I wanted to take this brief opportunity to unearth some minutiae of queer and indie rock history. A few months ago, I proudly declared on Facebook that I had written the world’s first country song about U-Hauling. One of my older queer mentors sent me this, and twenty seconds in I fell hard and fast. It was love.
(This lyric video is extremely NSFW)
In the queer community we often lament that our elders’ experiences are often discounted, that we don’t know enough of our history, that our community values youth too much. I can attest to this now. I’m so glad my elders have guided me to this point, because a fiddler in construction gear does powerful things to me.
Two Nice Girls was an experiment of the highest order. They were a democratically run, openly queer folk band. In Austin. In the late ’80s. And once they got signed they released a lewd, novelty country song about being an ex-gay.
It should surprise no one that the project was destined for commercial failure, but that didn’t stop Two Nice Girls from having a good run. “I Spent My Last $10” is not, surprisingly, representative of the rest of the album. Overall, 2 Nice Girls shows that the band was as challenging artistically as they were politically abrasive. These songs are beautiful and experimental, challenging the boundaries of folk music in ways that would sound familiar to the kids in Nashville today. Sometimes it’s worth listening to your elders.