Roddy Bottum: Pride

Roddy Bottum—member of alt-metal pioneers Faith No More, indie-pop band Imperial Teen, and many other groups, including his latest, Crickets, with JD Samson and Michael O'Neill—reflects on his history as an out gay man in the alternative rock world. “Pride to me began as a very lonely and personal mission,” Bottum tells Apple Music. “I came out in 1985 and had no role models. Elton John, Rob Halford, and even Freddie Mercury were still in the closet.” Bottum's Pride playlist—which features '80s classics from Soft Cell and Visage next to more modern cuts from Robyn and Fever Ray—takes steps to reconcile the old and the new. “Today it means being at a political rally with my community; the sound of our collective chants and handclaps and cheers of confidence. I hope my playlist can somehow reference that through my passion of music listening.”