I’m sometimes perplexed to find myself in a body. By some random chromosomal dice-roll, my body is female. Whatever.
Since this is partly a music blog, I wanted to share with you a couple of musicians who defy the stereotypes of the gender they were born into. However, I must emphasize that is their music and singing I find wonderful. The fact that they identify with a gender other than the one that matches their chromosomes is just an added bit of intrigue, and an opportunity to provide a unifying theme to this post.
Gordon Sharp of Cindytalk. I’ve been listening to Cindytalk since the 80s but somehow only recently became aware that vocalist Gordon Sharp dresses like a woman more often than not. His vocals for Cindytalk reflect so much discontent and yearning, and --- you know me --- I just can’t get enough discontent and yearning. I live for music like this. If only I could stream “Camouflage Heart” into your soul. You’ll have to settle for this lo-fi demo recording of “It’s Luxury,” or turn on your Cocteau Twins John Peel BBC Sessions version of “Hazel” to hear Gordon wailing in the background.
Here's Gordon:
Antony Hegarty of Antony & the Johnsons. The first time I heard Antony sing, I pictured an Italian lounge singer, dressed like Liberace. I was so wrong. He exudes melancholy, hopeful innocence from every pore. The real story though is Antony’s music: timeless lyricism and complex melodies…the kind that meander and shift like a river, varying the melody ever so slightly with each musical turn.
Here's Antony:
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