Skip to main contentWhen it comes to rock music, dykes pack a bigger set of balls than the queer boys do.
That's why lesbos have Joan Jett, Tribe 8, the Butchies and Le Tigre, while gay dudes end up with Elton John, Morrissey and Michael Stipe. I guess Freddie Mercury, and that leather queen from Judas Priest could be considered hard-rock homos, but they're deviants from the wussified norm.
That could change with what's coming out of the blowholes of Turbonegro and Nick Name and the Normals.
Never heard of them? Well, they're the butt blasters of what I'm calling "anal core." These faggots rock harder and faster--and are much more up front about their sexuality--than the other boys who make up the queer sounds skirting the fringe of today's music scene. I'm sure they'll ultimately strike more fear than compassion in gay listeners and find their true followers to be mainly straight folk. Slick gimmick? I don't know. What I do know is they sound wild, wicked and completely unstoppable.
"Turbonegro sounds like AC/DC meets MC5," says one WW music critic. Translation: raggedy-ass punk rock with a lot of metal influence. Hailing from Oslo, Norway, these pissy punks supposedly started the early '90s "Scandinavian Rock Explosion." Reaching underground rock god status, they disbanded less than a decade later when their lead vocalist went through a period of "darkness." Recently, though, this legendary band regrouped. In anticipation of the release later this month of Turbonegro's new album, Scandinavian Leather, Epitaph/Burning Hearts has re-released Apocalypse Dudes and Ass Cobra.
Now, listening to Ass Cobra is like watching someone get fisted. The lyrics to their notorious "Denim Demon" spout such witticisms as "You've got my penis screaming, and your asshole's screaming, 'Help!'" Likewise, "The Midnight NAMBLA" is more shock than rock. That said, this band's super-short, spazzed-up tunes are inspiring in both composition and tootie-fruity flavor. It's like listening to a musical version of Fassbinder's homo-sailor flick Querelle.
If Kurt Cobain had stayed around long enough to come out of the closet, he would have sounded just like Nick Name and the Normals. Full of all the spit and vinegar that comes from the band's lead singer being an ex-Mormon, Nick's eponymous album kicks off with the song "I Fucked Your Boyfriend." While just as blunt as Turbonegro's, Nick's musings are more innocuously menacing. Especially on songs like "The Normals," in which Nick starts off his rant with the pride parade-ready "The Normals want to convert you, The Normals want to pervert you." Likewise, the porn sound of "Harder, Stronger, Deeper, Longer" is that of a man who is addicted to his erection.
Cock rock has never sounded better.
(pictured above) flogs his CD online at www.nickname.biz .
Hear
's new CD at www.epitaph.com .
EVENTS
SKERVY: Queer to the Bone
S to the Q to the B presents WERD! This queer open mic will also feature music and dancing with the rotating DJs of the Skervy Krew.
Cobalt Lounge, 32 NW 3rd Ave., 225-1003. 9 pm Thursday, April 10. $3.99 ( before 10 pm).
Level
Another het club goes homo for a night. Let's see if they can pull it off with go-go boys, CD giveaways, door prizes and, of course, sushi in the "gals lounge."
Level, 13 NW 6th Ave., 8 pm Sunday, April 13. $3.
WWeek 2015