Sing Out Loud + Proud

Songs Of Freedom + Peace + Pride + Protest

Jan 20, 2025

Gay Album Covers | Rainbow Album Cover | Music Gateway

“Inspired” by a series of run-ins with online bullies and chronic complainers—not to mention the swearing-in of a convicted felon—I’ve channeled some of my anger and disgust into curating a Spotify playlist.

While not as satisfying as making an old-school mixtape, it is easier to share.

The playlist is packed with 46 songs—cuz I don’t/won’t fuck with 47—that energize and inspire me to keep fighting the “good” fights.

From celebrations of pride to cries for peace to calls for protest, the songs remind me music’s always been a powerful force for catharsis and change.

So pump up the volume…sing out LOUD…and sing out PROUD:

What songs would be on YOUR playlist?
Feel free to make your own and share in the comments.

Thanks for singing along….
Clint 🌈✌️

P.S. Comments are ON for free and paid subscribers for this post. Just a friendly reminder, here are the guidelines for commentary and comments on my Substack:

Be kind…or rewind (elsewhere).
Keep it above the belt.
Opinions and tastes are not facts.
Celebrate differences…don’t debate them.

P.P.S. In case anyone’s curious, I won’t be watching even a minute of today’s “news.” I’ll be watching classic episodes of Looney Tunes and The Three Stooges while I work.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

ON THIS DAY = JANUARY 20

BIRTHDAYS

1888 = Lead Belly = American folk/blues musician and songwriter
1894 = Harold Gray = American cartoonist and Little Orphan Annie creator
1896 = George Burns = American actor and comedian
1900 = Colin Clive = British theatre and film actor 🌈
1906 = Aristotle Onassis = Greek shipping magnate
1920 = DeForest Kelley = American actor
1920 = Federico Fellini = Italian director and screenwriter
1923 = Slim Whitman = American singer-songwriter
1930 = Buzz Aldrin = American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1944 = Pat Parker = American poet and activist 🌈
1946 = David Lynch = American filmmaker
1952 = Paul Stanley = American singer-songwriter
1954 = Ken Page = American actor and cabaret singer 🌈
1958 = Lorenzo Lamas, American actor
1963 = Mark Ryden = American painter and illustrator
1965 = John Michael Montgomery = American singer-songwriter
1966 = Rainn Wilson = American actor
1970 = Skeet Ulrich = American actor
1971 = Questlove = American musician, producer, and filmmaker
1987 = Evan Peters = American actor

EVENTS

1885 = LaMarcus Adna Thompson, sometimes called the "Father of Gravity", patented the roller coaster.
1954 = The National Negro Network is established with 40 member radio stations.
1961 = John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as 35th POTUS, becoming the youngest man to be elected into that office, and the first Roman Catholic.
1981 = Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as 40th POtuS, Iran releases 52 American hostages. (How convenient.)
2009 = Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th POTUS, becoming the first African-American POTUS.
2021 = Joe Biden is inaugurated as 46th POTUS. At 78, he becomes the oldest person ever inaugurated. Kamala Harris becomes the first female VP.