Scissor Sisters

Pitchfork Review follows. I disagree with the dude's opening comments about the inherent weakness, in his opinion, associated with mixing genres. A bit narrow-minded, if you ask me:

Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
[Polydor; 2004]
Rating: 8.3
There's something about the kitchen-sink approach to music that makes me suspicious. Excessive genre-hopping or wearing stylistic flexibility as a badge is often considered honorable or even proof of an artist's restless, boundless talent. Yet when this approach is put under a microscope, the choice to aim for a variety of different sounds often seems like a mask for artists unable to do any one thing particularly well.

A lot of the initial praise garnered by Scissor Sisters stemmed from their oscillation between what many consider to be disparate styles: To be reductive, those are rollicking early 70s Elton John-esque pop songs and buoyant disco. However, on their self-titled debut, Scissor Sisters not only do quite a few genres justice-- not least of which is witty, irreverent pop songs-- but both their idiosyncratic approach to music and their sensibilities seem to have common roots in glam-era rock or Philly soul.

On the face of it, that's an odd blend. Unless you're Ryan Adams, Homer Simpson, or those bearded fellows in Kings of Leon, you aren't likely of the mindset that rock achieved perfection in 1974. But the Sisters embrace the playfulness and panache of that era's artists-- from Sparks and Elton, to 10cc and Mott the Hoople, to The Spinners and, um, Pink Floyd-- and come out smelling like roses. Here, the Sisters skip smartly through glam's linear history, and stray far enough from the beaten path to discover a sound of their own, all while resisting the sacrifice of context for pantomime.

With one part arched eyebrows and droll wit, and one part melancholia and sharp social observation, the Sisters' debut is bursting with golden moments. To the disappointment of some, large portions of the Scissor Sisters' highly circulated and heavily dancefloor-leaning demo has been either re-recorded or exorcised from the final cut, but the retail version outstrips the demo by a mile. "Doctor (I'm Only Seeing Dark)", "Backwoods", and "Bicycling with the Devil" in particular are missed, but with their inclusion, the finished product would likely have been a far more schizophrenic affair.

Instead, the Sisters' debut hangs together well, despite sounding at times more like a career-spanning singles compilation than a cohesive work. (Although, in this MP3 era, where's the harm in that?) Debut single "Laura", with its overflow of rollicking piano and wah-wah guitar, is the hyper-jovial opener. Break-up song "Better Luck" and the falsetto-drenched disco cover of "Comfortably Numb" (what might have been had Pink Floyd followed their classic rock contemporaries into late 70s disco tourism) are the dancing-with-tears-in-your-eyes tracks. "Tits on the Radio" is New York's best protest dance song since !!!, and "Lovers in the Backseat" is a gold lamé-draped take on voyeurism. "Mary" and "It Can't Come Quickly Enough", meanwhile, are the 4 a.m. ballads, contenders for the night's penultimate spin before "Last Dance" soundtracks the queue at the coat check.

Best of all are "Take Your Mama" and "Return to Oz". The former is a clever Primal Scream-meets-"Freedom '90" suggestion to come out to your mother during a night on the town. The latter is a weary, hungover ballad lamenting the influence of crystal meth on the gay nightclub scene ("What once was Emerald City's/ Now a crystal town". In combination, those two tracks delightfully reveal that under Scissor Sisters' sheen of fabulousness and irresistible hooks beats a heart that breaks as easily as it bursts, and that's a sort of versatility that can't be easily concocted.

-Scott Plagenhoef, March 11th, 2004

Just bid on some SS wax on ebay...we'll see what happens...I'm curious

I've got both a pretty (so dubbed) rare LAURA 12" coming from the UK as well as the Take your Mama 12"...which sure enough, the day before I won it on ebay, I heard it at the local record mart...it's f'n cool...I listened to it for about 45 seconds and was so sold, but I thought I'd wait for my copy I suppose.
you can buy the album on ebay for 15 or get a cheaper promo without the bonuses. The comfortably numb 'club mix' was a lil' too clubby, but I gotta have the records spin a handful of times before I can sway any further...

ahh yess the power of persuasion and burning holes in the pocket bought me copies of the take your mama 12" and comfortably numb 12" today...both very nice...the kicker ...they are playing in DC may 21...so there...
ummmmum...I have now two copies of the take your mama 12" which is a ltd edition picture disc with 3 tracks...I have no Dj raps to speak of coming up and ...I hope i don't regret this, but will sell/ship a copy to an interested .netter for $13+simple shipping...if interested...worthwhile...

I think media mail as opposed to 3.85 priority is...1.42...it may take about 5 days for the one from the UK to arrive...I've been listening to that one about 3 times a day... backwoods discotheque ptII is pretty hot...and the take your mama versions sound like stuff that got cut out of midnight vultures...the guy Jake' hones Beck's 'Prince vocals almost better than he does ...it's awesome...

u2u me and we'll seal the deal...you'll love it...why hog two copies

the comfortably numb record remixed by Tiga and A touch of Class is excellent
too...each side has two mixes by both...that was $7...didn't care for the one
I saw and heard that had one single 'club mixx...a little too...yeah...

Ahhhh!!! Oh well..So you're tired for your exams! It'll be worth it!! :D

mmm'hmmm...next friday in D.c. ...might have to take some mama out and see what the fuss is all about ...fo'shizzle dizzle :P

Scissor Sisters

They're playing w/B-52's @ HOuse of Blues in Anaheim 6-6-04. My bosses' brother is drummer for Rick Springfield playing there this Friday, and I just noticed the Scissor Sister thing on the marquee. Small world. So if Timmy recommended them, I'm definitely checking them out.

Oh man..I want to see them live..I love the stuff I've heard.. Let us know how it was!!!

Scissor sisters scare me, but I quite liked your mama! If thats what its called!

I like them all..Laura is pretty sweet..

cool...dig the artwork above and beyond the call of design quality... the two picture discs that i've gotten ...that Take yr mama and the Laura 12" both raise the bar in design and the music grows on you...

I wanted to see them when they play in San Fran next month but I just can't afford it.. Stupid wedding..stupid job..

:wow: That would be so awesome..:D I probably won't be able to afford the damn trip down to LA though! Damn wedding..Damn work and it's crappy pay!!

When's your birfy?

Oohh! So close to mine! Maybe I SHOULD make the trek down there! A joint birfy part with Robotic and Poobs would be sweet..

oh hells yeah that would be shhhwheat!

Whoops..I left the y out of party..And we all know you can't have a party without a Y!!! (What the fuck does that mean?? :o )

Let's see..We could have CREAMY CRACK pop out of a birfy cake for us! Michelle will be the baker and she'll bring her brownies..Hmm..What else? :duh:

turtle and happy will pop out of the brownies.
and then we'll have an after party at my house and IMAR can go party with us and the rest of the .netters, oooh and Timmy can DJ a few songs.

oh and I don't know what partying without the "y" means

Hey..What happened to my post? I went into more details about the party..

i wanted to see the scissor sistors in brighton where they are filming their dvd. tickets sold out in like an hour. grrrr!
i didn't like them for ages but laura was such a good song! :duh::D:D

Quote:

Originally posted by poobs Hey..What happened to my post? I went into more details about the party..

Come back little Poobies' party dreams!

Ok..So..We have Michelle baking, CREAMY CRACK jumping out of a cake, Happy and Turtle jumping out of brownies (whaaaa???)..

Riff will be there smoking joints and saying something "artsy" and smart..

Neu will be looking for some tail..

Drac and Phob will be sitting and looking at the chaos they created when they brought this board to life..

Then, for later in the evening, we have Dyler as our "special" entertainment..I won't give anything away, but I'd bring a raincoat if I were you..His show can get a bit..umm..messy..

Quote:

Originally posted by poobs Then, for later in the evening, we have Dyler as our "special" entertainment..I won't give anything away, but I'd bring a raincoat if I were you..His show can get a bit..umm..messy..

:o:o:o:o:o:o

Quote:

Originally posted by poobs Ok..So..We have Michelle baking, CREAMY CRACK jumping out of a cake, Happy and Turtle jumping out of brownies (whaaaa???).. Riff will be there smoking joints and saying something "artsy" and smart.. Neu will be looking for some tail.. Drac and Phob will be sitting and looking at the chaos they created when they brought this board to life.. Then, for later in the evening, we have Dyler as our "special" entertainment..I won't give anything away, but I'd bring a raincoat if I were you..His show can get a bit..umm..messy..

i don' have a part in all of this!

Pretty will be defending Courtney Love to everyone..

Quote:

Originally posted by poobs Pretty will be defending Courtney Love to everyone..

touche!! :D

I've realized that the song "It Can't Come Quickly Enough" reminds me SO MUCH of Erasure..

i don´t like their gay singer .....well, he IS gay, isn´t he ?

Quote:

Originally posted by draconian He and Poobs are equally boy-crazy.

:duh: Ahh..I want to see them so bad, but I've been so broke whenever they're playing here..I won't let lack of money stop me from seeing them next time around..