Upon viewing any given Pure Pop employee one might not immediately think of passion or virility. Suspend your disbelief for a moment and accept that we’ve all enjoyed a tender moment or two. The following list are albums we like to set the tone, enhance the mood or stave the inevitable disappointment we inspire.
Herb: Roxy Music – Avalon: The final album of Roxy Music’s career (provided they never release the reunion album they’ve been threatening us with for the last five years) is an interesting beast. It’s sort of the illogical successor to their previous two efforts. All three represent Roxy’s abandoning of the art-rock grandeur of their earlier albums for sheeny synth-pop. However, while Manifesto and Flesh + Blood are playful and aloof, Avalon is drenched in emotion and sincerity. To be honest, it first occurred to me to put it on during an intimate moment when I read a review that described the album as “yuppie make-out music”. The next rare chance I had to try it out for myself, something clicked and I’ve since alienated a handful of women with this sensuous sonic souflee.
Matt – DJ Funk – Booty House Anthems: DJ Funk is criminally written off as a novelty artist in many circles, partly because of the themes contained in his music but more so because the man is a genre unto himself. Ghetto house may be comparable to similar genre hybrids, but it is unique nonetheless. It also primal and sexually charged, the perfect companion to rapturous relations.
Brandon - Dave Matthews Band-Crash – To be fair, I don’t really need a full-length album for making love. A thirty-second itunes song preview is sufficient, but if pressed, as I am, I’d have to go with DMB’s 1996 masterpiece Crash. Rich in moments that are both tender and exuberant, this album evokes the kind of love-making I aspire to, as opposed my irregular rituals of humiliation.
Mike Breiner — Since i never can find my “Is It All Over My Face? / Why Don’t We Do it in the Road? / Love Comes in Spurts / Too Many Creeps / Pump It Up / What Does Sex Mean To Me?” mix in time, any ambient wallpaper disc or open will do.
Amy — Lil’ Kim – The Notorious K.I.M. Talk about one bad-azz freaky lady! This album is full of provocative and explicit pornographic lyrics that create an attitude rather than an atmosphere. Once those beats start bumpin’ there is no turning back, you know you’re in for a “wild” ride. Track #2, “Custom Made”, is always a good one for getting those creative juices flowing. Lil’ Kim truly is the “Queen Bee” of setting the mood.
Tanner – M83 – Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts - This is the soundtrack to really epic sex – as a skilled and multi-faceted maker of love, i need music accompanyment that at points matches the grand, arcing crescendos of my craft, and then in a turn, plays like a quiet supporting soundtrack to my more tender, (yet fierce!) emotionally vulnerable moments. And as an added bonus, after me and my lover have finished and returned from our trip around the sun, we can listen to this album again while watching Ladyhawke with the sound off. It sync’s up perfectly!
Mike Crandall – Van Morrison- Late 80s albums. First, this gets you away from the classic rock hits. Second, there is calm, warm spirituality to this period that can set the right mood but with enough jazzy pep at times that makes it not completely fade away. No Guru, No Method, No Teacher, very laid-back, would be a good choice or you could go with Avalon Sunset, which has a few big time love songs. Heck, go with Hymns to the Silence , that’s a double album. OR Sam Cooke “Night Beat”. One of my favorite albums of all time. This is his stripped down, late night album is fairly different and the most intimate outing of his career. The simple arrangements put his fantastic voice front and center where he belts out some great tunes about love and lost.
