Burlesque dancers getting down to the jazzy sound.
While getting my daily fix of the Today show the other day I watched a pretty silly segment entitled “Who’s Really Having Sex,” the purpose of which was to blast many misconceptions about sex and who’s actually doing the deed. While most couples have pretty regular hook up sessions, I am always very curious to see how things break down in everyone’s unique relationships and what factors thwart the libido and which ones make us h-o-t.
Unfortunately I don’t recall the segment in its entirety but there was one part that struck me as interesting, if not slightly ridiculous. I guess they took a survey of couples and asked them about their sexual activity, and what gets them off and turns them on. The question of interest was, “Which type of music do the people having the most sex listen to,” and the choices were between rock, rap, country, and jazz. I obviously opted for rock, as did my boyfriend. I waited for the answer and the gratifying glow of successfully guessing the right one—I mean we’re rock n’ rollers who like to fuck so how could it NOT be rock, right? Well, boy we’re we wrong. To our (and I bet most of America’s) surprise people who listen to JAZZ are the ones that are really getting down. That’s right: Jazz.
Although jazz music can be fun and sexy it’s kind of the last genre that I would associate getting down and dirty with. On the flipside, do we all remember that episode of Sex and the City where Carrie has a short-lived affair with a jazzbo with a terrible case of OCD? While it was a gratuitous and exaggerated portrayal it sure made improvisational music seem that much more scintillating. For me, sexuality and rock n’ roll are so closely intertwined. I have some great, steamy memories of heavy-petting sessions that were fueled by the visceral proto-punk of the Stooges, or long, drawn-out lovemaking that you wished would never end thanks to the cerebral noise of Brian Eno. Even hip-hop, with a pulsating beat, gritty lyrical content, and heavy bass-laden jams, would be a pretty perfect soundtrack for some kinky play—as long as there’s no mention of “bitches” or “hoes” of course.
Funnily enough, the name “jazz” was believed to originally derive from early 1900s popular slang for sex. Perhaps there’s something to this? I do have to say that some John Coltrane is very otherworldly and transcendent, and Miles Davis can be sentimental, tender, and also exciting and exhilarating. Maybe this means we should all give jazz another shot? Just a thought.