"Living in Another World" by Neon Trees, Monday, May 24, 2021

Tyler Glenn, lead vocalist and songwriter for Neon Trees came out as gay in a Rolling Stone issue on April 10, 2014. This may not have been shocking as the flamboyant singer echoed the styles of Elton John or queer New Wave bands, but he could not reconcile his sexuality with the religion of his upbringing, Mormonism. Prior to coming out to his friends, family, and later the public, Glenn considered suicide. Coming out for Glenn allowed him to be his true self, and songs on their third album, Pop Psychology, talk about love, identity, and faith in the 2010s. However, in the following years, Mormonism has doubled down on its rejection of same sex marriage, prompting Glenn to no longer identify as Mormon, even releasing a solo album, Excommunication in 2016.

TV'S TELLING ME TO BE MYSELF. When I was student teaching, I began watching the first season of Glee, which was a little too campy to admit to. I stopped and started the show many times, but I started watching it again when I came to Korea. I finished the fourth season and started the particularly awful fifth season, which divided the original cast in New York and a new cast that no one cared about in Ohio. There were a few good numbers, including Tegan and Sara's "Closer" and Neon Tree's "Everyone Talks." As awful as it was, Glee was one of the shows that humanized gay couples for me. I think I stopped watching the show because I felt that it was leading me astray. In my breakthrough year of 2014, I caught the flu after a workshop weekend in April.  Still teaching at the institute (학원), I came home on my break time completely exhausted once my flu meds stopped working. I laid on the couch and watched Glee Season 5, seeing Kurt and Blaine's relationship. It was one of the most healthy relationships I had ever seen on TV. It challenged my faith. How could it be wrong? And what did it say about me?

I GUESS I'VE ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY. I remember hearing about Glenn's coming out in 2014, although I wasn't particularly familiar with Neon Trees beyond hearing some of their hits. While I was in America, Alternative radio caught on to their first record. This was at the time when Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, and poppy alternative bands started to dominate the radio. They kind of created a trinity of Mormon bands alongside The Killers and Imagine Dragons on Alternative radio. Their song "Everybody Talks" was a fun single, and then when they released "Sleeping with a Friend," which was Glenn's admission to the rumors about his sexuality and the blurry lines between love and friendship between a gay man and his straight friend. The song set apart the band as not for everyone. Remember that in 2014 it may have been cool for a female singer to be Bi-curious, but openly gay musicians were not universally celebrated. However, Glenn didn't publicly come out until the eve of releasing Pop Psychology. While Neon Tree's career may have become less popular, Glenn's coming out prompted Imagine Dragon's Dan Reynolds to take a stance in support of LGBT rights, especially regarding the Mormon faith. While I'm not Mormon, people of faith coming out had a big impact on my life as I questioned who I was. Starting in 2010, when folk-CCM singer Jennifer Knapp came out as lesbian to 2016 when Everyday Sunday's lead singer, Trey Pearson, came out as gay and seeing the support and positive messages that fans have shown has been encouraging. But back to that sofa in 2014 when I realized that maybe my theology was wrong: If Kurt exists, and he does, he is the way God made him. The desires God gave him are not to marry a woman, but he found love with another man. And Kurt isn't just an unreal character. Kurts and Blaines and Santanas and Brittneys exist. God made them that way. Is my hypothetical religion true or is it overlooking something?

https://genius.com/Neon-trees-living-in-another-world-lyrics