Party Favorz

Exactly what constitutes a "gay anthem?"  According to Wikipedia, "A gay anthem or LGBT anthem is a song that has become widely popular among, or has become identified with, the LGBT community; usually with gay men. The lyrics of gay anthems are often marked with hope against the odds, pride, unity, or defiance."  The book Queer even takes it further by breaking it down into categories":

• Big voiced divas: Rather than particular song, this area of gay anthems is more akin to a cult of personality of a large gay male following for some particular diva-style pop music vocalists who are almost always female gay icons.
• Overcoming hardship in love: Usually a narrative of a wronged lover who comes back stronger than before.
• You are not alone: Songs about coming together as a community or reassurance to the lonely that there are others like them out there.
• Throw your cares away: A carefree narrative about putting your troubles aside and partying.
• Hard-won self esteem Here the themes involves fighting through oppression, darkness or fear to gain freedom, beauty or self esteem.
• Celebrating unashamed sexuality: The theme here is of transcending cultural shame to celebrate one's sexual nature.
• Search for acceptance: Songs about a welcoming promised land where the dream of acceptance and belonging and hope lives.
• Torch song for the world weary: A narrative about being used, abused and surviving to tell the tale of lament.
• Love conquers all: Tales of not giving up on love despite seemingly insurmountable odds.
• No apologies: Here the theme revolves around defiantly living one's life despite what others may want.

Looking over the list, I can honestly say "gotcha covered."  I have taken some liberty by extending the definition to include specific songs that hit a nerve with the gay dance community despite the lack of a big diva voice, despair, empowerment or defiance in its overall theme.  In fact, a gay anthem could just be some HUGE song that we all know the words to and the minute the first notes ring out of the speakers in the club, the floor is immediately packed and our hands are raised in the air while we lose ourselves in it's sugar-coated, meaningless lyrics and repetitive beats. 

Another area that I thought was important to cover in this list are songs that were never intended to be any type of anthem.  Instead, these would be pop songs that we all know and love and have been performed by many a drag queen over the years.  Fortunately, the fabulous boys over at Almighty Records understand our affiliation and importance of these songs and have even taken some of them and remixed them into high energy powerhouse monsters for the floor.  Now folks, it just don't get any better than that.

Probably one of the most important aspects of a good gay anthem is that of empowerment.  One that says "we're mad as hell and not going to take this shit no more."  One that asks you to "rise up" or "stand up for what you believe."  One that says "keep up the good fight" or 'we shall overcome."   Yes, there definitely is a theme within this context and there's plenty of that and more over the four sets I have compiled.  Probably the best thing about gay anthems is that you can move your body and shake your ass to a message that melds with the beats.  From the divas to the messages to the hypnotic memorable hook, gay anthems are what keeps us moving, immersed and most importantly they're what unifies us. 

With that said, ladies and queers may I introduce "Gay Anthems 2009" volume 1.  Enjoy!

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I just want to remind everyone that these mixes are for your enjoyment, but more importantly have been created to benefit the good work of Equality Across America.  A $10 donation per mix is required for you to gain access and download each set.  Your generous donations will go towards our efforts to gain full equality for the LGBT community in the United States.  Thank you for your consideration.

*original artwork by Matt Hertel

Album : Party Favorz 2009: Gay Anthems v1
Disc : 1/4
Tags : Club Classics Promotional Podcast Gay 
Year : 2009
Total Time : 1:33:33:00

Track : 1
Title : Everybody's Free (7th Heaven Mix)
Artist : Kortezman feat. Rozalla
Purchase : Juno Download

Amazing 2006 remake of the early 90s classic featuring the original vocals of Rozalla. 

Track : 2
Title : Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent (Soulshaker Remix)
Artist : 7th Heaven feat. Katherine Ellis
Purchase : Track It Down

Gwen Guthrie's 1986 #1 club hit get's worked over by 7th Heaven with one of my current favorites Miss Katherine Ellis (Bimbo Jones) doing the vocal workover. 

Track : 3
Title : And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going (Almighty Anthem Mix)
Artist : Jennifer Holliday
Purchase : Almighty Records

No introductions required here.  The Dreamgirls star became a sensation in the early 80s with her rendition of this song from the Broadway play.  It wasn't until 2001 that the dance mixes from Rosabel and Junior Vasquez took the song to #6 on Billboards Hot Dance Music/Club Play Chart.  The vocals were re-recorded for this Almighty version giving it an entirely new feel for generations of queers to come. An essential in any gay card carrying member's music collection.

Track : 4
Title : Love Hangover (Almighty Anthem 12'' Mix)
Artist : Diana Ross
Purchase : Almighty Records

In 1976, Diana's initial foray into disco took her straight to the top of the pop and disco charts.  Featured prominently in the movie "Looking For Mr. Goodbar" this song along with it's companion by Thelma Houston (see #12 below) are considered among disco's biggest hits.

Track : 5
Title : Chase (Josh Harris Club Mix)
Artist : Maiysha
Purchase : Perfect Beat

Critically acclaimed and Grammy Award nominee, R&B newcomer Maiysha struck a homerun with the second release from her album "This Much Is True."  What is true, she's an amazing vocalist and someone to watch out for in the coming years.  If you haven't heard the Josh Harris production of this song, you're in for a real treat.

Track : 6
Title : Free (Full Intention Vocal Mix)
Artist : Ultra Nate
Purchase : Beatport

Ultra Nate has been a longstanding favorite of the gay community.  "Free" the #1 club song from 1997 was the gay pride anthem of the year.  Expect an updated Freemason's version sometime in 2010, which should be fabulous!

Track : 7
Title : Love On My Mind (Back To Philly Mix)
Artist : Freemasons feat. Amanda Wilson
Purchase : DJ Download

Heavily sampling the 1979 classic disco track "This Time Baby" by Jackie Moore, this former #1 from 2007 just got a makeover on the Freemason's recently released "Shakedown 2" album.  With amazingly dead-on vocals by Amanda Wilson, anticipations are running high that we might be served with a full version sometime in 2010. 

Track : 8
Title : You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) (Don Carlos Club Mix)
Artist : Byron Stingly
Purchase : Masterbeat

Byron updated this 1978 disco classic with vocals the eerily recall the late, great Sylvester.  His 1998 #1 club hit deserves accolades for an amazing rendition with snippets of of other Sylvester hits like "Do You Wanna Funk."

Track : 9
Title : Young Hearts Run Free (Almighty Mix)
Artist : Hannah Jones
Purchase : Almighty Records

To this date, I don't believe that anyone's has licensed the original vocals by Candi Staton's 1976 disco classic.  The good news is that she's taken her gospel work and is finally getting back into the club scene.  Regardless, Hannah Jones (You Only Have To Say You Love Me, No One Can Love You More Than Me) does a fantastic re-work of this song. 

Track : 10
Title : Faith (7th Heaven Remix)
Artist : Bliss Inc. feat. Carlotta Chadwick
Purchase : Track It Down

Originally released in 1998, this uplifting gospel track got some well-deserved 2007 remixes.  7th Heaven took the honors and delivered a heaping slice of disco heaven with a positive message. 

Track : 11
Title : Enjoy Yourself (7th Heaven Remix)
Artist : Viola Wills
Purchase : Masterbeat

With 80s disco classics like "Gonna Get Along Without You" "If You Could Read My Mind" (yes, she did it first) and "Stormy Weather" the queen of 80s NRG was poised to make a comeback after she signed to Harlequin Records.  Doing her legacy proud, "Enjoy Yourself" is a romping disco treat that will go down in the annals of all-time gay anthems.  Sadly, Viola passed away earlier this year.  RIP Viola, you will be missed.

Track : 12
Title : Don't Leave Me This Way (Almighty Mix)
Artist : Thelma Houston
Purchase : Almighty Records

Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way" is considered to be one of disco's all-time greatest.  The Almighty treatment brings it to a whole new generation of club goers making it a must have in any gay anthem compilation.

Track : 13
Title : Chains Of Love (Almighty Essential Mix)
Artist : Erasure
Purchase : Almighty Records

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!  Erasure and Almighty make a fabulous paring.  Also be on the lookout for "A Little Respect" and "Oh L'amour" in the Almighty archives.  Grab them before they're gone!

Track : 14
Title : I've Never Been To Me (Sophisticatz Funky Remix)
Artist : Eye Witness feat. Charlene
Purchase : Juno Download

Originally released in the late 70s not once, but twice and failing to make a dent on the charts, Motown re-released it again in 1982 where it became a worldwide smash landing the #2 spot on Billboard's Hot 100.  Featured in the 1994 gay film classic "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" this song has been played out by every drag queen from around the world.  This unlikely remix from 2008 features Charlene (Oliver) reprising her biggest hit and taking it to the floor.  What a fabulous delight!

Track : 15
Title : Sing (Almighty 12'' Anthem Mix)
Artist : Wynonna
Purchase : Masterbeat

Taking a page out of the Leann Rimes handbook, Wynonna (Judd) authorized remixes for her latest single earlier this year.  Party Favorz is glad she did, because "Sing" is an emotional and uplifting song falling under the empowerment category.  

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After much delay, Gay Anthems 2009 is finally making its debut.  Over two months in the making, this four mix set originally intended for release in honor of the recent "National Equality March" in Washington will finally have a staggered release beginning November 10th.  Disappointed by the current crop of organizations that have been lackluster in securing full LGBT equality and given my limited resources,  I wanted to do something to support the efforts of "Equality Across America" a grassroots organization that was born out of the march.  I could think of no better way than to do what it is I do best. 

Gay Anthems 2009 spawns four decades of activism and anthems.  There is something here for everyone.  More importantly, the majority of the songs contained in these four sets have been updated for today's dancefloors.  From Diana Ross to Kristine W, it's all here.  Well, almost all here.  Never fear, if this goes over as well as I hope, I plan on doing a second part to this series in the spring of 2010.

There are a total of four mixes; simply donating $10 per set will allow you to download the mix, create an mp3 CD for playback at home or in your car, transfer it to your iPod so you can use it for your workouts or even have a 'happy house' party.  To ensure full transparency (a word carelessly bandied around these days) I will be donating 80% of the proceeds to "Equality Across America" 5% to my host provider Podbean and PayPal with the remaining 15% going towards my own personal costs in compiling this release.  I also plan on listing the first initial and last names of donors at the end of each month and the amount to be donated to EAA.  For those that wish not to be identified, just request to remain anonymous in the comment section of your donation. 

I can honestly say that I have spent more time on these four mixes than anything I have ever done.  For those that don't follow my blog, anyone that does can tell you that my mixes are of the highest caliber.  From song selection, editing, mixing to the final mastering for superior sound quality, I don't spare anything in my work. For the slightly technically inclined, I even provide a cue sheet to split the tracks up for easier access that doesn't leave a gap in-between songs.  Also, each mix is embedded with the original artwork, which will show up in any mp3 player with a video screen and track lists so you know what you're listening to.  For those of you that want to own the individual songs, I also provide purchase links for those songs that are still currently available for legal download within each post. 

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When my brother died of AIDS in 1986 and my parents were turned down by no less than four funeral homes for embalming and burial (the owners of one of these were even good friends of the family), it was then that I became aware of the discrimination against not only the disease, but our community as well.  To ad insult to injury, an ex-girlfriend of mine sent an editorial from the Texas A&M University newspaper, where my brother was about to graduate, which addressed the death of a current student from AIDS while cowardly avoiding his name and demanding the university do a better job of preventing "people like him" from attending for fear of spreading disease.  Burning with anger, these incidences made it that much more difficult for me to come out of the closet and live my life as an openly gay man.  For the longest time, I blamed him for all my problems.  I now know, I was wrong.

Over the years, like many of us, I became complacent as long as no one was stepping on my toes.  With the free flow of information in blogs and YouTube these days, my eyes have been opened wide to the hate, bigotry and discrimination that takes place almost on a daily basis from as high up as our own government.  I will no longer sit idly by while our rights under the Constitution of this great country are continually trampled upon.  With a plethora of allies in the Congress and in the White House, it's up to us to put the pressure on our representatives to ensure they hold up their promises.  I no longer believe that winning hearts and minds is the best way for us to obtain our indelible rights.  As California and Maine have proven, relying on the voting public to make decisions about our lives is at the very least foolhardy and at best, just plain stupid.  While I am not endorsing civil disobedience, at some point it may be time to take a few pages out of the ACT UP handbook.  For now, I am willing to be led by those that so fervently give us their time and leadership in an effort to achieve our goals.  Those leaders would be Equality Across America.

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Finally, I want to dedicate these mixes to my brother Bruce.  I'm sorry that we couldn't become closer as your experiences and knowledge would have been invaluable to me in my own personal journey.  I did manage to sneak a few of your favorites into these mixes, I hope you approve.  By the way, do you remember that chick named Madonna who you said was "all style and no substance?"  Well, she went on to become one of the biggest entertainers in history and, get this, a gay icon.  For the record, Madonna isn't fat!  I miss you brother.

Please help to support this worthwhile cause.  Even if you are currently complacent much like I was for so long, at some point in your life you are likely to brush up against discrimination and wish you had helped to make a better life for yourself, your spouse and/or your children.  We need your help. 

Just remember, the ultimate goal here is to win full equality in every aspect of our lives.  After all, we just want to be FREE, GAY and HAPPY! -K

Volume 2 teeters on the mainstream cusp, while retaining it's underground authenticity.  It's possible a couple of these songs might fit nicely in my upcoming Holiday Edition, but I'm hopeful that there will be so much new stuff that won't be necessary.  To be certain, there are lots of fantastic vocals in this set with a couple of amazing remakes.  In that category we have an updated version of "Any Love" by Izzy Stardust and Sherell McKenzie.  For those of you following this blog regularly, the original was from earlier this year by the DJ Meme Orchestra and featured on my T-Dance Edition v2.  This go around, Izzy and Sherell take it deeper and darker from the disco laden version of DJ Meme.  The fact that it works so well is a testament to how solid the song is.  The other remake in this set should be familiar to almost all house music enthusiast.  "Touch Me" by  Kid Massive and Elliotte Williams N'Dure takes the Rui Da Silva classic down a darker path.  All the elements are here making this a surefire winner.  It did take a while to grow on me, only because I couldn't get Cassandra's vocals out of my head while listening to this version.  After a couple of spins, I'm all about this take. Song for song, this second set really stacks up nicely.  I picture this new series to take on a variety of house flavors going forward.  Beatportal recently had a fantastic article called "2009: The Year of Disco" which talks about the resurgence of disco in these desperate times, which is required reading for any serious house music lover.  The only thing they left out was some of the nudisco artists that I tend to favor.  No matter, I'll hunt them all down and no doubt will come across some other goodies along the way so I can use in a future Leftovers set.  You also might remember an article I did back in December of 2007 which talked about the very same thing; albeit I was referencing some of the more mainstream productions by the likes of Moto Blanco, Freemasons and 7th Heaven. Regardless, it does appear my initial conclusions were right on target, even if there was a two year gap between articles.  In the end, it's all good. That's about it for today.  I'm currently readying the Gay Anthems I've been promising and should have those out this next week.  The weather for this past week has been amazing with cooler temperatures, plenty of sunshine and most importantly, NO RAIN!  I hope everybody else is able to enjoy the same type of autumn weather we're experiencing in the ATL.  Have a fantastic weekend and as always.enjoy! Album : Party Favorz 2009: Leftovers v2 Disc : 2/2 Genre : House Music, Beatport, DJ Tunes, Masterbeat Year : 2009 Total Time : 1:10:13:00   Powered by Podbean.com Track : 1 Title : Wherever You Are (Gabe Medina & Joshua Geyer Club Mix) Artist : Linda O Purchase: Masterbeat Track : 2 Title : Aftertouch (Original Mix) Artist : DJ Rafael M. Purchase: Masterbeat Track : 3 Title : Feeling Your Body (DJG Club Mix) Artist : Project 155 Purchase: Masterbeat Track : 4 Title : Perfection (Vocal Mix) Artist : Tom Chris feat. Candice Purchase: Beatport Track : 5 Title : Any Love (Sylvane Massive Club Mix) Artist : Izzy Stardust feat. Sherell McKenzie Purchase: Beatport Track : 6 Title : Pushin To The Top (Danny Verde Remix) Artist : Halmadaxx & Danny Verde Purchase: Masterbeat Track : 7 Title : Heal My Heart (Fanatix Main Mix) Artist : Kerri Chandler feat. Treasa Diva Fennie Purchase: Beatport Track : 8 Title : Wanna Be Happy (Thomas Gold Dub Mix) Artist : The Viron  feat. Max'C Purchase: Beatport Track : 9 Title : Solarianism (Original Mix) Artist : Chocolate Puma & Baggi Begovic feat. Mitch Crown Purchase: Masterbeat Track : 10 Title : Got In Me (Peter Pleser Remix) Artist : NG Project feat. Sarah Chris Purchase: Beatport Track : 11 Title : Touch Me (In The Morning) (Vocal Mix) Artist : Kid Mass