Marcy Playground
Marcy Playground is an American alternative rock and post-grunge band. Named for the formative location in lead singer John Wozniak's childhood (the Marcy Open grade school in Minneapolis, Minnesota), Marcy Playground emerged in the late 90s. They had been influenced heavily by Kurt Cobain and his band Nirvana. The influence is quite clear on Marcy Playground's self-titled album, with songs like The Shadow of Seattle and Saint Joe On The School Bus. Read Full BioMarcy Playground is an American alternative rock and post-grunge band. Named for the formative location in lead singer John Wozniak's childhood (the Marcy Open grade school in Minneapolis, Minnesota), Marcy Playground emerged in the late 90s. They had been influenced heavily by Kurt Cobain and his band Nirvana. The influence is quite clear on Marcy Playground's self-titled album, with songs like The Shadow of Seattle and Saint Joe On The School Bus. Wozniak's first effort, Zog BogBean - From the Marcy Playground, was self-produced, recorded in his bedroom studio with some help from his then-girlfriend Sherry Fraser and her brother Scott in the early nineties. A small run of CDs were self-released by Wozniak, and to this day they remain extremely difficult to find.
In 1996, after attending the Evergreen State College for two years, Wozniak moved east to New York, where Marcy Playground began to coalesce around the songs that would become the self-titled album. Bassist Dylan Keefe and drummer Dan Rieser filled out the band's sound, and complemented Wozniak's songwriting. The self-titled album was released in 1997, and Marcy Playground emerged into the mainstream with the success of the single "Sex and Candy." Marcy Playground is quiet and minimalist in tone. Wozniak's songs run in many different styles: some are modern folk music; many have undertones reminiscent of children's songs; the blurred sound of psychedelia makes appearances; and then there are the songs with a clear rock sound. The only band member who contributed to all of the album was Wozniak himself; several others filled in for Rieser and Keefe on some of the songs, notably Jared Kotler (bass and drums).
Marcy Playground's next outing was 1999's Shapeshifter, not as much of a success commercially as the self-titled album.
A minor controversy came to light when Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers revealed on Marcy Playground's website forum that the cover art for Shapeshifter had originally been conceptualized and commissioned by Leary for his band's aborted After the Astronaut album. He admitted to being a fan of Marcy Playground, but accused the band of an apparent lack of imagination and originality. Leary's outrage was eased once he learned that Capitol Records, former home of the Butthole Surfers and then-current home of Marcy Playground, had pitched the artwork to Wozniak as original work from their own art department and that Marcy Playground had no knowledge of the work's origins. Upon learning the truth, Wozniak proclaimed that he was "honored" to have an album cover designed by Paul Leary. There were apparently no bad feelings between the bands once the controversy had been cleared up.
After Shapeshifter, drummer Dan Rieser left the band to pursue other interests. The position was eventually filled on his recommendation by Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera, a friend whose previous band Lincoln had opened for Marcy Playground.
After a considerable hiatus and at least one failed attempt to record a follow-up to Shapeshifter, Marcy Playground's third album, MP3, was finally released in 2004 with even less commercial success than the two preceding albums.
Marcy Playground did little if any touring in support of MP3. Despite releasing many singles, the band never matched the success of their single "Sex and Candy".
As of July 12'th 2008, John Wozniak posted a blog on MySpace stating his unreleased solo effort is now officially going to be a Marcy Playground record and is going to be released within the next few months along with a separate "Rarities and B-Sides" album. They are still performing live although to their many fans dismay, venues are sporadic. Meanwhile, Keefe has held the job of WNYC radio program On the Media's technical director, a position he left in December 2007.
In 1996, after attending the Evergreen State College for two years, Wozniak moved east to New York, where Marcy Playground began to coalesce around the songs that would become the self-titled album. Bassist Dylan Keefe and drummer Dan Rieser filled out the band's sound, and complemented Wozniak's songwriting. The self-titled album was released in 1997, and Marcy Playground emerged into the mainstream with the success of the single "Sex and Candy." Marcy Playground is quiet and minimalist in tone. Wozniak's songs run in many different styles: some are modern folk music; many have undertones reminiscent of children's songs; the blurred sound of psychedelia makes appearances; and then there are the songs with a clear rock sound. The only band member who contributed to all of the album was Wozniak himself; several others filled in for Rieser and Keefe on some of the songs, notably Jared Kotler (bass and drums).
Marcy Playground's next outing was 1999's Shapeshifter, not as much of a success commercially as the self-titled album.
A minor controversy came to light when Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers revealed on Marcy Playground's website forum that the cover art for Shapeshifter had originally been conceptualized and commissioned by Leary for his band's aborted After the Astronaut album. He admitted to being a fan of Marcy Playground, but accused the band of an apparent lack of imagination and originality. Leary's outrage was eased once he learned that Capitol Records, former home of the Butthole Surfers and then-current home of Marcy Playground, had pitched the artwork to Wozniak as original work from their own art department and that Marcy Playground had no knowledge of the work's origins. Upon learning the truth, Wozniak proclaimed that he was "honored" to have an album cover designed by Paul Leary. There were apparently no bad feelings between the bands once the controversy had been cleared up.
After Shapeshifter, drummer Dan Rieser left the band to pursue other interests. The position was eventually filled on his recommendation by Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera, a friend whose previous band Lincoln had opened for Marcy Playground.
After a considerable hiatus and at least one failed attempt to record a follow-up to Shapeshifter, Marcy Playground's third album, MP3, was finally released in 2004 with even less commercial success than the two preceding albums.
Marcy Playground did little if any touring in support of MP3. Despite releasing many singles, the band never matched the success of their single "Sex and Candy".
As of July 12'th 2008, John Wozniak posted a blog on MySpace stating his unreleased solo effort is now officially going to be a Marcy Playground record and is going to be released within the next few months along with a separate "Rarities and B-Sides" album. They are still performing live although to their many fans dismay, venues are sporadic. Meanwhile, Keefe has held the job of WNYC radio program On the Media's technical director, a position he left in December 2007.
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Sex and Candy
Marcy Playground Lyrics
Hangin' 'round downtown by myself
And I had so much time to sit and think about myself
And then there she was, like double cherry pie
Yeah, there she was
Like disco super-fly
I smell sex and candy here, mmm
Who's that lounging in my chair? Mmm
Who's that casting devious stares in my direction?
Mama, this surely is a dream, yeah
Yeah, mama, this surely is a dream, dig it
Hangin' 'round downtown by myself
And I've had too much caffeine, and I was thinkin' 'bout myself
And then there she was, in platform double suede
Yeah, there she was
Like disco lemonade
I smell sex and candy here, mmm
Who's that lounging in my chair? Mmm
Who's that casting devious stares in my direction?
Mama, this surely is a dream, yeah
Yeah, mama, this surely is a dream, dig it
Yeah, mama, this surely is a dream, yeah
I smell sex and candy here, mmm
Who's that lounging in my chair? Mmm
Who's that casting devious stares in my direction?
Mama, this surely is a dream, yeah
Yeah, mama, this surely is a dream, dig it
Yeah, mama, this surely is a dream, yeah
Yeah, mama, this must be my dream
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John K. Wozniak
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
xao xa0
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had so much time
To sit and think about myself
And then there she was
Like double cherry pie
Yeah there she was
Like disco superfly
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had too much caffeine
And I was thinkin' 'bout myself
And then there she was
In platform double suede
Yeah there she was
Like disco lemonade
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this must be my dream
Mitchell Brown
With images of "disco lemonade" and "double cherry pie," this is one of the more puzzling songs of the '90s, and according to Marcy Playground songwriter/lead singer John Wozniak, the song pulls many things from many places. In a Songfacts interview with John Wozniak, he explained: "Where did I get the 'sex and candy' part from? Well, I was dating a girl and she was going to Bryn Mawr College and it's where my dad teaches. And I was probably 17 or something like that and she was like 18. I always liked the older girls. (laughs) But we were in her dorm room, and her roommate came in and she saw us there, and she was like, 'Oh, it smells like sex and candy in here.' And I always remembered that. And that was back in the late '80s.
And then when I was writing the song and I was coming up with all these weird disco-era references that I was making up, 'platform double suede' and all that business, I was like, 'hey, let's just throw in that phrase that's been sticking in my head for the last five years or whatever.' So I wrote that song in '92, '93, somewhere around there. And it didn't really come out until '97. That song had been at least in my consciousness since the late '80s. At least with the concepts behind it.
But it's just about seeing some sexy girl and then falling in love, and then asking a dumb question to yourself... well, it's not even asking a question. It's just – I don't know!! I don't know. (laughing) I'm just gonna be straight up honest. I don't know. I'm telling you, when I was very young I experimented with drugs, but when I was writing these songs, I wasn't high. But it sounds like I was high."
According to Wozniak, even though there's a lot going on in this song, it took him only an hour to write.
Marcy Playground is named after the elementary school Wozniak attended in St. Paul, Minnessota, but the group formed in New York City in 1996. In 1997, they landed a deal with Capitol Records, which released their self-titled debut album. The first two singles were what Capitol thought were the most friendly tracks - "Poppies" and "Saint Joe On The School Bus" - but they were largely ignored. Some radio stations started playing the quirky album cut "Sex And Candy," so Capitol put that out as a single and it started a slow rise up the charts, reaching #8 on the Hot 100 in April 1998, over a year after the album came out. More impressively, it spent 15 weeks at #1 on the Modern Rock chart, a record at the time.
The next single, "Sherry Fraser," was a flop, frustrating the band because they were proud of the album and worried about becoming a one-hit wonder, which they did. Their next album, Shapeshifter in 1999, didn't trouble the charts and in the '00s they didn't fit in at all with the rap-rock and teen pop that was all the rage. Dropped from Columbia, they released albums in 2004, 2009, and 2012, and did occasional tours, often with other '90s bands.
Carlisle
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had so much time
To sit and think about myself
And then there she was
Like double cherry pie
Yeah there she was
Like disco superfly
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had too much caffeine
And I was thinkin' 'bout myself
And then there she was
In platform double suede
Yeah there she was
Like disco lemonade
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this must be my dream
Félix Thelmo Cevallos Morales
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had so much time
To sit and think about myself
And then there she was
Like double cherry pie
Yeah there she was
Like disco superfly
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had too much caffeine
And I was thinkin' 'bout myself
And then there she was
In platform double suede
Yeah there she was
Like disco lemonade
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this must be my dream
Traducir al español
Fuente: LyricFind
Compositores: John K. Wozniak
Letra de Sex and Candy © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, DistroKid
James Bond
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had so much time
To sit and think about myself
And then there she was
Like double cherry pie
Yeah there she was
Like disco superfly
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had too much caffeine
And I was thinkin' 'bout myself
And then there she was
In platform double suede
Yeah there she was
Like disco lemonade
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this must be my dream
Kk Westbury
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had so much time
To sit and think about myself
And then there she was
Like double cherry pie
Yeah there she was
Like disco superfly
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Hangin' round downtown by myself
And I had too much caffeine
And I was thinkin' 'bout myself
And then there she was
In platform double suede
Yeah there she was
Like disco lemonade
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting devious stares
In my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this must be my dream
Maria U
There's something about all these 90's songs, they can really take you to a whole other place and help you escape. They're deep. It was an honor to grow up in the 90's
Sophie Bliss
As someone who grew up alongside 90s music, totally. Since the 90s I've been listening to every decade's music since audio technology came out, and regularly interchanging each decade equally. No decade only has bad music or good music. 90s is just pure nostalgia for me, I become a kid again listening to 90s music. I keep finding myself having to go back and subscribe to the 90s bands because Youtube didn't exist then ^_^
Mark Stelle
That's what I'm here for
Priscilla Rodriguez
Absolutely agree🎉
chad Jones
Last great decade
eddie jackson
For real bro every time I listen to the song I always picture like a dingy basement with a guy doing heroin on the couch
Angela Vose
Still listening in 2022, and proud to say that I have passed the love of such great 90s music on to my kids...my teenagers love this song ❤❤
Priscilla Rodriguez
That’s gold af 🎉
Katie O
@Taylor Odonnell Oh my! "ma'am" you're adorable lol your father is raising you well!
Taylor Odonnell
Love people like you ma’am I’m 19 my fathers the reason I know music like this🙏🏼