I thought I would take the day to talk about queer music. There is a rich queer music scene if you look for it. I’ll let you guys decide if you like it or not. I included bands from a lot of different genres.
Patrick Wolf is an extremely talented, mildly eccentric, sexually ambiguous, musician with a hypnotic voice and a love of synthesizers, sequins, and colorful clothing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH5vgng9LAg&a=GxdCwVVULXdGdaZC5ZmK7aXq3CyUJZlQ
Scream Club: Journalist Jennifer Maerz described them way better than I ever could, "Out of 5 stars, I give Scream Club 10. This smart-mouthed lesbian hip hop duo sling super-catchy sex-savvy rhymes that don't resort to the common white indie kidrapper cliche of being too kitschy. Of all the new shit that's come across my desk lately, I have to say these ladies excite me the most, and not just because of their explicit lyrics. http://www.youtube.com/user/screamclubfan#p/c/B050E08CFAF722E3/7/6wd9fu9zJfE
Electrosexual: He’s French…and dubs himself a synth-master…need I say more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoN-PmVA1pE&feature=related
Maple Rabbit: a Brooklyn-based three-piece-band of transfabulious gender Fukahs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbB6-59_zN4
MEN is a Brooklyn-based band and art/performance collective that focuses on the energy of live performance and the radical potential of dance music. MEN speaks to issues such as trans awareness, wartime economies, sexual compromise, and demanding liberties through lyrical content and an exciting stage show. The group began in 2007 as the DJ/production/remix team of Le Tigre members JD Samson and Johanna Fateman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyTK7E6j3t8&feature=related
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna (formerly of Bikini Kill) and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run. Le Tigre is known for its left-wing sociopolitical lyrics, dealing with issues of feminism and the LGBT community. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SyBR-M2YvU
The Queers: commonly mistaken as a queercore band they are actually all heterosexual, and have a lot (of what I like to think of satirical-) homophobic and sexist lyrics. But with a name like The Queers this list would not have been complete without them. They also shared a label with the actual queercore band Pansy Division. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEO9rikCRbo
Pansy Division is an American pop punk band that formed in San Francisco, California in 1991. Featuring primarily gay musicians and focusing mostly on gay-related themes, Pansy Division is one of the more melodic-oriented bands to emerge from the queercore movement that began in the 1980s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juok0UHF7YM Katastrophe is an American hip-hop rapper and producer. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, he began competing in poetry slams in 1997. He is widely credited as the first openly transgender singer in the hip-hop genre and he often incorporates his being a transman in his work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3nglLQL5r0 Athens Boys Choir is a transgender spoken word performer based in Athens, Georgia. The Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray once said of the Athens performer, "Katz makes room for the evolution of a movement. He doesn’t shy away from questioning his own community and [he] has potential to be a leader to his generation of queers and a bridge to an older generation." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ayyPzuHGNU Samantha Ronson: when she’s not being chased by paparazzi for her tremultuous love affair with Lindsey lohan she DJ’s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htPonFVwHoY&feature=related Ryan Doyle: He's like an all acoustic gay Leonard Cohen...and he's a pretty talented lyricist. http://www.myspace.com/ryandoyle
The Hidden Cameras are a Canadian indie pop band. Fronted by singer-songwriter Joel Gibb, the band consists of a varying roster of musicians who play what Gibb once described as "gay church folk music". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qthNLwFHiB4&feature=related
Tegan and Sara is a Canadian indie pop/indie rock/New Wave band led by identical lesbian twins Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSwMlxGZr24&feature=av2e
Limp Wrist is an American hardcore punk band. Playing short, fast hardcore punk-styled music, the band touches upon themes concerning the LGBT community in their live performances and lyrics. They identify as part of the queercore punk subculture, and are also straight edge. Referring to their style of hardcore punk music, the band declared in Frontiers magazine, "We put the 'core' back in 'Queercore'". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc4Q1fQFNPs
Gossip is a three-piece American indie rock band formed in 1999. The band consists of singer Beth Ditto, guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLLxdcrk0-s
Leftover crack: Not really a queer band, but their song, "Gay Rude Boys Unite" was somewhat of an anthem of my high school year and so…I felt it must be in this list. It’s all about a queer inclusive revolution on the dance floor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edBRYTPgYkw
Mickey Avalon: Former heroin addict and male prostitute, now the founder of glam rock… he’ll shock you with lyrics about his hustling days while making you want to dance at the same time. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDiByCRgo_I&feature=related
Adam Lambert is an American singer, songwriter, and actor from San Diego, California. In May 2009, he finished as the runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol.The Times identified Lambert as the first openly gay mainstream pop artist to launch a career on a major label in the United States. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6LKXRCQAAs&feature=related
TEAM GINA has synchronized dance routines that will blow your mind. TEAM GINA has phat beats and hype rhymes for days. TEAM GINA has matching outfits that will make you cry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfQ_ptzFv7M
The Blow: I’m not completely sure how they identify but I really like their Paper television album and their so cool they must be queer or at least queer friendly.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJli9bjv2YI
Lady GaGa: She requires no introduction. Even if you don’t agree with me I am going to say this any way... Lady GaGa is the queen of queer. Even if she never came out as Bisexual, even if she never marched in the national equality march, everything Lady GaGa does is inherently queer and because of that I love her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niqrrmev4mA&feature=av2e
Thanks for posting this, Paul. It's such a relief to see that queer bands &/or queer-identified artists in bands are making awesome punk and indie music - a 'scene' or community that I most definitely identify with in most ways - but which often also feels sexist and super straight... heterosexist, even... and painfully gender-normative to me, which has always been really disappointing and conflicting for me.
Great Article Paul, and as one of the oldies, but goodies that post on these blogs, I would also like to add that there is a very large Gay country music scene. In fact, in 2000, an Album by an openly gay group called Lavender country was inducted into the country music hall of fame in Nashville. The album had been released in 1973. There are other mainstream artists, such as a Chely Wright and K.D. Lang who have made their mark.
And don't forget the Scissor Sisters (www.scissorsisters.com) ---- a queer group who started out, I believe, as very indy/punk/counter-culture kind of group whose primary audiences abroad...but who, in more recent years, have really made a name for themselves in the queer music scene here, as well. I know lots of queer friends who have become huge Scissor Sisters (and Jake Shears, their lead singer---featured as the cover model on a recent issue of "The Advocate" magazine) fans.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of my own personal favorite queer musicians (& friend of mine): Levi Kreis (www.levikreis.com). Levi has had songs regularly featured on Logo Network and he just recently won a Tony Award as he's starring in the show "Million Dollar Quartet" on Broadway right now.
My friend just yelled at me for forgetting to mention the Scissor Sisters in the list. Apparently thier new album Night Work is worth a listen.
Oh yeah... how could we forget the Scissor Sisters?!... the band whose name allegedly comes from scissoring... the mythical lesbian sex position... for which I have yet to find a queer woman on this earth who actually does that.
The Organ & The Shondes are also two super awesome queer bands that I forgot about and I feel like they should totally be on this list.
Godd-dess and She are a pop-hip-hop duo that have been featured on The L Word while it was on the air.
http://www.god-desandshe.com/
The Lost Bois are makeing a name for themselves on the indie queer music scene. The are a hip-pop, r&b, duo from D.C. and they are amazing.
http://www.thelostbois.com/