By: Emma Jean, Staff Writer
Making yourself feel good can take many different forms. No matter what they are, having a slick, catchy soundtrack can make it even better. From strutting around the house in a new jacket to enjoying time as your own best sex partner, these danceable jams are all you need to feel sexy.
A sleek, danceable ode to owning your own pleasure; no one does sexy bops like Beyoncé. Her sultry vocals over Pharrell-produced guitar licks and grooves make for a song that’s just as good to dance to as it is to do. . . other things. With lyrics about getting your “Skittles” eaten, it’s also an all-time contender for the grooviest song about getting eaten out. No matter what this song inspires, you know it’ll be good.
The rhythmic beat and rising backup vocals dress this minimalist pop track, in which Betty’s growly and sometimes breathy vocals describe the sometimes complicated lengths she’ll go to satisfy herself. It feels like the more polished sibling of Florence + The Machine’s perennial banger “Bedroom Hymns,” but with a darker, poppier aura. To top it off, the steamy music video features two versions of the singer, one of who is literally seducing the other. If that isn’t self-love, I don’t know what is.
This growly, ominous track almost sounds like Prince wrote a Disney villain song. The title track from electro-rocker St. Vincent’s latest album is full of guitar shredding, synthesizers, and an overall feeling of both losing and gaining total control as St. Vincent yells “I don’t turn off what turns me on.” It’s a song that leans into an edgier side of self-love; just lip-sync along to the booming titular refrain to understand why. To quote Bill Hader in an immortal GIF, “Mark me down as scared and horny!”
It would be impossible to do a playlist like this and not include a track from the king of sexy jams himself. With the title standing for Dance Music Sex Romance, it’s hard not to get into the mood for one or all of those things while listening to this steady, slick synth marathon decorated with Prince’s rich, throwaway vocals. There are hundreds of articles about how sexy Prince songs are for a reason. Move your body to the beat as the High Priest of Funk intended.
“Make Me Feel” — Janelle Monáe
No one does electrifying jams like Janelle Monáe, but this one takes the cake. There’s not much to be said about this perfect banger, but it’s the ultimate way to feel cool as hell. The layered levels of keys, guitar riffs, and hushed vocals over a beat made up of Monáe’s own tongue clicks make for, as the song puts it, an “emotional sexual bender.” It’s a modern classic for a reason; let it take you away and see what it makes you feel.
