If The Chainsaw Kittens were based in the United Kingdom instead of the United States, they might sound something like Placebo. On Black Market Music ( Hut/Virgin ) , Placebo's third album, androgynous and queer-leaning front-man Brian Molko leads his trio through some of the sexiest rock and roll since, well, The Chainsaw Kittens. In fact, the sex, drug and rock 'n roll credo comes to life more than once on the album. The suggestion of sex ( and love ) drives songs such as "Black-Eyed," "Commercial For Levi," "Passive Aggressive," "Taste In Men," and "Days Before You Came," to an erotic finish.
Drugs are given their due on "Special K," while "Slave To The Wage" ( with its reference to "Maggie's farm" ) and the defiant "Haemoglobin," are real rock and roll. In an unexpected turn, Placebo even blends rock and hip-hop with surprisingly good results on "Spite & Malice."
Like Placebo, the all-female metal/punk band Betty Blowtorch has one openly gay member. Blare, the guitar player, is an out lesbian. As one quarter of the band, Blare's blazing guitar provides the metallic backbone on their album Are You Man Enough? ( Foodchain ) . Betty Blowtorch's songs range from foul-mouthed and outrageous ( "Part-Time Hooker," "I'm Ugly And I Don't Know Why," "Big Hair, Broken Heart," "Rock 'N Roll 69," and "Size Queen," which features a guest vocal by Vanilla Ice, for example ) to straightforward rockers ( "Love/Hate," "I Wanna Be Your Sucker," "No Integrity," and the wonderful "Dresses" ) . If Joan Jett ( as either a Runaway or a Blackheart ) , The Donnas and Kittie are your bag, then Betty Blowtorch won't be too hot to handle.
Does the raw rage of Betty Blowtorch's electric guitar, bass and drums sound like music to your ears? Then you might want to check out Yellville ( Automatic Combustioneer ) by Loraxx. The queer music scene in Chicago, which appears to be expanding at a remarkable rate, boasts a couple of bands that earned their stripes in the homocore trenches and Loraxx is one of those bands. Their 11-song album clocks in at just over 20 minutes in length, with the longest song ( "Line" ) at three minutes long and the shortest ( "Milton" ) coming in at 41 seconds. This kind of intensity ( just listen to "Haunter," "Dusters," "Nelson," "Under" to see what I mean ) is probably hard to sustain, and the short bursts of power manage to briefly illuminate a dark space. Best listened to with the blinds left open, in the middle of the day.
Loraxx may be the dark ( homo ) core of the soul and Betty Blowtorch may occasionally lapse into Betty-Boop-as-metal-mama territory, but there is gentler side to the queer band scene, as you can hear on the latest offerings from Vera Takes The Cake and The Atari Star.
Vera Takes The Cake is the new name of the Ginger & Sarah Band. It is also the name of their album on Whistle Foot Records. The Austin-based quartet has an easy on the ears sound, especially when they dabble on the bluesy-pop of their hometown. If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, Ani DiFranco should consider herself flattered, especially on the songs "Fallen Down" and "After Awhile." Still Vera Takes The Cake actually takes the cake on gorgeous numbers such as "Deep," "Wash Me Down," "Notes From The 4th of July," and "Glory Days."
Marc Ruvolo's low-fi electric and ambient acoustic guitar work on Shrp Knf Cts Mtns ( Johanns Face ) by The Atari Star make this a beautiful pop gem throughout. The same can be said for the piano ( Mike Perkins ) and violin ( Susan Porada ) on "Archipelago," the chilly repetition of "Winter Birthmark," as well as the more rhythmic tracks, particularly "Friendly Fire," "Small Anthem," "La Petit Mer" ( with its layered vocals ) , and "Prayer For Non-Believers."
I'm stretching the definition a bit, but The New Broadway Cast Recording of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show ( RCA Victor/BMG ) is some of the queerest rock and roll you can find on a theatrical stage, especially since Hedwig and the Angry Inch isn't playing anymore. The presence of Lea DeLaria ( as both Eddie and Dr. Scott ) also ups the ante. Jarrod Emick is a very hunky Brad, while Alice Ripley belts a giddy and sexy "Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch-Me." Tom Hewitt's Frank 'N' Furter sounds as if it owes a debt to Tim Curry's Frank, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Finally, I never thought I'd see the day that I'd be including Judas Priest in a music column, but here it is. Of course, the reason I'm writing about Judas Priest is that the JP lead singer Rob Halford came out a few years ago. Four of the band's albums—British Steel ( Columbia/ Legacy ) from 1980, Point Of Entry ( Columbia/ Legacy ) from 1981, Screaming For Vengeance ( Columbia/ Legacy ) from 1982, and Defenders Of The Faith ( Columbia/ Legacy ) from 1984—have been reissued in remastered and expanded editions. All four have two bonus tracks each, which should give members of the Gay Metal Society, all over the world, reasons to rejoice.
Summer soundtrack report card
Music From Bazz Luhrmann's Film Moulin Rouge ( Interscope/Fox Music ) : The insulting remake of "Lady Marmalade" by Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya and Li'l Kim —four young women who don't deserve to polish LaBelle's boots with their tongues, let alone sing her song—is no reason to own this all-star smorgasbord of a soundtrack. However, "Complainte De La Butte" ( Rufus Wainwright ) , "Because We Can" ( Fatboy Slim ) , as well as David Bowie and Massive Attack's twisted reinvention of Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy," are reason enough. The movie's stars—Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor—don't sound too bad on their big musical numbers, as well as their duet. Grade: B-
The Anniversary Party: Music From The Motion Picture ( RCA Victor ) : Combining pieces of Michael Penn's score ( the dance-beat of "Nothing's Sacred," ) and selections from music advisor E's voluminous music library ( songs by the eels, an obscure Lulu track, a cocktail track by The Bob Florence Trio ) , this soundtrack sounds like the kind of party to which I might enjoy being invited. Grade: B+
Music From The Motion Picture A Knight's Tale ( Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax ) : As hateful as the movie with which it is associated. Not even the remake of the "We Are The Champions," which pairs Robbie Williams with the surviving members of Queen, can make this soundtrack of vintage rock tracks ( Bowie, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Heart, Rare Earth, War ) sound like anything more than an anachronistic vault raider's delight. Grade: D
Soundtrack From The Motion Picture The Magnet ( Omtown ) : The most notable thing about this French crime drama soundtrack is that it features new performances by both old and new school soul artists, as well as contributions by familiar names from hip-hop, is the way that one song complements the next. It's great to hear Millie Jackson ( "Prisoners Of Love" ) and Isaac Hayes ( "Is It Really Home?" ) alongside Talib Kweli ( "Prime Example" ) and Marlena Shaw ( the gospel powerhouse tune "What's Your Answer" ) and The Dells ( "You Promised Me" ) alongside Bruizza ( "S" ) . Grade: B
Cliff Martinez composed the original score for the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Traffic ( TVT Soundtrax ) and it is every bit as moody and riveting as the film itself. On a much lighter note is Miss Congeniality Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ( TVT Soundtrax ) , the soundtrack to the silly Sandra Bullock vehicle. Although she has apparently gotten back together with former beau Matthew McConaughey, Bullock had dated Austin-based Bob Schneider, who contributed a song. Grades: A and C respectively.
Several movie soundtracks have been reissued in remastered version. Both the double-disc set Original Soundtrack Recording Tommy ( Polydor ) and Music From The Soundtrack Of The Who Film Quadrophenia ( Polydor ) , contain the music of The Who. Ironically, Sid & Nancy ( Polydor ) doesn't have any performances by the Sex Pistols, but it does have a couple of songs by Joe Strummer of The Clash, as well as Gary Oldman's renditions of songs performed by Sid Vicious.
