Emily: Zack listened to this album before I did, and he let me know that it was not just a great album, but the kind of album that I would absolutely love. He knows me so well. Scissor Sisters' self-titled debut album is a fun, dance-worthy reimagining of disco. This isn't Saturday Night Fever Stayin' Alive kinda stuff, but something new and modern - perfect for any dancing queen (or king) to get up and shake it. Beyond its danceability, the band is talented, creative, and clever. They take pop tropes and add an independent aesthetic to create music that at once sounds like the guilty-pleasure genre you know and (secretly) love and also like something you've never heard before. For instance, they take Comfortably Numb - the Pink Floyd classic - and completely redevelop it into a dance song. Roger Waters himself even congratulated them on this unique spin. Scissor Sisters have made this blend of genres and worlds their staple, even in the face of controversy (a song titled Tits on the Radio generally doesn't go over too well with the censors). Give this debut a listen, and get in on their fun.
Favorite Tracks: Comfortably Numb; Take Your Mama; Laura
Zack: My expectations were exceptionally warped
before hitting play on this album. I’d never heard of the band before, but the
name Scissor Sisters just sounds like an '80s post-punk band. So I dutifully
went and pulled previous reviews of the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Bauhaus
and got ready to hit change all on the band names, because that’s basically
where we’re at with those nearly indistinguishable efforts. Lo and behold, this
album is 20 years past that era and completely different in every way (although
they do list Siouxie as an influence). It’s a glam rock masterpiece with added
sprinklings of disco and electronic music. Did I mention that it’s a
masterpiece? Scissor Sisters' album is just impossible catchy and virtually
impossible not to love. Had a Wal-Mart executive just given Laura or the
Pink-Floyd-in-their-roller-blade-phase rendition of Comfortably Numb or, hell,
even the so-called offensive Tits on the Radio a listen, I’d be willing to
wager that they wouldn’t have banned it for its apparent crusade against
conservatism. They would have been too busy shaking what all that high fructose
corn syrup gave them. Seriously, though, I could draw a million musical
parallels between everyone from Elton John to Arctic Monkeys, but it’s better
just to go get a copy yourself and realize why people in the UK bought over 7
million copies of it.
Favorite Tracks: Laura; Music is the Victim; Take Your Mama
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