On May 8, 2018, I went to see "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3" winner Trixie Mattel at Chicago’s Park West auditorium. The night was filled with laughs, lip-syncs, gags, and great music by the Milwaukee-native drag queen. Mattel’s music is mainly country and folk music, and if you know me then you know that I abhor that kind of music. But Trixie is definitely an exception, with a variety of songs that you should definitely check out, regardless of your knowledge of Trixie and drag culture:
1. “Moving Parts”
One of the reasons why I like this song the most is that it’s a great song to play with the windows down on a 75 degree day. Aside from that, this song also tells you that “sometimes there’s a danger of choking on the parts”. In other words, “Moving Parts” tells listeners that life is like a puzzle: sometimes you have to go back to square one and try again, and if you can’t recognize that then you’ll choke on your mistakes.
2. “Soldier”
“Soldier” is a song that Mattel initially wrote for her fellow drag queen Katya, who took a break from drag to focus on her personal problems. This is a great song to listen to whenever you’re feeling anxious or uncertain about something coming up, because “Soldier, you gotta let things go.”
3. “Break Your Heart”
Maybe you can describe this song as one that describes that vindicating feeling you get when you’re finally free of that person whose been holding you down. Plus, if pop-sounding country is more your flavor of country, then this song is definitely for you. Also, fun fact: in the music video for this song, the man is Trixie out of drag!
4. “Make Up Your Mind”
Ok, picture this: it’s a sunny, 70-something day in mid-July. You’re on the freeway somewhere in Iowa en route to Yellowstone with your friends, passing by probably your 700th mile of corn and windmills. If you dig this aesthetic as much as I do, then “Make Up Your Mind” will provide the perfect background music to this scene. Believe me!
5. “I Know You All Over Again”
So, you probably noticed that Trixie bears a strong resemblance to Dolly Parton, and perhaps this song makes her live up to that uncanniness. “I Know You All Over Again” is a song about the struggle of accepting that the person you might keep insisting will be the one you settle down with isn’t that person at all. In spite of all the flack I give country, I like a good country ballad every now and then. If you do too, definitely add this one to your playlist.
Honorable Mention: RuPaul – “Kitty Girl Remix”
I have to add this song to this listicle because let’s be real here, it’d be a sin to not add it. This song is actually a remix of RuPaul’s song “Kitty Girl” that Trixie and her fellow “All Stars” finalists, Shangela, Bebe Zahara Benet and Kennedy Davenport, had to remake as part of their final challenge. Though radically different from Trixie’s music, maybe it’d be a good song to add to your workout playlist?
