The Year in Gay Music: Rufus Rocks, Sisters Soar, and more!

Killer Dance Tracks…by Straight Dudes

North American Scum by LCD Soundsystem

D.A.N.C.E. by Justice

Xenophobia and imperialism never sounded this fun. On North American Scum, nu-disco king LCD Soundsystem (né: James Murphy) sniffs through half-spoken zingers about McAmerica over a muscular dance-punk beat. “We build our planes and our trains till we think we might die,” Murphy sings, with his tongue wrapped firmly in cheek. And to think, Murphy turned down the opportunity to write a spec script for Seinfeld.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic Ocean, Frenchies Justice mimicked Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall with resplendent results. Their sneaker-pop scorcher, D.A.N.C.E. offered career advice to the gloved one.

Best tours

Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors

The HomoRevolution Tour

With proceeds going to the Human Rights Campaign, Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors tour brought together gay-friendly artists both young (Dresden Dolls, Gossip) and old (Erasure, Debbie Harry). “I want to raise awareness and celebrate our differences because it's Pride month,” Lauper told HX Magazine about the tour. “All I am saying with this tour is that every American should get a fair shake,” she added.

Meanwhile, fringe gays chomped at the bit over the San Francisco-based HomoRevolution Tour. Gayngsta rapper and tour organizer Deadlee cooked up a hodgepodge of under-the-radar queer rappers, including QBoy, Johnny Dangerous and Bigg Nugg. As for homophobic hip-hop artists such as 50 Cent? “He can suck my gun,” Deadlee told Rolling Stone Online.

Best Buzz

Grizzly Bear

Ed Droste continued the pomp and circumstance of last year’s critically lauded Yellow House with the hypnotically engaging Friend EP. A well-stocked album at a meaty 11 tracks long, Friend finds the lo-fi indie rockers glossing over previous releases with a well-produced sheen. There are tight knit harmonies on the seamlessly updated “Plans” and synthy pluck on another Yellow House track, “Knife.”