My Top 2000 Songs #1019: Johnny Are You Queer?

I don't think there's a soundtrack album that made a bigger impression on me than 1983's Valley Girl. I was knee-deep in high school, and it nailed a lot of the new wave-era music I was into at the time. Which is why it doesn't seem totally weird (ok, maybe just a little weird) that I'm on the 4th selection from that album. We've already seen the Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way," Modern English's "I Melt With You," and the Plimsouls' "A Million Miles Away." Those were, of course, the most enduring keepers from the soundtrack; much of the balance was comprised of more badly-dated of-the-moment pop.

Josie Cotton's "Johnny Are You Queer?" probably lands more in that second category, but it does have a few traits that give it a bit more staying power. Stylistically, it's more a 60s girl-group pastiche than  new wave, a contemporary spin on classics like "Leader Of The Pack"--though the tragedy here isn't the doomed motorcycle-riding rebel, but the boyfriend who seems strangely uninterested in pursuing intimacy. And lyrically, of course, it's a lot of fun. Is it offensive today? Maybe, but you can tell it's coming from the right place, an early attempt at reclaiming "queer" from the bigots and returning it to the gay community (hence its popularity at Pride-season performances); Johnny isn't disparaged here for his possible sexuality, but his orientation is more an impediment to our singing protagonist's romantic hopes.

But whatever; I still enjoy it. Mostly as yet another instant throwback to high school, but also as a uniquely quirk track that's still a fun listen. (BTW, while it made Cotton something of a one-hit-wonder, she's got a number of surprisingly solid records under her belt, and is still out and about.)

Live 2020:

Incidentally, the demo was first shopped to The Go-Go's (during their early punk days) before being snapped up by Cotton; here they are playing it in 2014: