TEGAN AND SARA AREN'T "GAY ARTISTS" (AND WHY THAT'S A GOOD THING)

Okay, if you know me, you know that I am pretty much obsessed with Tegan and Sara. In fact, I have written about them twice before -- back in July and again in August. Just at the end of last month, I finally -- after two long years of waiting -- got to see them in concert again. The first time I saw them perform, it was at a small venue in Madison when they were still really only widely known amongst the queer crowd. That same year, in 2005, they had been touring with The Killers and playing at music festivals such as Lollapalooza, so they were getting to be a bit more well known within the Hipster scene. And now here we are almost three years later and they were playing at a large, sold out auditorium in Minneapolis with a diverse group of fans rocking out to their music.

They were fabulous, as expected. I was glad to see that although the intimacy of a smaller venue has been lost due to their now increasing popularity, they have not abandoned their chatty and adorable way of interacting with the crowd. While my concert buddy Mira and I were chatting about the pros and cons of a favorite artist going "mainstream", we delved into a discussion about the twins' sexuality.

Tegan and Sara, both lesbians, have always been open about their sexual orientations, but they have never made it a defining part of their identity as musicians. As Sara said in an interview “We’re a minority but we’re also a minority that is not necessarily always visible. It’s easy for us to project a heterosexual lifestyle. It’s important as a queer role model to be out, to be vocal about who you are … I think it’s important to break down the homophobic stereotypes … Even when we came into this industry there was a tendency for people to be like, ‘You don’t have to talk about it …’ Why was that such a big deal? I don’t need to talk for an hour about it. I just want to acknowledge that no, I don’t have a boyfriend and yes, I like girls.” Tegan notes, "Sara and I have seen points in our career when it's been extremely relevant for us to talk a lot about being gay, and then there's been other points where it hasn't seemed as relevant."

There was a time when a lot of people didn't even realize that they were gay. I used to watch clips of them on YouTube and there would be comments like, "Tegan and Sara aren't gay!" "Oh snap! I'd never guess they're gay!" and one that still seems to be circulating is that only one of them is gay. The point is, they don't project a stereotypical image of lesbian musicians -- no folk rock, dreadlocks, nose piercings, or even gender-specific lyrics. As Tegan and Sara become more popular, they are accomplishing a number of things. They are some of the first of their kind -- openly gay female artists that are entering into the mainstream of "young people's music". Other queer artists like Ani DiFranco (who is openly bisexual), the Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge may be wildly popular among certain subgroups of people, but it has been a challenge for lesbian musicians to find their way into mainstream youth culture. Tegan and Sara might just get there.

And the result would be something that is feared by conservative America and prayed for by us crazy progressives: basically, a normalization of homosexuality into mainstream culture. People hear their music and like it and they see them and think that they seem normal and cool. This isn't, as idiotic conservatives fear, going to make people run off and "become" gay. But it might make them wonder if gay people are really that strange. At any rate, the fact that Tegan and Sara are marketable to more than just a queer crowd means that there is increased visibility of lesbians in entertainment. And in my opinion, that can only be a good thing.

Living Up to My Expectations

Recently I wrote about one of my favorite music acts, the Canadian sister duo Tegan and Sara. I said that they were releasing their fifth album at the end of July and I expected them to find continuing success.

Well, in just a short amount of time the twins seem to be everywhere! They were MSN artists of the month, featured musicians on MySpace and their new album has been getting rave reviews. Amazon.com editorial review states, "Tegan and Sara's star-making Juno-nominated album, So Jealous, was their fourth--and their fifth album, The Con, not only avoids any kind of slump but sets a new bar of quality quite high ... The Con reverberates with unabashed creativity, and it's a rare pleasure to hear it done so well. I would be surprised if another band this year made a better record--it's really that good." Says The New York Times, "Somehow The Con is even more obsessive sounding than Tegan and Sara’s earlier work, and it’s probably even better; it could well be one of the year’s best albums."

Congratulations, ladies!

Here they are playing their first single "Back in Your Head" on Conan O'Brien the other night

Tegan and Sara on Conan O'Brien
Uploaded by fallengrommet

Sweet Success!

I always feel slightly ambivalent when artists that I like gain widespread success. On the one hand, I am happy that they have earned the recognition that they deserve (and that I have apparently recognized their talent before the mainstream). On the other hand, I feel somewhat of a sense of loss when that person suddenly belongs to a much larger world than that of the struggling independent artist -- venues are suddenly larger and less intimate, tickets must be purchased well in advance, and for some reason they seem less special when millions of people know them rather than just hundreds.

But luckily I can say that my feelings of happiness win out and I always seem to get somewhat of a thrill hearing the song of one of these artists on TV or radio, knowing that I was listening to them way back when. Such is the case with the dynamic Canadian duo -- twin musicians, Tegan and Sara. I first discovered the sisters back in 2003 when I was still in high school, although by then they had already released three CDs. At that time the two were playing largely to indie queer crowds. It was after the release of their fourth album, So Jealous (2004) (named one of the 50 best albums of that year by Rolling Stone), that Tegan and Sara began to be more well-known. I saw them play at a packed Madison venue in July 2005, they appeared on Showtime's The L Word in 2006 and suddenly their songs began popping up on television shows, most notably Grey's Anatomy, which featured at least 8 different Tegan & Sara songs on various episodes. Their fifth album is now due for release at the end of this month and they are playing sold-out shows across Canada and the U.S. this summer and fall.

I can't even begin to say how happy I am to see these two succeed. At 26 years old, the twins have been rockin' it since high school. They are not only extremely talented musicians and songwriters, they are also spirited individuals. To "know" them is to love them. Their shows are fun and interactive, with the two sharing various anecdotes and humor with the audience. The two are also openly gay, but prefer to keep the focus away from their sexuality and on the whole Tegan & Sara "package." As Tegan explains in an interview, they don't want to treat their sexuality as a mandate or cause it to restrict what audience they seem accessible to. But they also feel and accept the responsibility that comes along with being gay women in the media. In an interview with Spinner on "out" musicians, Tegan explains, "Our fan base is getting really young, and it's important to me to make sure that we're spreading a very honest message. I'm glad there's no part of us that has been reluctant to share who we are. There's still so much homophobia, sexism and racism in younger generations, and yet these kids love us anyway. I think we have a very progressive message."

Now, seven years after the release of their first album, Under Feet Like Ours, they will release their album The Con at the end of July, coupled with a DVD. If you haven't heard them yet, check them out! I'm sure that they will only continue to rise.

Here's a little interview of the two from a couple years ago where they talk about their fans and about being on tour



Here they are doing a live performance of the song "Not Tonight" from their third album If It Was You (2002)



Finally, here is a kind of silly music video for the song "Speak Slow" from So Jealous (2004)