Well, hello there, my beautiful bisexual babies! (Please know that in my mind I’m saying “babies” like Moira Rose does — “beBEH.”) How’s everyone doing these days? How’s the family, found or otherwise? Well, I hope!
I’m still amazed by how far this offshoot of Unicorn Scales has come. I originally pitched it as a short series focused on brief expressions of queerness by queer artists — just a few pieces, I thought. Now we’re at Volume 23, and it’s still going strong. That makes me so happy!
OK, OK, I hear ya — no more waxing nostalgic. I’ll get to the tunes so you can fire up your Spotify and put together a playlist. But before I do, I must go over a few quick little disclaimers. First and foremost, my reviews will contain SPOILERS for the songs mentioned (though, really, I’ll also be including the music videos for them as well, so you’re welcome to watch/listen before reading my take). Also, if you are confused as to exactly what the Scale is, it is a metric that we can tell you all about right here.
Get-it-got-it-good-let’s-go!
1) Aaron Lee Tasjan — “Up All Night”
A few months ago, on the way home from some event at World Cafe, I heard an interview with this Nashville singer-songwriter and became fascinated with his retro, New Wave-y sound. What could easily get lost amidst the music video’s extraterrestrial feel and Tasjan’s aesthetic echoing John Lennon is one simple, declarative lyric:
Broke up with my boyfriend
To go out with my girlfriend
‘Cause love is like love is like love is like that
Sometimes, the smallest lyrics have the biggest impact. And having a bi lyric come from a bi songwriter? Perfection.
2) Miley Cyrus — “Midnight Sky”
Promoting on Instagram has become a creative outlet for me. I recently started an improv team and took the lead on making our posters and picking music for our posts. When a teammate reposted one of our first gig flyers with a different song, I was instantly hooked. I tracked it down and fell in love. Miley Cyrus sings poetically and searingly about her personal life over a disco-pop beat, belting about breaking free from (presumably, allegedly) her ex-husband:
Lotta years went by with my hands tied up in your ropes
Forever and ever, no more
[…] I don’t belong to anyone
Don’t need to be loved by you
And exploring new dating options of multiple genders:
See my lips on her mouth, everybody’s talkin’ now, baby
[…] She got her hair pulled back ‘cause the sweat’s dripping off of her face
Said ‘It ain’t so bad if I wanna make a couple mistakes
[…] See his hands round my waist, thought you’d never be replaced.
A pansexual woman exploring her post-marriage options and reflected in song? Yes, please!
3) Suki Waterhouse — “Johanna”
Our playlist takes a more wistful turn with “Johanna”, an entry from bi English model and songstress Waterhouse. Penning aching lyrics about a crush that cannot be culminated, Waterhouse explores the pain of unrequited queer feelings, extolling on her subject’s virtues and shared memories. The companion music video builds on this theme by doing a queer spin on the themes of The Bodyguard (1992), digging even deeper into themes of both observing and wanting the untouchable person on a pedestal. Though Waterhouse herself is engaged to Robert Pattinson and the two have had a child together, she has embraced her bisexuality and talked about it multiple times on her TikTok account.
4) Green Day — “Bobby Sox”
I try to keep up with the times, but I still have my old-school habits — like blasting public radio while I drive. That’s when it happened: a song came on, no intro, just pure, catchy brilliance pouring out of my speakers. I’d heard whispers that Green Day had dropped a new bi anthem, and knowing Billie Joe Armstrong is proudly bi, I was curious. But I hadn’t actually heard it until that moment — and the bi joy that hit me could’ve powered my whole car. Within a minute, I realized that the simple yet effective song had been the kind of song I wish I could have heard and resonated with as a closeted but earnest teen in the 90s. How I wish I could have moshed to the song at some backyard party one minute and made out with a girl the next… to say that the song is an example of bi excellence would be a massive understatement. Billie, Tré, and Mike, thank you!
Filtering the music video so it looks like a home tape from the era is just the icing on the cake. The only thing missing was the digital date in the bottom right corner of the frame.
5) Muna — “Silk Chiffon” (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)
All three members of the Los Angeles-based band identify as queer, with two of them describing themselves as nonbinary. A music video hitting the major plot beats, and aesthetics of the queer indie cult classic movie, But I’m A Cheerleader (1999). Phoebe frikkin’ Bridgers! Phoebe frikkin’ Bridgers is playing out the Kathleen Turner part in said homage! The main chorus is saying, “Silk chiffon, that’s how it feels, oh, when she’s on me?!” I don’t know how much more bi a song can be without busting at the seams!
6) Billie Eilish — “Lunch”
Finishing strong is one of the biggest hits of 2024 from this Oscar winner. Though her queerness was speculated upon by fans and the media for quite some time, she opened up about her sexuality in 2023 and came out with this banger about banging the following year. With lots of clever, smirking, and explicit lyrics about more than just the midday meal (you can read up on all of them here), the songstress talks about spoiling and seducing a lady to the tune of a viciously catchy beat. It’s clever, it’s fun, and it left no crumbs.
All right, that’s it for this time, my bunch of beautiful bis! If you have ideas for future volumes, feel free to hit me up on BlueSky (yes, I migrated over there). Until then, cuff your jeans with care.
