Scissor Sisters

From left to right: Paddy Boom, Jake Shears, Ana Matronic, Del Marquis, Babydaddy

"Spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York", Scissor Sisters crashed onto the music scene in the mid-‘00s. They became one of the most popular pop acts of the decade, especially in the U.K. Their self-titled album was (as of 2006) the 10th biggest-selling album of the 21st century, making them stick out like a sore thumb among other (mainstream) artists who sold similar amounts of albums. Celeb fans include Lady Gaga, Thom Yorke, Elton John, David Gilmour, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend.

Camp & sexuality revolves around this band. For example:

• Their name comes from a popular lesbian sex act.
• A guy’s ass is featured on Night Work's cover.
• Jake Shears performs in...revealing costumes.
• Their music often has LGBT themes.

The only straight members are/were Ana & Paddy Boom. Not sure about Randy (Paddy's replacement), though.

Members:

• Jake Shears – vocals, piano, guitar
• Babydaddy – bass guitar, keyboards, vocals, rhythm
• Ana Matronic – vocals, "Mistress of Ceremonies", percussion, keyboards
• Del Marquis – lead, bass guitar
• Randy Real – drums, electronic drums, percussion
• Paddy Boom – drums, electronic drums, percussion (former member)

Discography:

• Scissor Sisters (2004)
• Ta-Dah (2006)
• Night Work (2010)
• Magic Hour (2012)

Scissor Sisters provides examples of the following tropes:

• Animated Music Video - "Mary", the video is live-action with an animated segment that seems to be a spoof of "Rapunzel" and other fairytales. What's interesting about this one is that the segment was produced by Don Bluth.
• Buried Alive - Referenced in "I Can't Decide" (where what can't be decided is "whether you should live or die"): "Or I could bury you alive / But you might crawl out with a knife / And kill me when I'm sleeping".
• Chiaroscuro - The front cover for Ta-Dah.
• The Cover Changes the Meaning – Their not universally loved cover of the Pink Floyd classic "Comfortably Numb" brings out a different facet. The original is overflowing with angst, about someone who can't quite get numb enough. The remake sounds like someone who really has been medicated into oblivion, to the point of losing both their neuroses and their identity, and is loving every minute of it.
• Downer Ending - Their first album (the non-UK version) ends with "Return To Oz", a song about drug use in the gay community.
• Dream Team - Elton John played piano on "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'".
  • Also Lady Gaga chose them to open for part of the 2011 North American Leg of the Monster Ball Tour.
• Fan Nickname - Those who love Ana a lot are called "nuns".
  • Similarly: Jake's are "Jake Groupies", Babydaddy's are "Babydaddicts", Del Marquis' are "Deltoids", and Paddy Boom's are "The Boom Barracks".
• Fetish Fuel Station Attendant - Oh hello, Jake...
• Foe Yay - "I Can't Decide" - as seen in "Doctor Who"!
• Intentionally Awkward Title - Just try being the one to introduce this band to a lesbian. Or someone who's squeamish about innuendo, although such a person probably won't be their biggest fan anyway. Worse yet, their original name (as part of an arms race of escalating vulgarity) was "Dead Lesbian and the Fibrillating Scissor Sisters."
• Intercourse with You - Oh boy, this has got to be their favorite trope.
• In the Style Of - The disco cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", which got mixed reactions from Floyd fans -- while some considered it a butchering of the work, others find that the disco beat fits the song's lyrics pretty well.
  • And there's "Sex And Violence" which is American Psycho in the style of Pet Shop Boys.
    • Also they covered Kylie Minogue's 'All The Lovers' in a country western style.
• Lyrical Dissonance - "I Can't Decide", made famous to geeks everywhere by its recent use in Doctor Who, is an excellent example. The bouncy, upbeat song's chorus actually starts, "I can't decide whether you should live or die..." and the middle eight describes various methods of murder.
  • "Intermission" is a vaudevillesque tune cautioning the listener to make something of himself as soon as possible, since "not everyone has lambs to slaughter" and "we were born to die."
  • "She's My Man" off the same album is arguably an example of this. And "Kiss You Off". And... pretty much every song on that album.
  • And on their debut album, they did a disco version of "Comfortably Numb". The most disturbing part of the effect is how freakishly right it sounds.
    • And now there's "Skin Tight", which may be about someone's extreme clinginess in a relationship over new wave love song instrumentation.
• Non-Indicative Name - Scissor Sisters contains no lesbians, siblings or scissors.
  • And their song "Paul McCartney" isn't really about Paul McCartney.
• One-Woman Song – "Laura" and "Mary".
• Playing to The Fetishes - "Filthy/Gorgeous" is about a hot mess who goes to a sex club and is transformed into a dancer/stripper (with hula hoops). It contains, it is not much of an exaggeration to say, every fetish there is, including pregnancy, toe sex, smoking, armpits, blow-up dolls, leather, vinyl, adult babies, pony play, men kissing, titties galore, drag queens, the biggest hair in the world, bears...something for everyone. Try guessing the original or true gender of everyone who appears.
• Rearrange the Song – "Comfortably Numb" disco-fied.
• Soprano and Gravel
• Staying Alive - "I Can't Decide". Oh I could throw you in the lake / Or feed you poisoned birthday cake / I won’t deny I'm gonna miss you when you're gone / Oh I could bury you alive / But you might crawl out with a knife / And kill me when I'm sleeping / That's why / I can't decide / Whether you should live or die...
• Invisible to Gaydar - Babydaddy. Jake seems very mellow too, outside his flamboyant persona.
  • Paddy Boom was the complementary Camp Straight.
• This Trope Is Bleep - The radio edit of "Filthy/Gorgeous" bleeped the word "acid" (as in LSD)... but only the second syllable, which made it sound really... uh, filthy. "Trip on a hit of ass" indeed.
• Unusual Euphemism - "Skin This Cat" is about an umm...special male body part. That or perhaps a special female body part.
• What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs? - The music video for "Take Your Mama" definitely qualifies.
  • As does "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'." Although it has to be said that in the case of the Scissor Sisters, there's every chance that parts of the weirdness may have been trip-inspired.
    • You'd think with the video for "Fire With Fire" that maybe things would've changed. Then came "Any Which Way".
  • The video for "Invisible Light" takes the absolute cake. It's a surreal psycho-sexual acid trip strained through 60s/70s-era Roman Polanski, mixed with Stanley Kubrick and sprinkled with The Last Temptation of Christ that comes out looking like an amazing trailer for the most bizarre movie never made.