SEX MUSIC FOR SEX PEOPLE

Porno isn't what it used to be. While the overall quality of adult films has been steadily declining since the advent of the VCR, the stigma of watching porn has largely evaporated. You don't have to be a dirty old man in a trench coat anymore to watch sex vids. The stars of adult video aren't as stigmatized either. Ron Jeremy pops up fairly regularly as a character actor in mainstream film. Traci Lords has done film and television work and reigning anal queen Alisha Klass has done straight film work and has a recurring role on cable TV.

There is nothing strange about sex and music being paired. Sex has always been lurking in the background or brazenly flashing it's wares. Disco diva Andrea True was the first big time  porn to mainstream crossover when she scored a hit single with "More, More, More"; Porn to Rock and Suck It and See are two recent releases celebrate the link between porn and music with varying degrees of success.

Porn to Rock is a compilation of tunes performed by real live porn stars. Anytime you have a compilation that is based on some shared characteristic (geography, political cause, record label), you're likely to come up with mixed results. The surprising thing about Porn to Rock is not that there are duff tracks, but how many are really pretty good. The first three tracks are great. 80's screen siren Madison kicks things off with a neo-psychadelic ramble called ";Man in the Moon"; Johnny Toxic steps up to let us know all the goofy things that make him glad on the ridiculously catchy ";Happy"; Then come what really should be the stripper's national anthem, ";5, 10, 15, 20";  This is Midori's hip hop tale of extracting cash from a club patron's wallet with titties and tease. It's absolutely true to the strip club screen and a good song too. Other highlights include "The Meat Song" by current roots rock diva (and former porn star) Candye Kane and the scatological swing of Vinnie Spit's ";Asshole Man"

As with most compilations, there are some poor selections and embarrassing moments.";Fight Back"; is a well meaning anti-censorship anthem, but Hyapatia Lee has better songs recorded. Ginger Lynn's ";Fantasy World"; is exactly the sort of light weight ear candy you'd expect under the opening credits to a porn video and Geoffrey Karen Dior's ";Little Red Riding Hood"; is just plain awful. I'd be interested in hearing more from several of these artists. Hell, I already have CD's by Candye Kane and Hyapatia Lee.

Suck It And See is something entirely different. The English electronica label, Pussyfoot scored big with their spy themed Pussy Galore compilation. After you've raked over and remade the likes of James Bond, it's not that big a jump to pornography. With sex on their minds, the roster of Pussyfoot artists turned their attention to creating a soundtrack suitable for a Seka extravaganza.

Suck It and See is amazingly cohesive for a multi-artist compilation. The overall feel is laid back lounge exotica. Most of the artists decided to go down easy with slow burning electo-funk sounds. Love TKO set the mood with their sensual instrumental "Love Thong"; Much of what follows is ideal make out music for the 90's. But just as not all pornography is couples friendly, there are a few tracks that get pretty freaky.

Three Wheels Out contribute a compelling slice of NYC street life in ";Live form the Clermont Lounge"; The street walker narrator is straight out of ";Street Hassle";; a hooker who specializes in rough trade. The song ends on a false note with our heroine announcing she's staring in a snuff film.  Naked Funk's "; Jenny Cum Lately"t; takes us a little too far into the world of phone sex. It's the sort of thing that's amusing once, but doesn't hold up to repeated listening.

Palm Pictures has released Suck It and See in both standard CD and DVD formats. The DVD version includes a 30 minutes erotic fantasy built around several of the CD's tracks. The story is presented without dialogue, but is more inventive and entertaining than 90% of mainline porno put out these days. The movie follows a young woman through a night of sexual adventures in London town while she is stalked by an older man enraptured by her beauty. Our heroine has erotic encounters in a limo, a stream bath, at a party and on an airplane. Her stalker (It's not really fair to call him a stalker. He means no harm. He just wants to get laid.) follows and observes from a distance. He comes close to making contact once, but settles for a joyless encounter with a street walker instead.

As I said, this short film is more erotic than most of the hardcore features that are being released these days. The photography is sharp and the settings are sensual. The sex is soft core, yet it still generates a good deal of heat. The story lacks dialogue but has a clear and (somewhat) realistic plot. The only adult film producer to lavish this kind of attention to his work in recent years is Andrew Blake, and even he isn't able to put as much life into his work as the director of this video. I rather wish that the folks at Pussyfoot and Palm Pictures would go all the way and make a hardcore version of Suck It and See. Then they would really have a tribute to pornography.