the strokes cop out

nickvalensi.jpgthe video for the brand new single by the strokes, “juicebox,” features some hot gay action - sort of.

there’s a scene toward the end of the clip in which one guy pounces on another in a bathroom stall and they begin tearing each others’ clothes off. while i was happy to see that the strokes were willing to please their queer constituents (and there are many of us, thanks in part to pin-up guitarist nick valensi, pictured), i couldn’t help but feel that we got the shaft. then again, i’m not surprised.

earlier in the video, two lovely ladies are shown making out - and we’re talking full-on tongue - for at least thirty seconds. the guys in the bathroom got maybe 2 seconds of screen time, and there’s no kiss to be seen. it’s actually very blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, surely so it doesn’t upset their homophobic fans (the same ones upset by franz ferdinand’s “michael”).

as a rock n roll fag myself, i guess it feels nice to be included, but i was also sort of offended by being introduced then quickly dismissed.

you can watch a high quality version of “juicebox” in windows media here or just check out the strokes’ official site.