We all have those songs that are forever ingrained in our coming-of-age stories. Songs that gave us hope, played during our first kiss, helped us feel fierce, or simply helped us understand ourselves a little bit better. This is oftentimes particularly true for LGBTQ artists.

Throughout the month of June, and only on PRIDE, LGBTQ+ artists are curating and sharing playlists that reflect their formative years—their Soundtracks of Pride. 

Gregory Dillon is your new favorite synthpop singer-songwriter searching for his own "Alien Boyfriend."

"I'm lucky to have kept a playlist the year I came out," Dillon told PRIDE. "I look back at these songs like old friends. I hope they make you feel infinite. It’s the music of 2011/12 that truly made me want to become a songwriter."

He continued:

"My playlist starts the summer before I left for college, where almost every night, me and my best friend Katherine would burn through a tank of gas, therapeutically driving down every backroad until we ended up on a playground. Back-lit by the car headlights we would swing and stargaze to "Sweet Disposition" by The Temper Tramp. 

In my first semester in college, my father gave me his old French racing bike. There was a huge sense of freedom that came from pushing up the hills of this new college town, far away from my teenage demons. Whenever I was at the top, I would always switch on "Walking On A Dream" by Empire of the Sun before speeding down. 

That Winter, I came out to my parents. Coming back to college in the spring was life-changing. I was in complete bloom and was embraced and celebrated by my most beloved life-long friends. When Walk The Moon played "Next In Line," at our spring fling, it became our family anthem.

Its often overlooked how much playlists are alike to journal entries. Listening back, a thousand memories flash before my mind. And as I wander in nostalgia, I wonder how many more unknown memories are linked to mine by these life-changing tracks."

Check out Dillon's playlist below!

And for the rest of the Soundtracks of Pride series, click here. And check out Dillon's newest single, "Love Again!"

Photo by Joe Fusco