Sex in the Music, A Review

When the caller told Clint Eastwood’s character to “Play Misty for me” in the movie of the same name the audience knew what she was about. ‘ty’ as sung by the likes of the great Billy Eckstein’s deep sensual voice was one of those songs were the lyrics as well as the timing suggested having sex. While some of us write about it in prose there are countless others that put the act to music . Where sex sells best it sells more often in song.

“Misty’ was a tune of the time of my parents. It was something one danced to arm in arm at a party or even a ball, the man in a nice jacket and a silk tie, the woman in heels and a dress almost down to her ankles. Years later one of the sexiest songs ever made as far as I am concerned became part of the dim to no lights in the basement parties. Smokey Robinson would sing “Baby, Baby” and girls would melt into guys’ arms. When we partied in the basement baby boomers of my culture just didn’t dance close or do the ‘slow drag’. We had a version of a rather risque dance we called the Grind. It was a smooth way of , for lack of a better term,humping on the dance floor.The movie “Cooley High”, directed by the same person who did “American Graffit” contains a scene of one of those house parties when the the lights went down so low hands could wander without ever being caught.  Bodies were clinging together in an almost sensual vice grip, moving in the same space for the entire song as legs locked around or between their partners. The girls arms were usually draped across the boys shoulders as if preparing to be dragged off Apache dance style. His arms were wrapped tight (and I mean really tight) around her waist. Water couldn’t flow between them. When Smokey finished singing or Isaac Hayes completed his begging for love or Barry White’s deep voice had invaded every orifice in one’s body and soul the coupled parted, lights still out. Perhaps to hide the fact that things had risen in the dark that should only rise in the privacy of bedrooms.

That was the title of Herb Alpert’s sexual trumpet answer to ”Bolero”.  “Rise” was one of the sexiest numbers I ever heard without words while Ravel’s ” Bolero”, popularly thought to invoke sex just explained it in the timing of how the act took place. In Catholic school we were told not to listen to the lustful lingering of “Bolero” so naturally we did. None of us got it. Of course those of us listening were in seventh grade and had never participated in a two party sex act. We thought it sounded long and boring. Quite unlike our thoughts of what sex could and would be. Years later most of us grounded in adult relationships hoped the act itself would last as long as the song.

But Alpert got under your skin and made you want to move in a way reserved for strip clubs, if you weren’t careful. While we listened to ”Rise”, sexy without a single word, we had the lyrics to Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On”. It was cool, sexy and not nasty. The words spoke of a strong feeling rising. He never said sex but like “Misty” it was understood. Gaye hinted: “You know what I’m talking ’bout. If the spirit moves ya, let me groove ya. Let your love come down.” These phrases came closer to asking for sex outright then ever before.

Then of course there is Led Zepplin’s inglorious “Lemon Song”, a rock classic that might move you to desire musically. However if a guy ever approached me with the line “Squeeze my lemon. . .” I’d walk away shaking my head. Too much information too soon.

When I think of sensuality in music, music that leads to lovemaking beyond the scope of tiny romances, I think of Gato Barbieri, the south American musician whose sound is so sexy it swims through you. I first heard his music years ago when a fellow actor and I took a three hour lunch from the theatre to see the first showing of “Last Tango in Paris”. While Marlon Brando’s character was interestingly weird the music was amazing. It was Parisian, it was moving and it was sexual. I immediately bought the soundtrack and discovered Barbieri. To best describe his music beyond that soundtrack is to describe how my Chilean girlfriend responded when I first introduced her to his recordings. She quickly grabbed her skirt tightly with one hand and her chest with the other and whispered “Caliente”. Moments later she fanned herself pretending to swoon.

Over the years I have attended many Gato Barbieri concerts and club dates. The live experience is amazing. It’s as if sex is in the air. I wonder how many couples left a club, the music still in them, ready to make love the moment they were alone. At one date there were so many women standing and dancing alone, their hands caressing their bodies that Security came over and forced them to sit down. I assume management was afraid of what they would touch or maybe remove in such a public place. 

The suggestive nature of this music is part of the call. We are wooed by the desires that arises when we hear the music. It is not a mating call or a call to action but a reminder of what the action can be. The danger of lyrics that say too much and always too soon is that people become used to their mediocrity and end up having no musical connection to the beauty of the act itself. About five years ago a song came out that was supposed to be sexy, esepcially to teens. It was called “The Whisper Song” because the chorus is whispered throughout the song. It literally says what the the guy will do in a raw and explicit way. While “The Lemon Song” may have left something to the imagination this song and many like it left nothing. These songs are censored and when you hear them you can’t imagine anyone thinking this could lead to sex. But someone of that generation said I’d be surprised how easy some people are these days. There is no magic here just the story of body parts and how they will be used and abused when consenting people are alone.

Chaka Khan sings: “You are my heat, you are my fire” in “Sweet Thing” and we smile when she adds how warm with desire she feels. These are lyrics that talk to us and leave lovemaking to the imagination. “The Whisper Song” makes everyone who follows it a robot moving to the same beat the same way to do the same thing. When Khan almost screams “Love me now or I’ll go crazy”, we understand. It is the feeling in the words that translates to the music. If the beat doesn’t get you to slow down and feel the love the lyrics will.

There are many beautiful sensual musical numbers out there. And for every person there is a special song, something that reminds them of a moment in life more important then others. What I enjoy and find sensual others may not. And then there is the music of the current day that is so raw it leaves us nothing. Music is left to individual taste but sometimes there is more to savor in some than others. You can taste it as soon as it comes on. And then you can close your eyes and think of the person you want to be with at that moment, savoring that tune in your head for him. Now that is hot!