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Tick Tick Bang: Five of The Sexiest Songs in Prince's Catalog
Tick Tick Bang: Five of The Sexiest Songs in Prince's Catalog

Tick Tick Bang: Five of The Sexiest Songs in Prince's Catalog

Tick Tick Bang: Five of The Sexiest Songs in Prince's Catalog

For his final list, Ben Greenman explores the raunchy and downright intoxicating side of Prince with five selections from the purple catalog that'll make you sweat. Greenman's new book 'Dig If U Will The Picture' is out now


1. “Head.” (1980)

One of the anchors of Dirty Mind, this is an early high-water mark for Prince. It tells a story (he waylays a bride on the way to her wedding and convinces her to, well, you see the title). It smashes together all kinds of elements (taut funk, strutting rock, spoken-word interludes) and somehow works. And there’s even irony: after his hedonistic interlude with the bride, Prince himself gets stuck in a monogamous relationship.

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2. “Jack U Off.” (1981)

Giddy, silly, right to the point, and exuberant, the closing track of Controversy doesn’t deal in subtlety—instead, it lists all the places where Prince would like to digitally satisfy (and then be satisfied by) his lover.

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3. “Little Red Corvette.” (1982)

First of all, what’s the title image, exactly? Is it phallic? But Prince is speaking to a woman, right? Whatever it is, she’s much too fast, and she should slow down, but he might not want her to slow down, because speeding up is what’s going to get him off. This is not only one of Prince’s best sex songs, but a perfect song, period.

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4. “Tick, Tick, Bang.” (1990)

It’s a minor song on a less-than-perfect album, and for that matter a song recovered from a much earlier version, but there’s something satisfyingly direct about the song. It was planned as a single and then withdrawn: talk about a tease.

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5. “Gett Off.” (1991)

There are many other songs in this song: pieces of earlier compositions and earlier ideas. But on its own, it’s a massive monument to horny thinking made even better by Prince’s performance of it during the MTV Music Awards, which included onstage fire, a simulated bacchanal, and assless pants.