Various Artists: XXX: XXX: Music From Thinking XXX

By Andy Battaglia | January 10, 2005 | 6:00am

Music Reviews Music

Various Artists: XXX: XXX: Music From Thinking XXX

The soundtrack to a documentary and photo project about the porn industry, XXX: Music From Thinking XXX traffics in raunchy electro that makes a show of thinking itself sexy. That manifests in a lot of ways, but suffice to say that suggestiveness ranks low on a priority list displayed in flashing lights. Never one for subtlety, Peaches starts off with "AA XXX," a bristling electro track in which she expresses her desire for "the innocent type, deer in the headlights, rockin' me all night." She sounds more sensual and less antagonistic than usual, but she reverts to pure Peaches mode with the couplet "Licky licky, sucky sucky / Nobody here can tell me they don't want to fucky fucky." Canadian dance producer Tiga plays it closer to the vest with a simmering, syncopated cover of Nelly's "Hot In Herre," but it's just a matter of moments before the disc turns to ostensibly sexy subject matter that just isn't: In "Muscle Car," Mylo catalogues a panting call-out to the "Camaro, Chevelle, Camino, Daytona, Trans Am, Mustang, Charger, GTO."

XXX comes packaged with a series of photographs from Timothy Greenfield-Sanders' portfolio, showing porn stars clothed and nude in the same poses. (That's Jenna Jameson, looking droll and less than revved-up, on the cover.) The lack of sexiness in much of the music stems from the same sort of plain, literal nakedness slapped down in the pictures. It's hard to think of a less erotic vocal delivery than Princess Superstar going on and on about her "coochie coo" in an otherwise hot track by Felix Da Housecat. Goldfrapp's "Train" shows it up in evocative fashion by highlighting a singer who sounds like she's actually thinking about sex, instead of describing it as embarrassing and stupid. On their own, tracks like Xlover's "Lovesucker," Ladytron's "Sugar," and Heather Hunter's DJ Premier-produced "Freak Like Me" show forthright sex-talk in a revealing attitudinal light. In context, though, they sink in a soundtrack more likely to kindle a headache than a head-rush.