"Gay Bar" | ||||
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Single by Electric Six | ||||
from the album Fire | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | June 2, 2003 [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:20 | |||
Label | XL | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tyler Spencer | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Electric Six singles chronology | ||||
|
"Gay Bar" is a song by American rock band Electric Six. Written by band member Tyler Spencer, under the pseudonym Dick Valentine, it was released on June 2, 2003, as the second single from their debut studio album, Fire (2003). While both the song and music video received significant airplay, lyrics mentioning war were edited due to their possibly offensive nature, since the song made its air debut at the start of the Iraq War.
According to Spencer/Valentine, the idea for the song came up from incorrectly hearing the lyrics of DEVO's "Girl U Want" as "it's just a girl, it's just a girl at a gay bar" while the song was playing in a very loud nightclub. (The actual lyric is "She's just the girl, she's just the girl, the girl you want".)
In the censored version of the song, the words "nuclear" and "war" (in the line "let's start a war, start a nuclear war") are cut out and a whiplash sound is used instead. A radio version in Japan exists in which the same lyrics are replaced with "let's do an edit, do a radio edit". [4]
The music video, directed by Tom Kuntz and Mike Maguire, was recorded in April 2003 at a movie studio in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The video depicts a series of Abraham Lincoln look-alikes in the White House, portrayed primarily by the band's lead singer Dick Valentine, but doubles were used for some scenes. [5]
The song was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single. [6] It also won Video of the Year award (2003) from both Kerrang and Q magazine. [5]
UK, Australian, and New Zealand CD single [7]
UK 7-inch single [8]
UK DVD single [9]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [16] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Canadian electronic musician Peaches covered the song as a bonus track for her album Fatherfucker . [17]
The Bosshoss played a cover of the song during their 2010 "Low Voltage" tour. [18] A studio version was released on their album Stallion Battalion.
British comedy duo Armstrong & Miller parodied the "Gay Bar" in their series promotional video for BBC One in the United Kingdom. [19]
Fire is the debut studio album by American rock band Electric Six. It was released through XL Recordings on May 20 in the US and June 30 in the UK, 2003. It was preceded by the hit single "Danger! High Voltage", which peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The album peaked at number 7 in the UK and received positive reviews from critics.
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a song by American rock band Green Day. The power ballad is the fourth track from their seventh studio album American Idiot (2004). Reprise Records released "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" as the second single from American Idiot on November 29, 2004. The song's lyrics were written by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, and the music was composed by the band. Production was handled by Rob Cavallo and Green Day.
"Blue Orchid" is the first track by the American alternative rock band the White Stripes from their album Get Behind Me Satan, and the first single to be released from the album. The song was released six weeks after it was written. Although it was suspected that Jack White wrote the song about his breakup with Renée Zellweger, he has denied this claim. Lyrically, "Blue Orchid" is about White's longing for classical entertainment industries and the turmoil that the newer industries sent him through.
"My Doorbell" is a song by American alternative rock band the White Stripes, released as the second single from their album, Get Behind Me Satan (2005), on July 11, 2005. The song garnered the White Stripes a 2006 Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The video for this single was directed by the Malloys, filmed in black-and-white, and features Jack and Meg performing in front of a crowd of children; it was filmed at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, California.
"Tribute" is a song by American comedy rock duo Tenacious D, and the second single from their self-titled debut album (2001). It was released on February 11, 2002, in the United States and on June 24, 2002, in Australia. The song is a tribute to what Kyle Gass and Jack Black refer to as "The Greatest Song in the World".
"Monkey Wrench" is a song by American rock band Foo Fighters. It was released as the lead single from their second album, The Colour and the Shape. The lyrics chronicle the 1997 disintegration of singer/songwriter Dave Grohl's four-year marriage to Jennifer Youngblood. The song peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
"The Hardest Button to Button" is a song by American alternative rock band the White Stripes, released as the third single from their fourth studio album, Elephant (2003). Jack White said that the song is about a child trying to find his place in a dysfunctional family when a new baby comes. The cover of the single is an allusion to the graphics of Saul Bass, seen in the movie posters and title sequences of films such as Anatomy of a Murder and The Man with the Golden Arm. The cover also alludes to White's then-broken index finger and his obsession with the number three.
"The Denial Twist" is the third single released from American alternative rock band the White Stripes' fifth studio album, Get Behind Me Satan (2005).
"Girls & Boys" is the third single taken from American rock band Good Charlotte's second studio album, The Young and the Hopeless (2002). The song was released in Europe on April 28, 2003, and was issued in the United States and Australia later in the year. "Girls & Boys" peaked at number 48 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number six in the United Kingdom, receiving a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2018 for sales and streams exceeding 200,000 units. Elsewhere, the single reached the top 40 in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.
"Baby's Got a Temper" is a song by English electronica group the Prodigy, released as a non-album single on 1 July 2002 by record labels XL and Maverick. It was the band's first single in five years after 1997's "Smack My Bitch Up", and was also their first release after dancer Leeroy Thornhill left the band in 2000.
Fatherfucker is the third studio album by Canadian singer Peaches, released on September 23, 2003 by XL Recordings. Cover versions of Electric Six's "Gay Bar" and Berlin's "Sex " are included as bonus tracks.
"Come Back Around" is the first single released from Welsh rock band Feeder's fourth studio album, Comfort in Sound (2002). It was their first release after drummer Jon Lee's death earlier in the year and reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's 10th top-40 hit in the process. It also reached number 45 in Ireland. The promo video features four female drummers as a tribute to Jon Lee.
"Just the Way I'm Feeling" is a song by Welsh rock band Feeder, released as the second single from their fourth album, Comfort in Sound (2002). The song reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, giving drummer Mark Richardson his first UK top-10 appearance with the band. One of the B-sides, "The Power of Love", is a Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover and was recorded for the NME's War Child charity album 1 Love.
"Dance Commander" is a song by American rock band Electric Six. It was released as the third single from their debut studio album Fire on October 13, 2003, but only in the United Kingdom. The song peaked at number 40 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Danger! High Voltage" is a song by American rock band Electric Six. It was released as the band's debut single and the lead single from their debut studio album, Fire (2003), in December 2002 by XL Recordings. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 20 in Ireland and the Netherlands. It received positive reviews from critics and was named Single of the Week by the NME.
"Be with You" is a song by British girl group Atomic Kitten. It was written by songwriting trio Bionic, consisting of Greg Wilson, Tracey Carmen and Martin Foster, and recorded for the reissue of the band's second album Feels So Good (2002). Production was helmed by Ash Howes and Martin Harrington, based on Bionic's original track. The disco-fused dance pop song is an adaptation of "Last Train to London" (1979) by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra. Due to the inclusion of the sample, Jeff Lynne is also credited as a songwriter. Its lyrics refer to seducing someone in a nightclub.
"Oh My Gosh" is a song by British electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released on 14 March 2005 as the lead single from the band's greatest hits album, The Singles. Vula Malinga and rapper Skillah are two vocals contributor in the song.
Canadian singer Peaches has released six studio albums, one remix album, one extended play, 30 singles, four promotional singles, and 44 music videos. Before she gained fame as Peaches, Merrill Nisker released her debut studio album, Fancypants Hoodlum, under her own name in 1995. In 2000, Peaches released The Teaches of Peaches, her first album to break away from her avant-garde jazz and folk background.
"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" is the debut single by Spanish pop group Las Ketchup, taken from their debut studio album Hijas del Tomate (2002). The song is about a young man who enters a nightclub while singing and dancing. In addition to the original Spanish version, the song exists in a form with Spanglish verses, although the nonsensical chorus is identical in both versions.
"Tequila" is a song by English rock band Terrorvision, written by the band and Chuck Rio and produced by Scottish musician Edwyn Collins. The song originally appeared on the band's fourth studio album, Shaving Peaches (1998), and was released as the album's second single on 18 January 1999. For the single release, English music producer Mint Royale remixed the track. These remixes were heavily championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zoe Ball, allowing the song to reach number two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Terrorvision's highest-charting song in the UK. In 1999, the song won the Kerrang! Award for Best Single.
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