So here I am sitting in a coffee shop, editing DV footage, and listening to 80s disco. In process it occured to me that a whole number of songs that are catchy and were really popular back in the day have tons of really explicit and suggestive sexual content in their lyrics.
Here is an example from “Abracadabra” by Steve Miller Band:
[…]
I feel the magic in your caress
I feel magic when I touch your dress
Silk and satin, leather and lace
Black panties with a ninja’s faceI see magic in your eyes
I hear the magic in your sighs
Just when I think I’m gonna get away
I hear those words that you always sayAbra abra cadabra
I want to reach out and grab ya
Abra abra cadabra
AbracadabraEvery time you call my name
I heat up like a burnin’ flame
Burnin’ flame full of desire
Kiss me baby, let the fire get higher
[…]
MP3 will be available until it is no-longer available.
Black panties with a ninja’s face. I like.
As an aside…. Can’t get enough ninjas? Look no further! Clicking on the “Shirts and Clothing” and then on “Intimates” on the sidebar provides some entertainment.
Then there is the infamous hooligan of the 70s, Tom Jones, with “Sex Bomb”:
[…]
I’m gonna fire, shoot me right
I’m gonna like the way you fight
And I love the way you fight, babyNow you found the secret code I use to wash away my lonely blues
So I can’t deny or lie cause you’re the only one to make me fly
You know what you are you are a…Sex bomb sex bomb you’re a sex bomb Uh, huh
You can give it to me when I need to come along give it to me
Sex bomb sex bomb you’re my sex bomb
And baby you can turn me on
You know what you’re doing to me don’t you, I know you doNow Don’t get me wrong ain’t gonna do you no harm
This bomb’s made for lovin’ and you can shoot it far
I’m your main target come and help me ignite Ow
Love struck holding you tight Hold me tight darlin’Make me explode although you know the route to go to sex me slow Slow baby
And yes I must react to claims of those who say that you are not all that Huh, Huh, HuhSex bomb sex bomb you’re my sex bomb
[…]
MP3 will be available until it is no-longer available.
Of course Tom Jones also sang “Delilah”, which is a murder ballad worthy of Nick Cave and Bad Seeds
So, I guess an obligatory opinion… I don’t care. I listen to these songs, I recognize the sexual undertones, but are these songs any worse then Boney M’s Daddy Cool? I mean, from a point of view of a bible thumper, isn’t that song advocating incest? Does that mean that everyone should stop listening to it?
There are two problems with this thinking that I see. For starters, “who died and made you judge” problem – in other words, how can anyone decide for anyone else? It might work in certain percentage of the cases, but isn’t a function of a parent to teach by example, and teach children enough morality to form their own opinions that would be “apropriate”?
Second problem is the divide between obscenity and the art. Is “Sex Bomb” art? What about Nick Cave’s “Stagger Lee“?
P.S. (and wild wild tangent that explains how I got familiar with Nick Cave’s songs) Many years ago, William Lee Irwin 3rd, back then at Purdue finishing a math degree , would drop by #unix on efnet (or on Unixnet, it has been a few years) in the wee hours in the morning, drunk, and quote verses out of “Stagger Lee” with every “Lee” replaced with “wli”. Then again, this was normal for #unix.
*** wli is wli@holomorphy.com (William Lee Irwin III) *** on channels: #chess #prolog @#barbie_doll_torture @#unix @#haskell +@#fp @#compsci @#math @#scheme @#mathdepravity *** on irc via server irc.idle.net ([216.34.2.113] Phoenix Rising)
Those were the times.
*** stany has changed the topic on channel #unix to <wli> 3 cigarettes +from now, I suppose I have to put pants on > Good old vintage wli. <wli> stany: heh <wli> stany: Things aren't that different today. =)
I miss wli.