Matt Fishel - Radio-Friendly Pop Song

It was probably around 2003 that I learned the importance of gender appropriate terminology in music.  Until then, every love song or breakup song or relationship song I ever listened to on mainstream radio had to have their pronouns switched in my head to make the song work for me.  So when the crooner was expressing his love for his one and only, I would make the switch from "her" to "him".  And I can remember Mark Weigle, the first openly gay musician I can remember listening to singing to him and expressing emotion and love for him and a light was flipped on.  Never had I had that freeing revelation that I did with that first song.  To hear a man singing his heart out to another man made all the difference to me.  It was at that point I learned that pronouns did matter and it was important to have someone singing a song to me so that I was actually about me and the man that I would eventually fall in love with. 

I've talked about this for years.  About how important it is to have the freedom to have artists make music that will touch the heart of someone halfway across the globe.  Now, it's much more prevalent across the board to hear artists singing about their preferred gender.  Granted, you still aren't hearing them on mainstream terrestrial radio, but honestly who really listens to that anymore?  With the internet and streaming services, radio has all but gone by the wayside.  On top of that, record companies are really relics of the past with people being able to publish to iTunes, Amazon or even Bandcamp and SoundCloud.  So you're an unsigned artist, publish your music on your own.  And I think that's giving a voice to a whole new generation of artists.

I don't really know much about Matt Fishel, yet.  I know that he has lifted my spirits higher today than they have been in a long time.  This song is so incredibly infectious and it makes me want to just jump up and dance like an idiot because I feel amazing listening to it.  It's fun and it's funny and it's poignant.  It's political without being pushy and it's affirming and it makes me feel validated.  And I hope that young people around the world just rock out to it and have an amazing time doing it.  This song has the potential to make a huge impact on the world, not just the music industry but people all over.  I cannot stress how much this song just makes me smile.  I am glad that it exists and I hope it does amazing things for Matt.