Wiretap: United Kingdom of Scissor Sisters (United States of Scissorhood, Not So Much)

This week, the Village Voice's Tricia Romano tackles one of the more curious questions in pop music: Why does the UK love the Scissor Sisters more than the good ol' US of A? Being Scissor Sisters fans and shameless anglophiles, it's a question we don't reserve much headspace for, but in the current dark, divisive times of the American experiment, we can see its validity. To wit:

The "Can they break America?" question won't go away. They might be too dance-y to get radio play, or maybe they're too campy. But these are just code words for "too gay." Homophobia is the last refuge of accepted blatant prejudice in a country that has laws banning gay marriages. It probably didn't help that the Scissor Sisters' initial volley, "Comfortably Numb," takes a deified classic-rock band and turns them into a flamboyant punchline.

At least Jake Shears is keeping a proper head about his shoulders regarding his raging UK success, which includes playing to kids, hooligans, and old age pensioners.

"I never want to be a celebrity," Shears says. "I want to be an artist. Celebrity-ness is like herpes, and once you have it, it never goes away."

Indeed. Wait, does that mean we're stuck with Paris Hilton forever?

Read the full article here.