Pansy Division was one of rock's first openly gay bands. Over the years, the group has become known for NSFW, funny songs including a Weird Al-style Nirvana spoof, "Smells Like Queer Spirit" but there's more to know than that. Yahoo Entertainment talked to singer/guitarist Jon Ginoli and bassist Chris Freeman about their 30-year career, smashing stereotypes about "gay music," and being seen as a novelty act.
@CultureDesk Those early Pansy Division songs weren't "funny lyrics" in a "Weird Al style" for god's sake. They were "Fuck You We're Dying of AIDS and You Hate Us and Want Us Dead Because of How We Have Sex So We're Going to Embrace and Celebrate It All." Their music before the 00s was a particular kind of Queer Core (the actual term for queer punk of the 80s-90s AIDS era—*not* "first out rock band" ... WTF?) and it was an angry kind of camp—an intra-communal healing through tongue-in-cheek but also serious embracing, elevating, and exaggerating of stereotypes.
@toddo Thanks so much for the feedback — we thought we'd captured some of that in the "more to know than that," but obviously not. For what it's worth, the article goes into what you mention here — queercore, laughing in the face of tragedy, and the band's uncompromising approach.