Queer Rock/October

PLAY IT LOUD!

To help celebrate National Coming Out Day's theme Being Out Rocks, "QueerMusic Heritage" producer JD Doyle counts down some tunes you know, and some you should

What on earth is queer rock music? When asked to write thisarticle, I wondered how I would define the term, and I finally decided to grantthat any definition of rock music is subjective. So I'm going to lean towardthe harder-edge music and music that is generally lyrically gay. This goes backto the beginnings of rock music. Some have credited Elvis with really getting rock and roll off the ground,and even he had some queer lyrics in his catalogue. Please consider his 1957smash hit "Jailhouse Rock." Since I doubt that jailhouse was a coed prison,what else can you make of the line "You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see"?Kind of makes you wonder exactly what "do the jailhouse rock with me" entailed.

Jump to 1959 to "Love Potion #9" by the Clovers (or, if you choose, the Searchers' 1964 version). The magic drink ofthe title had this effect: "When I kissed a cop down at 34th and Vine, he brokemy little bottle of Love Potion #9."

Those are just two examples of quick gay references, but Iwould rather talk about songs that are totally queer, and there are plenty.This article won't attempt to cover them all. A book could not do that. So Iwant to highlight, very subjectively, some songs you definitely already know.And then, in my unofficial capacity as a queer music historian, I will mentionsome that you probably don't know, but should.

Songs You KnowOf the ones you already know, my first example is an easyone: Lou Reed's "Walk On theWild Side." This classic from 1972 wasco-produced by one of the vanguards of the glam rock era, David Bowie, who atthat time often blurred the lines with his own lyrics. In this song, Reedseductively describes the seamier lives of characters including a transvestite,a male hustler, a junkie, and Candy, who was quite adept at oral sex. Alsoteetering on that wild side was "Lola," who "walked like a woman and talked like a man." This remarkable 1970record by The Kinks even made itinto the top ten-not bad for a story narrated by a rather naïve hero whoeventually decided that whatever Lola wanted was just fine with him.
I mention three more from the '70s. In 1972, Elton John (years before his coming out as bi, then gay) sangabout "Daniel." Perhaps thelyrics are subject to interpretation, but I choose to take lines like "Lord, Imiss Daniel/Oh, I miss him so much" as something more than platonic. Then moveto Rod Stewart's "TheKilling of Georgie (Parts 1 & 2)." Nowthis is not a great song, but it does deserve credit for being a sympathetictune about an openly gay character who is killed in a gay bashing. That such amaudlin song made it to number 30, in 1977 no less, is somewhat amazing.Finally, also from 1977 comes an outright gay anthem. I include this one in thesongs-you-know section because I simply do not want to believe, even though thesong was far from a hit, that any gay or lesbian reader could not know about TomRobinson's "Glad to be Gay." It would be hard to imagine a more political song,as Robinson uses his sarcastic and angry lyrics to describe the beatings,literal and otherwise, that society inflicts upon us. By the time he isfinished, we are all ready to "sing if you're glad to be gay, sing if you'rehappy that way."
Now you may cringe at this one, but in 1980 Diana Ross, intentionally or not, gave us a pseudo-anthem with "I'mComing Out." While her delivery may havelacked sincerity, the lyrics by writers Edwards and Rodgers were stellar: "I'mcoming out./I want the world to know." This was from the disco era, and I mustmention two others of this genre. "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat was a breakthrough. Sung by Jimmy Somerville's haunting falsetto, the1984 song depicts a gay hero running away from a life of persecution andphysical, verbal, and emotional torment, "for the love that you need will neverbe found at home." But there's hope, because he is not only running away, he isrunning toward a new life, one of acceptance.

Next, and also from 1984, is "Relax," by the group Frankie Goes to Hollywood. This song, which was a mega-huge worldwide hit,spawning Frankiemania in the group's native Britain, was unabashedly about sex,and indeed about male-to-male sex. There is nothing subtle about HollyJohnson's lyrics, "Relax, don't do it, when you want to come," which lead nearthe song's end to his wailing "I'm comin', I'm comin'." And, if you are amongthe few who saw the very rare MTV airings of the original and quickly bannedvideo, your mouth probably dropped open at its depiction of a Roman-style orgyin an S&M bar. Relax, indeed.

At almost the end of my songs-you-know section, but notleast in importance, is Joe Jackson's "RealMen." With a winning video to go with it,this 1982 song takes on many issues, from society's condemnation of those itthinks fit certain stereotypes, to some of the same stereotypes applied withinthe gay community. With the refrain "now and then we wonder who the real menare," Jackson's remarkable song questions the roles of masculinity that allmen, straight included, face. And, finally, perhaps one of the most "rock"songs on the list is MelissaEtheridge's "Come to My Window" from 1993. While not overtly gay, her gravellyvoice beckons to us with "I don't care what they think, I don't care what theysay./What do they know about this love anyway?"
Songs You Should KnowNow the fun part, at least for me as a collector of queermusic, is having the chance to share classics most people have probably neverheard of, but which I think deserve rapt attention. I have agonizingly narrowedmy list to seven, and I start with the only one not from the '90s. It is alsothe only one by a well-known artist, Pete Townshend of the Who. In 1980, he recorded on his EmptyGlass solo album the song "Rough Boys," a rousing plea with the cry "Tough boys, come overhere. I wanna bite and kiss you." Townshend has at times been vague about possibleventures into bisexuality, which he at other times has denied, but the lyricsof "Rough Boys" are about as sexual as they come.

One of my favorite lines from a recent rock song comes from "ThisKind of Love," by Meg Hentges. What a beginning! "At every high school in the midwest all the queersare at the bottom, just above the poor and pregnant, just below the FutureFarmers." From her 1999 Brompton's Cocktail CD, and the musicgrabs you and keeps you until Hentges decides to let go. Also riveting is thesong "Not Good Enough" from ScottFree's album The Living Dead.The song begins with a seemingly apologetic tone, one that might apparentlyapprove of society's treatment, but builds angrily to an almost anthem and atotally bold and proud stance. Even if you haven't seen the towering andimposing Scott Free sing live, you are impressed.

One of the more amusing songs, but one that still packs apowerful political message, is "I Saw Jesus Down at Stonewall" by Jallen Rix (The Sacred and the Queer, 1995). The music isinfectious, and the perhaps obvious message is that Jesus would be present atour revolution. I guess I tend to like the in-your-face songs, and MarkIslam's "Get Used to It" certainly qualifies. From his 1998 album TheRecent Past, the catchy music is punctuated by the absolutely clear,no doubt about it, "I'm here, I'm queer, get used to it."
The next song kind of winks at you, as Barnes tells you about his "Boy with a Secret." From his 1998 CD Loudboy Radio, thesong tells of a young boy getting caught "playing" with his friend. Thedelivery is at once seductive and confessional, and has a somewhat hauntingquality. Finally, I have to include a song by Pansy Division. But, gee, I like all six of the albums this grouphas released since 1993. Frankly, very few of their songs can be played on theradio, and I can't even include many of the titles here. Still, Pansy Divisionproduces downright fun, pop-punk rock music. Even more, it's aggressively rawmaterial that deals with many elements of gay culture and with lots and lots ofsex. They are not afraid to sing at the top of their voices about what theywant. There is a real element of, okay, reality about their lyrics, but again,done with charm and humor-less with anger and more with a wink. To pick one oftheir songs, I choose "Rock 'N' Roll Queer Bar" from the 1992 album Undressed.

JD Doyle is producer and host of "Queer Music Heritage,"which airs on the fourth Monday of every month during "Queer Voices" onKPFT-FM. Doyle is also co-producer of "AudioFile," the monthly radio reviewthat is part of "This Way Out," the internationally broadcast radio magazineprogram.

ON THE RADIO

To hear most of the songs mentioned in this article, tune into "Queer Voices" on KPFT-FM 90.1, on Monday, October 7, between 8 and 10 p.m.for a special "Coming Out Week" edition of JD Doyle's "Queer Music Heritage".After the broadcast, you can have the show streamed into your computer fromDoyle's web site, queermusicheritage.com.

For more on National Coming OutDay: www.hrc.org/ncop