Is there anything more embarrassing, more cringe-inducing than someone trumpeting their supposed sexual prowess in public? Sure, everyone --- well, most --- in the music biz thinks they're sexy and attractive in one way or another, but most do not labour the fact. Some, like for instance Madonna, don't need to, letting their innate sexuality speak for itself. Others, like Nick Cave, give off a dark, smouldering sexuality that is more hinted at than pointed to. And still others just ignore it completely. Of course, many artistes trade on their sex appeal, or what they see as such, but none so much as the man they used to call “The Bod”.
Do ya think I'm sexy? (Rod Stewart) 1978
Of course, it's nothing compared to what goes on these days, but back in the late seventies this was seen as something of a risque song, with its tale of two people meeting in a nightclub, not looking for love but for sex. No real romantic intentions in the song, no idea of settling down and raising a family, or even of seeing each other again. It's a one-night stand, a simple shag, casual sex, and that in and of itself made it somewhat controversial when released. Didn't stop it getting to number one though! In fairness, it's a decent disco/pop song with one great Arabic-style keyboard hook and a cool sax solo, but has it stood the test of time?
Written by Rod and his old mate Carmine Appice, the song became a staple at Stewart's shows, and of course the initial meaning was subsumed as Rod used it as a vehicle to parade his sexual ego and strut his stuff on stage. The question became more about --- in fact, exclusively about --- Rod Stewart than the two protagonists in the song, and went from being a song about a fairly seedy assignation in the dark for mutual gratification, to a glorification of Rod's success with the ladies, and a measure of just how sexy he was. The trouble with a song like this is that it only really works when the singer is young, when he
is sexy. Back in '78 Rod was 33, so yeah, maybe he could have been considered attractive, powerful, magnetic. Sexy even. But it would be sad to watch him today, at age sixty-seven, struggling up and down the stage and still croaking out the same tired question.
I think there might be a different answer today...