This post was submitted by Zack Rosen

In terms of musical pedigree, the married duo of Dean Wareham and Britta Philips (professionally known as Dean & Britta) has enough combined experience to open up their own college. The male side of the photogenic duo was the voice of two seminal ’90s bands, Galaxie 500 and Luna, and his better half is best known for voicing the 80′s cartoon Jem and the Holograms (though has been in several esteemed bands on her own.) The two met in 2001 when Phillips joined Luna and married following the band’s 2005 breakup. Though they have scored films including “The Squid and The Whale” and Andy Warhol’s “13 Most Beautiful,” their specialty is breathless duets evinced on their albums “L’Aventurra” and “Back Numbers.”. Either original or reworked covers, the songs are capable of making the most diehard cynic go “awww” and are probably a better argument for marriage equality than a whole battalion of HRC billboards. 

They were nice enough to answer some of my questions about being straight. You can check out the interview, and a D&B video sampler, below.

DC residents can catch Dean and Britta tonight at the Black Cat. Everyone else should check their tour schedule. 

The New Gay: When did you first realize you were straight?

Dean Wareham: I remember looking at dirty magazines, probably around age 10, and being aroused by photos of naked ladies. I did make out with a girl named Wendy Little at age 8 but it wasn’t particularly sexual.

Britta Phillips: When I was 7. I had fantasies about David Cassidy.

TNG: What is your least favorite stereotype about straight people?

DW: That we like relaxed-fit jeans. [Ed. Note: When I met Dean (pictured above) he was wearing a pair of very skinny jeans and pulling them off better than I ever could.]

BP: That we are boring… vanilla.

TNG: What obligations, if any, do you feel that you have to the gay community?

BP: Supporting equal rights… to marry, to be openly gay in the military…

DW: I remember discussing the gay-in-the-military issue in college. I was involved with a Trotskyist group that wanted ROTC to be kept off campus, so I didn’t know what to make of the Gay & Lesbian club’s big issue being the right to join the military. But I guess gays should have the right to kill people in Vietnam and Iraq, just like the rest of us.

TNG: What are the biggest challenges faced by a straight person in today’s culture?

BP: Totally misunderstanding the opposite sex.

DW: I tell you what, you should listen to Jonathan Richman’s song “I’m Straight“. It’s not anti-gay (he also wrote “I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar“), but it is anti-hippy.

TNG: If you had to “go gay” for one member of the same sex, who would it be?

DW: Is this a trick question? I’d like to do it with a Mormon boy — Brandon Flowers.

BP: Rosario Dawson or Scarlett Johansson

TNG:  Given the seemingly endless number of “indie” artists in existence today, how do you think you set yourself apart from the crowd?

DW: We have nice voices.

BP: We’re older.

TNG: Finally, why should Washington, DC come out and see you play tonight?

DW: The opening act, Cheval Sombre, is really good – we’re going to join him for a few songs, and I’m going to read a few pages from my book too.

BP: We’re playing lots of Galaxie 500 songs.TNG

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