It's never felt more vital to celebrate International Trans Day of Visibility (March 31) than it does right now. As trans people are being politically scapegoated, it's important to continually point out that they are just trying to live their lives in peace and not have their stories silenced and erased. One great way to spread trans joy is through music, so we put together this collection featuring some of our favorite tunes created by trans and nonbinary artists to help further showcase the humanity of a community that's being dehumanized these days.
"Dumbest Girl Alive" - 100 Gecs
Hyperpop powerhouse duo 100 Gecs are not for everyone, but those that get them quickly become diehards. 100 Gecs have embraced the future of music and made it weird. All you need to know about their broad appeal is the fact they've toured with Nine Inch Nails, Brockhampton, and My Chemical Romance. Their catchy chaotic nature throughout their catalogue explores topics as diverse as the politics of gender and video games. "Dumbest Girl Alive" embraces the weird and chaotic as a perfect example of their music. (ALYSON MCMANUS)
"The Man I Love" - Billy Tipton
Trans folks aren't anything new, they've always existed. Case in point the famed mid-20th century jazz bandleader and pianist Billy Tipton, the secretly transgender man who called Spokane home and brought beautiful music to our city as a resident for the final three decades of his life. His take on this George Gershwin standard still holds up. (SETH SOMMERFELD)
"Transgender Dysphoria Blues" - Against Me!
Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace was one of the first established modern musicians to come out as trans in 2012, and her band released what has become an iconic trans coming out album with 2014's Transgender Dysphoria Blues. The title track expresses the frustrations of being trans in a cisgender world. The dissonant guitars and pounding drums mirror the dysphoric feelings in the lyrics by LJG. For many trans punks (and non-punks), having themselves reflected in lyrics and music really helped them not feel so alone. (AM)
"Lemon Boy" - Cavetown
There's no sour aftertaste to Cavetown's sweet bedroom pop melodies about depression. On this track, Robin Skinner personifies his melancholia as a "citrus friend" that rears its ornery head time and time again, spoiling the fun. If we can't weed out mental illnesses, well then I guess we just have to accept living with our bitter friends. (DORA SCOTT)
"Float" - Janelle Monáe
Monáe has always been an album musician, one whose music demands to be listened to beyond the singles. This anthem of liberation found on 2023's The Age of Pleasure emphasizes that. As one of the more famous nonbinary sex symbols out there, diving into the tracks from this album where they embrace their sexuality and gender is affirming for us less outwardly glamorous folks. (AM)
"Strangers" - Ethel Cain
It's too bad Ethel Cain had to be lyrically cannibalized at the narrative end of her album Preacher's Daughter, but at least we got the hauntingly hopeful grunge song "Strangers" out of it. (COLTON RASANEN)
"Other People" - LP
While deep, throaty voices are known to be attractive, LP's wavering gender-neutral falsetto is a surprising panty dropper. Opening with nonchalant whistling, it's easy to imagine them swaggering into a bar to tell their cheating lover to "go f— yourself with other people." (DS)
"Where the Lavender Grows" - Mya Byrne
Mya Byrne is a queer-trans country artist whose 2023 album Rhinestone Tomboy was released on the acclaimed Northwest record label Kill Rock Stars. "Where the Lavender Grows" embraces that Americana tradition of classic country and is a pining love song for a partner. We talk a lot about how representation matters and having trans people in country music is important. (AM)
"Hindsight" - Rosie Tucker
Since there have been plenty of words spilled in the Inlander about Rosie Tucker's stellar LP UTOPIA NOW! (it was the best album of 2024 — go listen to it), instead we'll spotlight an older gem from the brilliant nonbinary indie rock singer-songwriter. "Hindsight" is an absolutely crushing gutpunch of a folk song where Tucker wrestles with the brutal feelings that come after someone from your past whose advances you rejected kills themself. (SS)
"Unholy" - Sam Smith & Kim Petras
Already an established star, Sam Smith came out as nonbinary in 2019 after previously identifying as genderqueer. They've since released two albums that began to really reflect their sense of self. "Unholy" is a hyperpop standout, embracing the tradition of trans and nonbinary folk in that genre. Featuring trans singer Kim Petras, the song is sexually charged and the beat is relentless and catchy. It is also important in historical context, as it was the first song by an out trans person to win a major Grammy and top the Billboard Hot 100. (AM)
There's likely no bigger influence on the hyperpop genre than SOPHIE. The trans musician and music producer is well-known for songs like "Faceshopping" and "Ponyboy," but after her death in 2021 the emotional opener on Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides hits much harder than the rest. "It's Okay To Cry" heavily features the artist's silky singing voice, rather than the industrial and electronic sounds that become common throughout the album. (CR)
"The Shining (Main Title)" - Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind
Trans composer Wendy Carlos was one of electronic music's true pioneers. Her most enduring work probably comes from working as Stanley Kubrick's composer for A Clockwork Orange and The Shining, and this brooding synth composition that opened the horror classic still absolutely sends shivers up our musical spines. (SS)
"Bloom" - Great Grandpa
"Step into whatever you want to and let your spirit bloom." The chorus to this gorgeously hopeful track from the wildly underrated Seattle indie rock band fronted by Al Menne is equal parts delicate and powerful. The song gracefully conveys the message that it's never too late to become the person you truly want to be. (SS)
"They / Them / Theirs" - Worriers
Worriers' lead singer Lauren Denitzio tackles gender identity in this punk rocker produced by Laura Jane Grace. Lyrically, it's as simple as Lauren clarifying how their pronouns are they/them/theirs. If only people realized it's really just as simple as the song lays out... (AM)
"Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl" - Yeule
A cover of a Broken Social Scene song, Yeule's version is featured on one of the best trans films ever made, 2024's I Saw the TV Glow. This glitchier, ambient version of the tune by the nonbinary Singaporean singer captures the haunting nature of dysphoria featured throughout the film, as well as feeling simultaneously like an adult and a teenager due to hormonal changes and coming-of-age to your true self. (AM)
"Skin on Skin" - Jasmine.4.t
After opening for Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers signed this UK band (composed of four trans people) to her record label, Saddest Factory Records. To complete the Boygenius trifecta, "Skin on Skin" features Julien Baker on guitar. The tune itself is a love song about loving trans folks as a trans person. Trans people don't usually get sensual love songs about themselves, so Jasmine has provided a rare chance for us to love ourselves and others. (AM)
"Hit the Back" - King Princess
As the genderqueer King Princess aptly declared when first sharing it, this song is "the anthem for bottoms everywhere" — period. (DS)
"Dysphoria Hoodie" - Laura Jane Grace
Don't sleep on the solo material by Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace either. This acoustic folk-punk ditty is a catchy and cutting celebration of trans culture's wearable comfort blanket — the dysphoria hoodie (an oversized loose fitting hooded sweatshirt one can crawl into to escape anxiety of the world and judging eyes looking at one's body shape). (SS)
"A Bigger Bomb" - Sister Wife Sex Strike
Sister Wife Sex Strike's music absolutely bangs. The Seattle-based trans duo of Sister Moth and Sister Pigeon has been pumping out folk-punk tracks since 2021. Their song "A Bigger Bomb" tells a story through its lyrics of cultural and political divides distracting us from the ongoing destruction of the planet at the hands of war-hungry men. "Propaganda serves a purpose /A militia is useless unless they're nervous / Commies marching, w must stave them off / While w build an even bigger bomb!" (CR)
"On My Own" - Shamir
Few artists in recent memory have been as truly eclectic as Shamir. The nonbinary singer-songwriter has excelled in the fields of electropop, hip-hop, indie rock, lo-fi disco and more. This opening track from Shamir's self-titled LP is a swirling indie pop gem that blends emotive reflection on letting your heart be open to being loved with hip-shaking grooves. (SS)
"Scabs" - Speedy Ortiz
While we tend to focus on the folks front and center, it's also important to note there are plenty of trans people making great music as the less heralded parts of bands. Case in point Audrey Zee Whitesides once led the queercore/alt-country band Little Waist, but these days can be found killing it as the bassist for indie critical darling Speedy Ortiz, including on this heady rallying cry for workers' solidarity. (SS)
