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The Queers were punk-rockers from New Hampshire led by singer-guitarist
Joe King.
They began in the early 1980s with a string of singles and EPs, later collected
on A Day Late And A Dollar Short (Lookout, 1996).
They played outrageously decadent, sex/drugs glam-punk with the fury of early
punk-rock (We'd Have A Riot Doing Heroin, Fagtown,
I Want Cunt; Love Me, 1982).
Slowly they absorbed elements of a hard-rock outfit, except with cheesy solos,
distortions, etc, as in a parody of the genre
(Kicked Out Of The Webelos, 1984;
Tulu Is A Wimp, I Spent The Rent, This Place Sucks,
I Like Young Girls, Nothing To Do, I Didn't Puke,
Fuck You).
Towards the end of the decade, this style gave way to Ramones-style punk-pop
(Too Many Twinkies, I Live This Live), under the influence of
Mr T Experience and
Screeching Weasel.
Their first album,
Grow Up (Shakin' Street, 1990 - Lookout, 1994) boasts driving
anthems such as Junk Freak (which sounds like the Beastie Boys'
Fight For Your Right), Rambo Rat, Gay Boy
catchy ditties such as
I Met Her At The Rat and I'll Be True To You,
and lyrics that would make even
the Cramps blush
(Love Love Love, Boobarella, Burger King Queen),
Love Songs For The Retarded (Lookout, 1993), possibly their masterpiece
and one of punk-rock's milestones, delivers a barrage of catchy, pummeling
refrains
(Granola Head, Debra Jean,
Teenage Bonehead and Fuck This World).
Beat Off (Lookout, 1994) is not quite as compact, but still features
Voodoo Doll and the instrumental Steak Bomb.
While the music is still powerful,
Move Back Home (Lookout, 1995) moves towards pop in an awkward manner,
while mimicking the Ramones in an even more awkward manner
(She's A Cretin, High School Psychopath).
And re-recording the entire Rocket To Russia was the ultimate tribute to
the Ramones.
Punk Rock Girls, the classic from the
the four-song EP Bubblegum Dreams (1996), is also the best song on
Don't Back Down (Lookout, 1996), the album that marked the end of the
golden era and the conversion to straight-forward mainstream punk-pop
(Janelle Janelle, I Can't Get Over You,
Born to Do Dishes, I Only Drink Bud).
Here the early Beach Boys influence, that had surfaced occasionally on
previous records. becomes the predominant factor.
After this album, the band members started drifting apart.
King was busy trying to kick his drug habit, bassist B-Face joined the Groovie
Ghoulies, drummer Hugh O'Neil died of a brain hemorrage.
Queerbait, from the EP Everything's OK (Hopeless, 1998), is
still up their standard, but the later albums,
Punk Rock Confidential (Hopeless, 1998) and
Beyond The Valley Of The Assfuckers (Hopeless, 2000), are
terrible.
Later Days and Better Lays (Lookout, 1999)
is a 21-song compilation of rarities.
Pleasant Screams (Lookout, 2002) returns to their comfortable
sound, without even trying to be more original.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Giuseppe Tria)
I Queers furono dei punk-rockers del New Hampshire guidati dal cantante-chitarrista
Joe King.
Iniziarono nei primi anni '80 con una serie di singoli e di EP, successivamente raccolti
in A Day Late And A Dollar Short (Lookout, 1996).
Suonavano in modo sfacciatamente decadente, un glam-punk sesso e droga con la furia del primo
punk-rock (We'd Have A Riot Doing Heroin, Fagtown,
I Want Cunt; Love Me, 1982).
Lentamente assorbirono elementi di un gruppo hard-rock, pero' con assoli scadenti,
distorsioni, ecc., come in una parodia del genere
(Kicked Out Of The Webelos, 1984;
Tulu Is A Wimp, I Spent The Rent, This Place Sucks,
I Like Young Girls, Nothing To Do, I Didn't Puke,
Fuck You).
Verso la fine del decennio, questo stile fece posto a un punk-pop stile Ramones
(Too Many Twinkies, I Live This Live), sotto l'influenza di
Mr T Experience e di
Screeching Weasel.
Il loro primo album,
Grow Up (Shakin' Street, 1990 - Lookout, 1994) vanta inni trascinanti come Junk Freak (che assomiglia a
Fight For Your Right dei Beastie Boys), Rambo Rat, Gay Boy
motivetti orecchiabili come
I Met Her At The Rat e I'll Be True To You,
e testi che avrebbero fatto arrossire persino i Cramps
(Love Love Love, Boobarella, Burger King Queen),
Love Songs For The Retarded (Lookout, 1993), forse il loro capolavoro
e una delle pietre miliari del punk-rock, lancia una bordata di ritornelli orecchiabili, che colpiscono
(Granola Head, Debra Jean,
Teenage Bonehead e Fuck This World).
Beat Off (Lookout, 1994) e' altrettanto compatto, ma presenta anche
Voodoo Doll e la strumentale Steak Bomb.
Anche se la musica e' ancora potente,
Move Back Home (Lookout, 1995) si sposta verso il pop in maniera goffa,
scimmiottando i Ramones in maniera ancora piu' goffa
(She's A Cretin, High School Psychopath).
Registrare nuovamente l'intero Rocket To Russia fu l'ultimo tributo ai Ramones.
Punk Rock Girls, classico dall'EP di 4 canzoni Bubblegum Dreams (1996), e' anche la canzone migliore on
Don't Back Down (Lookout, 1996), l'album che segno' la fine dell'eta' d'oro e la conversione al semplice punk-pop convenzionale
(Janelle Janelle, I Can't Get Over You,
Born to Do Dishes, I Only Drink Bud).
Qui l'infuenza dei primi Beach Boys, che era emersa occasionalmente nei dischi precedenti, diventa il fattore predominante.
Dopo quest'album, i membri della band iniziarono ad allontanarsi.
King era impegnato a disintossicarsi, il bassista B-Face si uni' ai Groovie
Ghoulies, il batterista Hugh O'Neil mori' di emorragia cerebrale.
Queerbait, dall'EP Everything's OK (Hopeless, 1998), e' ancora all'altezza del loro standard, ma gli album successivi,
Punk Rock Confidential (Hopeless, 1998) e
Beyond The Valley Of The Assfuckers (Hopeless, 2000), sono
terribili.
Later Days and Better Lays (Lookout, 1999)
e' una compilation di 21 rarita'.
Pleasant Screams (Lookout, 2002) ritorna al loro facile
sound, senza neanche tentare di essere piu' originale.
Live In West Hollywood (Hopeless, 2003) contains 31 songs.
After a long hiatus, Joe King and his cohorts returned with
Munki Brain (Asian Man, 2007), whose title is a veiled tribute to
Jesus And The Mary Chain but whose silly
ditties are a tribute to the Queers themselves.
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