CSS, Cansei de Ser Sexy

You can’t say CSS sucks, because they’re way ahead of you. Track number one of their self-titled album is, in fact, “CSS Suxxx.” I’m not sure if “suxx” is the same as “sucks,” but let’s say that it is. It’s the cleverest thing on the album.

CSS stands for “Cansei de Ser Sexy,” which apparently means “tired of being sexy” in Portuguese (and also happens to be the title of their debut full-length). You see, CSS are from Brazil, where sexy is the thing, and they are young rebels. They are so rebellious, they don’t even sing in Portuguese, because it sounds too pretty. Or so they say.

And yet, some song titles include “Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex” and “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above.” All this from a singer who calls herself “Lovefoxx.” So are they tired of being sexy or not? Is that irony? I’m confused.

Lovefoxx’s real name is Luisa Matsushita and she is Japanese-Brazilian. Did you know that there are 1.5 million Brazilians of Japanese ancestry? Early in the 20th century a labor shortage in Brazil and bad conditions in parts of Japan resulted in mass migration. I am sort of fascinated by the possibilities of the kind of music that would come from two cultures as different as those of Japan and Brazil. And so what does the Japanese-Brazilian Lovefoxx come up with? Well, nothing special.

In fact, there is really very little to distinguish CSS from the raft of young bands that are discovering ’80s New Wave for the first time: The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, The Killers… I could go on. There’s very little to distinguish CSS, that is, unless you listen to their lyrics.

Now I know maybe English isn’t their native tongue, but really, these lyrics are especially adolescent. They have a song called “Off the Hook.” Folks, it’s always a bad idea to appropriate a buzz phrase — you might as well call your song “Whazzuuuup.” There’s more: how about “Fuckoff Is Not the Only Thing You Have to Show?” What does that mean? They just want to say “fuck off” a lot, don’t they? And don’t get me started on “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above.” Never mind the meaning of title, Lovefoxx can’t even get all the words in. “Let’s make love and listendeathfromabove” is what comes out. But I’m sure that to some none of this matters. What’s important is that they’re cool, right?

My advice for CSS is this: drop the cool bullshit. It just leads you to be like everybody else. Why would I want to listen to you trying to sound like other bands? Don’t you have anything new to offer? Really? Don’t you? Stop trying to be what you think people want to hear. Every faddish music trend is littered with copycat bands that nobody remembers. On the other hand, everybody would remember something that fused Japanese and Brazilian cultures. Like a samba noise band or something. I don’t even know how that would work, but you, CSS, should figure it out.