Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain once described Kelly and McKee as his "most favorite songwriters in the whole world".
The band released two singles, "Son of a Gun" and "Dying for It", prior to releasing an album. In 1989 they released their only album, Dum Dum, on the record label Rough Trade. Following the closing of the record label 53rd and 3rd, which they had originally signed to, the band broke up in 1990. However, they reunited later that year to open for Nirvana when they played in Edinburgh.
Though they were not widely known when the band existed, covers of their songs by Nirvana and Kurt Cobain's tendency to mention them as an influence brought exposure to the band. With their songs "Son of a Gun" and "Molly's Lips" covered on Nirvana's album Incesticide and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" covered as "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam" on MTV Unplugged in New York, the band gained a new audience from people who wanted to discover the bands that influenced Cobain (a similar situation happened to the band The Meat Puppets). Due to this new exposure, in 1992 Sub Pop released The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History, a compilation that contained The Vaselines' entire body of work on one album.
No longer together, members of the band moved on to new bands. Kelly went on to found the band Captain America (later renamed Eugenius). He currently performs solo. McKee founded the band Suckle and released her first solo album, Sunny Moon, in 2006.
In 2008, the band reformed and began to make sporadic appearences at festivals in the United Kingdom and the United States and various tours supporting Belle and Sebastian. The band will perform at the Belle and Sebastian's second Bowlie Weekender festival in December 2010.
In 2010, the band announced they would release their second album "Sex With An X" on September 14, 2010 on Sub Pop Records.
Sex Sux
The Vaselines Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Brought my two time in her slim virgin,
Father, Son and the Holy Ghost,
I'm the Sacred host, with the most.
I was born on Christmas day,
And all my people turned me away.
Borrow the life of the chosen son,
Doing the cross was not for me,
It's human life of chastity.
I was born on Christmas day,
And all my people turned me away.
Hey, hey, hey, hey.
I got one thing to say, sex suck amen!
The lyrics to The Vaselines's song Sex Sux are quite suggestive and irreverent, yet they can be interpreted in a number of ways. The first verse seems to reference a religious upbringing and the idea of original sin, but with a twist. The singer claims to have been conceived through an act of sin and to now embody the sacred host. This could suggest a blasphemous tone, as if the singer is mocking religious beliefs. However, the lyrics also seem to criticize the notion of sexual purity and the restrictions placed on human desire. By referring to himself as the Sacred host with the most, the singer could also be celebrating the joy of sexual pleasure, rather than denigrating religion.
The next verse further develops this theme by suggesting that the singer is an outcast from his community because of his sexual desires. He was born on Christmas day, a day of religious significance, but the people around him turned him away. There is a sense of alienation and self-righteousness in these lines, as if the singer is proud of his sexual proclivities and doesn't care what others think of him. The rest of the lyrics play on this idea, with the chorus repeating the line "sex suck amen" as if it were a mantra of liberation.
Overall, the lyrics to Sex Sux are open to interpretation, but they seem to be pushing back against the strictures of religion and society in general. There is a sense of rebellion and subversion, but also a celebration of the human body and its desires.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born up an original sin,
I was born with the taint of Adam and Eve's disobedience on me.
Brought my two time in her slim virgin,
I engaged in sexual activity with a woman who was still a virgin.
Father, Son and the Holy Ghost,
These are the three persons of the Trinity in Christian belief.
I'm the Sacred host, with the most.
I am the important person or thing in the situation that requires great respect.
I was born on Christmas day,
I was born on December 25th.
And all my people turned me away.
My family and friends abandoned me, possibly because of my questionable behavior or beliefs.
They said I'd be the one,
They believed I was destined for greatness or some kind of special purpose.
Borrow the life of the chosen son,
If he dies, I will take his place or do what he was supposed to do.
Doing the cross was not for me,
I am not interested in or capable of following the Christian path of sacrifice.
It's human life of chastity.
I prefer to live a celibate or morally pure lifestyle.
Hey, hey, hey, hey.
This is an exclamation or an attention grabber.
I got one thing to say, sex suck amen!
I believe that sex is a bad thing and should not be pursued, especially within the context of religious faith.
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FRANCES MCKEE, EUGENE KELLY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind