Gay Bar

"Gay Bar" is a song about taking a girl to a gay bar, nuclear war, and becoming a superstar. It was written by Electric Six frontman Tyler Spencer, who performs as "Dick Valentine." He says it's not one to be over-analyzed. "I thought it was funny, a straight guy wanting to take a girl to a gay bar," he said on the Bleed To The Artist podcast. "It's stupid but ultimately inoffensive. It's just some words loosely adding up to something yet remaining nothing at the same time."

This song had its origin in a bar, but it wasn't a gay bar. It came about when Tyler Spencer was in one of his favorite bars (not a gay bar): Gusoline Alley in Royal Oak, Michigan. It was late, and the Devo song "Girl U Want" came on the jukebox. He misheard the lyric "she just a girl... girl you want" as "she just a girl... gay bar." Spencer decided to use his misheard lyric about taking a girl to a gay bar, pairing it with a track he had already written.

"Gay Bar" dates to 1996, when Tyler Spencer recorded it with his band The Wildbunch, who released it that year as the B-side of their first single, "I Lost Control (Of My Rock & Roll)." In 2002, The Wildbunch became the Electric Six when they signed to XL Recordings, and they released a new version the song as their second single, following "Danger! High Voltage." Both singles were hits in the UK but little heard in their home country of America.