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varijoan's review against another edition
4.0
Provided very interesting history, and I learned a lot. I also liked that there was more international focus instead of just US/UK. However, I did feel like it focused too much on cis men and sometimes provided too many background details (details of someone’s Mom/Dad and their lives) which felt unnecessary.
brywalls's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
The first half was pretty good - well researched, well written, easy to follow. After that though...things get harder. Chronological order goes straight (hehe) out the window and the writing becomes so jumbled, the author switches topics/people in the middle of paragraphs. There are 3 "specalized topic" chapters (country, women's folk music, and hip hop) that feel thrown in just whenever and, again, chronology is whack so while a chapter I just finished is about 80s new wave, now I'm reading about Jamaican hip hop in the '00s.
Also, and perhaps because the author is British, there were a lot of acts in the last 100 pages I had never heard of. I was surprised to see the Scissor Sisters get almost 2 pages, Adam Lambert 2 sentences, and no mention at all of Mika, Roxy Music, or the New York Dolls.
Furthermore, the book does little to explore the context or impact of some of the best-known artists like Bolan, Reed, Bowie or Queen. Other artists cite them as influences throughout the text, but there's precious little in the book that talks about their influences or cohesively articulated their impact. Where did these acts come from, why did they "work", and what did later generations steal?
Also, and perhaps because the author is British, there were a lot of acts in the last 100 pages I had never heard of. I was surprised to see the Scissor Sisters get almost 2 pages, Adam Lambert 2 sentences, and no mention at all of Mika, Roxy Music, or the New York Dolls.
Furthermore, the book does little to explore the context or impact of some of the best-known artists like Bolan, Reed, Bowie or Queen. Other artists cite them as influences throughout the text, but there's precious little in the book that talks about their influences or cohesively articulated their impact. Where did these acts come from, why did they "work", and what did later generations steal?
lexish00's review against another edition
3.0
This was sitting on the shelf at the library and the rainbow lightning bolt jumped out at me. I have to agree with other reviewers that it was surprisingly dry, and often just felt like a list of facts with little connecting thread. So about halfway through I started treating it more as a reference, and then enjoyed it more. Bullock does a good job at introducing you to lots of artists, genres, and milestones, but there's not a ton of depth. It's ironic how invasive and awful paparazzi and tabloids have been over the past 100 years and yet that's where a ton of this information came from or was first found. There's about 5 pages of non-US/UK LGBT music discussed near the end of the book. It very much felt like it was tacked on.
As I was reading I thought, hm, there should be a playlist for all the artists mentioned, and sure enough there is!
Overall, it was interesting and I learned a lot, but at the same time it was more of a reference and jumping off point than the deep dive into influential people that I hoped for. I especially enjoyed the sections on subcultures that emerged throughout the US/UK as well as the earliest 20th century LGBT artists.
As I was reading I thought, hm, there should be a playlist for all the artists mentioned, and sure enough there is!
Overall, it was interesting and I learned a lot, but at the same time it was more of a reference and jumping off point than the deep dive into influential people that I hoped for. I especially enjoyed the sections on subcultures that emerged throughout the US/UK as well as the earliest 20th century LGBT artists.
jonscott9's review against another edition
2.0
With a grabby title like this, you'd think a certain acerbic wit is in your hands, but this historical, info-rich telling of LGBTQ+ musicians over many decades is far more studied than sassy. It's consistently dry in voice, playing out more like a straight-laced encyclopedia than a tome laden with a sprawling set of personalities.
Its fascinating subjects and their often-devastating experiences are not matched by the writing, though there's some deft, exhaustive reporting in this book. Strange that it lacks the verve of its characters, many of them all-timers in entertainment, considering Bullock also wrote Florence Foster Jenkins, which was spun into a silver-screen vehicle for the eternally scenery-chewing Meryl Streep.
A few of my favorite finds in DBMMG: Gladys Bentley, a gender-fluid performer before her time but succeeding in 1930s Harlem anyway, who sang of "sissies" and "bulldaggers"; Lavender Country (namely Patrick Haggerty), who I'd heard of before but found an even greater depth of affinity for as a pioneering country act since the early 1970s, and who continues to perform and record as he nears age 80, even with a new album out in 2022 since this book was published; and Jackie Shane, another true trailblazer, as a Nashville-born, Toronto-based singer who came out as trans in a 2017 interview, just two years before her death. You can bet I'm picking up Shane's posthumous this November on Record Store Day Black Friday.
There's not a lot about David Bowie in here as I recall, having read this in fits and starts over many months before burning stubbornly through its final 100 to 150 pages. Again, it's a profound disappointment that the storytelling and transitions don't match the meticulous research, and it's sometimes strikingly poorly edited, from its grammar to its craft. Often in this book, a few paragraphs about one performer simply launch into a few more about another, seemingly without concern for providing some shape to the writing. The result is what feels like a stream-of-conscious output when one hoped for a truly riveting set of outcomes. These singers, musicians and composers themselves are marvelous, so it's a shame that the delivery is quite short of fabulous.
Its fascinating subjects and their often-devastating experiences are not matched by the writing, though there's some deft, exhaustive reporting in this book. Strange that it lacks the verve of its characters, many of them all-timers in entertainment, considering Bullock also wrote Florence Foster Jenkins, which was spun into a silver-screen vehicle for the eternally scenery-chewing Meryl Streep.
A few of my favorite finds in DBMMG: Gladys Bentley, a gender-fluid performer before her time but succeeding in 1930s Harlem anyway, who sang of "sissies" and "bulldaggers"; Lavender Country (namely Patrick Haggerty), who I'd heard of before but found an even greater depth of affinity for as a pioneering country act since the early 1970s, and who continues to perform and record as he nears age 80, even with a new album out in 2022 since this book was published; and Jackie Shane, another true trailblazer, as a Nashville-born, Toronto-based singer who came out as trans in a 2017 interview, just two years before her death. You can bet I'm picking up Shane's posthumous this November on Record Store Day Black Friday.
There's not a lot about David Bowie in here as I recall, having read this in fits and starts over many months before burning stubbornly through its final 100 to 150 pages. Again, it's a profound disappointment that the storytelling and transitions don't match the meticulous research, and it's sometimes strikingly poorly edited, from its grammar to its craft. Often in this book, a few paragraphs about one performer simply launch into a few more about another, seemingly without concern for providing some shape to the writing. The result is what feels like a stream-of-conscious output when one hoped for a truly riveting set of outcomes. These singers, musicians and composers themselves are marvelous, so it's a shame that the delivery is quite short of fabulous.
bucher_freund's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Bullock has delivered a thorough, fascinating, informative history of gay musicians in the 20th century (with a section skimming 2000-present). The book starts with the openly gay artists of the innuendo-laced early blues and jazz eras, examines the campiness present during the closeted post WWII decades, and delves into the disco, punk, and the synth-pop/electronica of the 70s and 80s. It touches on the homophobic backlash in certain music (particularly rap) in the 90s and early 2000s, before ending with the recent years of greater acceptance. Bullock details the setbacks and barriers these artists faced, and their successes, both small and large.
Each chapter is stuffed full of names, facts, and interesting anecdotes - almost, at times, to the point of information overload. Nevertheless, this unprecedented coverage of LGBT musicians and their work is excellent, and highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of popular music and the struggles and wins these trailblazers experienced.
Each chapter is stuffed full of names, facts, and interesting anecdotes - almost, at times, to the point of information overload. Nevertheless, this unprecedented coverage of LGBT musicians and their work is excellent, and highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of popular music and the struggles and wins these trailblazers experienced.
carlosdanger's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. Brief blurbs about LGBTQ musicians over the past century. I’m not particularly fond of Bullock’s writing style, it lacks soul
lapoo99's review against another edition
1.0
Informative. However due to the insane lack of sensitivity around language the author used with talking about trans artists (constant deadnaming, back and forth pronouns, and a few uses of “transgendered”) I can’t really recommend this book to anyone without a grain of salt. Just another instance of gay cis men not having a clue about how to treat and respect trans people.
Also, this book read like a run on sentence from hell.
Also, David Bowie statutory raped someone. Not so much as a mention of that, only a glorifying title slot.
Also, this book read like a run on sentence from hell.
Also, David Bowie statutory raped someone. Not so much as a mention of that, only a glorifying title slot.