Playlist: I Kissed a Gay Girl and I Loved It

michigan womyn's music festival - 1976

Last night’s episode of Glee was entitled “I Kissed a Girl” and features hands-down the gayest girly playlist of all fucking time: Melissa Etheridge, Dolly Parton, KD Lang, Cyndi Lauper, and that Katy Perry song we all love so much. Of course not all of those musicians are gay, but that’s besides the point, I suppose.

A while back we did a Lez the Fuck Out: B-Sides playlist, but I was inspired by last night’s incompleteness to assemble the Lez the Fuck Out A-List.

Here we go:

Prove it On Me – Ma Rainey
Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
Hot Topic – Le Tigre
I Kissed a Girl – Jill Sobule
Do It Like a Dude – Jessie J
Take Me On the Floor – The Veronicas
As Cool As I Am – Dar Williams
Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover – Sophie B. Hawkins
If It Isn’t Her – Ani DiFranco
Nineteen – Tegan & Sara
Power of Two – Indigo Girls
Rebel Girl – Bikini Kill
Become You – Indigo Girls
Secret – Missy Higgins
Constant Craving – k.d. lang
Weakness in Me – Joan Armatrading
Take Me or Leave Me – Cast of RENT
Some Kind of Wonderful – Pam Grier & Betty
Drive – Melissa Ferrick
You Don’t Own Me – Lesley Gore
Say So – Uh Huh Her
Young James Dean – Girlyman
Come to my Window – Melissa Etheridge

Playlist:

What are your favorite lesbian songs? Remember that to make these mixes we actually have to own the songs ourselves, so if you see something that isn’t on here and you are absolutely horrified by that omission, you gotta email me the song!

Want to suggest a playlist theme? Hit Crystal up on Formspring and someone of the team might create it for you.

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Riese

Riese is the 41-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3238 articles for us.

61 Comments

  1. Autostraddle, you always make the perfect playlists for my life. Since hearing Puck butcher Melissa Etheridge on Glee last night, I’ve been listening to nothing but classic queer lady rock to feel better. This playlist is just enabling me.

    Also, fun fact: I owned and loved two-thirds of these songs before I realized I was gay. Maybe I should have figured that shit out sooner.

  4. My Best Friend’s Hot – The Dollyrots (this was my JAM in tenth grade)
    Perfect Fingers – Ani DiFranco (I don’t know, it was on the Better Than Chocolate soundtrack, and that movie is super fucking cute.)
    I Like Girls – Axegirl (Yes. Just. Yes.)

    • My friend and I ran around screaming this at Victoria Pride.
      Then I got propositioned by an older lady who wanted to “make me [her] puppy”. I put my shirt back on and ran like FUCK.

  9. can we talk about how on last night glee every time finn appeared I just wanted him to start singing “closer to fine”?

    • It would have been preferable to what he did spend the entire episode doing, i.e., exercising his white male privilege. Dickhead.

  10. Yes, Girlyman! Pretty much all of their songs are on my personal “lez the fuck out” list.
    The only thing I think is missing from here is If You Should Try to Kiss Her by Dressy Bessy. That’s a gay song, right?

  11. Love this list, especially the double dose of Kathleen Hanna.

    I would add “Funnel of Love” by Wanda Jackson, because it was in But I’m a Cheerleader and is overall full of awesomeness. Also, uh, the title seems relevant.

  12. I loved the music on Glee last night… except for I Kissed A Girl. I actually find that song kind of…what’s the right word…derogatory?
    I mean imagine if you’re that lesbian and you’re all excited to be going out, you’ve got your cherry chapstick on and everything! And then Katy Perry comes up and kisses you and then is like “whoops, boyfriend!” how would you feel?

    • I love girlyman! Went to their concert last year and it was awesome. We even got to sing harmonies in the audience :)

  14. Just looking at this playlist makes me blush. Um, one time I wandered into some Alaskan woods and stumbled upon a short-haired woman in plaid playing acoustic guitar and singing a song about bathing in Canadian rivers with other ladies and never shaving or caring about men, and some characters named Betty and Sue who were into dancing together. Then she winked at me and my grandmother was like, “…”. That song should be on the playlist.

  18. Several months ago, Proud 103.8 played a song during my usual ‘woke up early dancing while getting ready to go’ hours called Prom Prom by Creature.
    I’ve never heard of anyone else knowing it, and until recently I could basically not prove that it existed. But now it’s on iTunes, so yeah.
    BUT IT’S AMAZING.
    AND IT’S ABOUT A LESBIAN LIVING IN A 1980’s TEEN FLICK.

  20. ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID RUNNIN’ THROUGH MY HEAD RUNNIN’ THROUGH MY HEAD

    also: this playlist is awesome.

  21. Love this, Riese. Missy Higgins’ “Secret” slays me.
    I think Hunter Valentine’s “Jimmy Dean” would probably be on my list.

    • Oh, shit. That Hangry&Angry song should be “Kill Me, Kiss Me” not “Sadistic Dance.” The link is correct, I just put the wrong title.

  25. I’m going to wear my hair down and run headphones down my back so I can listen to this in class tomorrow when a straight, white, cis-gendered male gives an anti-abortion speech.

    NO ME GUSTA.

  26. can’t say i’m much of a fan of any of these songs. here are some very gay songs i love:

    “Pocketbook” Meshell Ndegeocello
    “Barry Farms” Meshell Ndegeocello- VERY lesbionic
    “Love You Down” Meshell Ndegeocello
    “Beautiful” Meshell Ndegeocello
    “Tik Tok” Mz Fontaine
    “Lick It” God-des

  27. Two Little Girls – Ani Difranco
    Porch Song – Chris Pureka
    Best Cock on the Block – Bitch and Animal

    I know you have some Ani on here and basically (almost) all of her music is gay but I especially like that song. Also, basically anything by Bitch and Animal is gay. And glorious.

  29. omg you included Betty and Pam Grier! hahaha! way to go!
    also, santana definitely should sing some Jessie J. It would be so perfect.

  33. Oooh my gosh I love gay songs!

    Lick It – Goddess and She
    I’m a Lesbian – Lizzy the Lezzy
    So Happy I Could Die – Lady Gaga

    Play them on blast and repeat to drive the ladyfriend crazy. (But I know she secretly loves it!)

  34. YAY First post!! This playlist is fantastic.. I feel extra gay after listening.. definitely got some new favorites to add to my collection, thanks ladies!

  35. Super list. I was definitely also in downward dog… totally too much. Thought about writing strongly worded letters. Calmed down. Listened to: The Gossip, Hercules and the Love Affair, and MEN (“who am I to feel so free” – watch the video!)

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