Tag: songs that soundtracked the aids crisis

  • Songs That Soundtrack the AIDS Crisis: Rihanna’s “Sex With Me”

    Songs That Soundtrack the AIDS Crisis: Rihanna’s “Sex With Me”

    It is the year of our Beyoncé 2024, and folks got on her internet to deride people for taking PrEP, by admonishing them to just “not have sex with people who have hiv.” This began a few days ago when X account @ FemK_Ultra wrote that “Realizing sex doesnt have…

  • Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Crisis: Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”

    Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Crisis: Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”

    My memories are a sacred place. Some may say I am addicted to nostalgia, and maybe, on some level, I am. But aren’t most people? My visitations to yesteryear are not rooted in the longing to relive the past but rather a way for me to time travel and have…

  • songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: Tiffany “Here In My Heart”

    songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: Tiffany “Here In My Heart”

    The impact of HIV/AIDS in the collective consciousness in pop music was undeniable. This period saw a move toward more introspective and somber tones lyrically and sonically. “Being Boring” by Pet Shop Boys, and Gwen Guthrie’s “Can’t Love You Tonight” are notable songs of this time. And yes, even teen…

  • songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: boogie down productions “jimmy”

    songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: boogie down productions “jimmy”

    “here is a message to the super hoes” whew, name a more iconic and sex-positive opening line of a hip-hop song released in 1998 – during the genre’s golden era? well, maybe i am being hyperbolic, but almost every lyric in “jimmy” by the pioneering new york hip-hop group boogie…

  • songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: martha wash’s “carry on”

    songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: martha wash’s “carry on”

    known as the queen of clubland, martha wash has been a constant presence on the dance floor of queer clubs for close to half a century. her voice helped to propel songs by sylvester (“disco heat”), the weather girls (“it’s raining men”), rebbie Jackson (“centipede”), seduction (“you’re my one and…

  • DIONNE WARWICK

    DIONNE WARWICK

    2025 will mark the 40th anniversary of Dionne Warwick’s cultural milestone single, “That’s What Friends Are For.” The one-off single, featuring the equally iconic Gladys Knight, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder, “That’s What Friends Are For,” was released as a charity single in October 1985 to support AIDS research. The…

  • songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: queen’s “there are the days of our lives”

    songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: queen’s “there are the days of our lives”

    The early 1990s were a pivotal era in popular culture, significantly marked by the escalating AIDS epidemic. For Queen, one of the most celebrated rock bands of the 20th century, the impact of AIDS was deeply personal. By the release of “Innuendo,” Queen’s fourteenth studio album, Queen had established itself…

  • songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: songs that celebrate coming out and inviting in

    songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: songs that celebrate coming out and inviting in

    the roots of queer clubs can be traced back to the early 20th century. many of these spaces existed in secrecy, then in the aftermath of the stonewall uprising against police violence in june 1969, queer clubs began to emerge from the shadows. the uprisings served as catalyst for transformation…

  • songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: tasmin archer’s “sleeping satellite”

    songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: tasmin archer’s “sleeping satellite”

    i can still picture us hanging out in his dimly lit room as he sang his heart out to tasmin archer’s “sleeping sattelite.” i didn’t get it. i just didn’t hear what he did. where was the beat? how do you dance to this? what the hell was is it…

  • songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: bone thugs-n-harmony’s “tha crossroads”

    songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: bone thugs-n-harmony’s “tha crossroads”

    in the vast universe of hip-hop’s fifty-year history, certain songs stand out for their musical brilliance and place within pop culture and their profound impact on how we eulogize the lives of the loved ones we lost. among these iconic tracks include pete rock & CL smooth’s “they reminisce over…

  • songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: sinéad o’connor’s “nothing compares to you”

    songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: sinéad o’connor’s “nothing compares to you”

    is she a skinhead or is she not? why is she bald? why is she all about? these were the questions i remember people asking upon the release of the video for sinéad o’connor’s “nothing compares 2 u.” without any historical context, these questions seem odd, but with sleekly produced…

  • songs that songtracked the AIDS Crisis: aqua’s “barbie girl”

    songs that songtracked the AIDS Crisis: aqua’s “barbie girl”

    The first time I heard the euro-pop sensation Aqua’s Barbie Girl was in the summer of 1997, at a party We The People organized in Clementon Park, New Jersey. The DJ was mixing bona fide house hits with contemporary jams. I remember this so vividly because I watched someone do…