Transgender synth pioneer, Wendy Carlos (1939). She composed the TRON soundtrackâone of my favorites actually, with its unusual love theme and perfectly placed electronic action beats. She also composed music for A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and THE SHINING. Much more commercially successful though was SWITCHED-ON BACH (1968).
On the topic of her gender transition, she said,
âThe public turned out to be amazingly tolerant or, if you wish, indifferent... There had never been any need of this charade to have taken place. It had proven a monstrous waste of years of my life.â
Thereâs a lesson to be learned there. How many times do we put off or abandon doing something because of what other people might think? And how often does it turn out that these other people have their own problems to worry about and donât really care anyway? Weâre always performing for a highly-critical, invisible audience it seemsâor not even performing, just waiting anxiously in the dressing room.
