"Understanding of the song" or simple prejudicial assumptions? As a humble author, myself, I tend to support what the songwriter has to say about it. He says it is NOT a "gay anthem." Why is the author wrong, and everyone else right?
I don't know, it's hard to square with fellow band members saying it was a gay song + the culture of the day understanding it as such + the YMCA itself distancing from it due to the gay subtext and said cultural understanding + the context of the local YMCA in Greenwich Village which is the song's inspiration being a known gay forum + Greenwich Village itself being a known gay hotspot in NYC at the time and the fact that that place is where the band derived it's stage name from
Man for all we know he was pressured to take that stance. How can one argue against the contemporary consensus about the song? Unless that narrative was a fake news smear campaign from 50 years ago. Needless to say I doubt I'd be able to contact the author of the song with my measley ass. kek
All I know is what he said. You don't know anything. Contemporary "consensus"? It seems that the "consensus" about the word "queer" is that it simply refers to homosexuality. This came up in a discussion about L. Frank Baum and the Oz stories, where "queer" plainly meant something that was Unusually Abnormal. Was Baum writing about homosexuals? Absolutely not.
The songwriter hadn't been heard from in years. No one thought about him, but he was disturbed that his song was being taken as a "gay anthem." You can track him down. You can write an open letter to him. I doubt you would be able to contact him, also, because you give up in advance of doing anything.
"Understanding of the song" or simple prejudicial assumptions? As a humble author, myself, I tend to support what the songwriter has to say about it. He says it is NOT a "gay anthem." Why is the author wrong, and everyone else right?
I don't know, it's hard to square with fellow band members saying it was a gay song + the culture of the day understanding it as such + the YMCA itself distancing from it due to the gay subtext and said cultural understanding + the context of the local YMCA in Greenwich Village which is the song's inspiration being a known gay forum + Greenwich Village itself being a known gay hotspot in NYC at the time and the fact that that place is where the band derived it's stage name from
So, you go tell the songwriter he is wrong. I'm sure he will hear you respectfully.
Man for all we know he was pressured to take that stance. How can one argue against the contemporary consensus about the song? Unless that narrative was a fake news smear campaign from 50 years ago. Needless to say I doubt I'd be able to contact the author of the song with my measley ass. kek
All I know is what he said. You don't know anything. Contemporary "consensus"? It seems that the "consensus" about the word "queer" is that it simply refers to homosexuality. This came up in a discussion about L. Frank Baum and the Oz stories, where "queer" plainly meant something that was Unusually Abnormal. Was Baum writing about homosexuals? Absolutely not.
The songwriter hadn't been heard from in years. No one thought about him, but he was disturbed that his song was being taken as a "gay anthem." You can track him down. You can write an open letter to him. I doubt you would be able to contact him, also, because you give up in advance of doing anything.