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#Quarantunes: Feel Good Beats to Lift Your Spirits

Ever since I started this blog I’ve been curating a monthly Spotify playlist to go with it. It’s a mix of fresh tracks and nostalgic tunes. While most people who curate regular playlists keep creating new ones, I refresh the existing playlist. Which I think is fun, especially for subscribers, to discover an all new vibe when you check in.

Initially I would post screenshots of the playlist along with a link but I’ve let that go for a while. During my quarantine downtime, I decided to bring that back as a reminder that the playlist is updated and as a record of the tunes I’ve curated in the past.

Spotify playlist - March 2020

This month, I’ve put together a collection of light disco tunes for living room dance parties. It’s gonna take a ton of dancing in my house to survive the wrath of Miss Rona. I’ve included plenty of my favorite artists like Kylie Minogue, Ximena Sariñana, and Christine and the Queens along with some viral hits like Doja Cat’s “Say So.” Your Smith and Peggy Gou are my favorite recent discoveries and I can’t wait to hear more from them.

You can always find the current playlist under the “Hot Jams” link on the homepage, on the side bar to the right on desktop, or in the footer on mobile.

March 25, 2020
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In Entertainment/ Shop

Books I’m Reading This Year

Gays & Confused is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Oh look, a new year’s resolution post on someone’s blog. How novel. Speaking of novels, one of my goals this year is to read more books. I’m not going to set myself up for failure by attempting to tackle a book a month. I’m guilty of taking a full year to finish one book, so 12 would be just too impossible. I’m kicking off the year with the goal of reading 5 books. And don’t worry, I’m definitely already having an anxiety attack about it. And no, I didn’t forget that this is a queer focused blog, each book is written by an LGBTQ or female author. 

Her Body and Other Parties

I’ve read so much about this book and when I heard one of the stories being retold in a podcast, I couldn’t resist. I’ve already begun reading it and can’t put it down.

In Cold Blood

Truman Capote is an author whose work I’ve always wanted to explore. Over the holidays, my brother was telling me how much he loved reading this book and couldn’t recommend it more. He gifted me a copy and I can’t wait to read it.

Before Night Falls

Whenever I’m browsing books online, I frequently see Reinaldo Arenas’ memoir recommended to me. Clearly the internet gods know something about me. When I stumbled upon it at a bookstore sale, I knew I had to take it. TBH, it’s been  sitting on my bookshelf for over a year now. 2020, we’ll finally make it happen.

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion

Earlier this summer, I read Jia Tolentino’s “Losing Religion And Finding Ecstasy In Houston” in the New Yorker and I absolutely loved it. Her writing is incredible and I immediately forwarded it on to many of my friends. I’m officially a Jia stan and can’t wait to read more of her stories in this book. Plus, she’s a fellow Texan.

Imperial Bedrooms

While I’ve never read a Bret Easton Ellis novel, I’ve been a fan of the film adaptations of his books. That WASPy east coast 80s culture is a whole mood I love to immerse myself in. A few months ago, I found it at a bookstore’s sidewalk sale and picked it up. As a sequel to Less Than Zero, it’s possible I’ll be lost and end up revising my list to include that title. 

Interested in knowing how well I stick to this goal? Follow me on Twitter or Instagram, and I’ll keep you posted throughout the year and I’d be more than happy to chat about them!

January 1, 2020
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In Entertainment

A Look At The Love and Resistance: Stonewall 50 Exhibit

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a flash point in the LGBTQ rights movement. To commemorate the event, the New York Public Library has put together the Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50 exhibit along with a number of events.

The exhibit features a collection of photos by photojournalists Kay Tobin Lahusen and Diana Davies as well as numerous zines, flyers, posters, and other printed materials from the era. Walking through the exhibit, you’ll find it’s divided in different themes: the Stonewall Riots, Resistance, Bars, In Print, and Love.

I found the exhibit intriguing and deeply moving. Many of the photos are an intimate look into a movement that feels only recently paid attention to.

Most of the materials feature the 1970s, a period where LGBTQ activisits called for a reimagining of societal norms. The language used in the printed materials struck me for its raw, unabashed sensibilities, reclaiming of homophobic slurs, and making drag culture front and center.

The Love section also made an impression on me as the photographs on display do feature romantic couples but many of the scenes shown were intimate moments between friends. It was a beautiful reminder of the bond many queer people share with their chosen families.

Seeing the number of tourists who either made this exhibit a stop on their visit to New York or just stumbled in while visiting the library, was reassuring in this political climate. Multigenerational families wandered through taking in the stories and experiences, a reminder of how important documenting our struggles and telling our stories are.

The Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50 exhibit is on display at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building until July 14, 2019.

June 3, 2019
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In Entertainment/ Queer Music Club

Queer Music Club: “NNVAV” by Zemmoa

Who: Zemmoa – The gender bending princess of Mexico City’s nightlife.

Album: NNVAV

What’s it like: A dark sci-fi symphony of electro pop and dissonant vocals.

Standouts: Ciencia Ficción, Biografía, El Alacrán, Es Para Ti

Lyrics for your Instagram captions:

La vida te cambió por estar conmigo

Hombre de Hojalata

Tu y yo escribimos una historia de amor

Perfecto o no, pero algo duró

Biografía

Debo confezar que me gustas en verdad

Mujeryego

Where you’re most likely to hear it: NPR’s Radio Ambulante, queer Latinx dance parties

Why you should listen to it: Zemmoa creates a rich sci-fi pop world on this album that shouldn’t be missed. As a bonus, she’s created a work out video to accompany it.

Get your sci-fi sweat on.


April 24, 2019
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In Entertainment/ Queer Music Club

Queer Music Club: “Latinoamericana” by Álex Anwandter

Who: Álex Anwandter – A Chilean singer-songwriter and filmmaker

Album: Latinoamericana

What’s it like: A throwback to 90s and 80s era dance club pop infused with plenty of plays on gender and political commentary.

Standouts: Locura, Vanidad, Axis Mundi, Odio a Todo el Mundo

Lyrics for your Instagram captions:

“Quiero pasar el tiempo

Con alguien que me aguante”

Axis Mundi

“No te da vergüenza

En qué te convertiste”

Malinche

“El mundo se va a la mierda

Y no he hecho nada”

Locura

“El mundo se va a la mierda

Y no sabes si te toca a ti”

Locura

“Tienes ritmo en el corazón

Pero te falta lo demás”

Locura

Where you’re most likely to hear it: NPR world music showcases

Why you should listen to it: You’ll come for the dance pop and stay for the political musings and social commentary. While the focus is on current events and popular culture in Latin American countries, there’s plenty of overlap with the state of our own country. There’s also plenty of takedowns of toxic masculinity, vanity, and gender roles.

April 8, 2019
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