Prince's sexiest songs, according to Har Mar Superstar
by Jade and Cecilia Johnson
April 19, 2017
Not only is R&B artist Har Mar Superstar well-known for shedding clothes on stage, he's a Minnesota native who regularly covers Prince's "When You Were Mine." He was born the same year Prince's debut album, For You, came out, and he grew up marveling at Prince's androgyny and crushing on Apollonia. Who better to curate a playlist of Prince's all-time sexiest songs?
Before the anniversary of Prince's passing, Har Mar told 89.3 The Current host Jade how and why he ended up choosing each of the 12 tracks on his playlist. Hear him talk about "Lady Cab Driver," "For You," and "When You Were Mine" above, and read his anecdotes about 11 of the 12 songs below.
"U Got The Look"
To me, the sexiest part of Prince -- or the most confusing part -- was when he came out in the '80s, his sexual ambiguity was really intriguing and amazing. He cut through the middle of pop culture and people didn't really question it that much. [Even] the person you'd think wouldn't be into this kind of music is in the middle of the dance floor getting down, too.
So I was thinking about his alter ego, "Camille," which is him as a woman. When he started to do "U Got The Look" with Sheena Easton, he teases his sped-up voice a little bit. I think he meant for this track to be Camille, but then he and Sheena Easton did it and made one of my favorite Prince jams of all time.
"Lady Cab Driver"
Jade: "Lady Cab Driver" is something that's so funny. How is that a sexy phrase? Yet Prince made it sexy.
Har Mar: Totally. It's sort of like that sexy cop fetish, where you can just make anything sexy by being like, "Hey, this is sexy now."
"When You Were Mine"
I love that song so much. We've been covering it for the last year on tour. There's something about the guitar tone that's plugged straight into the board without an amp that has always intrigued me. I love the vibe of it, and the lyrics kind of encapsulate people in their 20s. Or me in my 20s, I guess. [laughs]
But how you're all over the place, and you're attracted to some weird, freaky girls that you never thought you'd meet in your life, and you're trading clothes. Then all of a sudden, you're trading partners. And then you're confused because you're not sure where your love lies. Then you figure it out once it's taken away.
"For You"
I think [18-year-old Prince's] confidence is one of the sexiest things about him. Just imagine getting a record deal as a solo artist. As an 18-year-old out of Minneapolis. And releasing "For You" as the title track on the album. It's all just swirling a capella, and that's the most confident, sexy thing you could ever do. You're like, "I got this. I'm producing my own stuff. I'll let you know when I'm done, but this is going to be the first track."
"Kiss"
The obvious one. There's a hesitation, and it's something about the flutter of that guitar that's the ultimate call to arms at a party. When it comes on, everything stops.
"Sex Shooter"
Apollonia was one of my first crushes when I was little. I think I saw Purple Rain for the first time when I was seven or eight. Just seeing her rehearse that with Morris Day being a total driving jerk, there's something about that song that encapsulates my whole '80s experience.
It was a weird time -- it was almost repressed, but everything was kind of about sex. '80s movies and music and everything, and I think "Sex Shooter" encapsulates all of that with a young little Har Mar in training. That still strikes a chord with me.
"Gett Off"
That's a pretty obvious, bangin' track. The beat reminds me of the hottest day in the desert, just riding a camel.
"Darling Nikki"
"Darling Nikki" was the first one I put on this list. It's got castles and erotic toys and notes left when you're just left in a bed. Like, "Call me up whenever you wanna grind." I mean, c'mon. [laughs] Everything about this song -- the beat is pulsating, and maybe the doves are getting sexy here and they're not crying anymore.
"Dirty Mind"
When I was little and saw the artwork for Dirty Mind -- it's just a full-out poster of him in front of a dirty mattress spring in some panties, looking like some sort of a centaur. His hair was a mane -- I was like, "Is this a human? I love this person."
"Dirty Mind" has a lot of special memories for me, because when I was recording my album The Handler, we got Michael Bland, who was in New Power Generation and is still around town producing, playing, [and] being an amazing, amazing musician, in the studio to play drums on a lot of it. He and I and John Fields were just messing around, and we were like, "Let's do a cover of 'Dirty Mind.' But Michael, you're going to play every instrument." He just sat on the couch, and everything just came together.
"I Would Die 4 U"
For this, we're going to go with a classic Purple Rain cut: "I Would Die 4 U." It's all energy. It's all passion. It's all straight-up "I need you."
"Nothing Compares 2 U" (Sinéad O'Connor version)
And then we're going to go to the other side: the despair of missing you. We're going to do the Sinéad O'Connor version, because it's the most powerful one that I know, still. I've listened to a bunch, and this one still slays me. This one is the one that, the weeks and months after his death, any time I'd hear this or "Purple Rain," it'd be a waterfall of tears.
Prince's Sexiest Songs
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