Saturday, March 19, 2011

78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, .03% carbon dioxide. In a word,

Brought to you by Kenny Powers
Air. The French electronic duo has brought us 6 albums (and more) of spaced out, trippy tunes about love, parties, and virgins, but I always find myself returning to their second LP, Moon Safari. The whole album is a must have, but it’s the standout track “Sexy Boy” that gets in your head and stays there. Maybe it’s the swampy, grinding synth beat. Maybe it’s the softly intoned chorus, repeating the title (sexy boy…) like a mantra. Maybe it’s the feeling you get while blasting the song on headphones, that you’re the man, and everybody better fucking know it.

The song has received recent attention (and some derision) for an Axe commercial featuring an ethereal choral version of the tune. Hearing an Air cover is the last thing you expect to hear during ESPN commercial breaks, much like the choir version of Radiohead’s “Creep”, made so famous by the various trailers for The Social Network trailers. Also like the choral version of Creep, the original feels more authentic as opposed to the manufactured, distant sound of the cover.

Embedded below is the music video, continuing the cartoon motif of Moon Safari’s album art, and proves to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek with the titular “Sexy Boy” being a t-shirt clad stuffed monkey. No one can resist his charms, and it’s just as hard to resist this song.


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