LISTEN: Once criticized by gays & conservatives, this hilarious new wave gem has since become a camp classic
deep breath* 40th anniversary of the 1983 teen comedy Valley Girl, which launched then-newcomer Nicolas Cage into heartthrob territory and brought the Southern California “valley girl” aesthetic into the mainstream.The tale of a preppy, popular suburban girl who falls for the punk from Hollywood, gays of a certain age will surely remember Valley Girl as their introduction to Nic Cage, leading man, and his very “specific” chest hair:Nic Cage’s chest hair in Valley Girl is so… specific?
pic.twitter.com/skPBBJqPFJBut, for our purposes, another important part of the film’s legacy is its soundtrack, which features the catchy, baffling, controversy-courting pop-punk bop, “Johnny Are You Queer?”Yes, that’s really the name of the song, and yes, it’s really asking what you think it’s asking!The track is credited to sibling songwriting duo Bobby and Larson Paine and was originally performed by the Go-Go’s, who they had discovered.
But, after a falling out with the band, the Paines held onto the song, and eventually gave it to singer Josie Cotton, who was dating Larson at the time.Cribbing liberally from punk band Fear and their song “Fetch Me One More Beer,” the Paines’ version tells the story of a woman and the guy she’s interested in, Johnny.
But Johnny doesn’t give her much attention and would rather hang out with his male friends, leaving her to wonder: “Are you queer?”The lyrics of this specific verse spell it out pretty clearly: “And I saw you today, boy / Walking with them gay boys / Now you hurt me so / Now I gotta know / Johnny, are you queer?”The song became Josie Cotton’s debut single in 1981 and a modest hit, eventually securing a place on her first album, Convertible Music.
