Sex, Sexy and Sex on a Stick

So, I was thinking about sex the other day. No, not that way, I was specifically thinking about sex in music and entertainment. Why is it that so many artists today think sexy has to be about sex? If you have to sell it that hard, maybe you don't have the right product. If you have to announce you're bringing sexy back, what makes you think you had it in the first place?

Now I tend to vote more Democratic than Republican, but when Tipper Gore came out pushing for labels on CDs, even I rolled my eyes a bit. Then I became a parent. Now my teenager swears she barely listens to the lyrics, she just likes to dance to the beat. But have our kids become so desensitized to explicit lyrics that they don't even notice half the song is bleeped out on the radio?

Believe me, I'm no prude. You should see the little dance routine I have when I'm privately listening to Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me. But, what is sexy about songs like Magic Stick, London Bridge or My Humps? Do any of these songs really create a sensual response in the listener? Or could people be singing a nursery rhyme as long as it is danceable and has a dirty word or two? If American Bandstand was on today, would the typical answer to the “rate the record” question be Its got a good beat and my mom cringes every fourth word? Lyrics? What lyrics?

Clay has managed to create a sensual atmosphere with phrasing, guttural sounds, even anger or other emotions. He has turned a simple microphone stand into a prop in such a way that women have mic stand envy. You can feel the sexy from either audio or the visual. Low notes that vibrate in your chest, passion, high notes that cause his body to arch back into the note are just examples. And of course, there's that “thing you do with your eyes” as Tyra Banks observed when he visited her talk show. Sometimes, it's just walking or singing in tight black pants.



And how do you make anger sexy? Channel it into a song about being wronged and surviving to not only succeed again but to be so confident in yourself that you can sing a big kiss off. Here's one of the best examples of that from Charlotte 2004. Speculation was that Clay was channeling memories of his biological father but I'd like to see it again in 2007 with a big kiss off to RCA.




Of course, Clay can lose himself in the performance and push the envelope from sexy to sex as he did in Pittsburgh in 2005 while dancing with Angela Fisher, one of his background singers.



For some reason, I didn't mind that at all.......

But the bottom line for me is that sexy can be arousing and erotic without being explicit. (It holds true in the movies too. There were a few scenes with Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin in The Big Easy that were extremely erotic because of what they didn't show. ) The reaction to sexy music and performances is personal, while explicit is almost impersonal because it takes away the input of your own imagination and emotion. My reaction to Clay is almost visceral sometimes.

Smart is sexy too in an entertainer. Clay's ability to articulate intelligent responses to current events, politics and music as he did in a 15 minute guest spot on KTLA's morning show last month is one example. His witty but knowledgeable commentary was just as sexy as any guttural moan or that thing he does with his eyes. George Clooney has never looked as sexy to me as he does now that he's started taking political stands.

Funny is sexy too. Whether Clay is telling amusing stories to Jay Leno, goofing around with Jimmy Kimmel or teasing his audience in concert, he manages to exude sexiness with his laugh and his wit.

And sometimes funny is inadvertently sexy as in this little playtime in a 2004 concert in Charlotte, NC.



Smart, funny, handsome. That's more than sexy, that's sex on a stick.

To hear Sex on a Stick-check out his album A Thousand Different Ways. Getting in the holiday mood? you can pre-order a 4 song EP at walmart.com called All is Well as a perfect companion to 2004's Merry Christmas with Love.

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For another look at "what is sexy" visit Sexy Is As Sexy Does

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken
sex in music
Tipper Gore
George Clooney
explicit lyrics
American Bandstand
Def Leppard

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