No Sex for Ben
Encyclopedia
"No Sex for Ben" is a song by The Rapture
from the soundtrack
to the video game Grand Theft Auto IV
, and was featured in Rolling Stone
magazine's tracks of the year for 2008. The track was produced by hip hop producer Timbaland
.
aimed at one Ben Rymer, a DJ formerly of British electroclash
band Fat Truckers
, and a friend of the band's old bassist Matt Safer. The track aims to be humorously insulting, comparing the DJ at one point to "A poor man's Arthur Baker
". According to regular collaborator Ewan Pearson
, "It's basically Matty taking the piss out of Ben. I think when Ben first heard it he wasn't quite sure how to take it. Whether to take it as an enormous compliment or a terrible slur. Ben has a very Sheffield sense of humour which means that he takes the piss out of everybody so I think it was just Matty wanting to send a little bit back his way."
Musically, the track is similar to The Rapture's trademark sound, with additional flourishes, such as a human beatbox, coming from producer Timabaland's production.
of the same year. It was also featured in game on the radio station Radio Broker, a station featuring bands largely from the New York indie scene, including labelmates LCD Soundsystem
and !!!
.
The Rapture (band)
The Rapture is an Indie rock band based in New York City. The band mixes influences from many genres including post-punk, acid house, disco, electronica and rock, pioneering the post-punk revival genre...
from the soundtrack
The Music of Grand Theft Auto IV
The Music of Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 soundtrack packaged with the special edition of Grand Theft Auto IV. The disc contains several soundtrack selections from the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. The soundtrack features several genres, from gangsta rap to rock music and reggae. Several...
to the video game Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
, and was featured in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's tracks of the year for 2008. The track was produced by hip hop producer Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
.
Content
The song is an extended diss trackDiss track
A diss track or diss song is a song primarily intended to disparage or insult another person or group. While musical parodies and attacks have always existed, the trend became increasingly common in the hip hop genre as part of the hip hop rivalry phenomenon...
aimed at one Ben Rymer, a DJ formerly of British electroclash
Electroclash
Electroclash is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. It emerged in New York and Detroit in the later 1990s, pioneered by acts including I-F and those associated with Gerald Donald, and is associated with acts including Peaches, Adult, and Fischerspooner...
band Fat Truckers
Fat Truckers
The Fat Truckers were a British electroclash band from Sheffield, comprising Ben Rymer, Mark Hudson and Ross Orton and briefly augmented by Jason Buckle and Ginger Dave as a part-time members....
, and a friend of the band's old bassist Matt Safer. The track aims to be humorously insulting, comparing the DJ at one point to "A poor man's Arthur Baker
Arthur Baker (musician)
Arthur Baker is an American record producer and DJ best known for his work with hip hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Planet Patrol, and the British group New Order.-Early career:...
". According to regular collaborator Ewan Pearson
Ewan Pearson
Ewan Pearson is an English electronic music producer/remixer who works under various aliases including Maas, Sulky Pup, Villa America, World of Apples, and Dirtbox. He is also in Partial Arts with Al Usher. He has remixed for artists such as Cortney Tidwell, Seelenluft, Ladytron, Depeche Mode,...
, "It's basically Matty taking the piss out of Ben. I think when Ben first heard it he wasn't quite sure how to take it. Whether to take it as an enormous compliment or a terrible slur. Ben has a very Sheffield sense of humour which means that he takes the piss out of everybody so I think it was just Matty wanting to send a little bit back his way."
Musically, the track is similar to The Rapture's trademark sound, with additional flourishes, such as a human beatbox, coming from producer Timabaland's production.
Release
The track was released exclusively for the Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack, and is yet to feature on any Rapture album or release. As such, it was a fairly impressive achievement for it to have made number 26 on Rolling Stones "'Top 100 Tracks of 2008" list along with coming in at number 14 on the Triple J Hottest 100Triple J Hottest 100, 2008
The 2008 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on Australia Day, 26 January 2009. It was the sixteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station, Triple J....
of the same year. It was also featured in game on the radio station Radio Broker, a station featuring bands largely from the New York indie scene, including labelmates LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
and !!!
!!!
!!! is a dance-punk band that formed in Sacramento, California, in 1996. Members of !!! came from other local bands such as The Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Popesmashers...
.