A Hint Of Mint – Volume 70: LGBTQ Music From 1977 To 1978

We are everywhere! In punk, in disco, in glam, in pop, in adult contemporary, in classic rock.

This playlists consists of twenty songs, some performed by artists who fall somewhere under the LGBTQ umbrella, others with queer lyrical content. Performers include Buzzcocks, the Rolling Stones and the Kinks.

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A Hint of Mint – Volume 69: LGBTQ Music From 1976 to 1977

Twenty songs, some performed by artists who fall somewhere under the LGBTQ umbrella, others with queer lyrical content. During the years covered in this post, punk entered the picture and disco became more popular, while singer-songwriters held their ground and classic British rock acts endured. Performers include Sylvester, Village People and Elton Motello.

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A Hint Of Mint – Volume 68: LGBTQ Music From 1975 To 1976

Twenty songs, some performed by artists who fall somewhere under the LGBTQ umbrella, others with queer lyrical content. You’ll hear singer-songwriters, glam, disco, and songs from a musical film whose main character was a bisexual transvestite. Performers include Queen, Janis Ian and Barry Manilow (who I swear came out while his first hit single was on the charts).

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A Hint of Mint – Volume 67: LGBTQ Music From 1972 to 1974

Twenty songs, some performed by artists who fall somewhere under the LGBTQ umbrella, others with queer lyrical content. It’s all men this time around. Performers include Lou Reed, Tim Buckley and Billy Preston.

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A Hint Of Mint – Volume 66: LGBTQ Music From 1969 To 1972

Songs by artists such as Dusty Springfield, who came out as bisexual in 1970; Elton John, who hadn’t yet come out as bi or gay during this period but is now openly gay; and David Bowie, whose persona was bi though the performer later said he himself was straight. Included herewith are twenty songs, some performed by artists who fall somewhere under the LGBTQ umbrella, others with queer lyrical content.

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Throwback Thursday – 1987 (Part II)

One of 1987’s most popular and critically-acclaimed hits began its life as a demo recording named after the duo who sang “It’s Raining Men.”

It’s by the band U2, who referred to the track as “The Weather Girls” or “Under the Weather.” Their guitarist, The Edge, told Rolling Stone magazine that the song sounded like a reggae band’s version of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.” Over time they developed the song. Instruments were added to the initial drum pattern. When it came time to come up with lyrics, The Edge gave singer Bono a piece of paper on which he had written a phrase that came to him earlier that day – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

That became the song’s title, with lyrics inspired by the gospel music Bono was listening to at the time. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” was U2’s second consecutive #1 single, following “With or Without You,” which was included on part 1 of Tunes du Jour’s Throwback Thursday – 1987 playlist.

Here are twenty of 1987’s best, kicking off not with The Weather Girls, but with U2.


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A Hint Of Mint – Volume 65: The Olympics

I’ve never watched a single Olympics event, so take the idea that this playlist is inspired by the Olympics with a grain of sodium chloride.

Artists include Against Me!, Belle & Sebastian and ABBA.

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It’s Kid Creole’s Birthday And I Need To Dance!

He told me he is willing to relocate to Los Angeles so we could be closer to each other, geographically. Washington state is a temporary home. Besides, he does a lot of business in LA.

Uprooting yourself to be near to me is a big step, and while I appreciate his thoughtfulness, I had to tell him that our relationship was moving way too fast. After, this was his first email to me after viewing my profile on OKCupid. I hadn’t so much as written or said a word to him yet. Thus, my first message to him was to break it off before it went any further.

Am I flattered that someone wished to relocate after seeing my photo and reading about my likes and the six things I could never do without? Yes, but I understand. After all, I’m a wonderful thing, baby.

You know who else is a wonderful thing, baby? Kid Creole, the persona created by Thomas August Darnell Browder, who prior to becoming Kid Creole co-wrote under the nom du plume made up of his two middle names the disco classic “Cherchez La Femme” and produced and co-wrote “There but for the Grace of God Go I.”

Today August Darnell turns 66 years old. Tunes du Jour’s weekly dance party kicks off with Kid Creole and the Coconuts’ “I’m a Wonderful Thing, Baby.”


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Winston & queen

Throwback Thursday – 1976 (Part II)

In October of 1975, the band Queen played for their manager, John Reid, a song they recently finished recording that they wanted to release as their next single. Reid told them the track would not get any airplay. He played it for another artist he managed, Elton John, who reportedly said “Are you mad? You’ll never get that on the radio!”

Queen stayed firm, not relenting when their record company begged them to at least edit the song down from its nearly six-minute duration.

To promote the song, the band was invited to play on England’s hugely successful Top of the Pops television program. They were unable to appear due to tour commitments, so they did something that wasn’t very common in 1975 – they filmed a videoclip. Top of the Pops aired the clip. As the song rose up the charts, the video was shown repeatedly. Soon other artists in the UK made videos for their records, which is why when MTV launched in the United States in 1981, many of the clips they aired were of UK acts.

The single, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” went to #1 in England in December of that year, where it stayed for nine weeks. It got knocked from the top spot by a song whose title consisted of a phrase used in “Bohemian Rhapsody” – ABBA’s “Mamma Mia.” “Bohemian Rhapsody” hit #1 again there in December of 1991, a few weeks after the death of the band’s lead singer and the song’s composer, Freddie Mercury.

Winston & queen

In the United States, the song didn’t go to #1, but it did hit the top ten in 1976 and 1992.

For this week’s Throwback Thursday playlist, Tunes du Jour revisits 1976 (part I can be found here), kicking off with the Queen classic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”


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A Hint Of Mint – Volume 64: Florence Foster Jenkins Wasn’t The Only Crap Singer

In director Stephen Frears’ new film Florence Foster Jenkins, based on a true story, Meryl Streep plays the titular woman, who performed to a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall despite/because of her awful singing. Though I love bad music, I wasn’t familiar with her, as she sang opera in the 1940s and I’m a rock & roll guy.

Inspired by the movie, this installment of A Hint of Mint focuses on some very bad singers, such as Mrs. Miller, the Shaggs, and Gloria Balsam. I hope you make it through the entire list, but I understand if you can’t.

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