Pandemic Playlist: Celebrate Pride Month 2020 with our Top 5 Tegan and Sara songs
Pop music's most famous lesbian twins, Tegan and Sara, are a Canadian indie pop band formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. Both Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin are songwriters and multi-instrumentalists who are actively engaged in social and political issues. The openly gay stars have pursued their advocacy for the LGBTQIA++ community as well as music education, literacy, and cancer research. But their musical careers weren't always easy. In September last year, the sisters revealed to PinkNews that their early days in the industry was a “pretty lonely and tough” era. “We felt so visibly gay that we just embraced it,” Tegan said, adding, “But then, for the first three or four years it rarely came up [in press interviews] and we got a lot of flack from the LGBT+ community for not talking about being gay in the press.”
Tegan explained that “It just didn’t happen naturally", and said, “We were 16, 17 when we started talking to the media, and a lot of the journalists were men, so us being gay was something that was really awkward for them to bring up – because talking about sexuality felt like talking about sex.” In December last year, the twins launched the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which aims to “fight for economic justice, health and representation for LGBTQ girls and women," according to Rolling Stone.
As both dedicated LGBTQIA++ allies as well as rocking musicians, we have chosen five of our favorite songs by Tegan and Sara on today's Pandemic Playlist for Pride Month 2020.
'Closer'
A track from their platinum 2013 LP 'Heartthrob', the LGBTQIA++ track, 'Closer', has landed in several critics' lists as an apt song for the community. The official music video depicts friends and lovers of all genders, applying each other's makeup, playing under blanket forts and dancing to the sound of this beautiful song. It is both an intimate and joyous portrait of queer friendship, describing love that exists not just in the sexual or romantic sense, but through the feel-good ambiguity of youth.
Talking about the song, Tegan told Rolling Stone, “I was writing about my youth – a time when we got closer by linking arms and walking down our school hallway, or talked all night on the telephone about every thought or experience we’d ever had." She added, "It wasn’t necessarily even about hooking up or admitting your feelings back then. … It was the anticipation of something maybe happening that was truly exciting and satisfying. These relationships existed in a state of sexual and physical ambiguity. Is there anything more romantic than that?”
'Call It Off'
Fans of Tegan and Sara can agree that the sisters have a way of touching on deeper feelings and yearnings through their lyrics and music that gets a sense of sadness. Whether the melancholic tones are subtle or heavy, the sisters don't let listeners wallow in a pit of misery but overlay their music with a sense of strength or positivity. In 'Call It Off', a heartrending mid-tempo ballad that resonates the precariousness of relationships while stepping away from heartache, Tegan sings, "I won't regret saying this. This thing that I'm saying. Is it better than keeping my mouth shut. That goes without saying. Call, break it off. Call, break my own heart. Maybe I would have been something you'd be good at."
Paramore's Hayley Williams performed a cover of 'Call It Off' in April.
'BWU'
As multi-instrumentalists, Tegan and Sara's music is consistently rich in sonic texture and creativity. Their 2016 track 'BWU' (an acronym for "be with you") applies several melodic layers of synth over a steady pop beat. According to UPI, Sara corrected the assumption that 'BWU' is not an anti-marriage song but rather an anti-wedding song.
'Hell'
Tegan and Sara's versatility is proven in their tracks that aren't necessarily pop. The rock and roll-charged bopper, 'Hell', alternates with on and off-beat electric guitar strumming between verses. The sisters share much-needed advice for listeners troubled by toxic relationships with the chorus, "I know you feel it too. These words get overused. When we get up and over it and over them. Up and over it and over them. I know you feel it too. It all seems so untrue. When you get up and over it and over them."
'I Was A Fool'
Yet another super relatable track by the sister duo for those who have experienced unsuitable relationships, 'I Was A Fool' gets lyrics such as "I stuck around", "I saved you every time", and "Then you blamed me and blocked me out. How long did you think I'd last?" Opening in breezy piano melody, the song swells into a resounding power groove at its chorus and is one of our favorite slower numbers by these breathtaking artistes.
Pandemic Playlist is a daily list of songs that will keep you entertained instead of feeling drained while you're isolated at home. Look out for a fresh selection of great tunes from MEAWW to refresh your mood every day!