I remember many here hated them and I guess you mean bastids sent them mail telling them so. I thought they were cool but that's just me I guess.

Oh well, they seem to do well in Europe.

Story here


Scissor Sisters get hate mail

The Scissor Sisters have revealed they received hate mail after their appearance on Saturday Night Live.

Frontman Jake Shears blames the band's open display of campness for turning off many of his fellow countrymen.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald, "People in the UK, more so than in the United States, realise that music transcends sexuality.

"I think people in America think that we've got an agenda or something up our sleeve. Y'know, people suspect that you're not honest about what you're doing. That's just not the case.

"I think people in the UK and, from what I know, in Australia understand that we are coming from a really honest place."

The New York band have sold nearly 1,600,000 copies of their self-titled debut album in the UK alone.

This won three awards at the Brits - Best International Breakthrough Act, Best International Group and Best International Album.

Their album has sold just over 150,000 copies in the US.

Plenty of "campy" (is that the new word for queer?) musicians have found fame, and critical and commercial success in the US, so I think the Scissor Sisters probably just don't appeal as much, for any number of reasons, and are trying to blame homophobia for it.

I saw them on SNL. I give them credit for playing their own instruments and not lip-synching, but they really weren't that good, IMHO.

I love their album.

They should blame how crappy their music is. I could give a fart less if they are gay, and I'm sure most music fans do as well. Let's face it, most folks that listen to their kind of music genre aren't really the right wing conservatives of the world anyway.

Hey, Robbie Williams has quite a spectacular career for himself despite being less of a national presence in the US than myself, maybe they shouldn't care so much what the US fans think.

Long before I saw their SNL performance, I heard their music...me no like.

what sparked his quote (and the article) is the fact that they received hate mail based on their performance. i don't think he's explicitly blaming homophobia for their lack of mainstream success in America (although the article seems to be insinuating this), but rather trying to explain the fact that they got *HATE MAIL* from something so harmless as a musical performance.

i saw them when they were on SNL. like many of you, i don't particularly like their music. but their performance, while it was very theatrical, over-the-top, and campy, was *hardly* offensive. for them to receive hate mail based on that performance clearly, in my mind, says MUCH more about the audience watching them than a simple "their music sucks."

not only do i think you shouldn't immediately discredit what he's saying (merely because his art doesn't appeal to you), i think there's probably evidence to suggest that he's absolutly correct.

for this to explain their lack of mainstream success in the US- well that's probably a bit of a stretch. most "indie" or "art" rock bands in the US don't achieve any sort of mainstream success, since they usually find themselves drowned out by the major label marketing blitz. in the UK and Europe, however, the media seems to have a deeper respect in acknowledging actual good and relevant music beyond just the sales numbers, which is obvious when you look at the US Grammy winners/nominations versus the equivilant in the UK and European press.

but that still doesn't explain why they have to be the subject of hate mail for a musical performance that, while may have not been "good", was certainly energetic, positive, and inoffensive.

Great post.