A.W’s Album is Getting Us Right

…Was Right All Along shares relatable queer stories but the 10th-anniversary re-release serves an even bigger narrative.

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Chanell Noise

A.W’s’ album, …Was Right All Along, explores queer coming-of-age with finesse. The revelations, triumphs, and pitfalls of finding oneself in a hetero-patriarchal world are highlighted and celebrated.

A.W, a.k.a John-Allison Weiss, released …Was Right All Along ten years ago and the tenth anniversary was celebrated with a re-release on all major streaming platforms. According to Spotify, they describe their sound as “sad songs for fun times.”

Indeed, their musicality: half whimsical guitar and half honest lyricism, brings joy. The honest lyrics are brutally honest, though, and beg the question- Are we doing enough to support our queer youth?

A.W’s outlet was and is music. Even in that realm, artists’ struggles and catharsis are commodified and pigeon-holed. Where is the support for children, teens and young adults that aren’t celebrated musicians?

To answer this question, we first need to better understand our LGBTQ+ peers. LGBTQ+ is a non-exhaustive acronym that bands together terms folks use to self-identify. L for lesbian, G for gay, b for bisexual and so on.

According to a Gallup Poll done in 2018, roughly 4.5% of the United States population self-identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. This percentage is a rough estimate when taking into account intersectional folks who may not have been included in this poll for several reasons. Still, 4.5% is 14,724,000. That is quite a bit of people. Although, if the number was ten people, all ten would still matter.

This 14,724,000 people are discriminated against, ridiculed, violated and not properly represented in media, our government or in history. It goes without saying that growing up can be tough, but growing up and having to endure the hardship of discrimination is tougher.

Understanding that we have a large community that needs support and proper resources to grow, live and flourish is one step. There are programs and organizations nationwide like No More Dysphoria, the ACLU and GLAAD that folks with even more resources. Title IX provisions govern higher education institutions while anti-bullying laws are in place to protect students in public K-12 spaces.

There are organizations, public support, philanthropic efforts and local programs that are meant to help LGBTQ+ youth when they need it.

A.W’s own Spotify bio shares that their journey was “an uphill battle… in an industry so often focused on marketability.” Their songs mostly focus on heartbreak, isolation and teenage angst or youthful confusion. However, there are chords filled with social discord, harmonies full of conditional love and guitar-riffs that don’t quite mask the loneliness in being both hyper-visible and invisible.

Through living their life unabashedly, A.W’s music serves as both a milestone and triumph. …Was Right All Along is also a benchmark, a beacon of hope and it’s own resource for LGBTQ+ youth.

“I want trans kids to see that you can take T and keep on singing. I want everyone to see that living your truth is worth it,”

– A.W. Weiss

Their album and subsequent tour are celebrating the collection of honest songs being sung in a “new, lower key.” After working with musical legends like Lour Reed, Tegan Quin and Kevin Devine- in 2018 A.W. came out as non-binary. In spite of a risky permanent voice change, A.W. started hormone replacement therapy coupled with vocal lessons.

In the public eye, always sharing their journey on social media, A.W. is still honing their craft and unapologetically living their best life.

Credits:

LGBTQ+ Timeline

LGBTQ+ Gallup Poll

A.W. Spotify Bio

No More Dysphoria Facebook