When I journeyed to our nation's capitol for a seminar over the summer, I became acquainted with people from all different walks of life. Some of them were laudably tolerant, while others were card- carrying members of the Jesse Helms Center for Social and Political Sensitivity. Predictably, the folks in the latter clan thought me Lucifer's long- lost daughter upon discovering that I associate with gay and bisexual people, and (gasp!) consider them friends. How I wished I'd brought along my car to park on top of them-- and how I regretted not schlepping my small but heady Pansy Division CD collection to blare through their doors.

Absurd Pop Song Romance is the ninth project from this San Francisco- based queercore outfit, and it shows them moving into far- poppier territory than was displayed on their last outing (no pun intended), the punk- laden More Lovin' From Our Oven. Thematically, they've done a 180- degree twirl. While its predecessor told glorious tales of dick- chasing, the politics of queerdom, and, of course, the Elysium fields of "Manada," the majority of Romance's 19 tracks simmer in disillusionment over relationships failed and paradise lost.

"Bad Boyfriend" is a rueful first- person narrative of post- breakup regret, and "You're Gonna Need Your Friends" deals with the eternal plague of evil- doers who ditch their friends mere seconds after settling down with a new beau. The buoyant, delightfully- diabolical "Luv Luv Luv" is one part Hershey's syrup and two parts hydrocloric acid, and in "Vicious Beauty," the narrator discovers his former high school nemesis has become a gay porn star. Along with the wonderfully hooky "Sweet Insecurity," it's one of many things that make this Romance an affair to remember.

-Susan Moll