Song #765: "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred

Date: Feb 8, 1992
Weeks: 3

This song has always given me a good laugh. I was shocked a while ago when I read someone call this song "unintentionally hilarious." I'm pretty sure with lines like "I'm too sexy for my cat," there's nothing unintentional about it. This is a novelty song. It's a bit of satire. It imagines the world from the point of view of a self-absorbed male model and has a bit of fun with it.

All parts of this song work together to create an enjoyable comedy song. The singer's deep, gravelly voice strains on the verses in a funny way. But he sings the chorus relatively straight, preventing the funny singing from turning annoying.

The dance beat pops and is hard to resist dancing to. The music builds, adding more elements through each verse until it gets to the chorus and all the elements gather and have a little party. I really like the bass line. It shines during the verses when it's left alone with the drums and vocals, but it's the backbone of the whole song. I also really like the guitar interstitial between verses. Apparently it's taken from a Jimi Hendrix song, so there's only so much credit this song deserves for the guitar part. But still, it's employed well.

Should I even get into the lyrics? They're funny. Like the music, they build. First he's too sexy for his shirt, and you're not sure if he's kidding. Then it's fashion cities, a party, his car, his hat, his cat, and his love. Each item he's too sexy for gets gradually more ridiculous. How can you be too sexy for a cat? What does being "too sexy for my love" even mean? And the capstone joke is that he's too sexy for the song, at which point the song abruptly ends. That's funny.

If the lyrics have a weakness, it's the line "you know what I mean?" It's filler. That may not have been the right space for another joke, but something a little less generic there would have been nicer.

My verdict: Like it. It's funny and you can dance to it.