Let me start off by saying:
That's right. I said it. SOMEONE had to. And when I say sexy, I'm not talking about muscle bound, half naked guys or scantily clad women gyrating on stage to sell their music. I'm talking about the sexiness of real music- minus the sex appeal of the aforementioned. In an industry of bubble gum pop and computer driven loops it is sometimes easy to forget the sexiness behind a simple fuzzy guitar chord, a monster bass line or the sound of a REAL drum kit that helps keep it all together. But to simply say there is no sex left in rock and roll is where I have to draw the line. There are a TON of great bands waiting to be discovered by eager, passionate music loving people just like YOU.
Why wait for some gray hairs in a comfy corporate office dictate the next big band when you can go out there and discover your own kind of sexy?! I have been in the industry in one facet or another for 16 years now and I have never once caught myself saying "I can't wait for the next Taylor Swift album to come out!" Now before all the Swifties come out and try to sacrifice me, hear me out. There is nothing wrong with T. Swift if you are into that sort of thing. I for one, am not. But then again, I'm not in her demographic: an early 20s something lamenting over a recent lost love while in search for the next. Ugh, no thanks. I will give props to Swift for being a crossover artist and penning her own material- which in itself is a whole other topic of conversation.
What I want to get into is the perceived lack of sexiness in modern day rock and roll. Back in the day you had bands like Led Zeppelin, Motorhead, The Ramones, Black Sabbath (among others) that would demand attention. Then we transition into bands like Nine Inch Nails, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal and etc who etched out their own type of sexiness whether it be angsty and dark (ala: NIN) or quirky and carefree (I mean HELLO, look at Grohl's personality and tell me how you could resist that!) No matter your opinion on any of the aforementioned bands one thing is for sure- they all curated their own level of sexy all while using real instruments and penning their own god damn songs. Sure some of you will argue that Reznor is the god of synth but that could easily be argued that he used it as a way to enhance the complex layering of guitars, bass, vocals, and etc that were already the main foundation of the track. Either way (and no matter your take on his music) there are few artists who have been able to do what he does as he is a complete amenity all on his own.
While everyone's definition of sexy is different, I know many people who crave the sound of a simple chord and as an indie DJ I discover bands who work their asses off to get in front of listeners just like you. A while back I hosted a Q&A via Reddit to find out how people discover new music. No big surprise, when one of the answers was YouTube. But I'm happy to say it was not within the top five! That tells me people are striking out on their own and discovering new ways to find *good* music. I would love to hear how you discover new music and what new bands you have recently discovered.
In the meantime, here are a handful of sexy indie bands you should scope out if you want to restore the sexy in your musical world.
The Monday Project
The Strypes
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Dead Sara
Omega Swan
Dorothy
Stereosparks
Black Sonic Revolver
Beware of Darkness
Darlia
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