WAIM Podcast #088: Jami Smith From 'Songs That Saved Your Life'

Jami Smith grew up with MTV as a babysitter. As a latchkey kid she would come home from school each day to sit by the set and take in the glorious carnival that was the golden age of Music Television. Music, and its attendant culture had an outsized influence on Jami, who grew up a tomboy spending her free time hanging out with dudes and eschewing the normal interests of the typical American girl. Although Jami grew up in the utterly androgynous 1980s, she often found herself bullied for looking and behaving differently than her female counterparts.

Despite not having any interest in the opposite sex, Jami tried to fake her way through high school with a boyfriend, eventually coming to terms with her own queerness. She found opportunities as she aged to write professionally for publications like Out! and Advocate, but she always dreamt of being able to write about music, her first and deepest love. 

Songs That Saved Your Life, Jami’s remarkable Substack focuses on the queer history of rock and roll. By telling the hidden and forgotten histories of the queer experience in popular music, Jami is shining a light on some of the greatest music ever made while also providing a critical history lesson of some of the people that have helped to shape this artform. 

During our chat, Jami talked at length about Morrissey and The Smiths. We both confess our unabashed love for the band and the man despite Morrissey’s deplorable personal behaviors and beliefs. This leads to a discussion of Morrissey’s tune ‘Picadilly Palare’ which tells the tale of gay men in London in the 1950s and 60s using a coded language to come out to each other when homosexuality was still illegal. It’s an amazing tale of espionage, survival, and forbidden desires.

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Jami also shares the tragic tale of Dusty Springfield who suffered as one of the first openly gay artists in an era where she could simply be blacklisted. We discuss the shame of living as a gay performer while pretending to lead a double life. I send us on a tangent that tells the story of the Stonewall riots, the phrase ‘Friends of Dorothy,’ and the lasting impact of Judy Garland. 

We cover the often overlooked bisexuality of Pete Townsend and the way that much of the classic rock community simply chooses to ignore that rather obvious fact. This is a prime example of the corners of music where queerness is still an ongoing taboo. Jami also shares her struggles of the mansplaining she is subject to as a woman writing about music, and she speaks eloquently on the continuing marginalization of the trans community both in and out of music. 

This is a great talk about music, culture, identity, purpose, and so much more. I sure hope you dig it. 

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Matty C

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