A personal essay about how indie folk music, specifically the genre known as "Stomp and Clap," was the soundtrack to the author's coming out and self-discovery.
The author, a black queer woman raised on jazz and soul, reveals her unexpected love for the indie folk genre popular in the 2000s, often derided as music for hipsters. She recounts how her discovery of this genre, through Tumblr fan edits of the Norwegian teen drama Skam, provided comfort and solace during her teenage years while grappling with her identity and coming out. The music, with its blend of melancholy and hope, resonated with her experiences of unrequited love and heartbreak. The author argues that the music, despite its often-criticized aesthetic, was integral to her self-discovery and deserves a place on Pride playlists.
