Secretly gay songs

Because sometimes you need songs that aren't about hetero love. It's a playlist of mostly queer, gay, or bi people singing songs about love — same-sex love, in particular. Because sometimes you need a love song that can capture your experience more accurately. If you don't start picturing your own future gay wedding while you listen to this, YOU ARE NOT HUMAN.

Former Vampire Weekend member Rostam manages to combine the ever-present ethereal quality of his music with touching lyrics about struggling to find your dream partner. The track displays not only a deep love of the film, but shows emotional maturity in acknowledging the reality of losing the person you love most. Wanna let your lover know just how sexy you find them? Sometimes all a good song needs is a simple bass line and some sultry vocals.

Is there an LGBTQ sensibility? Or, much more simply: Which songs best evoke the sex, drama, heartache, struggle, liberation and mindfucks of queer lives then and now? What follows is not a comprehensive or ranked list, but one that bridges the gap between post-Stonewall disco parties and gender-queer millennial rock of today. While some classics do appear on our list, others do not — sorry, Gloria Gaynor, Kylie Minogue, RuPaul, Britney and Cher, we still adore you — here are 25 essential pride songs from the s to today.

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