#queersounds

37: A Deep Dive into Queer Indonesian History

CW: Homophobia, Transphobia, Systematic Oppression, Violence and a brief mention of HIV-Aids 

 It’s so wonderful to have a big ol’ nerd as a guest. In this case Harits will run you through the past fifty years of Indonesian History from a queer point of view. As the main guy behind the Queer Indonesian Archive we could have gone much further, but in the best case it will be a reason to invite him, or one of his colleagues, again some time.

In recent Indonesian History Queer acceptance took a turn for the worse. However, a bunch of young activists are fighting for more acceptance. This is once again an example of how tolerance does not equal acceptance. If this seems broad and vague, listen to the episode to find out more. And to be honest, for someone who works with musicians, we didn’t talk a whole lot about music but there’s plenty of stories to go around.

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Flashback Track: Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood – Storybook Children Queer Artist Spotlight: Guruh Soekarno Putra – Lagu Putih Best Live Experience: Franz Ferdinand – Michael Recent Discovery: Arthur Sharpe – My Only Worry

Shownotes

Queer Indonesian Archive

Queer Indonesia Zines and Images

“2016 Gay Panic”

Wiki: Post-Suharto Era

Related Episodes

Written in Sharpie

Maruf and the Crossroads of Identity

46: Diva in Academia

High academic expectations among Asian students might sound like a tired trope, but Best experienced it first-hand. As an only child she had to live with the pressure of passing on the family name and provide for that family by getting an appropriate college degree. After she came out it was a challenge to overcome these family focussed expectations. School was not really a problem though. She turned out to be a real Diva in academia.

Thankfully, she had pop music to cope. Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, and all the artists played in this episode help her feel empowered. Whether it’s her alarm in the morning or just sitting at home trying to relax, Best has a pop diva for every occasion. Now you may think this is an over the top episode, however, Best shows how versatile the past decades of pop divas have been.

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Flashback Track: Whitney Houston – Greatest Love of All

Queer Artist Spotlight: Lady Gaga – Hair

Best Live Experience: Ariana Grande – Breathin

Recent Discovery: ETC – ไม่ต้องรู้ว่าเราคบกันแบบไหน (Mai Tong Ru Wa Rau Kop Gan Bep Nai)

Shownotes

Academic Expectations

What trans and nonbinary people need to know about birth control

Chiang Mai Keeps Breathing

Chiang Mai Pride

Related Episodes

Letting go of certain names

A Deep Dive into Queer Indonesian History

26: Ace and Anxious

Happy Asexual Awareness Week everyone! From October 25th to October 31st it's all about our Ace pals including our latest guest: Pancake, founder of action group Aces NRW. This non-binary hero is in some ways the German counterpart to your dear podcast host with similarities such as coming from Emo, currently moving though activist spaces and dealing with social anxiety.

Flashback Track: My Chemical Romance - I'm not Okay Queer Artist Spotlight: CSS - Music is My Hot Hot Sex Best Live Experience: Bury Tomorrow - Black Flame Recent Discovery: Rina Sawayama - XS

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Shownotes:

@aces-nrw

Rock am Ring 2018

Letting go of Certain Names

CW: Human trafficking, Racism, Discrimination, Queerphobia

Calling someone by a nickname is incredibly common place in Thailand. Apart from the practical reasons such as reducing the amount of syllables, it most definitely also has some queer advantages. Worapon explains how easy it is to let go of the names your parents gave you.

Then there are names we probably should let go. Artists who appropriate cultures trying to appealing to a global audience should see that backfire. I did consider to skip the Hwasa track for this exact reason. The reasons I played it anyway are simple: I'm spineless and didn't dare to ask Worapon to pick a different track last-minute. Besides, my cultural impact with this podcast is so minimal, it's not like i'm promoting anyone here. At least I hope that's true. If not, please drag me through the mud as well.

Flashback Track: 2002 ราตรี (2002 Ratree) - จีนี่ จ๋า (Genie Ja) Queer Artist Spotlight: Sam Smith - Leave Your Lover Best Live Experience: Jeremy Zucker - comethru Recent Discovery: Hwasa - Maria

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Shownotes:

On nicknames

Kathoey

Hwasa Racism Controversy I

Hwasa Racism Controversy II

Also available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify

27: Pan-African Queerness

CW: suicide, violence, genocide, abuse. 

Dumi and the African Queer Youth Initiative fight for the Pan-African rights of Queer people. Because even though a lot of progress have been made in the past, there is still a long way to go. Unfortunately, the show did not end the way we'd hoped. It's been a challenge to get this recording going on, but not everything always goes as planned. In this case, the internet connection on Dumi's end was not quite cooperative. However, we still had quite a long conversation so here's what we ended up with.

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Flashback Track: Choir of St. John’s College, Cainbrigde - Silent Night

Queer Artist Spotlight: Brenda Fassie – Nomakanjani

Best Live Experience: Aretha Franklin – Nessun Dorma

Recent Discovery: Letta Mbulu – Not Yet Uhuru

Shownotes

Dumi’s work as Activist

African Queer Youth Initiative

Brenda Fassie’s activism

16: What band is This?

QueerSounds: The Covid Sessions pt. I. A new setting, slightly worse audio quality, but same old format and fantastic tunes. As my first ever guest who doesn’t reside in the Netherlands Elodie talks about her love for gaming soundtracks, CD’s and politics in music.

Flashback Track: Morikazu Aoki – Route 110 (Pokemon RSE) Queer Artist Spotlight: Aurora – Apple Tree Best Live Experience: Super Furry Animals – The Man Don’t Give a Fuck Most Recent Discovery: Dream Bitches – Tracy Emin

Consider supporting though BuyMeACoff.ee/QueerSounds

Shownotes:

Podhaven

The Rise of the Super Furry Animals Biography

Welsh Music Day

Declan McKenna on politics in “Britsh Bombs”

Ep. 8: Reclaim Pop Music

How pop music became Queer culture? Well, it's always been Queer culture. Manju Reijmer explains perfectly how he, a brown cis gay man, can identify with straight blonde pop princesses. As well as how he helps the Dutch Public Broadcasting Network acknowledge social issues through web-series.

Flashback Track: P!nk - Like a Pill Queer Artist Spotlight: Alan Manken - Proud of Your Boy Best Live Experience: Moses Sumney - Make Out in My Car Most Recent Discovery: Mike Jack Dean - Bij je Zijn

Shownotes:

Manju's Volkskrant interview

Webseries: De Slet van Zes VWO

Origins of Vogue (Wikipedia)

The Little Mermaid's queer origins

Het Meisje in Mij

7: For Everyone Represented by Me

It's a song as old as queerness itself.  Whenever we don't feel catered to by whatever type of media, we go out of our way to create our own representation. Heck, that's in part why this podcast came to be. With Romy, an androgynous person of colour (living that afab with a low voice due to a cold lifestyle), this is just as much the case.

Musical memory: Wham! - The Edge of Heaven Queer artist of the Week: CupCakke - LGBT Best live experience: Hudson Mohawke - System Most recent discovery: The Internet - Come Over

Shownotes:

- The Full Romy Experience