“I’d like to request a song please.” “Go for it, any song you’d like.” “Okay, what about ‘Pink’ by Aerosmith?” “Not that song haha.”
I always knew it was dirty, but I never realized it was too dirty for radio. I guess it never occurred to me because I had been pulled more and more into the music over the years, the colorful ’97 innuendo trailing further behind the more I listened to it.
I love “Pink.” Go ahead, get down in the comments and make some crude remarks about me, but I do. If you get past the sexual lyrics (which are pretty brilliant in their own right), and dissect this single like a little froggy, it’s kind of the perfect rock song.
You hit play, the drums snap, and Steven Tyler whips into a buttery, bluesy harmonica feature that can only belong to “Pink.” In no time at all, and with very basic ingredients, Aerosmith has already pulled off a difficult feat. Right from the first few seconds, you know exactly what song is playing.
The intro builds to a filthy peak, and then it all strips down to Tyler’s vocals. As he sings of pink lips and pink crayons (connect the dots, you crazy kids), his characteristic pronunciation really stands out and adds to the sex appeal. For some reason, “queshun” is better than “question,” and “lovah” is hotter than “lover.” Don’t ask me why.
Tyler’s sharp inhales between verses perfectly accentuate Kramer’s expansive beat, which is almost begging everyone to stop and smell the roses. When you stack on the 60s-esque “ahh” backup vocals and jangly guitar parts, you actually feel like everything is going to be alright when he says it will be.
Nobody can keep a “yeah” going like Steven Tyler can. If you don’t know which one I’m talking about, take your little pink fingertips and slide that buffer to 2:49. He yells for a full seven seconds, and the drum build underneath is as stimulating as the lyrics are.
With brilliant dynamics, they echo the climax from the beginning by once again dipping down to a hush before the next verse. At that point, when he sings “I want to be your lover,” how can you turn him down?