By pejepeine
My chiffon is wet! Songs about perspiration
Laura Nyro’s Beads of Sweat starts with chilly beauty before heading into a bluesy work out that may reference native American sweatlodge rituals.
Van Morrison’s TB Sheets was zedded for illness yonks ago, but deserves another outing – a restless, yet implacable blues groove about the impatience, grief, anger and bewilderment of a young man (he was 21 when he wrote this) watching, and smelling, his girlfriend die slowly in a stifling room of a disease that was known as consumption because of how you sweated and coughed yourself away.
Jon Spencer’s Blue Explosion crank up the blues even harder and add a good dash of punk with the frantic Sweat.
Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog has nothing to do with black dogs or depression. It’s about getting all hot and bothered about a woman. It’s her fault, of course. I was surprised that this wasn’t zedded, but Robert Plant’s opening squeal is about the most famous intro that mentions sweat that exists.
I’ve never been quite convinced that James Brown’s Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag and Out of Sight marked the birth of funk. They still sounded like R&B songs to me. There’s no doubt with Cold Sweat, though. Apparently inspired by Miles Davis’s So What, this was the first of dozens of rolling, repetitive funk grooves split over two sides of a 45, powered by Brown grunting, hollering, urging his musicians on and letting them take their turn in the spotlight – most notably for drum breaks. It galvanised black America, although critic Dave Marsh suggested that "the post-'Cold Sweat' de-emphasis of melody" was partly responsible for a "decline in the number of genuinely memorable songs" in the years since its release. I think the rise of hip-hop and dance music shows that Dave missed the point completely.
Sill the best sweater? Mr James Brown
In 2013, Daft Punk’s Lose Yourself to Dance was overshadowed by “sound of the summer” Get Lucky, but I think it’s a far more glorious disco anthem – with Nile Rodgers providing the best Chic groove of the century and a spiralling vocoder chant that’s dancefloor magic.
Alewya’s Sweating is about the sweatiest video we’ll see here today. It’s also a great tune, with that sparse trap sound.
Prince keeps it sparse with his 2006 single Black Sweat, and a video that reminds us that he was a funny guy, too. What a loss.
Basement Jaxx have already worked up a proper lather before they unleash Roxanne Shante for a too-brief bout on Make Me Sweat.
The 80s were a pretty sweaty decade: leg warmers and workouts and synths as chilly as aircon on sweaty skin. 40 years after, Findlay revisits that sound on this year’s single Night Sweats.
Bad Bunny and J Balvin are absolutely immense in Latin America, and I hear them all the time here in the Canaries. They’re equally hated by millions, but La Cancion, in which a certain song reminds Bunny of loads of sweaty sex, sounds great in the car late at night.
Dana Bryant was one of the early stars of the slam rap scene in the 90s, with a style that was clearly a big influence on Jill Scott. Heat is typical of that sensual, observational style, as she meticulously describes the sweat trickling down the cleavage of an elderly woman at church. There’s an instrumental version, but I prefer the sparse conga accompaniment, which lets the voice and words flow.
The A-List Playlist:
Laura Nyro – Beads of Sweat (megadom)
Van Morrison – T B Sheets (Marconius7)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Sweat (Traktor Albatrost)
Led Zeppelin – Black Dog (Maki)
James Brown – Cold Sweat (Nicko)
Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams – Lose Yourself to Dance (Fred Erickson)
Alewya – Sweating (Marconius7)
Prince – Black Sweat (happyclapper)
Basement Jaxx feat Roxanne Shante – Make Me Sweat (Uncleben)
Findley – Night Sweats (JamesOwen475)
Bad Bunny & J Balvin – La Cancion (magicman)
Dana Bryant – Heat (Nilpferd)
B-List Playlist:
Robin Kester – Sweat & Fright (severin)
Yello – Desire (shoegazer)
Bruce Springsteen – I’m On Fire (megadom)
The The – Slow Train to Dawn (VanWolf2)
The Fall – Container Drivers (Uncleben)
Ace Marino – Muscle Beach (Suzi)
The Soul Lifters – Hot Funky & Sweaty (Loud Atlas)
Ohio Players – Sweat (Isabelle Forshaw)
Keith Sweat – Make You Sweat (Nicko)
Nelly – Hot in Herre (happyclapper)
C&C Music Factory – Gonna Make You Sweat (SweetHomeAlabama)
Ralphi Rosario – Sudando, Bailando (magicman)
Guru’s Sweaty Wildcard Picks:
Marcos Valle – Estrelar
“You have to run, you have to sweat, you have to work out… if you don’t shape up you have no place in the sun” – Valle’s wry look at the body fascism on Copacabana Beach .
Disco Tex & His Sex-o-Lettes – Get Dancin’
“My chiffon is wet, darling!”
Sweaty Performances Playlist:
From Neil Diamond’s sweaty pits, Aretha glowing righteously, Elvis and Joe Dolan melting and Iggy Pop uncharacteristically breaking out of his usual cool, unruffled performing style: here are the sweatiest vids that were nominated.
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Sweat bands: songs about perspiration. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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