Pansy Division

While this collection runs a little long at 31 tracks, it certainly packs all the necessary punch of one of the more important punk bands of the last two decades. While Screeching Weasel were rebelling against the mindless homophobia in punk rock with songs like "I Wanna Be A Homosexual,” Pansy Division were actually out there being homosexuals. As the band themselves explain in the detailed liner notes that accompany this collection, in an age where artists were known to play with gay imagery without ever announcing their sexuality, a song like "Anthem,” with its chorus of "We’re the butt-fuckers of rock’n’roll” obliterated more than a few rock taboos. All of this would be little more than an interesting footnote in punk history were it not for the fact that the music behind the message is great; "I’m Gonna Be Slut” sounds like a horny version of the Descendents, while "Dick of Death” comes across like a no-holds-barred interpretation of New York Dolls’ self-titled record. The DVD that comes with this collection features some interesting videos of the band in various stages of their career, but it is the musical side of things that makes this a worthwhile purchase for anyone curious about where the word "queercore” came from.