So I was at a funeral this morning, and they were playing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” as the family filed in. This version was at least more self-aware than most (i.e., it left out the explicitly sexual verses – it’s always fun when they use a version that leaves those in in a totally inappropriate context), but thanks to this fucking website, every time the chorus came in, all I could hear in my head was:
“You don’t own me
I’m not just one of your many toys
You don’t own me
Don’t say I can’t go with other boys
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And don’t tell me what to do
Don’t tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don’t put me on display…” – “You Don’t Own Me” (Madara/White), recorded by Lesley Gore, 1963.
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Picture: Lesley Gore (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), c. 1963.
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At the age of sixteen, Lesley Gore, who died two years ago today, burst onto the pop charts with “It’s My Party,” and quickly followed it up with other hits like “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” the protofeminist anthem “You Don’t Own Me,” and “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows.”
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Although Gore largely dropped out of the pop scene in her later career, she continued to make music. In 1980, Gore and her brother received an Academy Award nomination for their work on the soundtrack of the 1980 film “Fame.”
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In a 2005 interview, Gore came out publicly when she announced that she had been in a relationship with jewelry designer Lois Sasson since 1982.
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Lesley Gore died of lung cancer on February 16, 2015; she was sixty-eight. She was survived by Sasson, her partner of thirty-three years. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #LesleyGore
LESLEY GORE WAS GAY OMFG I HAD NO FUCKING IDEA
As great as the lyrics to You Don’t Own Me are, they gain so much in the performance:
they are married to each other like yas fuck my whole life up
i feel like this never has enough info when it goes around so for those curious: this is ayabambi (otherwise known as aya sato and bambi), a japanese dance duo who are in fact engaged in real life and actually did a vogue photoshoot to celebrate the supreme court marriage ruling
theyve been in lots of music videos and adverts and stuff
rick astley came back and now his music has a weird religious bent to it
like, i think i’m underselling the weird religious bent angle
please watch that video, i know the internet has conditioned us to assume anything even remotely related to rick astley will be a rickroll but it isn’t and it’s like 100x more bizarre than you’re expecting
just moving along like everyone else 