Journeys of Jack Tripper

Happy feast of St. Valentine. Once again, I find myself single, much as I did the previous 27 St. Valentine's Days in my past. (That's not ENTIRELY true, but four days a relationship does not make.) You might think this would make me bitter. Me? Bitter? No, never, never.

Anyway, despite my prolonged celibacy, I'm not averse to the S - E - X. In fact, I have a particular affinity for what I call "pure sex." Pure Sex, to me, is a song that strikes a very specific groove. A groove that makes you want to, well, groove. "Pure sex" isn't about sex, per se, it's just a designation -- there are other, more vivid realms to explore for... that sort of thing. So today we're featuring five songs that I feel are exemplars of "pure sex." Feel free to appropriate them for your own uses later today, and I even bothered to make flash players for each song. (Reading via RSS/XML/Bloglines? Click through to the entry if you can't see the music players. If you're using IE or Safari, your mileage may vary.)

On with the pure sex!

1. Zero 7, The Waiting Line

You probably heard this in Garden State. Part of what makes a great song "pure sex" is having a chorus/repeated line that is of an atmospheric or rhetorically-questioned nature. "Do you believe in what you see" is a perfect example.

2. Delerium (featuring Sarah McLachlan), Silence

I first heard this song in the back of Dan Stark's Mustang GT, on 4 August 1997. Yeah, I know the date. And no, Dan was not in the back seat with me. He was driving. Mia Vlah was riding shotgun. I remember feeling drunk with the beat coming from the subwoofers in the hatchback. I still feel that way every time I hear this song. It became a radio hit a few years later, thanks to a shorter edit Dan made that he never got credit for. This is one of several fantastic, sexy songs on the album Karma.

3. Ivy, Edge of the Ocean

I am in the group of people who believes Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger is America's greatest living songwriter. Not only is he responsible for FoW's brilliant music, he wrote the songs for several fake movie bands like The Wonders (That Thing You Do!) and the eponymous band in Josie And The Pussycats. His side project is Ivy, and this song (which I discovered in the first season of Veronica Mars set the bar for "pure sex." It's the first song I ever assigned that attribute to, in an email sent to a girl we've long forgotten, one year ago today.

4. Thievery Corporation, Lebanese Blonde

Also from the Garden State soundtrack, and probably the best song ever to utilize the sitar (shut up, Beatles fans.) I've noticed a lot of songs in the "pure sex" category refer to drug use. I cannot fathom the connection. I've never used drugs in my life.

*cough*

5. Goldfrapp, Train

Alison Goldfrapp is finally getting some much-deserved attention. I had a hard time picking one song off this gorgeous Black Cherry album (Strict Machine is another perfect song) but this song, while more upbeat than the previous four, has so many perfectly-placed bizarre sounds that combine with Goldfrapp's voice to create what can only be described as sublime. The video's even better.

So there's your V-Day. I hope you enjoy yours. Mine will be spent working all day, and then more working. Maybe I'll have a drink when it's all done, but your NCA submissions are due tomorrow, kiddos, so don't slack off with your sweetheart.

Oh, and feel free to reply with your personal favorite "pure sex" tracks.