Seeking dark, sexy rock music.

September 5, 2009 4:32 PM

Looking for rock music that has a dark, sexy edge to it.

The only thing that comes to mind at this moment is Queens of the Stone Age. I'm open to music from any time period, but primarily thinking modern rock.

Whole albums or individual songs are fine.

posted by hazyspring to media & arts (56 comments total)

Mazzy Star.
posted by dreamphone at 4:33 PM on September 5 [1 favorite]

Anything by Morphine. Damn, I miss Mark Sandman...
posted by gimli at 4:40 PM on September 5 [7 favorites]

Nthing Morphine.

Hmm, what else. Portishead. Nick Cave. Leonard Cohen. Jesus & Mary Chain.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:51 PM on September 5 [1 favorite]

You are looking for The Raveonettes, my friend.
posted by escabeche at 4:54 PM on September 5

The only thing that comes to mind at this moment is Queens of the Stone Age

Eagles of Death Metal, which features QotSA's Josh Homme, may be up your alley.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:00 PM on September 5

I would recommend "Neptune" by The Duke Spirit and "Baby 81" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. More dark and sweaty bedroom than sexy, necessarily...
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 5:03 PM on September 5

I second Raveonettes; sexy music and even sexier lyrics. Pretty in Black or Lust are both good albums.
posted by too bad you're not me at 5:05 PM on September 5

Oh man, I love this kinda stuff. I'll third the Raveonettes and also suggest Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, especially their first album, and the albums Vanishing Point and XTRMNTR by Primal Scream.
posted by ZaphodB at 5:07 PM on September 5

Lenny Kravitz
posted by hibbersk at 5:18 PM on September 5

Definitely Nick Cave. I'd submit Neko Case, TV on the Radio, and some Sonic Youth too.
posted by The Michael The at 5:20 PM on September 5

"Tear You Apart" by She Wants Revenge leaps to mind. Much of their stuff is in a similar vein, though perhaps not quite spot-on as that track.
posted by axiom at 5:23 PM on September 5

Placebo and the Dresden Dolls.

Nthing Morphine, Nick Cave, and Leonard Cohen.
posted by EvaDestruction at 5:24 PM on September 5

If you like QotSA, you'll probably like Kyuss, also featuring Josh Homme.
posted by Eumachia L F at 5:24 PM on September 5

Mind Science.
posted by bunnytricks at 5:29 PM on September 5

I'd suggest checking out Elysian Fields. The singer was in a project with Mike Patton called Lovage, which is more trip-hop than rock, but also definitely qualifies as dark-n-sexy.
posted by mannequito at 5:30 PM on September 5

Them Crooked Vultures (which is a trio of Josh Homme from QOTSA, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin)
Jane's Addiction
T. Rex
Love and Rockets
posted by The World Famous at 5:36 PM on September 5

The Rolling Stones
posted by philip-random at 5:37 PM on September 5

"Dogs of Lust" by The The; you'll probably like the rest of that album (Dusk) if you like that.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 5:54 PM on September 5

Seconding She Wants Revenge. Of their songs, I would also recommend "Out of Control", "Killing Time", "Written in Blood", and "Pretend the World has Ended".
posted by CrystalDave at 6:08 PM on September 5

Pulp. Anything by Pulp, especially "Underwear" though.
posted by drjimmy11 at 6:10 PM on September 5

CSS.
posted by fearthehat at 6:12 PM on September 5 [1 favorite]

Tindersticks
Bourbon Princess [ex-member(s) of Morphine, recommended above]
Jeff Buckley
Massive Attack
PJ Harvey
Roxy Music
posted by applemeat at 6:13 PM on September 5 [2 favorites]

i don't think you can beat this.
posted by msconduct at 6:20 PM on September 5

I'll go with Placebo and Evanescence.
posted by wackybrit at 6:23 PM on September 5

Heart. Magic Man. That song still makes my toes curl. YouTube, but the higher production value version from the album is better.
posted by nax at 6:28 PM on September 5 [1 favorite]

Go type Queens of the Stone Age into Pandora and see what happens. Train it to suggest things for you. It's why it's there.
posted by jeffamaphone at 6:36 PM on September 5

early Interpol. but they suck live...
posted by frankly mister at 6:40 PM on September 5

The Kills. I like to describe their sound as "sexual menace".
posted by strangecargo at 6:42 PM on September 5

Kind of obvious -- almost the prototype for this kind of music -- but in case you'd overlooked them, The Doors.
posted by ROTFL at 8:06 PM on September 5

Somethin' Hot, by the Afghan Whigs. (And I would have suggested The Dogs of Lust, as well!)
posted by theredpen at 8:20 PM on September 5

This Is Hardcore
posted by Bigfoot Mandala at 8:22 PM on September 5 [1 favorite]

Nthing Nick Cave/Birthday Party. The Cramps are dark and sexy. Not really QOTSA, though, are they? The Brian Jonestown Massacre and related bands/genre-mates (Warlocks, Black Angels, BRMC) have this "Keep Music Evil" thing. For that matter, I'll second early Rolling Stones, especially the Brian Jones-era. Try and find the songs Heavy Black Noise and Ain't No Sunshine by Sacred Miracle Cave.
posted by Bigfoot Mandala at 8:30 PM on September 5

Greg Dulli - his old band The Afghan Whigs (Gentleman still holds up pretty well) and his new band The Twilight Singers (who's "enjoy twilight" shirt I can't wear anymore because of a certain movie). Mmmmmm...Dulli
posted by monkey!knife!fight! at 9:26 PM on September 5

Neko Case
Bjork (especially Underworld remixes)
PJ Harvey
Belle & Sebastian
One Dove / Dot Allison
posted by KokuRyu at 9:44 PM on September 5

Ours! The guy is like the ghost of Jeff Buckley, but more raw.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 9:55 PM on September 5

Cowboy Junkies.
posted by dancestoblue at 10:24 PM on September 5

Definitely PJ Harvey: Long Snake Moan, The Letter, O Stella, A Perfect Day Elise, It's You
posted by dephlogisticated at 11:05 PM on September 5 [2 favorites]

Two Ton Boa.
posted by dacoit at 11:10 PM on September 5

Depeche Mode is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of dark and sexy, although they straddle a lot of genres and aren't precisely rock. Try these songs:

Only When I Lose Myself (strange, unrelated video accompanies it; sorry)
Corrupt
I Want It All
World in my Eyes
Shine
I Feel Loved
Dead of Night

There are tons more, really; most of their songs deal with love or sex (or drugs, couched in the language of love or sex), Dave Gahan's voice is deep and sexy and dark, and so is the music.
posted by Nattie at 11:54 PM on September 5

Nthing PJ Harvey.

JG Thirlwell's solo work. Foetus is a little too grindy.
posted by pxe2000 at 4:55 AM on September 6

Scott Walker may also fit the bill. He sounds more like traditional pop, which can be part of the appeal -- you're listening to what sounds like a Sinatra or a Tom Jones record, and then you stop and say "Did he just make reference to cunninglingus?" His cover of Jacques Brel's "Mathilde", just to whet your appetite.

While I wouldn't call all of the Walker Brothers' output dark and sexy, their final album, Nite Flights, could fit the bill. Here's the title track.
posted by pxe2000 at 5:23 AM on September 6 [1 favorite]

This may seem obvious to many, but no one has mentioned The Cure. Anything up through Wish should suffice.
posted by dortmunder at 6:01 AM on September 6

Thanks for all of the suggestions. You got me going in the right direction.

I will add the Black Keys, Attack & Release.
posted by hazyspring at 7:21 AM on September 6

Pleasure Forever.
posted by ubersturm at 8:08 AM on September 6

If you like the Raveonettes, try Suicide
posted by Midnight Rambler at 8:42 AM on September 6

I would suggest Bad Moon Rising, Sister, and Evol by Sonic Youth.
posted by elder18 at 9:25 AM on September 6

The Dead Weather!
posted by grateful at 9:52 AM on September 6

Bright Eyes - Lover I Don't Have To Love"

Lyrics:
Your hands on me; Pressing hard against your jeans
Your tongue in my mouth, trying to keep the words from coming out
You didn't care to know who else may have been you before

Depressing and sexy as hell.
posted by KateHasQuestions at 10:25 AM on September 6

Also check out Eric McFadden Trio
posted by polymath at 1:48 PM on September 6

Concrete Blond

Pretty and Twisted

16 Volt
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:33 PM on September 6

Take E.S. Posthumus for a spin. Especially Nara. They have samples at their website. In any case, Nara just exudes sex to me. Half their songs are a bit hard for sexy stuff, but the other half are perfect.

Man I love those boys!
posted by magnoliasouth at 11:04 PM on September 6

Seconding PJ Harvey, Eagles of Death Metal, Afghan Whigs, The Birthday Party/From Her To Eternity-era Nick Cave, Bad Moon Rising and Sister-era Sonic Youth, Lydia Lunch, and throwing in Ike Yard ("Cherish" and "Cherish 8" are phenomenally creepy songs with lyrics like "you're so young/you're so chic/then I touch your head/then we lay"), Section 25, The Stooges, Axxess and Ace-era Songs: Ohia, Ladytron, The Au Pairs, Blondie, Thalia Zedek, The Brian Jonestown Massacre ("Shortwave" is a good example). Maybe MX-80 too...

I don't know if this is too weird, but people sometimes mention the, ahem, possibilities with the right person when you put on a Big Black album. "Precious Thing" comes to mind, which is yeah, messed up.
posted by ifjuly at 10:37 AM on September 7

The Black Angels are great as well.
posted by jourman2 at 3:55 PM on September 7

Kings of Leon! Sex on Fire!
posted by kidsleepy at 6:40 PM on September 7

it's already buried in ifjuly's comment, but I'm going to go ahead and demand that you listen to Songs: Ohia's ridiculously titled Captain Badass, which I don't think it's an exaggeration to call the darkest, sexiest shit in the damn world

with the possible exception of early PJ Harvey
posted by skwt at 2:07 AM on September 8

some Dandy Warhols stuff.
posted by snofoam at 1:09 PM on September 8