A new compilation EP titled Universal Love sports a number of “reimagined” covers of love songs by high-profile artists. Funded by MGM Resorts International and with the intent to be used at gay weddings, the songs on Universal Love switch pronouns and challenge the heteronormativity of many love tunes. On the new album, Bob Dylan reworks Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole’s 1929 “She’s Funny That Way” into “He’s Funny That Way”.
Other songs on the album include Kesha singing “I Need A Woman To Love” (based off Janis Joplin’s “I Need A Man To Love”), Death Cab For Cutie’s Bed Gibbard singing “And I Love Him” (based off The Beatles’ “And I Love Her”, St. Vincent singing “And Then She Kissed Me” (based off the Crystal’s “And Then He Kissed Me”), and Bloc Party’s Keke Okereke singing “My Guy” (based off The Temptations’ “My Girl”).
As detailed in an extensive New York Times piece on the compilation album, many of the artists who appear on the record have a long-standing history of speaking out about gay rights. While Bob Dylan has remained relatively silent on the topic in the past, Universal Love‘s executive producer, Rob Kaplan, shared that when he contacted Bob Dylan about the project, he responded positively immediately, noting, “It wasn’t just ‘yes, I’ll do this. … It was ‘hey, I have an idea for a song.'”
The songs on the compilation album are “intended to function as wedding anthems for same-sex couples” and come at a time when queer pop stars are beginning to use same-sex pronouns in their music. While historically artists have been out and in the public eye, the lyrics to their music rarely reflected this, opting to use ambiguous pronouns like “you” or taking on heteronormative pronouns for more commercial appeal. However, while in the past this has been the norm, a new wave of younger pop artists like Frank Ocean have been challenging this.
As explained by Stephan Pennington, a music professor at Tufts University, to the New York Times, “For a long time, queer people had to use the awkward ‘you’ in their songs to avoid outing themselves.” He continued, “There has also always been pressure from the record companies to not be exclusionary by using a same-sex pronoun, but heterosexual expressions are never thought of as exclusionary.”
Tom Murphy, a co-producer of the album, also echoed this sentiment, “If you look at the history of pop music, love songs have predominantly come from one heterosexual perspective. … If we view music as something that brings people together, shouldn’t these popular songs be open to everyone?”
You can listen to Universal Love‘s pronoun-switched and inclusive love songs below.