By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

Happy GLBT History Month!

With Pride festivities and celebrations stored in our memories (and probably on some hard drives, as well), October has rolled around to remind us to get a little more serious about our queer heritage. But getting too serious and reflective is potentially boring, so here are some musical suggestions to enhance your observances.

It’s practically impossible to think about recent GLBT history and not pay homage to the Cyndi Lauper-organized True Colors tour of June 2007. A benefit for the Human Rights Campaign and other worthy causes, the tour stopped in a number of major metropolitan areas with a combination of regularly appearing performers and guest artists. The various artists compilation “True Colors” (Silver Label) is an interesting cross-section of such performing participants as the queer-identified Amanda Palmer (and her partner, Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls), Erasure, The Cliks, Indigo Girls, Rufus Wainwright, The Gossip and Erasure, to name a few. Kudos to Lauper, or whoever compiled the set, for avoiding the usual circuit-type DJs (you know who you are!) and instead selecting openly gay electro artist and DJ (Richard) Morel’s Pink Noise Edit Mix of the diva’s trademark “True Colors” tune.

Singer/songwriter Jeffrey Altergott comes from the same GLBT Chicago music scene that is home to OutMusic Award winners Scott Free and Dylan Rice. The “passion and desire” he sings about in opening track “Brothers Beautiful” (featuring the stunning cello work of Catarina VanEpps) from his latest album “Don’t Be a Stranger” (jeffreyaltergott.com) burns brightly throughout the disc. From the dizzying “Thank You” and playfully erotic “Kickstand” to the domestic bliss of “Every Day is a Reason” and the unraveling of “Undone,” Altergott continues to be an artist to watch and admire. Even his cover choices, lovely acoustic readings of “Over the Rainbow” and his own “Breakneck Speed,” are worth mentioning.

High profile (and occasionally overexposed) gay singer Ari Gold has returned after scooping up some OutMusic Awards in 2005. Not only is his new disc “Transport Systems” (Centaur) on a well-respected queer dance label, but out sax player Dave Koz can also be heard on the disc’s closing track “Love Wasn’t Built in a Day.” If this, in combination with Gold’s longstanding domination of GLBT cable network Logo, doesn’t indicate some degree of arrival, then perhaps he should have his transport systems checked.

When queer Frenchman Naommon, who accurately describes his sound as “electro-purple-fluoro-plastic-sulky-acid-housey-soul-clashy-disco-sequin-pop,” is good, he’s very good. On his U.S. debut disc “Allnighter” (naommon.com) that holds true for about half of it. “You’re So Boyish” and “I’m A Woman” show a genuine appreciation for Human League-era electro. “Beginning Everyday,” perhaps the most straightforward pop tune on the disc, is refreshing and just plain fun. Among the assorted hip-hop-oriented tracks on the disc, “Hurry Up” is clearly the most successful. To Naommon’s credit, “You Go To My Head” goes to both the listener’s head and feet.

Montreal-based electro musician Montag (a.k.a. Antoine Bédard), makes some intriguing statements on his album “Going Places” (Carpark). The disc opens with the precisely titled “I Have Sound,” a sumptuous and layered track with an almost Polyphonic Spree choral feel to it and a gradually building beat. “Best Boy Electronic” lives up to its name, blipping and bouncing like a vintage video game. Montag’s specialty seems to be putting a soft glow on electro, as he does on “Alice,” “322 Water” and “Softness, I Forgot Your Name.” He picks up the pace again with “Safe in Sound” and “No One Else.” From every indication, there is no doubt that Montag can be expected to go places.

Darren Hayes, the out half of defunct Down Under-pop duo Savage Garden (the Wham! of their day, if you will) hasn’t been sitting idle since his 2002 solo domestic debut tanked. He did, in fact, put out a second full-length disc. But don’t worry your pretty little head about it. He has new album, the double-disc set “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made” (Powdered Sugar), in case you missed the previous releases. Not delicate in the least, Hayes provides ample proof of his versatility over the course of 25 tracks. As with Savage Garden, Hayes’s solo work balances the beats (“How to Build a Time Machine,” “Listen All You People,” “On the Verge of Something Wonderful,” “Me Myself and (I)” and “Setting Sun”) and the ballads (“Step into the Light,” “The Great Big Disconnect,” “Walk Away,” “Maybe” and “A Hundred Challenging Things a Boy Can Do”), and even allows him to channel Prince (“Bombs Up In My Face”).

It’s been said that a singer/songwriter’s choice of cover material says something about the artist. On his mostly electronic, generic full-length debut “Breathe Life” (Solid Sound) Brian Kent chose Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” Enough said. “Cosmos” (craymo.com) by Craymo illustrates the gay musician’s knack for a variety of musical styles, with the electro leaning tracks rating higher than the others. Electronic music pioneer Khan returns with the restless “Who Never Rests” (Tomlab), featuring standout tracks such as “Strip Down,” “Golden Dawn,” “You Like To Party?,” “Take it Out on Me” and “Favor After Favor.”

Former Chicagoan and recent San Francisco transplant Cathy Richardson received a Grammy nomination for the packaging of her previous disc and it wouldn’t be surprising if lightning struck twice when it came to her latest album “Delusions of Grandeur” (Ca$h Rich). Of course, the music inside the package, including “G.O.D.,” “Ain’t No Home,” “I Don’t Want Anything,” the drunk-dialing drama of “A Phone Call to Joe Quinn” and the highly recommended “Closet Cultivator,” is also Grammy quality. Damn, that lesbian can sing!