GAYLETTER

Released with an accompanying music video last Monday at midnight, “Negative Nancy“ is a loser anthem by our grunge goddess in residence, Adore Delano. This über well-edited video is another production by Geek Mythology (the team behind “Hello, I Love You“ and “I Adore You“), and it’s clear by now that they know how to help Adore shine. Or, in this case, rage.

The video depicts a baseball game between a bunch of norm-resistant cuties and a gang of ultra-standard white boys. As pitcher and captain of her squad, Adore channels the type of vengeful spirit born in sissy boys who are forced by their fathers to go outside and buck-up for some sport and bat. Deliciously, she opts to rebel, totally untucked in a teensy black banana hammock and a punk take on drag that is all body, face, and filth. (I mean that literally—her socks are super dirty, and you can tell she loves it.) She later goes full-on locker room Botticelli, tightly gripping a wooden bat while glam-fans blow out her hair. She faces the camera head-on like this right here is the Emancipation of Nancy.

The song itself is totally divorced from the electro-pop spirit of her previous releases. Its grungier sound is a bit left field for the RuGirl scene, but so is Adore. It’s pretty exciting to hear a drag superstar wrestle this Guyville-founded genre to the ground. With American masculinity in a state as juvenile and spittle-mouthed as our shellfish-in-chief, Adore going so tomboy-fish feels like a fresh corrective. Boys are cool. Girls are cool. It’s coaches that suck. You’d be negative too if sports happened to you.

I’m pretty pumped that Adore went harsher, because I fully believe that rainbow rage needs more outlets now more than ever. Check for her next album, Whatever, out everywhere August 21st, and clock the video below! Party.