Sunday, June 17, 2012
The Return of Scissor Sisters...
Another awesome weekend, summer vacation in a matter of days, and I have a exciting series of song that just scream 'Summer!'....Who better to start with than Scissor Sisters, the brilliant, charming, 70s-rific pop group that's a household word in Europe but only a minor hit in their native US.
I saw them live three times back in 2004, in the earliest days of this blog. It's high time I featured them on Song of The Week, and here they are with their latest single, the glimmery pop gem that is 'Only The Horses..'
Heavily influenced by the Elton John, The Bee Gees, David Bowie, glam rock, and disco, they are also The Great Gay Pop Group. Mind you, they're not the first Gay Pop Group, or even the first Openly Gay Pop Group (I love you, B-52s!!) but they are a huge step forward, uniquely of the current generation that grew up in a gay-friendly environment.
Here's their shiny new single, 'Only The Horses,' produced by Calvin Harris, who propelled Rihanna's 'Love in A Hopeless Place.'
My very favorite cut on the album, 'Let's Have a Kiki,' begins with an outgoing message.. 'Hey, this is Pickles, what's up, leave me a message....' Pickles is what JP calls me when I make a long face...
Their biggest European hit to date, the Elton John-esque 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing..' Yes, that's Elton himself playing guest piano!
Scissor Sisters are, left to right, bass guitarist Del Marquis, token straight drummer Paddy Boom, lead guitar/producer Babydaddy, vocalist/diva Ana Matronic and lead vocalist Jake Shears... Shears and Babydaddy are the Scissors' 'core' and write all the material.
I know one guy lucky enough to have dated Shears, and another silly enough to have brushed him off when he was an unknown...
Matronic, who describes herself as 'a drag queen trapped in a woman's body,' has a killer stage presence and is the perfect foil for Shears, they're sort of a gay musical Steed and Mrs. Peel... Matronic has been described as someone 'who even sleeps ironically....'
Scissor Sisters first two albums, from 2004 and 2006, were near-perfect and huge hits in Europe but couldn't seem to do better than very light radio play here. After a just-OK third album in 2010, the Sisters roared back to form this month with the spectacular 'Magic Hour..'
Oddly, the song that put Scissor Sisters on the map was a neon-bright disco re-imagining of Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb,' with Bee Gees-style vocals but an eerie, haunting production...
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