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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Rat Is Dead
Cansei de Ser Sexy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Behind the door
She was sitting there crying
She smashed all the glasses on the mirror
Which was shattered all across the room?
She screamed so loud
In case she was laughing
It was so late
It was 4 a.m.
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
Up the stairs
By the bed
There was a dead man waiting
Waiting for someone to find him out
And bury him deep down the ground
He looked so scared
But now he's grateful
In the other side of town
A car drives fast
Hard to tell the fear of happiness
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
Rat is dead, rat is dead
Rat is dead, rat is dead
Rat is dead!
Up the stairs
Behind the door
She was sitting there crying
She smashed all the glasses on the mirror
Which was shattered all across the room?
She screamed so loud
In case she was laughing
And now there's no more reason for her to cry
It was so late
It was 4 a.m.
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again, girl
The lyrics to "Rat Is Dead" by Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) tell a story of a woman who has taken control of a situation in which she was previously victimized by a man who has "never hurt [her] again." The song opens with the woman crying as she smashes all the glasses on a mirror, which is now shattered all across the room. However, the lyrics later reveal that the reason for her crying was that she had finally taken control and gotten rid of the man who had previously caused her pain. The dead man in the bedroom waiting to be found represents the end of the abusive relationship and the beginning of a new life for this woman. The line "hard to tell the fear from happiness" suggests that while change can be scary, it can also bring joy and freedom.
The repeated phrase "rat is dead" symbolizes the end of the abusive relationship and the start of new beginnings. The lyrics "I know, I know, I know, I know, he will never hurt you again" reaffirms the woman's newfound power and control over her life. Despite the sadness of the opening lines, the song is ultimately a hopeful one, celebrating the woman's triumph over her abuser.
Overall, "Rat Is Dead" is a powerful anthem of empowerment for those who have overcome abuse. It speaks to the pain and difficulty involved in leaving an abusive relationship but ultimately portrays this as a courageous and necessary act. CSS's use of imagery and symbolism throughout the lyrics creates a vivid and poignant picture of the woman's journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Up the stairs
The singer describes walking up a staircase.
Behind the door
The singer has arrived at a specific location inside the house.
She was sitting there crying
The singer has come across a woman who is upset and emotional.
She smashed all the glasses on the mirror
The woman was so overwhelmed by her emotions that she broke all the glass on a nearby mirror.
Which was shattered all across the room?
The broken glass from the mirror is scattered throughout the room.
She screamed so loud
The woman let out a very loud cry.
In case she was laughing
The sound of her cry was so loud that it almost sounded like she was laughing.
And now there's no more reason for her to cry
The event that caused the woman to cry has been resolved or there is no longer a reason for her to cry.
It was so late
The time is very late at night, specifically 4 a.m.
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
The singer is reassuring the woman who was crying that she will not be hurt by the person who caused her pain again.
Up the stairs
The singer is again describing walking up a staircase.
By the bed
The singer has arrived at a specific location inside the house.
There was a dead man waiting
The singer has come across the body of a dead person.
Waiting for someone to find him out
The dead man had been waiting to be discovered by someone.
And bury him deep down the ground
The dead man needs to be buried properly.
He looked so scared
The expression on the dead man's face appeared to be one of fear.
But now he's grateful
Despite the look of fear on his face, the dead man is now at peace and grateful for his fate.
In the other side of town
The singer is now describing a different location from where the dead man was found.
A car drives fast
A car is speeding through this different location.
Hard to tell the fear of happiness
The singer is uncertain whether the occupants in the speeding car are experiencing fear or happiness.
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
The singer is again reassuring the woman who was crying that she will not be hurt again.
Rat is dead, rat is dead
Rat is dead, rat is dead
Rat is dead!
The singer is repeating a phrase that suggests the resolution or finality of a certain event.
Contributed by Wyatt D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jessicamelinda3791
Up the stairs
Behind the door
She was sitting there crying
She smashed all the glasses on the mirror
Which was shattered all across the room
She screamed so loud
Until she was laughing
Well now there's no more reasons for her to cry
It was so late it was 4AM
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
Up the stairs
By the bed
There was a dead man waiting
Waiting for someone to find him out
And bury him deep down the ground
He looked so scared
But not regretful
In the other side of town a car drives fast
Hard to tell fear from happiness
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
The rat is dead
The rat is dead
The rat is dead
The rat is dead
Up the stairs
Behind the door
She was sitting there crying
She smashed all the glasses on the mirror
Which was shattered all across the room
She screamed so loud
Until she was laughing
Well now there's no more reasons for her to cry
It was so late it was 4AM
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
I know, I know, I know, I know
He will never hurt you again
@hochimina89
Voltei aqui 15anos depois pra dizer que o ultimo show no Primavera Sound foi simplesmente a coisa mais incrível do ano. <3
@alexander_foster653
This song always relaxes me so much, brings me back to me being happy, nothing to worry about, no depression no panic attacks no anxiety, just me playing a video game :) no worry of nothing. Thank you <33
God wish I could go back, just driving my Evo Down the freeway :> midnight club will for ever be my fav game of all time❤️
@fernandoflack
Dude! LoL Hope you’re gonna be well soon! <3
@rafaelmartins9263
i feel you bro
@keith-leecastle6700
I cannot explain how much I still love this band. They always remind me of The B52s which is no bad thing.
@jeffelgunner
Saudades época boa da MTV Brasil 💗
@aokigahara5151
é uma vergonha elas não serem reconhecidas no seu próprio país
@aokigahara5151
vai ouvir restart. opa já acabaram. então vai ouvir sertanejo universitário
@dianabulcao3559
+Savio Dias putz sim </3 bizarro c vai em clipes antigos tipo alala pouquissimas visualizações e os comentarios sao mt ?? fjdsslfdssd
@P4ndaGamesBrNoCeuTemPao
Eu ainda me pergunto como ainda tá o rumo da Cansei de Ser Sexy :/