Not "cutting" it

The release of the new Scissor Sisters album "Ta-Dah" confirms one thing about me -- that no matter what I say, I'm such a victim of hype.

Scissor Sisters is, of course, one of the trendiest groups to profess a love for today, especially if you are gay. The songs on their first album were kooky but put together in such an un-selfconsciously superb over-the-top disco-glam-kitsch way that at times, you just stopped in your tracks to marvel at its sheer genius. I mean, just check out these lines from "Filthy/Gorgeous":

When you're walkin' down the street
And the man tries to get your business
And the people that you meet
Want to open you up like Christmas
You gotta wrap your fuzzy in a big red bow
Ain't no sum bitch gonna treat me like a ho
I'm a classy honey kissy huggy lovey dovey ghetto princess

Plus, all the remixes they did instantly turned all these other people's ordinary songs into shiny, glittering retro-disco masterpieces. And they did single-handedly make overtly-gay music fun and fashionable even for straight people. So when the second album swung round this week, I was all ready to declare it another winner just based on the cover alone.

Of course, most of the tracks turned out to be pretty horrible. Teaming up with Elton John, just because you sound like Elton John, is not a good idea. There is one track, which is going to be the next single, that actually sounds like "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?". As the truth slowly dawned on me, I kept willing the next track to be good, willing myself to take to the weak songs over-dressed in 3 or 4 charity-shop-record styles all at once. C'mon, I said. It's Scissor Sisters, it has to be good! Just like I say: C'mon, it's Comme des Garcons it has to be nice, just that I don't know why yet...

I've listened to the damned thing three times over now, both the album and its accompanying b-sides bonus disc. Still, if you were to ask for my opinion, I'd still say that "Ta-Dah" is probably "ahead of its time" and "many-layered" (i.e. must listen more to appreciate hidden layers of goodness). That somewhere around middle of the record, "Kiss You Off" starts a string of songs that shows that Scissor Sisters are still at the top of their game. That the bonus CD is better because it is less "self-conscious" and the quirky "Making Ladies" (a song about how to cross-dress as a woman and give yourself a tranny name that manages to rhyme "Faberge" with "negligee") is quite possibly the best thing they ever did, and reason enough to cough up your $20 to buy this instant classic. Sigh.