Every Monday-Friday, Music Director Gini Mascorro selects a Song Of The Day to soundtrack your life. Here we take a closer look at one of those picks and create a playlist including all of the week’s selections.
Let’s go back in time to September 2012. Stars has two JUNO nominations, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys, under their belt and they just released their sixth album, The North.
Amy Millan, co-lead singer of Stars, told Montreal Gazette they wanted to make an album that was “playful, joyful and hopeful.” Cue their single, “Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It.”
The measured build-up to the chorus is palpable. The song starts with whisper-like vocals and by the end it’s emotive; vocals want to burst out of the speakers. The single’s sound has a tinge of New Order, who the band has cited as an influence before.
A music video show in black and white accompanies the track and follows drag queens as they get ready for the night, perform for one another and share short confessionals.
Torquil Campbell, also a co-lead singer of the band, shared this about the music video to Montreal Gazette:
“I wanted to make a video that celebrated the following things: 1. Being yourself 2. Being someone else 3. Being [expletive] fabulous 4. Showing up, putting on your heels and staying alive. Drag queens know a couple of things the rest of us choose not to know: you are who you imagine yourself to be, and you can be a star even if, especially if, nobody ever knows who you really are. That’s the spirit of pop, and this is a video for a POP song that most people will never hear. So I thought it all went together like Sonny and Cher.”
So whether you need to be reminded that you are loved and deserve love regardless of your emotional state, self-expression, gender identity, or sexuality – this song is there to offer a warm and joyous embrace.
Our Song of the Day airs every weeknight at 8PM during Gini Mascorro’s show.
1. Monday, 5/31: Satya – Summertime
2. Tuesday, 6/1: The Decemberists – June Hymn
3. Wednesday, 6/2: The Gossip – Perfect World
4. Thursday, 6/3: Moby ft. Nataly Dawn, Alice Skye & Luna Li – The Great Escape
5. Friday, 6/4: Stars – Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It
Erika runs social media for KXT. You can follow her on Twitter at @shrugemoji.
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