The Gay Indie Rock Dilemma
Maybe I’m being too hard on gay bars. I haven’t been in one for a while, maybe things are different now — but I doubt it, for the most part. Most gay bars play dance music, which is fine, but if you want to hear something else, it can be pretty hard to find. (I wouldn’t say I “hate” dance music; sometimes I like it — but it’s not the music I prefer to listen to.)
Judging from the crowd at the Pitchfork Music Festival every year, there are plenty of gay indie rock people, but maybe not enough to qualify as a “scene” unto itself.
Meanwhile, you’ve heard of Pansy Division, yes? They were one of the first explicitly gay punk rock bands. (And by “explicitly”, I mean “unambiguously”, not “using explicit sexual language”, though they frequently did that too.)
Pansy Division is awesome! And I know there’s a gay bar in Seattle that plays decent music, I was there a couple years ago … do I remember the name of it? Hell no. 😀 But I could probably lead you there if I had to. (Several blocks away from the convention center, where the Emerald City Comicon is held.)
It would have been nice if I’d been able to find music of Pansy Division’s to sample. Me sampling = me finding music I like = me being willing to buy the whole CD for just a couple of songs if necessary.
Here’s a good sampling; note that you might not want to listen to some of these at work, at least not without headphones:
Bad Boyfriend
I Really Wanted You
Deep Water
The Summer You Let Your Hair Grow Out (this is one of my favorites)
Luv Luv Luv (live) (also one of my favorites)
I’m Gonna Be a Slut (live)
Thanks, Tony. LOL (The teddy bear with the guitar during the solo in Bad Boyfriend.)
Huh. I like what I’m hearing. Thanks again. I think I’ll be buying some of their stuff.
I personally think Absurd Pop Song Romance is their best album. But Wish I’d Taken Pictures and Total Entertainment are fun too. (Who cares what I think? :D)
I was partial to “Absurd Pop Song Romance” until their latest “That’s So Gay” came out. For a history, and discussion of some of the “Gay Indie Rock Dilemma” as it were, Chris Freeman’s documentary is quite excellent.
But certainly, the line in the last panel would make me swoon, too.
If that guy was a bit more bearish, I’d have reacted the same way
The next time you’re in SF, Moby Dick’s on 18th and Hartford in the Castro has really good music. Like amazingly good… just sayin’
I’ll have to check that out…
o.O great comic (been reading almost non stop since yesterday)…and this happens to me all te time…greetings from Venezuela