<\/a><\/p>\n

Some might say that sex without love is like music without soul\u2026but what is sex without music?<\/p>\n

It seems natural enough that someone who obsesses about aural <\/em>pleasure and its many applications on the daily, would also wonder which sounds best suit oral <\/em>pleasu\u2013 you get the idea. But all puns aside: if I am to write about the personal, idiosyncratic links we have with specific music, how can I respectfully gloss over musica sexus? Which is fake Latin for \u201csex music.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a worthy genre, and not only for those of us who live our lives thinking up Top 10 lists for every possible occasion. I\u2019ve heard many say that they don\u2019t like to have sex to music; perhaps they don\u2019t think of it, find it distracting, or can\u2019t take the DJing pressure in such a moment. Others like my good friend Fletcher* say it \u201cfeels cheesy\u201d and that it was something he \u201cdid more in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n

And I hear that. High school was when you were still figuring out how to navigate the difficult, terrifying and oft-taboo world of sex. You had little to no prior experience, and most likely based your moves off of those you saw in movies. So you stood outside your love\u2019s window, goliath boom box foisted above your head blaring \u201cIn Your Eyes\u201d by Peter Gabriel. It worked so well for John Cusack in Say Anything<\/em><\/a>! Or perhaps you put on \u201cUnchained Melody\u201d by the Righteous Brothers after watching Ghost<\/em><\/a>. Maybe you even got out some clay and a pottery wheel. You didn\u2019t know any better!<\/p>\n

At the unromantic end of the spectrum, sex music was just practical back then. You needed something to mask the coital cacophony you and Kateigh were making from your unsuspecting mother down the hall. Sadly few New Yorkers have escaped this sound barrier reality, as playing music while boning is a frequent necessity when living with roommates. It doesn\u2019t actually work though.<\/p>\n

But I refuse to accept that shagging to a soundtrack is only for teens and broke city-dwellers. Despite how \u201ccheesy\u201d and juvenile some might find it, I\u2019m always down for some rock n\u2019 roll in the hay…provided it\u2019s awesome.<\/em><\/p>\n

The foreplaylists (sorry!) that have intrigued me the most came when I least expected them to. A personal favorite was when a nerdy, socially inept and tame lover put on \u201cGirl\u201d by Suicide right before he pounced on me. The sounds of \u201cding!\u201d abounded in my head as his points accrued for a) liking Suicide and b) knowing this particular song would light my fire. It\u2019s not the kind of ditty you would think to diddle to immediately, given its eerie, ominous tenor and bouts of murderous screaming \u2013 one might wait at least until the second Tinder date \u2013 but I loved it. That was probably the only good thing he did in the relationship, and I commend him for it.<\/p>\n