Podcast appearances and mentions of nadine hubbs

The longstanding conventional wisdom is that what we call hillbilly music originated in Western Europe. But the truth, as many scholars and musicians have been preaching for years now, is that country music is intimately tied into the experience of African Americans. In fact, one of the most recognizable instruments in the country music genre is the banjo--which made its way to America from West Africa with enslaved people. On today's episode, University of Michigan professor Nadine Hubbs talked about Black Americans' (often erased) influence on country music as we know it today--and how Black artists like Beyoncé are reclaiming a space in the genre.  GUEST:  Nadine Hubbs, professor of music at the University of Michigan and author of "Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music" Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nadine Hubbs; Recorded May 29, 2024 - America ushered in twentieth-century modernity with new technologies, aesthetics, and national status as a global power. With the rise in economic and political standing came new cultural pressures: American concert music was deemed far behind its European counterparts and in urgent need of catching up. Years of searching failed to identify a representative compositional voice. Then in 1939 came the sensational New York premiere of Aaron Copland's “cowboy ballet,” Billy the Kid, soon followed by Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, and other megahits. America found its national sound in the music of Copland, a gay Jewish Brooklynite and one of a close-knit group of gay composers who crucially influenced and collaborated with each other. How did a circle of gay composers become architects of American national identity during the most homophobic period in U.S. history? Nadine Hubbs's answer may surprise you.

Featured Co-host: Francesca Royster Guest:Willa Taylor Francesca's Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions and Choosing Family: The Shifting Image of an Icon are the newest books and are referenced later in this rundown, Francesca T. Royster is a Professor of the English at DePaul University in Chicago, and received her PhD from University of California, Berkeley in English Literature in 1995. At DePaul she teaches courses on African American Literature, Queer Writers of Color and Writing About Music. She's written scholarly work on Shakespeare, Black Lesbian Country music fans, Prince, and Fela Kuti on Broadway among other topics. Her recent special issue of the Journal of Popular Music Studies, on the futures of Country Music, Uncharted Country,” co-edited with Nadine Hubbs, won the 2021 Ruth Solie Award from the American Musicological Society. Her creative work has appeared in Feminist Studies, Slag Glass City, LA Review of Books, The Huffington Post, The Windy City Times, Chicago Literati and The Oxford American. Her books include Becoming Cleopatra: The Shifting Image of an Icon (Palgrave MacMillan, 2003), Sounding Like a No-No: Queer Sounds and Eccentric Acts in the Post-Soul Era (University of Michigan Press, 2013), Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions (University of Texas Press, 2022), and Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance (Abrams/ Overlook Press, 2023). Her book, Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions was recently awarded the 2023 Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award, from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the 2023 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections and the 2023 Judy Tsou Critical Race Studies Award, from The American Musicological Society. Her newest book in process is Listening for My Mother: Travels in Music from Chicago to Bahia, a combination of memoir, travel writing and cultural history about mourning and healing in Women's Music in the Black Diaspora

In this second half of episode three (originally posted to our Patrons in December, 2020) Adam, Tish, and Alex share some of our current writing and research, including a report on a much-overlooked group of writers who tried to claim sci-fi for communism in the 1930s, and an overview of the work of Hugo-nominated fantasy writer Chuck Tingle. You can listen to the first half of the episode, "Four Seasons Totalitarian Landscaping," at the Locust Review website. Selected works and subjects discussed in part two: Alexander Billet, "The FBI's War on Folk Music,"Jacobin; Aaron Leonard, The Folk Singers and the Bureau; Nadine Hubbs, Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music; Johnny Cash, "One Piece at a Time;" Johnny Paycheck, "Take This Job and Shove It;" Michael Hall, "Put Down That Pig;" John Michel, "Mutation or Death," (1937); Sean Guynes, "Mutate or Die: Eighty Years of the Futurians' Vision," The Pulp Magazine Archive; Los Angels Review of Books; Chuck Tingle's website; Chuck Tingle, Trans Wizard Harriet Porber And The Bad Boy Parasaurolophus: An Adult Romance Novel. Locust Radio 3.5 was produced by Drew Franzblau, hosted by Alexander Billet, Tish Markley and Adam Turl, with music by Omnia Sol.

What are the relationships between design and pleasure? How can we design the most pleasurable experiences?  On this episode of The Futures Archive Lee Moreau and Rachel Lehrer discuss the disco ball and the importance of embodied design. With additional insights from Änne Söll, Nadine Hubbs, Gary Hunt, and David Rose. 

Morgan Wallen became one of the stories of 2021 after he was caught using a racial slur. Banned from radio, the country music star's sales and streams spiked anyway. The affair reinforced a stereotype of the genre as home to hillbilly bigotry. But country is changing and its politics were always more complex than its popularity in Republican heartlands indicates. What does the story tell us about America's shifting views of class and identity?Nadine Hubbs of the University of Michigan unpicks Wallen's story and tells us how streaming and social media are revolutionising country music. And we find out how embracing country propelled Richard Nixon to the presidency.John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.For full access to print, digital and audio editions as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Morgan Wallen became one of the stories of 2021 after he was caught using a racial slur. Banned from radio, the country music star's sales and streams spiked anyway. The affair reinforced a stereotype of the genre as home to hillbilly bigotry. But country is changing and its politics were always more complex than its popularity in Republican heartlands indicates. What does the story tell us about America's shifting views of class and identity?Nadine Hubbs of the University of Michigan unpicks Wallen's story and tells us how streaming and social media are revolutionising country music. And we find out how embracing country propelled Richard Nixon to the presidency.John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.For full access to print, digital and audio editions as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mary Lynne and Sarah listen to Redneck songs by and about women. We hear from Nadine Hubbs, Lady Redneck, RaeLynn, Lyle Lovett, Sammy Kershaw, The Bellamy Brothers, and of course, the quintessential Redneck Woman herself, Gretchen Wilson.

This week we’re diving into Rednecks, Queers, & Country Music by Nadine Hubbs. Hubbs argues that the white middle class has villainized country music as a way of distancing themselves from the white working class and that while the middle class portrays sex and gender deviance as new social advances encouraged by the middle class, this sex-gender deviance has only recently moved out of a century-long period of forced allyship with the working class. Summary of the book (4:35) Our key takeaways (6:20) Our favorite quotes (18:00) What questions do we still have? (58:00) References: Blake Shelton's https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=anMwcGsdrzA (Minimum Wage) What to check out next: Mollie and Kate's https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0PFDPTSrULWIbbGeMZ7hbP?si=-7bRs5AIQlOiYjbDK3zJeg&utm_source=copy-link (Anything, Including Country) Spotify playlist.

ARE RACISM AND HOMOPHOBIA TO BLAME FOR THE DEATH OF DISCO?This week The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) decides who is to blame for the Death of Disco and the notorious Disco Demolition Night! She is joined by Fact Checker Chris Smith and Producer Amanda Lund. Guest Expert Dr. Nadine Hubbs (professor of women and gender studies and music at University of Michigan as well as director of the Lesbian-Gay-Queer Research Initiative) stops in to talk about why I Will Survive is the Disco anthem. On the board this week: Steve Dahl, Publicity Stunts and Man's Frail Ego.Check out Dr. Hubbs book, Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music here!We have merch!Join our Discord!Tell us who you think is to blame at http://thealarmistpodcast.comEmail us at thealarmistpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram @thealarmistpodcastFollow us on Twitter @alarmistThe Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/alarmist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"At first I was afraid, I was petrified"... From a breakup to a shipwreck, emotional true stories of what Gloria Gaynor's iconic disco anthem I Will Survive means to different people around the world. A woman sets out to become the first female rower to cross the Atlantic solo; a woman listens to the song 35 times in a row after a breakup; a drag queen steps onto the stage of a Berlin nightclub; a mother watches her daughters sing karaoke at a holiday club on the first foreign holiday since leaving her abusive marriage; women gather on the steps of the Courts of Justice to sing the song together as they await a verdict. Featuring Elisabeth Hoff, Latrice Royale, Penny Arcade, Pragna Patel and Nadine Hubbs. Produced by Mair Bosworth

Is it the raw talent or the intense dedication to performance? Or maybe it’s the attitude, the ‘IT’ factor, that charms audiences all around the world. From Aretha to Beyonce to Celine — we bring you podcasts about some of the mightiest women in music. . Making Beyonce: "Before the Grammys, before the platinum records, before Destiny's Child, there was just a shy girl growing up in Houston. We follow Beyoncé Knowles from the stages of local talent shows to her first crack at a record deal with the group Girls Tyme." . Dolly Parton's America: "One of Dolly's most iconic and successful songs is "Jolene," a song that, at first listen, is about a romantic rival trying to steal her man: a prime example of the classic "cheating song." But some see it as flipping a popular country music trope on its head. This idea takes shape when Nadine Hubbs, a professor at the University of Michigan, writes a fourth verse to "Jolene," which makes us reimagine Dolly's songs in entirely new ways." . Switched on Pop: The Switched on Pop team join forces with producer Gina Delvac to talk about the evolution of Rihanna and her much anticipated ninth studio album. . The Big Story: "Céline Dion has been many things throughout her career, but 'cool' has rarely been one of them. As one of the bestselling artists to call this country home Céline should have won us all over long ago. But she never quite broke through to the more cynical younger generation.Until that generation stopped being cynical, that is. It turns out Céline Dion was always cool. She was just waiting for us to come to her. And over the past few years, we have, by the millions." . Inside the Junos: "Alanis Morissette burst on the scene with 'Jagged Little Pill' and shook up the music world. Her magic says Chilly is, 'that strange yodel, that weird break in her voice that makes the vocal performance so raw and so real.'" . Heat Rocks: "Heat Rocks had always planned to sit down with DJ Lynnée Denise, an LA-based DJ and music scholar, but when Aretha Franklin passed on August 16th, we invited her to come talk with us about the Queen's life and legacy as part two of our series Women Behaving Boldly."

One of Dolly’s most iconic and successful songs is “Jolene,” a song that, at first listen, is about a romantic rival trying to steal her man: a prime example of the classic “cheating song.”  But some see it as flipping a popular country music trope on its head. This idea takes shape when Nadine Hubbs, a professor at the University of Michigan, writes a fourth verse to “Jolene," which makes us reimagine Dolly's songs in entirely new ways. 

How might we interrogate the sociocultural dimensions of music through queer, class-conscious, and anti-racist frameworks? How can teachers of all subjects use music to tackle challenging topics like race and class politics in the classroom? How can incorporating a creative practice improve scholarly research? In episode 85 of the Imagine Otherwise podcast, host Cathy Hannabach chats with musician and scholar Nadine Hubbs about why American classical music owes its existence to gay social networks; how Latinx millennials are showing that American country music is also Mexican; how dedicating serious time to a creative practice can actually help you get tenure; and why teaching students about the powerful community-building power of music is how Nadine imagines otherwise. Transcript and show notes: https://ideasonfire.net/85-nadine-hubbs/

In an age of constant breaking news, it can be hard to tell what matters and what's just noise. This week, a look at what we've learned from recent coverage of the Russia investigation, and what we've missed everywhere else — particularly in West Virginia, where a recent teachers' strike made history. Plus, a dive into the complicated history of country music and why we so often get it wrong. 1. Marcy Wheeler [@emptywheel], independent investigative reporter, on decontextualized Mueller scooplets. Listen. 2. Sarah Jaffe [@sarahljaffe], journalist and co-host of the podcast Belabored, on the teachers' strike in West Virginia, and Elizabeth Catte [@elizabethcatte], historian and writer, on the news media's narratives regarding Appalachia. Listen. 3. J. Lester Feder [@jlfeder], world correspondent for Buzzfeed News, on the political history of country music. Listen. 4. Nadine Hubbs [@nadinehubbs], author of Rednecks, Queers and Country Music, on our assumptions about the working class. Listen. **Note: This program originally contained an interview with the New York Times' Farhad Manjoo discussing an experiment in which he got his news only from print journalism and "unplugged from Twitter and other social networks" for two months. That interview was pulled after further reporting revealed that he did no such thing.** Music: "Tipico" by Miguel Zenon "Susan (The Sage)" by The Chico Hamilton Quintet "Death Have Mercy / Breakaway" by Regina Carter "Dinner Music for a Pack" of Hungry Cannibals by Raymond Scott "Okie from Muskogee" by Merle Haggard "Fightin' Side of Me" by Merle Haggard "The Pill" by Loretta Lynn "Watching You" by Rodney Atkins "Pictures from Life's Other Side" by Hank Williams, Sr. "Friends In Low Places" by Garth Brooks "Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson "Take This Job and Shove It" by Johnny Paycheck "F— Aneta Briant" by David Allan Coe "Irma Jackson" by Merle Haggard "They Don't Know" by Jason Aldean "Wild Mountain Thyme" by Buddy Emmons On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Vi stannar kvar i Nordamerika. I Canada är det dödsstraff på sodomi till 1869, och homosexualitet avkriminaliseras först 1969. Två hatbrott: tonsättarna Marc Blitzstein och Claude Vivier mördades. Leonard Bernsteins heta förälskelse och nära samarbetspartner, tonsättaren Marc Blitzstein, mördas vid ett hatbrott 1964. 1983 dör den begåvade kanadensiske tonsättaren Claude Vivier en våldsam hatbrottsdöd, endast 35 år gammal. Vi möter Claude Viviers nära vän, Marjan Mozetich i Toronto, som kallas nutidens Tjajkovskij. I Mozetich musik är det emotionella elementet väsentligt och hans verk har titlar som The Passion of Angels och Weeping Clouds. Mozetich omhuldar det omdiskuterade begreppet gay sensibility. Klassiskt skolade sopranen, tonsättaren och real time-samplaren Kristin Norderval vägras skivinspelning av klassiska sånger p g a sin lesbisket och gör istället succé på alternativscener världen över. Möt denna elev till legenden Pauline Oliveros. Vi möter också professorn, författaren och hornisten Nadine Hubbs som skriver boken The Queer Composition of Americas Sound. Hubbs berättar intima detaljer om hur musik och sex smälter samman i den s k homosexuella maffia som har en central plats i New Yorks musikliv under mitten av 1900-talet och som fortfarande formar det mytomspunna amerikanska soundet inom klassisk musik. Vi lyssnar på musik av Eve Beglarian, Lou Harrison och Michael Tilson Thomas. Och så undrar vi vad tystnaden står för hos tonsättaren John Cage.Låtlista: Timesteps (Excerpt) Walter Carlos Walter Carlos A Clockwork Orange Warner Europe 246 127 Unfolding Sky Marjan Mozetich CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Mario Bernardi, Conductor MOZETICH: Affairs of the Heart - The Music of Marjan Mozetich (2001) CBC Records SMCD5200 Pas De Deux Marc Blitzstein Bennett Lerner, piano American Piano Music Vol. II ETCETERA RECORDS KTC 1036 The Cradle Will Rock Marc Blitzstein dawn upshaw m fl Marc Blitzstein Pear GEMS 0009 Act I, Scene 1 Prologue Virgil Thomson Ashley Putnam, Aviva Orvath, Batyah Godfrey, Billie Nash, DArtagnan Petty The Mother of Us All, disc 1 New World Records NW 288/289-2 Cunningham Stories (Every Morning...) (1 - 7) Laurie Anderson Laurie Anderson A Chance Operation: The John Cage Tribute [Disc 2] KOCH 3-7238-2 Y6x2 Sine Music (A Swarm Of Butterfiles Encountered Over The Ocean) Richard Maxfield Richard Maxfield OHM+: The Early Gurus Of Electronic Music [Disc 1] ellipsis arts CD3670 Double Music Lou Harrison Lou Harrison. Collab: John Cage A Portrait argo 455 590-2 Serenade for Betty Freeman & Franco Assetto Lou Harrison Lou Harrison (Gamelan Sekar Kembar) Gay American Composers - vol.1 Composers Recordings CRICD 721 If Its On New Circle Five New Circle Five: Susie Ibarra, percussion; Pauline Oliveros, accordion. Kristin Norderval, soprano. CD-titel: Dreaming Wide Awake Deep Listening DL 20 - 2003 Ecstatic Plain, ur operan Mapping Venus Text: Hildergard von Bingen Tonsättare: Sorrel Hays Kristin Norderval, sopran. Tape. Radioinspelning, New York. Wolf Chaser Eve Beglarian Eve Beglarian, percussion and electronics. Robin Lorentz, violin and wolf chaser Lesbian American Composers CRI CD 780 SIDDHARTA Claude Vivier Orch Metropol. du Montreal. Dirigent: Walter Boudreau anthology of Canadian Music ACM 36 CD 1-4 (Radio Canada International) Pulau Dewata Claude Vivier McGill Percussion Ensemble. Dirigent: Pierre Béluse anthology of Canadian Music ACM 36 CD 1-4 (Radio Canada International) CHANTS CLAUDE VIVER Sju kvinnoröster. Dirigent: Lorrain Vaillancourt anthology of Canadian Music ACM 36 CD 1-4 (Radio Canada International) ZIPANGU Claude Vivier I Musici de Montreal anthology of Canadian Music ACM 36 CD 1-4 (Radio Canada International) I Unfolding Sky Postcards From the Sky Marjan Mozetich (2001) CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Mario Bernardi, Conductor MOZETICH: Affairs of the Heart - The Music of CBC Records SMCD5200 II. Weeping Clouds Postcards From the Sky Marjan Mozetich CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Mario Bernardi, Conductor MOZETICH: Affairs of the Heart - The Music of Marjan Mozetich (2001) CBC Records SMCD5200 III. A Messenger Postcards From the Sky Marjan Mozetich CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Mario Bernardi, Conductor MOZETICH: Affairs of the Heart - The Music of Marjan Mozetich (2001) CBC Records SMCD5200

Academics don’t pay enough attention to class. And when we do, too often we only magnify the tendency for working class subjects to be defined according to middle class norms; and according to those norms, they, not surprisingly, fail in one way or another, justifying their position beneath the middle class. There are many unfortunate consequences of this dynamic. Among them, we seldom see what’s really happening in, say, the performance of a country song. Nadine Hubbs, Professor of Music Theory and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, is an exception to this rule. In Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music (University of California Press, 2014), she discusses subjects that range from a Foo Fighters tour-promotion video, the role of taste in class distinction, and the blinders that members of the middle class seem to wear when they notice working-class culture. Then she removes the blinders and takes a look at some country, noticing an artistic richness and political agenda that academics and critics seldom see. Along the way, she investigates a few of the prominent assumptions about country–its bigotry and political conservatism, for example. She discusses research that undermines these assumptions, noting the work they do to maintain class distinctions and privilege. And finally she makes the case for paying more attention to class, working-class culture, suggesting the potential for real political collaboration between the working and the middle classes. Here are some of the videos mentioned in the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsrqw0oElHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5hRLbCaCs http://www.gretchenwilson.com/media/videos/41683/56793 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Academics don’t pay enough attention to class. And when we do, too often we only magnify the tendency for working class subjects to be defined according to middle class norms; and according to those norms, they, not surprisingly, fail in one way or another, justifying their position beneath the middle class. There are many unfortunate consequences of this dynamic. Among them, we seldom see what’s really happening in, say, the performance of a country song. Nadine Hubbs, Professor of Music Theory and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, is an exception to this rule. In Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music (University of California Press, 2014), she discusses subjects that range from a Foo Fighters tour-promotion video, the role of taste in class distinction, and the blinders that members of the middle class seem to wear when they notice working-class culture. Then she removes the blinders and takes a look at some country, noticing an artistic richness and political agenda that academics and critics seldom see. Along the way, she investigates a few of the prominent assumptions about country–its bigotry and political conservatism, for example. She discusses research that undermines these assumptions, noting the work they do to maintain class distinctions and privilege. And finally she makes the case for paying more attention to class, working-class culture, suggesting the potential for real political collaboration between the working and the middle classes. Here are some of the videos mentioned in the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsrqw0oElHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5hRLbCaCs http://www.gretchenwilson.com/media/videos/41683/56793 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Academics don’t pay enough attention to class. And when we do, too often we only magnify the tendency for working class subjects to be defined according to middle class norms; and according to those norms, they, not surprisingly, fail in one way or another, justifying their position beneath the middle class. There are many unfortunate consequences of this dynamic. Among them, we seldom see what’s really happening in, say, the performance of a country song. Nadine Hubbs, Professor of Music Theory and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, is an exception to this rule. In Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music (University of California Press, 2014), she discusses subjects that range from a Foo Fighters tour-promotion video, the role of taste in class distinction, and the blinders that members of the middle class seem to wear when they notice working-class culture. Then she removes the blinders and takes a look at some country, noticing an artistic richness and political agenda that academics and critics seldom see. Along the way, she investigates a few of the prominent assumptions about country–its bigotry and political conservatism, for example. She discusses research that undermines these assumptions, noting the work they do to maintain class distinctions and privilege. And finally she makes the case for paying more attention to class, working-class culture, suggesting the potential for real political collaboration between the working and the middle classes. Here are some of the videos mentioned in the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsrqw0oElHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5hRLbCaCs http://www.gretchenwilson.com/media/videos/41683/56793 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Academics don’t pay enough attention to class. And when we do, too often we only magnify the tendency for working class subjects to be defined according to middle class norms; and according to those norms, they, not surprisingly, fail in one way or another, justifying their position beneath the middle class. There are many unfortunate consequences of this dynamic. Among them, we seldom see what’s really happening in, say, the performance of a country song. Nadine Hubbs, Professor of Music Theory and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, is an exception to this rule. In Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music (University of California Press, 2014), she discusses subjects that range from a Foo Fighters tour-promotion video, the role of taste in class distinction, and the blinders that members of the middle class seem to wear when they notice working-class culture. Then she removes the blinders and takes a look at some country, noticing an artistic richness and political agenda that academics and critics seldom see. Along the way, she investigates a few of the prominent assumptions about country–its bigotry and political conservatism, for example. She discusses research that undermines these assumptions, noting the work they do to maintain class distinctions and privilege. And finally she makes the case for paying more attention to class, working-class culture, suggesting the potential for real political collaboration between the working and the middle classes. Here are some of the videos mentioned in the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsrqw0oElHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5hRLbCaCs http://www.gretchenwilson.com/media/videos/41683/56793 Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/lgbtq-studies

P2 Musikmagasinet Det osynligas piano del 5 - Operabögar och lesbiska sopraner. En programserie om den musik som skapats och framförts av homo- och bisexuella människor och transpersoner. Operabögar är homo- och bisexuella män som älskar opera. Men lesbiska sopraner? Finns dom? Medverkar gör: Dramaturgen och Operabögen Göran Gademan. Queera professorn och kulturhistorikern Nadine Hubbs vid Michigan-universitetet. Norskamerikanska Kristin Norderval är klassiskt skolad sopran, improviatör och kompositör, utbildad bl a i New York och San Francisco. Queera professorn och teatervetaren Tiina Rosenberg . Operaregissören och traumatiska sopranen Ira Siff, New York, som gestaltar divan Madam Vera. Operasångerskan Stella Scott. Manus och produkiton, Birgitta Tollan.

P2 Musikmagasinet Det osynligas piano del 4 - Take the A Train to the West Side 2 - konstmusik komponerad på homoerotik. Birgitta Tollan stannar kvar i Nordamerika. I Canada är det dödsstraff på sodomi till 1869, och homosexualitet avkriminaliseras först 1969. Leonard Bernsteins heta förälskelse och nära samarbetspartner, tonsättaren Marc Blitzstein, mördas vid ett hatbrott 1964. 1983 dör den begåvade kanadensiske tonsättaren Claude Vivier en våldsam hatbrottsdöd, endast 35 år gammal. Möt Claude Viviers nära vän, Marjan Mozetich i Toronto, som kallas nutidens Tjajkovskij. Mozetich omhuldar det omdiskuterade begreppet gay sensibility. Klassiskt skolade sopranen, tonsättaren och real time-samplaren Kristin Norderval vägras skivinspelning av klassiska sånger p g a sin lesbisket och gör istället succé på alternativscener världen över. Vi möter också professorn, författaren och hornisten Nadine Hubbs som skriver boken The Queer Composition of Americas Sound. Manus och produktion, Birg