The time has come to hold a referendum on the state of music; specifically, the presence of sex noises in music. This is a distinct and unusual trend in music production that has thrived uncurtailed for decades, multiplying like a cancer. From Naughty by Nature and Joan Jett to Tove Lo and Nelly, singers have been employing recordings of their own moaning, grunting, and squelching in their tracks for far too long. And somehow, whether it’s because sex noises can be ignored with strong willpower or because there’s a statistically significant group of people for whom this feature is actually a draw, the use of sex sounds has blossomed without consequence.
Selena Gomez’s “Bad Liar,” which features a whiny orgasmic noise in one of its chorus repeats, collected three major music award nominations; Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” was nominated for a Grammy; “Windowlicker” by Aphex Twin was New Musical Express (NME) Single of the Year; Nelly took home a Grammy and a Billboard award for “Hot in Here.” There are simply too many well-regarded songs to list here, but even these few can illustrate the epidemic nature of wailing sexually to a beat…