The perfect song for seduction

It’s an intricate and delicate web spun by the protagonist, who needs all the tricks of the trade available. 

It’s a two way game – in its best form, you are never quite sure who is doing the seducing and who is getting seduced. 

According to American author Robert Greene, who wrote the bestseller The Art of Seduction (Profile Books, 2001), there are nine types of seducers, including The Siren, The Dandy and The Charismatic. 

He highlights classic cases involving figures like Duke Ellington, Giacomo Casanova, Cleopatra, and John F Kennedy. Naturally, he also examines the other party, who may not be as innocent as they appear. 

Whichever category you belong to, you are going to need the perfect song, which, as we all know, can make or break the seduction cycle. 

The wrong song means the end of the game. 

For this episode of The Perfect Song For..., journalists and writers Fred de Vries and Tim Cohen are joined by musician Gary Rathbone to discuss the finer details of songs of seduction, the perfect prelude to what’s to come. 

Gary has just released a new album, Mr Opportunity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=det5x5U_P3I&list=OLAK5uy_kb5H3062nZlHTX8ArzBbFneejwY0bAe5c&index=1

Our nine choices for this intimate and essential part of courtship are:

Wicked Game – Chris Isaak 

Lover’s Rock – The Clash

Je t’aime... moi non plus – Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin

Wild is the Wind – David Bowie 

Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne – Suicide 

Dirty Diesel – Paul Westerberg

Body Language – Isaac Hayes

Nights in White Satin – The Moody Blues 

Your Love Is King – Sade. DM

You can listen and subscribe to ThePerfectSongFor … podcast about the perfect song on Apple podcasts, Spotify and iono. Full versions of the songs are in Spotify and Apple playlists; [email protected]

Contact the hosts of the podcast or email us your suggestions and alternatives at [email protected] 

You can also follow the hosts on X: @perfectsongfor Insta: #perfectsongfor 

Tim Cohen is the business editor of Daily Maverick. Fred de Vries is an author, writer, journalist and South Africa correspondent for Elsevier Magazine and De Groene Amsterdammer. He writes regular music columns for Platenblad in the Netherlands and Vrye Weekblad in South Africa.