Wish I'd Taken Pictures

Pansy Division

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 23, 1996)
• Original Release Date: February 13, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lookout
• ASIN: B000000FJI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #245,544 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Miscellaneous > Gay & Lesbian

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
You might call this gay-and-proud San Francisco combo the happy face of homocore, what with the way it couches its subtle and not-so-subtle sexual subtext in humor and punchy punk-pop riffs. Catchy enough to go over big as an opening act for Green Day's '94 arena tour and subversive enough to be hailed as gender terrorists, Jon Ginoli and company are just as effective going for the funny bone ("Pee Shy"), the heartstrings ("I Really Wanted You") and the, er, regions in between ("Dick of Death"). And no, you don't have to be gay to sing along. --David Sprague

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Songs About Me, August 12, 2000

By	J. Dumas (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a gay man who like rock. No modern jazz. No musicals (I'm not that old). When I'm not listening to Pansy Division, I'm listening to Nirvana or Green Day or Blink-182. Pansy Division writes music in that genre with a gay twist. So: if you're straight, you might not get this. (Oh, and if you wonder why they spend so much time about being gay, do realize that when gay people listen to the radio, we hear all these songs about being straight. What is it with you people?) If you don't like rock, or stopped liking rock in the 80s, you're not going to like their songs. If you're like me, they're writing about your life too, and in the type of music you like.

This was the first Pansy Division CD I bought. Within days I had all of them. I have continued to buy them as they come out with new ones. When they next release a CD, I'll buy it too.

Thank you Pansy Division.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pansy Division's Soft Punk Blitzlieb, April 19, 2001

By	Elderbear (Loma Linda, Aztlan) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Wish I'd Taken Pictures (Audio CD)

The first song on this CD paints a picture of where the rest of it is headed. "[Colloquialism for 'Erotically Desirous'] in the Morning" sings of waking up engorged and wanting. This is a gay-themed, erotic but not pornographic bit of soft punk. Puerile but fun--not for homophobes or Mrs. Grundy.

The music is OK, personally, I'd rather listen to Green Day, but Pansy Division's lyrics are so much more interesting! Five stars for daring to go where most bands don't. Three stars for musical talent. Averages out to four stars.

(Click on the "about me" link above if you'd like to discuss this CD some more. Thanks!)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Do you really want to be a teenager again?, February 15, 2000

By	B. Lynch "the_onewhoknows" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While this CD could have been written by me, or someone like me, based on my teenage year experiences, I'm content to let those years remain part of the past at this point.

There's no doubt about the energy & enthusiasm of the band here (it'a kind of refreshing to hear gay guys who sound like they're having fun just cutteing loose musically, on a CD), and I hope that the lyrics will let gay boys know that they are not 'wierd' or alone in their fellings, or fantasies, but this is not without some serious flaws as a piece of recorded music.

First, the engineering is terrible. The mix has no depth, and the band's sound changes little from song to song.

Second, the songs themselves are musically undeveloped. Most just start and stop after about 3 minutes. There are not enough tunes here with good musical progressions, hooks, rhythmic themes, or any of the other attributes which make great rock music memorable.

Third, the lyrics tend to get a bit preachy in places. But fortunately, the preachy ones are barely intelligible over the guitars.

But on the plus side, the music does capture the uneasiness and fear which confronts most gay boys (who are often lonely, and, due to the social pressure to conform, unable to express their sexuality without experiencing some backlash from classmates or others).

Also, despite its callowness as art, the CD does sound appropriately puerile to appeal to the teenage boys it's undoubtedly aimed at.