Sub-culture bands promote new music genre

By Jason Gagnon
The Daily Cougar

HOUSTON (U-Wire)-- Rock 'n' roll has always had an element of androgyny and homoeroticism because of artists like David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. As gay culture became assimilated into all aspects of pop-culture, a new subculture arose: Queercore.

In her book, "Kiss This Punk in the Present Tense," Gina Arnold offers a definition: "Queercore -- AKA homocore, a broad term used to describe punk rock bands formed by out gays and lesbians whose politically charged music explores aspects of being gay with a defiant mixture of humor and anger."

But don't let the music's inherent connection to punk rock turn you off. Give the following bands a chance. Pansy Division is a pop-punk band from San Francisco that doesn't sound nearly as polished as its contemporaries. The music is catchy and the lyrics are an open, joyous celebration of male homosexuality.

Aside from wildly funny songs like "Love, Love, Love" and "Ring of Joy," the band is also known for its clever cover songs. While turning Liz Phair's "Flower" into a queer song is simple enough, they have fun with twisting Nirvana ("Smells Like Queer Spirit") and Ramones ("Rock n Roll Queer Bar") into queer anthems.

It may have taken a little longer for queercore to get a foothold in the stereotypically homophobic hardcore scene, but bands like Limp Wrist and Gayrilla Biscuits are changing that. But each works differently.

Limp Wrist focuses on getting the hardcore scene to accept openly gay participants while Gayrilla Biscuits seek to convert queers to the hardcore scene.

Even though Gayrilla Biscuits have more open humor, they're still intense, but Limp Wrist is definitely more serious. The band's full-length debut contains songs like "I Love Hardcore Boys/I Love Boys Hardcore" and "No More Secrets" where the singer angrily thumbs his nose at traditional conceptions of homosexuals.

These bands are important not only for music but because in a scene that was originally meant for the alienated (and had a strong homosexual presence), it seems to have forgotten that social alienation doesn't just come from getting beaten up by jocks-- it's one's lifestyle.