As long as teenage boys are afraid to hit on teenage girls, pop-punk lives on, leaving in its wake a bloody trail of sing-along choruses about big-breasted obstacles. For this, no band deserves to have the finger pointed at them more than the Queers.
Formed in 1982, the group has been leading the way in adolescent rock for more than two decades, counting among its peers Green Day, Screeching Weasel, and even No Doubt. Over this time, singer Joe Queer has penned some of the genre’s most poignant songs — who can deny the social commentary of “Teenage Gluesniffer” or the coming-of-age majesty of “Ursula Finally Has Tits”?
The Queers achieved legendary status with the leather-jacket set after the release of several stellar albums, among them Love Songs for the Retarded, produced by Ben Weasel. Though tragedy struck the band in 1999 when drummer Hugh O’Neil died of brain cancer, the Queers continue to tour, with a gusto usually reserved for bands half their age.
This article appears in Feb 8-14, 2006.