It is kind of wonderful when a pop song can inspire enough discourse to fill a dissertation. “Sexercize” is a dubstep-influenced pop song with overtly sexual lyrics that walk the fine line between playful and sleazy. The fact that it was written by Sia Furler makes me imagine that she and Kylie were drinking wine one night and were inspired to do a raunchy 2014 version of Olivia Newton John’s “Physical” as it would be performed by Rihanna or Beyonce. Is it pop or is it porn? Listening to the lyrics and watching the second version of the video (a hard-R Cinemax lesbian version of the “Physical” video) leans it more to the porn direction. Yet, somehow it seems somewhat classy amongst its sleaze (like maybe porn made by women for women) and that might be because a 45 year-old pop artist performing this material comes off differently than a 20-something R&B singer would. Some might say that this song and video smacks of the same desperation of 2010s era Madonna, pushing sex and drug references that are neither edgy or cool but lame and out of touch, but since this is the first material of this type from Miss Minogue, she gets a pass. It would be quite interesting to see if “Sexercize” gets expanded into a full 45-minute workout a la the infamous Eric Prydz “Call On Me” workout, as it would work perfectly as a warm up for the athletic pole dancing classes that seem to be de rigeur at gyms around the country.
Image courtesy of Parlophone and Roc Nation.