Dating Confessions by You "Callin' me baby when I'm trying to get over you doesn't help. I just don't have the heart to ask you to stop because my heart skips a little each time you say it to me."
DISPATCHES
posted 4/30/2009
30) Murray Lightburn
Back in 2001, before the internet's ubiquity had demolished music's international boundaries, there were still some bands you plain wouldn't hear about outside your country of origin. Murray Lightburn and The Dears were a Canadian micro-brew in the grand pub of rock, quietly hidden in the frozen north. It wasn't until 2003 that the world got its first full taste of Lightburn's savage crooning. Watching the man sing "We Can Have It" is equally heart-shattering and arousing. You can practically taste his voice. — J.C.
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29) Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe's "sexiness" has always been a topic of heated discussion. No one's disputing his musical genius (okay, we're sure someone, somewhere is). But his sex appeal might be an acquired taste; he doesn't always scream "healthy glow." But the man's got attitude and intelligence — and lips, and eyelashes — for miles. He can rock Blade Runner makeup. He can rock pants made out of duct tape, newsboy caps (plus Gwyneth) and even transform urinals into art. All of that, and he'll still croon softly and share a dollar-beer with you at a dive bar in Athens, where you can stare deeply into his soulful eyes and discuss the latest G4 summit. Sometimes a girl needs these things. — N.A.
28) Phil Lynott
Lessee, which of the following is unsexy: lonesome-cowboy groan? Sinuous bass-playing? Mixed-race heritage? (Irish mother, Brazilian father known only as "The Duke.") Lilting accent? Christ, Lynott has it all. (Then there's early death, which is a drag, but let's not pretend it isn't alluring.) The man had a knack for the ballad ("Running Back"), but to our minds, he was at his irresistible best rocking out tales of romantic losers, hucksters and vagabonds ("Waiting for an Alibi" et al.). Ask Zorro, Han Solo or the Sundance Kid: there are few men sexier than a desperado. — P.S.
27) Beck
Ah Beck, that wily, ingenious, busking Scientologist. Yes, he's fey enough to pick up and put in your pocket. You alternately want to brush his hair with one of those grade-school-picture-day black-plastic combs, or run your fingers over his sweet, sweet lips. (We bet they're chapped on occasion. All the more delicious.) He won us over by embracing his inner "Loser," but what keeps us coming back for more are his constant musical innovations. That the same man birthed "Sexx Laws" and "Sea Change," frankly, blows our minds. He's fearless in his self-expression, not to mention an excellent dancer. Tom Cruise could learn a thing or two. — N.A.
26) Sting
All the lute albums and bad jazz in the world couldn't strip the sexiness from the man who wrote "Message in a Bottle." This son-of-a-milkman not only convinced the entire world to address him by a verb, he also claimed he could make love for seven hours straight. Even after he admitted, "It's more like four hours of begging, then a movie and then dinner," we still thought, yeah, but it's probably the sexiest begging you could ever experience. Special props for still being married to the same woman, working to save the rainforests, and being able to hit the high notes at almost sixty. Even in under an hour, we know he could make us hit 'em. — N.A.
