“Let’s Put the X in Sex” is widely regarded as one of the worst KISS songs ever. The title is stupid, the song simplistic and the video is derivative of videos by groups like Winger, Warrant, Ratt and Poison. It was released at a time when KISS were popular, but no longer ground breaking. Paul Stanley has famously said, “A trend is your friend,” and it was during the mid to late 80’s that the band were most definitely following the glam rock trends of the day.
On the surface, the song appears to be nothing more than a mild wordplay on the term “X”, as in X-Rated. It’s as if Paul is saying, “Let’s put the X-Rating in sex.” The song was released on the “Smashes, Thrashes and Hits” compilation alongside another new song titled, “Rock Hard”. That song had some of the worst KISS lyrics ever -no easy feat from the band who gave you, “Don’t need no doctor, putting me to bed / Give me the nurse and I’ll make sure that she’s fed.” But in “Rock Hard”, the band reaches an all time low when Paul sings, “You make me rock hard, baby all night / Love’s like a glove and it fits just right.” So it isn’t surprising that no one looked for a deeper meaning in, “Let’s Put the X in Sex”.
But let’s do just that.