Playlist: Lindsay Kay celebrates the divine power of femininity
Enjoy songs from Stevie Nicks, Demi Lovato, Beyoncé, Lizzo and more!
Welcome to Playlists, a series where we turn over the reigns to artists to curate the next big playlist
Growing up, I tried desperately to hide my feminine nature. My father was born within and embraced a tired generation of toxic masculinity and rustic traditions. While he would later grow to understand and accept my identity, as a kid, he made valiant attempts to pass on his version of what being a man was. But my body, literally and metaphorically, rejected such an approach, and thankfully, society itself has evolved to a point where I can live freely and unapologetically. Of course, we have miles to go before we can “sleep,” but we’re much closer than we were 20 years ago.
Pop singer-songwriter Lindsay Kay takes a careful and incisive approach with her new album, For the Feminine, by the Feminine, a stunning backdrop of narratives written, crafted and produced by feminine-identifying individuals and celebrating truth and divinity in femininity. Accompanying the release, the promising newcomer has curated a feminine-empowered playlist just for B-Sides & Badlands, featuring such blog favorites as Lizzo, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé and Demi Lovato, among others.
“I wrote my song ‘Too,’ off my new album ‘For the Feminine, by the Feminine,’ in a real moment of sadness but also a moment a clarity and understanding. Women, and people generally, are taught that femininity is a weakness in our society, and that feminine people should compress themselves to make space for the men,” says Kay. “But femininity is divine, powerful and literally creates life. I’ve put together a playlist of femme musicians reclaiming their femininity, celebrating it, and also a few examples of them making themselves vulnerable and expressing feminine pain, which shows more strength than anything.”
Below, Kay walks us through her picks, and you can spin the new playlist, too!
“Good As Hell” by Lizzo
An anthem for the woman who is “tired of bullshit” (who among us is not?) and needs a reminder of how dope she is.
“God is a Woman” by Ariana Grande
This song really embodies the ever elusive “mood” for me. Personal highlights: the wavy guitar part, and the pre-chorus lyrics: “I can be all the things you told me not to be / When you try to come for me, I keep on flourishing.”
“Flawless Remix” by Beyonce & Nicki Minaj
All of it.
“Bickenhead” by Cardi B
My fav song from Cardi’s album. The “pop that p*ssy” verse is just iconic. As a friend once said to me: I hope the stove isn’t ON.
“Stone Cold” by Demi Lovato
I really love this song – it’s one of those that I wish I wrote. Demi expresses her pain and jealousy, but still asks for pain via the truth rather than being told what is easiest. That shows more strength than anything.
“Crowned & Kissed” by Esperanza Spalding
In this song, Esperanza is showing her divine femininity through offering herself and her love in service to “her king,” inviting him to “lay his burdens down.” She doesn’t diminish herself in any way by doing so but rather shows how powerful and queen-like she is.
“Bella Donna” by Stevie Knicks
Whenever I hear this song, I always feel like Stevie is singing directly to some higher feminine power. She describes a woman who sings to the moon and stars but is tired, and as a result, disappears. Stevie has described this song in her own words in the past as being about herself while she was getting older, thinner, more tired and fading away, and this song was her taking back her life and “coming out of the darkness.”
“I Like That” by Janelle Monet
“I remember when you laughed when I cut my perm off / And you rated me a 6, I was like damn / But even back then, with the tears in my eyes, I always knew I was the shit.” What young girl hasn’t been “rated” by some fuck boy in school?
“Too” by Lindsay Kay
Definitely one of the most cathartic songs I’ve ever written. I didn’t realize how badly I needed to express these thoughts and feelings.
Photo Credit: Anastasia Lebedeva
