Sadism and Masochism in Fiction - Music

Music

• "The Masochism Tango" (1959) by Tom Lehrer uses the powerful rhythm of tango music and iconic implements like castanets and roses to comedic effect.
• "Venus in Furs" (1966) by The Velvet Underground takes its title and subject matter from the 1870 novella of the same name by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. It is quite possibly the first pop song to detail an S&M encounter and relationship in explicit, unequivocal terms.
• "Little Toy Soldier" (1967) by David Bowie is an early, unreleased track which recites lyrics from the Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs" as part of its chorus; although the song's humorous treatment of S&M owes more to the cockeyed psychedelia of Syd Barrett.
• "I Wanna Be Your Dog" (1969), "Dirt" (1970) and "Gimme Danger" (1973) by The Stooges all clearly indicate powerful masochistic tendencies and behavior on the part of the singer, Iggy Pop.
• "Submission" (1976) by The Sex Pistols is a song which uses wordplay ("submission" as short for "submarine mission") to convey the ambiguities of an obsessive S&M relationship, albeit obliquely.
• "Whips & Furs" and "I Need a Slave" (both 1977) by The Vibrators are two classic London punk-era songs which address the topic of recreational S&M.
• "Bobby Brown" from 1979's Sheik Yerbouti by Frank Zappa is a narrative of a man who transforms from a misogynist teenager to a BDSM-practicing homosexual disc jockey after an unpleasant encounter from Freddie, a woman's rights activist.
• "Whip in My Valise" (1979) by Adam and the Ants expresses a fascination with S&M play in fairly explicit terms; many of Adam Ant's other early songs of the 1970s, such as "Rubber People", "B-Side Baby", "Ligotage" and "Beat My Guest", also describe similar kinds of sexual fetishes.
• "Melt!" (1982) by Siouxsie and the Banshees describes an intense romantic relationship in terms evocative of an S&M encounter.
• "Twisted Little Sister" (1983) & "The Whip" (1984) by Savatage
• "Master and Servant" (1984) by Depeche Mode
• "Pleasureslave" (1988) by Manowar
• "Bed of Nails" (1989) by Alice Cooper
• "Pretty Tied Up" (1991) by Guns N' Roses
• "Happiness in Slavery" (1992) by Nine Inch Nails takes its title and refrain from Jean Paulhan's preface to Story of O.
• "Dominated Love Slave" (1992) by Green Day, lyrics by Tré Cool, told from the point of view of a submissive masochist.
• "Fetish" and "Baby Blue" (both 1999) by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are two songs focused on this theme.
• The video for "Missile" (2004) by IAMX shows Chris Corner first bound-down to a chair and then handcuffed with leather straps while his ex-girlfriend Sue Denim acts as a dominatrix.
• "Ich Tu Dir Weh" (2009) by Rammstein contains fairly extreme examples of S&M, enough to get it banned from public display or sale to minors in Germany in November 2009 by the Federal Office for the Examination of Media Harmful to Young People (Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien). After a hearing, the ban was lifted in 2010. Several other songs by the band have also dealt with BDSM themes, such as "Feuerräder" and "Bück Dich".
• "S&M" (2011) by Rihanna from her album Loud.