Y, Kurt Coba was a gnge in. He was also a gay rights hero. - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• Y, KURT COBA WAS A GNGE IN. HE WAS ALSO A GAY RIGHTS HERO.
• THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG
• 20 BT SONGS ABOUT BEG GAY
• 55 BT GAY SONGS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ PRI SONGS)
• KURT COBA'S 1993 ADVOTE COVER STORY: 'I'M GAY SPIR'

Y, KURT COBA WAS A GNGE IN. HE WAS ALSO A GAY RIGHTS HERO.

Coba is the Gen X in who popularized alternative mic and culture, but on the 25th anniversary of his ath this week, I cherish another aspect of his legacy much more: his nsistent and vol support of gay rights. Coba’s “oh well, whatever, never md” attu about sexual inty, exprsed lyrics and terviews, changed the urse of my Coba might not be the first name you thk of when to gay rights, his band was never shy about s polics, pecially where LGBTQ issu were ncerned. In 1992, Nirvana played a “No on #9” benef ncert and issued a public statement opposg Measure 9, a statewi anti-gay cizen ballot iative Oregon that would have required “all ernments” the state to treat homosexualy as “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse.

” And the ler not of their album “Inctici, ” released that December, they warned: “If any of you any way hate homosexuals, people of different lor, or women, please do this one favor for — leave the f--- alone! ” The ler not to their next album, “In Utero, ” echoed that admonn: “If you’re a sexist, racist, homophobe or basilly an a--hole, don’t buy this CD.

In a 1993 terview wh the Advote, which I remember readg breathlsly a Borrs bookstore wh the ver fold over so no one uld tell what I was holdg, Coba lled himself “gay spir” and revealed that as a teenager, he often qutned his sexualy and sprayed “God is gay” graffi the small town of Aberen, Wash., where he grew up. All this played out the early ’90s, when AIDS jok and the word “fag” were mon, ias about allowg gays to openly serve the ary were nsired radil, and policians were wagg culture wars over “fay valu. ’s Michael Stipe, but Nirvana’s pro-gay gtur and s inoclastic sound were remarkable for any popular mic act.

THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG

The ia that you uld make mic that was aggrsive, hard and loud and be an ally to the gay muny seemed revolutnary, pecially for me, a closeted prep school graduate om Detro’s suburbs. The publitn had characterized gay people as sad and pathetic, but I still volunteered at a bake sale to raise money for .

In 1992, the state of Oregon voted on an famo ballot amendment known as Measure 9, which attempted to forbid the state ernment om fundg the promotn, enuragement or facilatn of “homosexualy, pedophilia, sadism or masochism, ” addg that all levels of ernment should set a standard to teach kids that “the behavrs are abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse and they are to be disuraged and avoid. 5%, but ls known is the fact that legendary gnge band Nirvana played a “No on 9” benef ncert 1992 to help feat the homophobic, kk-shamg law.

As for that homophobic Oregon ballot measure, the nservative group that tried to pass , the Oregon Cizens Alliance, failed, as did s siar bills troduced later years.

20 BT SONGS ABOUT BEG GAY

Though the anti-gay alliance was able to pass siar measur on lol ballots areas of the state that supported Measure 9, the state ernment eventually overled the measur.

The activists who rose up to feat Measure 9 1992 formed a re that would eventually jumpstart the state’s LGBTQ rights movement, and this Nirvana gay rights ncert was part of that. While some classics do appear on our list, others do not – sorry, Gloria Gaynor, Kylie Mogue, RuPl, Brney and Cher, we still adore you — here are 25 sential pri songs om the 1970s to today.

Somewhat rctively lled the “Queen of Dis, ” the virtuosic, openly gay sger approached genr ( his performative and private liv) as a fluid, non-bary ncept a pre–Judh Butler era. Although seems most of Queen’s fans were cluels as to how openly gay and subversive ontman Freddie Mercury was – spe the unabashed swank of his stage prence – he also never really tried to hi .

55 BT GAY SONGS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ PRI SONGS)

Rodgers later told the Mail on Sunday that they wrote the track “bee of her gay followg, ” but fibbed a ltle to a sktish Ross. “A DJ told her [the song] was gog to her reer – people would thk she was gay, ” Rodgers said.

The lyrics e om the out-and-proud Brish punk rocker Tom Robson, who had a h of his own wh “Glad to be Gay. Much of Erasure’s disgraphy embodi not precisely celebratory gay pri but gay romantic realy – a ankns about the emotnal, if not overtly sexual, liv of gay men toward the end of the 20th century. So when out Brish duo Andy Bell and Vce Clarke’s plative yet buoyant sgle beme a worldwi h gay-uniendly 1988, felt quietly revolutnary to anyone the know.

Ontman had long been a whe-hot sex symbol, role mol and trendsetter for gay men and other LGBTQ dividuals across the world. The Bay Area gay punk pneers found a ht of mastream fame when they toured wh Green Day on their Dookie n 1994, but was their sexy lyrics and who-giv-a-fuck attu that enared them to a generatn of queer kids – before that term was even fashnable.

KURT COBA'S 1993 ADVOTE COVER STORY: 'I'M GAY SPIR'

It’s difficult to pick one song that f them – wh songs like “Dick of Death, ” “Groovy Unrwear” or their classic ver of Prce’s “Jack You Off” – but we went wh one that seems to fy the ia of a gay “anthem” no matter how you thk of . We’re not jt gay and micians, ” Jon Goli told Rollg Stone last year before the release of their latt album, Que Contrary.

I thk, over time, some of them are ls specifilly gay than they were at first bee seemed like, when we had the chance that was really what we wanted to sg about and that was really unique.