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Queens of the Stone Age: Homophobic, or Just Dunces?
I wasn’t able to make it to Sasqautch this year, which, considering the hail and Ben Harper, may have been a blessing. Today this report was sent to Last Days from Sasquatch attendee Jennifer:
I call for a Stranger boycott of Queens of the Stone Age, who—despite their deceptively queer-friendly name — ranted homophobic propaganda to the crowd at their Sunday May 28 Sasquatch appearance. Lead singer Josh Homme, a testosterone-filled, Elvis-look-alike schmuck, told concert security guards to stop making girls climb down from boys’ shoulders during the songs. “Insurance is for pussies,” said Homme. “Just look the other way… And pretend not to be gay.” Perhaps cheering WSU frat boys in the audience, after ten Coors Lights, appreciated this comment, but I didn’t. I call for a Stranger boycott of Homme and his band: may such faux-Queens never set foot on Capitol Hill soil again.
Hmm. Homme’s comments certainly suck, but do they qualify as boycott-worthy “homophobic propogranda”? Or is QOTSA’s crappy rock reason enough for a boycott? Discuss.
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That jock-taunting quote is heartening, and makes me think Homme's comment might be a classic case of ironic comedy gone wrong. Then my internal devil's advocate wonders if we'd be as cool with it if Homme had dropped the word nigger; then my internal devil's prosecuting attorney reminds me that homosexuals were never forced into slavery, and "gay" isn't close to being comparable to the mother of all slurs. (It's comparable to "African-American," no matter what Ken Hutcherson shits from his mouth.) Then I feel like an asshole for trying to quantify suffering and the relative offensiveness of hate speech.
Anyway, rock on, and be careful with those gay/Jew/tard jokes. Context is everything, and if a joke flops, it's your fault.
The vocals on the best-known QOTSA song, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer," were done by an openly gay man, Rob Halford of Judas Priest. So I think this is just ironic comedy gone wrong, too.
take the stick out of your ass. boycott something that matters.
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Sorry, but homophobic propaganda? I don't think so. Using "gay" as a dumb high-school type insult? Yes.
And there's this:
The band's name is intended to tweak the noses of the homophobic rednecks he used to see at Kyuss concerts. "It’ll be interesting if they can say the name ‘Queens of the Stone Age’ to their friends," he smiles.