1. Aah W Noss
I first heard Aah W Noss on a flight - and almost had to be chained down to my seat. You know that whole thing of “dancing being the vertical expression of a horizontal passion.” That quavering voice of longing like an aural bellydance. That infectious rhythm. Of course I had no clue what this Lebanese song was about until I got off the flight. Then I realised it’s a love song. Check out Nancy Ajram playing the ‘good girl’ - flirting, teasing, shy, coquette-ish, in the middle of humdrum chores like washing clothes. And drying them. Never has hanging laundry been such a turn-on!
2. Ma Tegi Hena
Ok, so now that you’ve seen Nancy Ajram play the good girl, watch her play the bad girl - full on and frontal. Welcome to Ma Tegi Hana, which reclaims every proud inch of what it means to be a ‘slut’ (and that word, despite the shaming, is not an insult, dear readers.). I take ‘slut’ as a full compliment since it’s all about owning your sexuality, revelling in it, using it, doing whatever you want with it. XXX. Love it all: the watermelons, the hairpin moment (a GIF in waiting), the mujra-style cash shower, the hokey plot, hot Arabic men, SexPower vs State power and an ending that’s both predictable and delightful.
3. Zingat
Again, this is one of those infectious ones - specially once the dhol (no autocomplete, not droll) kicks in. What abandon! What joy! What energy! What zing! What lyrics! I mean, how could you top “Aaga Dhinchyak Jorat Techno Varat Darat Aaloya”. And peeking out in little flashes from that heaving mass, that first flush of forbidden love, those looks, those moves meant only for each other, little private pleasures in large public spaces. Zingat reminds me of being a teenager, of the dizzyness of being in love for the first time. And that’s totally sexy.
4. Punjab
Ok, now I must change the mood of this playlist since I keep getting up and dancing after each song. Foot-tap Ban! So Punjab is a paradox: a song I love and a video I don't really like. There are two videos; neither of them do any justice to the song’s promise, although the black and white one's better ( bit.ly/2aTu28a ). The song’s all sensuous and trancy, but the video doesn’t lift us to the promised sitaron…it drops us to the ground. I can’t say I understand the Punjabi lyrics, but there’s something about this evocative melody - and that haunting voice - that sends me straight to heaven. Remember now, she said, wagging her finger: sexy’s a feeling.
5. The Masochism Tango
As part of the self-imposed Foottap Ban, one more detour from the dance floor. So this is my favourite humorously sexy song, should such a category exist. Vivid, wicked, funny, it’s all about BDSM. And it’s all in the lyrics. Like these.
“Your eyes cast a spell that bewitches
The last time I needed 20 stitches
To sew up the gash you made with your lash
As we dance to the Masochism Tango.”
And Tom Lehrer’s charmingly camp performance is all about gentle sexiness, never mind the whips and lashes.
6. When Doves Cry
And it’s time to put those dancing shoes on - again. Coz it’s Prince. And it’s 1984, when doves cry. My classic all-time favourite seriously sexy song, if sexy is face and body and posture and relationship and emotion and pain and everything before and after, above and below.
These words “How can you just leave me standing? Alone in a world that's so cold?” have sent chills down my spine ever since I first heard them two decades back. And they always will.
Enjoy, people. #DanceFloorCalling.
If she wasn't writing, filming, and running a non-profit in Mumbai, Bishakha Datta (@busydot) would have been a DJ. #SomeDay
