For my money, I’ve always found Morphine & Portishead to be the sexiest sounding bands on the planet. There’s something so smooth and pulsing about their respective work that’s always, well, done it for me. And I just realized that pretty much all their music is in minor keys. And then I started trying to think of a song in a major key that I felt qualified as sexy. I blanked.
So I’m curious: am I alone here? Can we name some sexy sounding* major key ditties? Also: whose music do you find the sexiest? If not a band or singer or what have you, which songs? And do they happen to be in minor keys? Are minor keys just, well, sexier?
I realize that this whole think is wildly subjective—curious to see some responses.
Two of my favorites as well, for similar reasons. If you like them, get yourself some Lovage, Massive Attack, old Morcheeba, Dido, Black Box Recorder, Frou Frou, Imogen Heap, Bohren and Der Club of Gore… all dark, minor, sexy as hell.
As I continue to rack my brain for sexy-sounding major-key songs, I’m finding they’re all by black guys. Interesting. In addition to the Marley and Green, I’ve got some Gaye for you.
An excellent choice to be sure, however allow me to submit “Whisper me your number,” and Sugar Danks “You read my mind,” to the list, not sure the key of that last one, let me hunt and peck out the melody when I get off work.
BBVL: Massive Attack is right up the Portishead alley but I never really got into them. Not sure why—I’ve just always loved Beth Gibbon’s voice.
OneCentStamp: When you’re right, you’re right.
Wordman: Great choice. The epitome of smooth. And the music is treating me rather well—although if you see me here, be sure I’m back temping somewhere. I would start one of those threads, but I’d feel kind of…self-indulgent? I could always do an “Ask a ______” thread (Ask a usually poor touring musician?). The “Ask a deaf guy” thread was one of my all time favorite SDMB events.
Yep, I figured you must be temping simply because your on the Dope! I, for one, would love you to do an Ask The… thread. Judging by the response to the latest edition of “are you an activie musician**” thread here a few days ago, I suspect many others would be interested in such a thread, too…
Actually, I think of a lot of sexy songs in major keys:
Je T’aime Mon Non Plus - by Serge Gainsbourg (it hardly gets sexier than this)
Pretty much all of Marvin Gaye’s corpus
Most of Motown
A lot of U2 (All I Want is You) for instance
A heck of a lot of Prince
While U2 do write in major keys, I recall reading an interview with the Edge where he stated that he fairly deliberately avoids using the third (major or minor) in his playing to create a sense of tension and mystery - something slightly unresolved in the music.
Maybe that’s a more recent interview, because the classic-era Edge (pre-Achtung Baby) was not at all shy about spelling out the majorness or minorness of his chords. Case in point: “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” possibly their best-known song, which screams BEEEEEE MINNOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRR!!! (Bm)
