At first, you’ll need a funky drum rhythm. Then add a crunchy bassline. But most important of all, you will need some tasty wah-wah sounds coming from the electric guitar. That’s the sound of porn movies coming from the 70’s, which remains endearing by its cheesiness, its take-those-bell-bottoms-off feel. Ron Jeremy’s Deep Throat (1972) was highly responsible for the funk-porn association made by the general public.
That Wakka-Chikka-Wakka-Chikka is easily recognizable, and brings sensual moves to one’s mind. But how much of this music was actually in the movie repertoire? Why do we remember sex poses from that old 80’s flick airing on late-night TV, but are unable to remember any of the music of that era? Finally, why isn’t there music at all in porn now? Going deeper into the history of porn music answers this, and much more.
Optional listening: a playlist of 70’s porn music by Ron Jeremy
Truly, 70’s slow funk in porn movies was indeed very popular at the time. While the nudge-wink, jolly aspect of the music from that era might seem to have a satirical character today, let’s remember that those were different times - times of elaborate plots (at least compared to modern standards), dialogues and excitement for a new, open approach to sexuality initialized by the countercultural, ‘hippie’ movement.
The questioning of established social norms by the young baby-boomers not only affected what was happening in Woodstock’s lower field, but also what was being produced by the porn industry. However, a closer look to 70’s pornographic movies also reveal long-haired brunettes rocking to some gypsy swing and other curiously chosen genres. This open-minded and more scenario-based approach demanded more varied musical choices.
The pornographic industry saw important changes during the 80’s. The handheld camera, or POV as we now know it, emerged as a more amateur, in-your-face style. Meanwhile, the ubiquitous use of the synthesizer paved the way to synth pop, prog rock, EDM, and more. Given the small budgets allocated to porn soundtrack composers (who were sometimes offered merchandise in exchange for their compositions), the music is, well, pretty terrible.
Nothing negative here, as some may argue that the tasteless, cringy ballads accompanied by a classic saxophone or guitar solo is exactly what is needed in order to focus on the essential elements of the movie. It also leaves plenty of space for female actress vocalisations. The diminished role of music in 80’s porn movies shows a different way of consuming pornography: a monotonous, bland soundtrack for a physical, instinctive, lonely wank. Contrastingly, a curious amount of footage coming from Europe at that time appears to have teutonic, German marching band melodies as soundtracks. Make your own conclusions…
Since the 80’s, the music from pornographic movies has gone on a downward slope, along with dialogues and plot complexity. The concept of a filmed narrative involving shared pleasure among somewhat emotionally-connected individuals slowly evolved to a more male-centric, colder form of theatrical copulation. The internet age accelerated the process, promoting instant and direct access to visual sex (please finish reading before moving on to other forms of entertainment).
Nowadays, music is seldom found in porn, but porn is well integrated into music videos. The rise of the music video industry since the 80’s has embraced sex as part of the visual representation of music, also called soft porn. No need for examples, you’ve probably already watched Nikki Minaj or Miley Cyrus’ videoclips (nothing new here, Madonna and Britney were on it a while ago). Finally, hip hop brought the two industries even closer. Tupac, Eminem, 50 cent, Fat Joe, and Tyga all included pornstars in their music videos. 2 Chainz even has a pornhub.com ad in “bands to make her dance.”
More porn in music, and less music in porn. Is sex an instrument in and of itself?
