sometimes, when my article quota allows me to, I reread the New York Time's article about his shows in Brooklyn, and feel a passionate jealously that makes me want to run off into the woods and turn into a monster.

I track my collection through Discogs, which is also a great resource for its marketplace, which is used by many other collectors and small indie shops! I've also found deals on used items on eBay, particularly in finding deals for certain collar variants. I'm also lucky enough to be super close to the US location of Rough Trade, which often has exclusive variants and re-releases of albums. Urban Outfitters has also been releasing a lot of exclusives lately, especially of albums that previously didn't get a vinyl release. But my best advice for aspiring collectors is to follow the artists you love, as many release the special editions through pre-orders and they can go really fast. But more importantly, you're directly supporting your faves.

My current turntable is a Denon DP-300F, and my receivers and speakers are vintage Onkyo and Bose. And by vintage I mean they were my parents, and I rescued them from the attic. While I encourage everyone to buy a turntable that will not destroy your records (aka not Crosley or portable one), I think super hifi audio isn't worth the big bucks. (Especially since my hearing sucks.)

The most I've ever spent on a record was for my copy of Blue Neighborhood by Troye Sivan. I'm also a proud owner of a Sophie clutch, which is very large and super satisfying to swat people with.

I enjoy making short (<1.5hr) playlists themed to feelings, often represented through recursive song lyrics or vague emoji. They can be found through my Spotify, with a few selections of my faves as follows.