The band name is Portuguese for “Tired of Being Sexy” (taken from something Beyoncé once commented to the press: “I am tired of being sexy”).
The members are: Lovefoxxx (vocals), Luiza Sá (guitar, drums and keys), Ana Rezende (guitar and harmonica) and Carolina Parra (guitar and drums). Former members are Iracema Trevisan (bass) and Adriano Cintra (drums, guitar, vocals and production).
In an interview, guitarist/harmonica player Ana Rezende explains the band's name: "[...] we heard that Beyoncé had said that she was really tired of being sexy, which is a really retarded thing to say. It's like saying, "Oh, I'm tired of being rich." So "tired of being sexy" in Portuguese is cansei de ser sexy, so we put it on the flyer to promote the show that we were playing and we kind of got stuck with that name. It was just the stupidest name that we could have ever come up with, but it's funny and I love it. But sometimes people think that we're serious and we're tired of being recognized for our bodies or something like that, and it's nothing like that at all.."
CSS owes a lot of its success to word-of-mouth promotion on the internet, starting with the Trama Virtual website, a kind of Brazilian MySpace. A live performance in 2004 at Tim Festival on the same stage as 2 Many DJs and Kraftwerk increased their fanbase.
In 2005, they signed with Trama Virtual and in October of the same year their first album was released in Brazil.
At the beginning of 2006, CSS signed with Sub Pop to release their first international album and in July they made a thirty-gig tour through USA and Canada along with DJ Diplo and Bonde do Rolê.
The live performance CSS offers is uniquely energetic and entertaining. Lovefoxxx dodges among her bandmates and involves the audience in virtually every song. Sá, Cintra, and Parra switch instruments so often it's easy to forget where they started.
Tours of the US and Europe with Ladytron and Basement Jaxx in 2006 were followed by gigs in Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
In 2007 18 year old student and Apple fan Nick Haley created a home made iPod Touch commercial by piecing together various clips found at apple.com and adding the fast paced and catchy CSS song "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex" as the soundtrack.
After uploading the home made commercial to YouTube Haley was contacted by Apple agency TBWA/Chiat/Day who was allowed to create a TV commercial based on his original spot, claiming instant fame for the CSS tune as well as for the user generated commercial.
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MySpace
Knife
Cansei de Ser Sexy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I look in your eyes
With every blow
Comes another lie
You think it's alright
You think it's alright
You think it's alright
Can't you feel the knife?
Can't you feel the knife?
Can't you feel the knife?
Can't you feel the knife?
The lyrics to Knife by Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) explore the theme of deception in a relationship. The singer sings to their partner, telling them that every time they look into their eyes, they see another lie. The violence of the relationship is reflected in the repetition of the line "Can't you feel the knife?" The knife is a metaphor for the emotional pain and damage caused by the deceit in their relationship. Despite this, the partner seems to be in denial or accepting of the constant lies, as they repeatedly sing, "You think it's alright."
The song's lyrics are blunt and straightforward in their messaging. CSS does not romanticize the toxic nature of the relationship, instead choosing to provide honest commentary on the emotional toll inflicted upon the singer. The repetition of lyrics emphasises the feeling of being trapped and helpless in the face of the partner's deceit. This is exemplified in the chorus, where the repetition of "Can't you feel the knife?" becomes almost desperate.
Line by Line Meaning
I want you to know
I need you to understand something important
When I look in your eyes
When I see your face and emotions
With every blow
With every negative action towards me
Comes another lie
Brings another false statement
You think it's alright
You believe everything is okay
You think it's alright
You believe everything is okay
You think it's alright
You believe everything is okay
You think it's alright
You believe everything is okay
Can't you feel the knife?
Don't you sense the emotional pain that you're causing?
Can't you feel the knife?
Don't you sense the emotional pain that you're causing?
Can't you feel the knife?
Don't you sense the emotional pain that you're causing?
Can't you feel the knife?
Don't you sense the emotional pain that you're causing?
Contributed by Thomas G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@sarahl9398
Dude...my late teen years. Now I'm 30. Thank you CSS, rock on.
@massimocarta666
exactely the same!!! When we followed music on TV...
@coffeeinthenebula
Same. 31 and remember this loaded on my Zune.
@daisyrey98
Same now 29
@Jrloc1990
Same, now I’m 30. Saw this videos on rockamole
@raildopereira777
Same! 31 And remember this weird songs
@callmebee2133
This is nuts, this video was pre loaded on my Zune when I was an early teen. This had to be 13 or so years ago. I was obsessed with this music video, but after a few months my Zune crashed. I never knew the name of the song or the band and could never remember any lyrics.
It's been nearly 15 years. Every now and then I would try googling things, because all I could remember for sure was the paper ghost in the beginning. And I just now, after over a decade, finally found it. Crazy nostalgia happening to me right now.
@SarcasticElehctro
This song and red hot drops on the zune hit 😪❤️❤️
@EtheriumSky
Same! Had my zune forever ago with this pre-loaded, randomly and vaguely remembered it and now i'm here doing searches for "asian girl funny dancing backwards with paper cutouts music video" haha
@Born2DANCE93
I was looking for help on my css homework but I found this gem...