Did someone say queer country!? Last week when I mentioned my love for queer country, I'd totally forgotten that Chappell Roan's new single was releasing this week, which was a very welcome surprise. Clever readers may guess where this is going, but let me tell you a bit of a story first.
So, a fun fact about me is that I'm from Tenessee. Knoxville, to be exact. And the description of it as a "fun fact" is deliberate - that's often what it's relegated to, an interesting addendum to the story of my life. I only lived there for an increasingly negligible part of my life, and I have neither family nor friends that still live there. But as a child, and still as an adult, it figures in discussions. Especially as a child, I remember discussions of how great it was that we'd moved away, how little I would've fit in there. And this was before particular oddities of me as a person became clear (queer, disabled, commie). It was an in-joke, for my family, this disconnect.
It's weird, sort of, to be so alienated from the place of your birth. A place to be forgotten. But then again, my parents have always commented on my love for iced tea and - yes, country music. They joke that you can take the me out of Tennessee, but not the Tennessee out of me. So, which is it? Am I from Tennessee, is it a part of my blood, or is it not? Do I have roots or not? I'm not sure, really, what my relationship is to the state still. I went back, only once, as a young child. I'm not sure if I will again. But here's where I'll start to circle around to my topic - I love country music, and queer country music makes me feel like maybe there could be - not just a space in me for Tennessee, but the reciprocal. It makes it feel a little less weird, incongruous. Also, it's fucking joyful and wonderful and makes me feel happy. So, there's that.
Alright, this post is getting long and there's not been a lot of discussion of music - and believe me, it's going to get longer - but let's at least veer round a bit. Chappell Roan. Let's discuss how I feel about her, why it was so exciting for her to have new music. I have been a fan of Chappell Roan for a very long time. Not to "I liked her before she was cool", but I did! My friend Bella and I would listen to Pink Pony Club and dance in our frees in highschool, which was an increasingly long amount of time ago. We were so obsessed that it was a sort of in-group meme, how much we listened to her music. I even have earrings that I wear very regularly that are a Chappell Roan references! And then Chappell Roan fucking exploded, and it's been wonderful to see so many people everywhere finally loving her music like I have for years. Tragic too, to see the effects of fame writ so large, but awesome. I hope she's really fucking rich and happy and never has to talk to weird internet gremlins again. So, ok, I love her music and I love having more of it. But, worry not, there's more.
Here's one of the things I love the most about Chappell Roan - she's a drag queen, and she's proud of it. It's hard to imagine, sometimes, how much it would mean to talk to little me and say that there would be a chart-topping musician, and that she'd be a lesbian drag queen. Like, truly, unimaginable. I love the way she loves queer artistry & celebrates it. Her first tour had drag queens as her opening acts, promoting local drag. I love, too, the way she creates a persona, paints weird and dramatic faces on top of her own. I think those who know me IRL will not be surprised by my appreciation for this - for playing with gender and expression and colour. It's so incredible for someone like that to be in the public eye, and for her to remain so true to herself through all of it. For her to never ever center who she is around men, and for her to never be apologetic.
So, alright, I'll finally actually talk about the song of the week. Unsurprisingly, I have chosen Chappell Roan's new single, The Giver. It's a departure from her previous oeuvre which generally has a bit more of a true pop-ish sound, entering true country territory. The fiddle on this track is absolutely fantastic, her voice rides the yodels with ease, and it's all-around rolicking good fun. It's just so wonderful to me, this enmeshing of a genre I love with true & unabashed queerness. In the first verse, Roan sings, "And other boys may need a map/ But I can close my eyes/ And have you wrapped around my fingers like that" and then in the second verse, "Good luck finding a man who has the means/ To rhinestone cowgirl all night long". If you have the time, I'd really recommend watching the lyric video. It's intricate and fun, and I think really adds to the song as a whole. It's a song that plays with country music, with the way that the genre is so often performative, especially when it comes to gender & class. Plus, it has Roan in some very fun costumes. @ everyone complaining about her being dressed as a dentist in the promo a) I can't believe you hate fun and b) tell me you don't get the reference without telling me you don't get the reference. Like, cmon.
The song came out on the 14th, and on that same day I listened to it I'd estimate at least 12 times. Probably more. It just itches something in my brain, made me almost faint from dancing to it, and means so much to me. All I wish is that some day the other song Bella and I were obsessed with at the same time also becomes a viral hit ... Thank you again Chappell Roan
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