Team Pick: Tegan and Sara Cover Pink, Mary Lambert Covers Wheatus, Everything Is Perfect

images via Billboard

It’s “make videos of queer girls covering songs from the early 2000s that will make you feel nostalgic and angsty” week for the people of Billboard Magazine!

First up: Tegan and Sara were on hand to honor Pink at Billboard’s Women in Music luncheon on Tuesday. Pink received the magazine’s 2013 Woman of the Year award and Tegan and Sara paid tribute by covering, wait for it… “Just Like a Pill!” I’m glad they chose to do this song in particular because 2002 Pink might just be my favorite Pink and this definitely stirred up some 2002 style feelings in me. Also, highly appropriate as it gave Sara another chance to sing-yell the word “RUN,” in a song. She loves that. She just loves that so much. Sara also had nice things to say about Pink empowering women to be unapologetic with their sexuality and joked about Pink not being gay “yet.” Tegan and Sara appear at 3:43 of the video with a little snippet of the performance.

(P.S. Janelle Monae was also honored at the event with Billboard’s Rising Star of 2013 award. The band CHVRCHES celebrated her by covering “Tightrope” and I need there to be video of it ASAP.)

But wait, there’s more: Mary Lambert joins this party with a cover of Wheatus‘ 2000 angst anthem “Teenage Dirtbag.” She explains ever-so-cutely, “I was in high school when I came out, I was like 17, and I heard that song, and I was like…floored. I was like, ‘This is a lesbian love song!'”

My heart legitimately broke a little bit hearing Mary Lambert softly sing, “she doesn’t know who I am and she doesn’t give a damn about me,” but then she brings it right back on up and mends all those unrequited teenage best friend crush feelings with her lovely rendition. She also had a good bit of adorable interview moments.

Sigh. Go find someone you loved in 2002 and tell ’em you still love ’em or something. It’s that kind of party.

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Lauren

Lauren is proud Alabamian aspiring filmmaker who is learning to stop saying “aspiring” and just say “filmmaker.” A recent graduate with a degrees in film, Tegan and Sara, and t-shirt collecting, she spent all of her college time organizing the queers down at the University of Alabama and turning every class assignment into a chance to talk about southern queer black woman identity. She likes football more now that she’s graduated.

Lauren has written 9 articles for us.

36 Comments

  1. Omg i always thought of teenage dirtbag as a lesbian unrequited love song! That and ‘flavor of the week’ by american hifi and ‘adrienne’ by the calling. Reminds me of this girl i was with at that time who left me for a guy

  2. I saw Mary Lambert perform “Teenage Dirtbag” When she was touring with Andrea Gibson. She was magical.

  3. I actually cried watching the P!nk video, she just means so much to me and the world. She has been a positive influence on so many girls and women. My life would have definitely been different if her music had not been in it. Her music helps me through difficult times and helps me celebrate all positive moments. I completely agree with Sara and I thank P!nk for everything she has done and said.

    • true that. i neglected to mention that my 2002 Pink feelings are all tied up in the fact that i was twelve-ish years old and watching her Just Like a Pill video on MTV and just thinking, “oh, i can be like THAT if i want to?!” while jumping on my mom’s bed and singing along loudly.

    • Holy shit, I got so excited about Pink I didn’t listen to Mary Lambert and holy balls that was a wicked cover.

  7. LAUREN ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME TODAY?!?

    first i wake up to your queen bey post. now t&s, pink, AND mary lambert all in one post?!?

    excuse me i am going to bed because there is no way the day can get better from here.

    • Vanessa, in the words of Pink “You’re fuckin’ perfect.”
      And in the words of Beyonce, “I love your face.”
      And in the words of Mary Lambert “I’m not crying on Sundays.”
      And in the words of T&S, “I want to shave my head and lie in bed all day long.”

  8. Sweet lesbian Jesus, the internet has outdone itself this week! I can’t cope with all the celesbian feels popping up everywhere. All of the above, plus Kim and Lexi Stolz’s wedding video.

    Also, saw this little bit of Mary Lambert cuteness floating facebook today

  9. Mary Lambert’s cover of Teenage Dirtbag makes me want to go back in time and hug 14 year old me who was so confused by all the feelings when she watched one of her friends perform that song.

    Also, I cannot express how much I want to see the full T&S and CHVRCHES covers. It’s like a ice cream swirl of all of my favorite people!

  10. The fangirling meltdowns of some of the lesbians I follow on twitter following the Tegan and Sara cover clip on billboard’s Instagram was spectacular to behold. So many “So many feelings”,”i just can’t” “feeeels” & “I’m done” tweets it was simultaneously hilarious and wonderful.

  12. I love everything, or better, everyone in this post! I need to see the full covers like, right now.

    Also CHVRCHES. I’ve recently become obsessed with them (and the singer is sooo cute!), I was glad to see them with these awesome people.

  13. I had forgotten for a moment that I was in love with Mary Lambert. Thank you for the reminder. **swoon**

  14. THANK YOU LAUREN <333 This is why I love Autostraddle, I would've missed this awesomeness. Everything *is* perfect.

  15. I didn’t even realize anybody else thought that about “Teenage Dirtbag”! I wasn’t even out but I knew it gave me all the unrequited love for unacknowledged hypothetical “persons” feels. Thank you Mary Lambert, for affirming my teenage angst and then just holy crap beautiful cover. Perfect things I didn’t even know I wanted/needed all over AS today.

  16. Teenage Dirtbag is absolutely one of my all time favorite songs and Mary Lambert’s version knocked it out of the park! This is so great!

  18. Omg Mary Lambert *swoon* I loved that song so much in high school, and I loved getting to hear her talk about the cover and about same love in the video.

  19. Everyone stop what you’re doing immediately. This happened:

    I think we may have caused this to happen you guys. We did some sort of queer internet raindance and now it’s pouring.

  20. Mary Lambert’s voice – even when she’s just talking and sounding happy! – is pretty much guaranteed to make me cry. She has some quality where she is able to reach directly in and pull my heartstrings.

    • +1. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but she does. Like a lesbian feelings superpower, or something.

  22. Saw Mary Lambert do this cover live last night. She is so incredible! What a lovely and talented human being.

  24. “And I know you’re not gay… yet.” Oh Sasa.

    Also, I must find the video of CHVRCHES covering Janelle Monae. My two favorite artists of 2013!

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