BDSM in music
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"I Wanna Be Your Dog" (1969) by The Stooges |
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There are several references to BDSM in music.
The Velvet Underground song "Venus in Furs" (from The Velvet Underground & Nico) is based on a book by Masoch of the same title; the name of the band itself comes from a book about paraphilias (including BDSM) in the United States.
Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" may be the most well-known popular song with BDSM connotations, primarily due to the music video. Adam Lambert's "For Your Entertainment," Puddle of Mudd's "Control," and Madonna's "Erotica" are explicitly from the dominant's point of view, whereas Lady Gaga's "Teeth" are written from the perspective of the submissive.
Jace Everett's "Bad Things" (theme song of the TV series True Blood) alludes to BDSM.
Industrial music in general likely has the most BDSM themes, as well as being one of the biggest influences on Rivethead fashion. Rammstein is one of those industrial bands, as their song "Ich Tu Dir Weh (I hurt you)" is about BDSM. Depeche Mode are known for their BDSM undertones, among their songs are "Master and Servant" as well as "In Your Room"
Other famous songs/bands with BDSM themes include:
- "Sex Dwarf" (1981) by Soft Cell
- Ellie Goulding "Love Me Like You Do"
- Adam and the Ants "Whip in My Valise"
- Green Day "Blood Sex and Booze" and "Dominated Love Slave"
- Nickelback "Figured You Out"
- Lords of Acid "The Power is mine", Strung Out "Ultimate Devotion"
- Nine Inch Nails "Closer" and "Sin"
- Rihanna's Loud album features an opening song called "S&M", which is about sadism and masochism as its name suggests and as the music video makes clear.
- Thin Lizzy's 1979 Album Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) included a song called "S&M" about a sadistic man.
- Guns 'n' Roses' Pretty Tied Up from the band's Use Your Illusion II album.
- That Dog "Gagged and Tied"
- Boondox "Freak Bitch"
- Ali Project "Hizamazuite Ashi o Oname"
- Blue Öyster Cult "Dominance and Submission"
- Blood on the Dance Floor "Call Me Master"
- Blood on the Dance Floor "Safe Word"
- William Control "Price We Pay"
- The Misfits "Devil's Whorehouse"
- The Plasmatics "Black Leather Monster" and "Sex Junkie"
- Frank Zappa "Carolina Hardcore Extacy"
- Spooncurve "Hurt me, I'm Yours"
- 2 Live Crew "S and M"
- Janet Jackson "Rope Burn" (The Velvet Rope, 1997)
In 2010 Christina Aguilera released her Bionic album which contains the single, "Not Myself Tonight". The controversial, high-concept video for the single is rife with aggressive BDSM imagery. Aguilera is seen as a bound and gagged slave as well as a latex-clad dominatrix with a riding crop and a group of look-alike slave girls.
Also released in 2010, rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars's music video for "Hurricane", directed by Jared Leto under his pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, includes elements of Bondage & Discipline, Dominance & Submission. Though initially banned from most networks due to violence and heavy sexual content, the video received three nominations at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Direction and Best Editing.
Songs about BDSM
Bad Girl (Avril Lavigne song), Bitte bitte, Blindfold Me, Bobby Brown (song), Bye Bye Baby (Madonna song), Chains (Nick Jonas song), Chelsea Girls (song), Cockiness (Love It), E-Girls Are Ruining My Life!, Erotica (song), Escapexstacy, Freak on a Leash, Freeek!, Hanky Panky (Madonna song), Happiness in Slavery, Hurts So Good, Ich tu dir weh, L'Histoire d'une fée, c'est..., Love Me Harder, Masochistic Beauty, Master and Servant, Memo from Turner, Mirrors (Natalia Kills song), Mr. Torture, Poison (Alice Cooper song), Poor Poor Pitiful Me, S&M (song), Strict Machine, Taken by a Stranger, Teeth (Lady Gaga song)
See also
- Sadism and masochism in fiction
- Sadomasochism
- Marquis de Sade in popular culture
- Sucker for Pain
- Now I Wanna Be Your Dog
- Nudity in music videos
- List of music videos with censored explicit content
- Nazi chic
