{{Short description|1997 single by Marcy Playground}} {{Good article}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}} {{Infobox song | name = Sex and Candy | cover = Scsingle.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Marcy Playground | album = Marcy Playground | B-side = * "The Angel of Forever Sleep" * "Memphis" | released = {{Start date|1997|9|15}} | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = * Post-grunge | length = 2:52 | label = Capitol | writer = John Wozniak | producer = * John Wozniak * Jim Sabella * Jared Kotler * Kenny Gioia | prev_title = Saint Joe on the School Bus | prev_year = 1997 | next_title = Sherry Fraser | next_year = 1998 | misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|-KT-r2vHeMM|"Sex and Candy"}}}} }} "'''Sex and Candy'''" is a song by American alternative rock group Marcy Playground, a single from their 1997 self-titled debut album. It is a post-grunge song with psychedelic elements. Lead singer John Wozniak was inspired to write the song after a woman told him that a room smelled like "sex and candy." The song's abstract lyrics refer to the disco era and include hippie lingo. In 1997, Wozniak said that "Sex and Candy" is an unorthodox love song; later, he said he does not know what the song means. It was released to radio on the week of September 15, 1997.
Music critics mostly praised the song. Some found it sensual; many compared it to the music of Nirvana. Some critics interpreted the track as a love song, and others thought its lyrics were nonsensical. Commercially, "Sex and Candy" peaked at number 2 on the Canadian ''RPM'' 100 Hit Tracks chart, number 8 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart, staying there for a then-record-setting 15 weeks. Worldwide, the single reached the top 20 in Australia, Iceland and Norway; it is the band's only hit song. A music video was directed and conceptualized by Jamie Caliri, depicting Wozniak's head protruding from a hole inside of a mountain and a crawling spider; it has been interpreted in Freudian terms and compared to the work of Salvador Dalí. "Sex and Candy" remains popular on rock radio and has been covered by Maroon 5 and Slothrust.
==Background== "Sex and Candy" stemmed from a moment in the late 1980s when John Wozniak, who had not yet started Marcy Playground, was in his girlfriend's dormitory at Bryn Mawr College, where his father taught.<ref name=high/> While he and his girlfriend were having sex in her dorm room, another young woman walked in following coitus interruptus. She said the room smelled like "sex and candy," a phrase that struck Wozniak as "weird and cool."<ref name=billboard/> Several years later, either in 1992 or 1993,<ref name=high/> Wozniak wrote the song in less than an hour<ref name=av/> in his bedroom at 4 a.m.<ref name=lovesong>{{cite web |work= MTV News |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/400091/marcy-playgrounds-wozniak-holds-virtual-chatfest/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111331/http://www.mtv.com/news/400091/marcy-playgrounds-wozniak-holds-virtual-chatfest/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= March 6, 2019 |last= Devenish |first= Colin |title=Marcy Playground's Wozniak Holds Virtual Chatfest |date= June 25, 1998 |access-date= March 5, 2019 }}</ref> In the song, he decided to combine the phrase "sex and candy" with "all these weird disco-era references that I was making up, 'platform double suede' and all that business".<ref name=high/> He also cited early grunge as an influence.<ref name=beatles/> According to MTV News, writing "Sex and Candy" was Wozniak's "first stab at coolness" following a childhood where he was isolated and often bullied.<ref>{{cite web |work= MTV News |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/1431675/marcy-playgrounds-lonely-minnesota-blues/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111334/http://www.mtv.com/news/1431675/marcy-playgrounds-lonely-minnesota-blues/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= March 6, 2019 |title=Marcy Playground's Lonely Minnesota Blues |date= November 24, 1997 |access-date= March 5, 2019 }}</ref> Wozniak also said that "If you listen to that song, it's pretty clear it wasn't written to be a hit. It's just a quirky little weird song."<ref name=nickelback>{{cite web |last= Kaufman |first= Gil |work= MTV News |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/1528431/where-ya-been-dream-wake-up-sex-burns-marcy-playground/ |title= Where Ya Been? Dream Wake Up, 'Sex' Burns Marcy Playground |date= April 11, 2006 |access-date= March 5, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181124054932/http://www.mtv.com/news/1528431/where-ya-been-dream-wake-up-sex-burns-marcy-playground/ |archive-date=November 24, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Wozniak's explanations of the song's meaning have changed. In a 1997 interview in ''Billboard'', he said it was a love song. While he enjoyed "classic" love songs by Cole Porter and The Beatles, he found most love songs that were on the radio during the 1980s formulaic and boring. Wozniak described "Sex and Candy" as his attempt to compose a love song which "didn't follow the typical formula, especially with the lyrics."<ref name=billboard>{{cite magazine |last=Bambarger |first=Bradley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7QkEAAAAMBAJ&q=marcy+playground+sex+and+candy&pg=PA87 |title=The Modern Age |magazine=Billboard |page=87 |date=November 8, 1997 |issn=0886-3032 |access-date=March 5, 2019}}</ref> When asked about the song's meaning in 2015, he said "It means so many different things, and so many different parts of it came from so many different places" before saying:<ref name=high>{{Cite web|first=Shawna|last=Ortega|title=Marcy Playground: Songwriter Interviews|url=https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/marcy-playground|work=Songfacts|date=August 27, 2015|access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref>
{{blockquote|... it's just about seeing some sexy girl and then falling in love, and then asking a dumb question to yourself … well, it's not even asking a question ... I'm just gonna be straight up honest. I don't know....when I was writing these songs, I wasn't high. But it sounds like I was high.}}
==Composition== [[File:Nirvana around 1992.jpg|thumb|220px|right|"Sex and Candy" was compared to the music of Nirvana (pictured).]] "Sex and Candy" is a post-grunge song<ref name=idolator>{{cite web|first=Mike|last=Wass|url=http://www.idolator.com/7533134/maroon-5-sex-candy-cover-marcy-playground?edge=1|title=Maroon 5 Covers Marcy Playground's '90s Classic "Sex And Candy": Listen To The 'V' Bonus Track|publisher=Idolator|date=August 28, 2014|access-date=March 5, 2019}}{{dead link|date=August 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> with elements of psychedelic music<ref name=beatles>{{cite web |work= MTV News |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/1495/marcy-playground-score-with-sex-and-candy/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044407/http://www.mtv.com/news/1495/marcy-playground-score-with-sex-and-candy/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= March 6, 2019 |last= Vena |first= Jon |title=Marcy Playground Score With 'Sex And Candy' |date= October 10, 1997 |access-date= March 4, 2019 }}</ref> that lasts for two minutes and fifty-two seconds.<ref name=allmusic> {{cite web |website=AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/sex-and-candy-mt0005498926 |title=Sex and Candy – Marcy Playground |access-date= March 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150805053457/http://www.allmusic.com/song/sex-and-candy-mt0005498926 |archive-date=August 5, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> It has a slow tempo, down-tempo chords,<ref name=beatles/><ref name=rs/> and "drawling" vocals from Wozniak.<ref name=billboard/> Its abstract lyrics reference "double cherry pie," "disco superfly," "disco lemonade" and "platform double-suede".<ref name=av/><ref name=paste/> The track's refrain is "I smell sex and candy."<ref name=wapo>{{cite news|last1=Joyce|first1=Mike|title=A Romp With Marcy Playground|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1999/11/03/a-romp-with-marcy-playground/ee0dfd31-0669-444b-bec4-d287f7580238/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 3, 1999|access-date=March 6, 2019}}</ref> Jon Vena of MTV News described the track as "radio-friendly".<ref name=beatles/> Nathan Smith of the ''Houston Press'' stated "Sex and Candy" was perfect crossover music, as its edgy, sexual lyrics were suitable for rock radio, while it was still "pussy enough for adult contemporary."<ref name=love/>
Several media outlets compared "Sex and Candy" to the work of Nirvana<ref name=av>{{cite web |work= The A.V. Club |url= https://www.avclub.com/with-sex-and-candy-marcy-playground-turned-disco-gib-1798276502 |last= Bayer |first= Jonah |title= With "Sex And Candy," Marcy Playground turned disco gibberish into alternative gold |date= February 9, 2015 |access-date= March 4, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170914094843/http://music.avclub.com/with-sex-and-candy-marcy-playground-turned-disco-gib-1798276502 |archive-date= September 14, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=beatles/><ref name=rs/><ref name=la/> with Jonah Bayer of ''The A.V. Club'' specifically likening it to the sound of that band's 1994 album ''MTV Unplugged in New York''.<ref name=av/> Dan Weiss of ''LA Weekly'' wrote "Sex and Candy" is the only song on ''Marcy Playground'' besides "Saint Joe on the School Bus" that resembles Nirvana's music.<ref name=la>{{cite news|title=The 20 Worst Albums of the '90s: The Complete List|url=https://www.laweekly.com/music/the-20-worst-albums-of-the-90s-the-complete-list-4167965|work=LA Weekly|date=March 7, 2013|access-date=March 7, 2019}}</ref> According to Gladstone of Cracked.com, many people mistakenly believe that "Sex and Candy" is a Nirvana song despite the fact that it was released after the 1994 suicide of Kurt Cobain; Gladstone opined "Only in the most superficial way is this song Nirvana-esque. It's moody and hooky."<ref name=cracked>{{cite web |work= Cracked.com |url= http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-songs-internet-thinks-are-by-wrong-artist/ |author= Gladstone |title= 5 Songs the Internet Thinks Are by the Wrong Artist |date= August 14, 2012 |access-date= March 4, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180723003353/http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-songs-internet-thinks-are-by-wrong-artist/ |archive-date= July 23, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other bands and sounds that critics heard in the song were the sort of music played at coffeehouses,<ref name=billboard/> Pearl Jam's session on ''MTV Unplugged'', jam bands,<ref name=av/> The Beatles,<ref name=beatles/> and Beck.<ref name=pop/>
Critics offered different interpretations of the song. ''Billboard''{{'s}} Bradley Bambarger and MTV News{{'}} Colin Devenish understood it as a love song<ref name=billboard/><ref name=lovesong/> while ''Rolling Stone''{{'s}} Chuck Eddy said that was about "a sad sack strung out on hippie lingo ('Dig it,' 'Yeah, mama') and caffeine."<ref name=rs/> In his book ''Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era'', Bruce Pollock said the song takes "the 'Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl' ethos a bit too far."<ref name="Pollock book">{{cite book|title=Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxYiAwAAQBAJ&q=sex+and+candy+marcy+playground&pg=PA317|location=New York|first=Bruce|last=Pollock|publisher =Taylor & Francis Group|isbn=0-415-97073-3 |year=2005}}</ref> John Barrett of ''Paste'' deemed it "a simple, dreamlike tale of first laying eyes on a beautiful woman."<ref name=paste>{{cite web |work= Paste |url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2011/09/25-awesome-one-hit-wonders-of-the-1990s.html |last= Barrett |first= John |title= 25 Awesome One-Hit Wonders of the 1990s |date= September 28, 2011 |access-date= March 4, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181008061334/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2011/09/25-awesome-one-hit-wonders-of-the-1990s.html |archive-date= October 8, 2018 |url-status= live}}</ref> Bayer wrote that listeners tried hard to find meaning in the track's seemingly meaningless lyrics. He added that "nobody, including the songwriter, really knows what it's about."<ref name=av/> For ''Stereogum'', Peter Helman called the song "nonsensical".<ref name=slo>{{cite web |work= Stereogum |url= https://www.stereogum.com/1962464/slothrust-sex-and-candy-marcy-playground-cover/premiere/ |last= Helman |first= Peter |title= Slothrust – "Sex And Candy" (Marcy Playground Cover) |date= September 14, 2017 |access-date= March 5, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180714052235/https://www.stereogum.com/1962464/slothrust-sex-and-candy-marcy-playground-cover/premiere/ |archive-date= July 14, 2018 |url-status= live}}</ref>
==Critical reception== According to Zachary Houle of ''PopMatters'', "Sex and Candy" has a reputation for being the only good song in Marcy Playground's catalogue; Houle disputed the notion while praising the song.<ref name=pop>{{cite news|url=https://www.popmatters.com/162276-marcy-playground-lunch-recess-detention-2495823102.html|title=Marcy Playground: Lunch, Recess & Detention|first=Zachary|last=Houle|website=PopMatters|date=September 4, 2012|access-date=January 26, 2019}}</ref> Bayer of ''The A. V. Club'' said that "There is something powerful in the simplicity and straight-forwardness of the song" and that its "chorus still sounds as captivating and strangely sensual as it did years ago."<ref name=av/> Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented that "songs like 'Sex and Candy' capture the band at their best, turning out hard-edged, melodic pop songs with strong hooks and backbeats."<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=marcy-playground-r248753/review|pure_url=yes}} Marcy Playground]. AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2010.</ref> For MTV News, Jon Vena opined that the track "draws you in with sultry lyrics and a chillingly slow...tempo."<ref name=beatles/>
Barrett of ''Paste'' ranked it fifteenth on ''Paste''{{'s}} list of "25 Awesome One-Hit Wonders of the 1990s"<ref name=paste/> while ''Consequence of Sound'' ranked it thirty-fourth on its list of "The 100 Best One-Hit Wonder Songs."<ref name=cos>{{cite magazine|url=https://consequence.net/2016/09/the-100-best-one-hit-wonder-songs/8/|title=The 100 Best One-Hit Wonder Songs|magazine=Consequence of Sound|date=August 2, 2013|access-date=March 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316133436/http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/09/the-100-best-one-hit-wonder-songs/8/|archive-date=March 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Bruce Pollock included it as one of the entries in his book ''Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era''.<ref name="Pollock book" /> In ''Bustle'', Rachel Semigran called the song "well-loved".<ref name=maroon>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/38254-maroon-5s-sex-and-candy-cover-joins-the-best-worst-remakes-of-one-hit-wonders|title=Maroon 5's "Sex and Candy" Cover Joins the Best & Worst Remakes of One-Hit Wonders — Videos|first=Rachel|last=Semigram|magazine=Bustle|date=September 2, 2014|access-date=March 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429115618/http://www.bustle.com/articles/38254-maroon-5s-sex-and-candy-cover-joins-the-best-worst-remakes-of-one-hit-wonders|archive-date=April 29, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Mike Wass of Idolator called the song "a post-grunge classic that is still played with alarming frequency on adult rock radio stations today."<ref name=idolator/> Mike Joyce of ''The Washington Post'' wrote "Some rock bands don't attract radio airplay so much as provoke it. Marcy Playground pulled off the trick...with 'Sex and Candy,' a titillating hit single that contained the sure-fire refrain, 'I smell sex and candy.'"<ref name=wapo/>
Chuck Eddy of ''Rolling Stone'' gave the song a less enthusiastic review, calling it "an unappetizing artificial-sweetener marriage of down-tempo Nirvana chords and greasy Dave Matthews frat-minstrel sensitivity".<ref name=rs>{{cite magazine|author=Marcy Playground |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/marcyplayground/albums/album/231741/review/5943676/marcy_playground |title=Marcy Playground: Marcy Playground : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=April 22, 1998 |access-date=August 6, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725234117/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/marcyplayground/albums/album/231741/review/5943676/marcy_playground |archive-date=July 25, 2008 }}</ref> Nathan Smith of the ''Houston Press'' put it on a list of the publication's least favorite one-hit wonders, calling it "one of the most despicable hits of the '90s" because it "refuses to rock and it refuses to go away. I hated it the first time I heard it, and I hate it now. I will die hating it."<ref name=love>{{cite news|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/music/our-10-least-favorite-one-hit-wonders-6760197|title=Our 10 Least Favorite One-Hit Wonders|newspaper=Houston Press|date=August 2, 2013|access-date=March 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930154437/https://www.houstonpress.com/music/our-10-least-favorite-one-hit-wonders-6760197|archive-date=September 30, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Joe Robinson of Diffuser.fm found the song's references to sex and mothers Freudian and disturbing.<ref name=disturb/>
==Commercial performance== "Sex and Candy" was released to radio on the week of September 15, 1997.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1997/Billboard-1997-09-27.pdf|title=The Reel Thing: Mammoth Step|editor-last=Applefeld Olson|editor-first=Catherine|magazine=Billboard|volume=109|issue=39|page=22|date=September 27, 1997|access-date=October 17, 2020}}</ref> The ''Marcy Playground'' album drew little notice until a radio station in San Diego began playing "Sex and Candy" and at the same time the song was chosen by filmmaker Morgan J. Freeman for the soundtrack of his 1997 film ''Hurricane Streets''. As the song became more popular, Wozniak was offered money for the publishing rights,<ref name=nickelback/> offers that increased from $100,000 to $750,000. Wozniak decided that he would sell the rights to "Sex and Candy" if a buyer was willing to give him $1 million for the rights to the track and $750,000 for his next album.<ref name=nickelback/> A week after the song reached the top position on ''Billboard''{{'s}} Modern Rock Tracks, he got three offers for those amounts and sold the rights.<ref name=nickelback/> "Sex and Candy" spent a then-record 15 weeks at number one on ''Billboard''{{'s}} Modern Rock Tracks chart, and would finish as the number-one Modern Rock song of 1998.<ref name=eight>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/1997-alternative-rock-songs-turning-20-2017-7640665/ | last=Richin | first=Leslie | title=20 Alternative Rock Hits Turning 20 in 2017 | magazine=Billboard |publisher=Lynne Segall |date=January 12, 2017|access-date=March 7, 2019}}</ref><ref name="usrockye"/> The track peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref name=eight/> and number 2 on the Canadian 100 Hit Tracks chart.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3560&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3560.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3560| title=Top RPM Singles: Issue 3560|magazine=RPM|date=May 18, 1998| access-date=March 15, 2019}}</ref> In the US, only 175,000 copies of the single were sent to retail outlets, selling 37,500 units during its first week on sale.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Hot 100 Singles Spotlight|last=Sandiford-Waller|first=Theda|magazine=Billboard|volume=110|issue=15|page=105|date=April 11, 1998}}</ref>
"Sex and Candy" was the band's only hit.<ref name=nickelback/> The song became so successful that it had its own accountant. The head of radio promotion at Capitol Records, Marcy Playground's label, felt that the song's ubiquity hurt the band's career; Gil Kaufman of MTV News called the song a "career killer" and the band became known as a one-hit wonder. Wozniak said that, while he was pleased that the track "became a quintessential '90s moment," he was flabbergasted and overwhelmed by its success, adding that he would not want to produce another hit song of comparable popularity.<ref name=nickelback/> Andrew Unterberger of ''Stylus Magazine'' wrote of its surprising success, calling it "easily one of the strangest top ten hits in history (Pavement sounds like Sister Hazel by comparison) and as much of a death knell for grunge as 'To Be with You' was for hair metal."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Unterberger |first1=Andrew |title=Playing God with Whatever: The 90s Pop Culture Box |url=http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/playing-god-with-whatever-the-90s-pop-culture-box.html |website=Stylus Magazine |access-date=July 2, 2021 |date=June 20, 2005 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184801/http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/playing-god-with-whatever-the-90s-pop-culture-box.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2023, for the 35th anniversary of the Modern Rock Tracks chart (which by then had been renamed to Alternative Airplay), ''Billboard'' ranked "Sex and Candy" as the 17th-most successful song in the chart's history.<ref name="Alt-35">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/alternative-airplay-chart-35th-anniversary-foo-fighters-all-time-low-rule-1235408126/|title=Alternative Airplay Chart's 35th Anniversary: Foo Fighters Remain No. 1 Act, 'Monsters' New Top Song|last=Rutherford|first=Kevin|magazine=Billboard|date=September 7, 2023|access-date=November 10, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Greatest-Alt-2023">{{cite magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006001750/https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-alternative-songs/|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-alternative-songs/|title=Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs|archive-date=October 6, 2023|access-date=November 10, 2023|url-status=live|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>
==Music video== ===Background=== The song's music video was directed and conceptualized by Jamie Caliri.<ref name=high/> Wozniak admired Caliri's surrealist artistic sensibility as well as the video he directed for Morphine's "Early to Bed". According to Wozniak, Caliri infused the video for "Sex and Candy" with various hidden meanings.<ref name=high/> The video for "Sex and Candy" took a week to film in October and was Marcy Playground's first video.<ref name=beatles/>
===Synopsis=== thumb|Wozniak as he appears in the music video The video begins with a shot of synthetic hills with a checkerboard pattern on them. Wozniak's head appears, protruding from a hole inside one of the hills. A hook descends from the sky and lifts up a glass cage, releasing a spider who crawls toward Wozniak. Two men are shown in a room with a dresser. Wozniak is then seen in front of an arch; a shoe attached to a string lowers from the arch and men try to grab it. The same men pull strings out of a wall. The video ends with Wozniak lying in a blue puddle.<ref>{{Citation|author=MarcyPlaygroundVEVO|title=Marcy Playground – Sex and Candy|date=March 3, 2009|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KT-r2vHeMM|access-date=March 13, 2019}}</ref>
===Reception=== Wozniak's father, a developmental psychologist, analyzed the video in Freudian terms, seeing it as a representation of a wet dream. He believed that the hole Wozniak's head was in represented the womb, the spider Wozniak's loss of innocence (which he is both afraid of and drawn to), and the puddle at the end of the video to be a symbol for semen.<ref>{{cite web |work= MTV News |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/1431674/marcy-playground-get-freudian-in-new-video/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043958/http://www.mtv.com/news/1431674/marcy-playground-get-freudian-in-new-video/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= March 6, 2019 |title=Marcy Playground Get Freudian In New Video |date= January 28, 1998 |access-date= March 4, 2019 }}</ref> Chad Childers of ''Loudwire'' deemed the video reminiscent of the art of Salvador Dalí and called it one of the "most romantic rock music videos". He saw it as depicting a romance between Wozniak and the spider.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://loudwire.com/marcy-playground-sex-and-candy-romantic-rock-music-videos/| title=Marcy Playground, 'Sex and Candy' – Most Romantic Rock Music Videos| work=Loudwire| first=Chad| last=Childers| publisher=Townsquare Media| date=February 14, 2013| access-date=March 4, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910073415/http://loudwire.com/marcy-playground-sex-and-candy-romantic-rock-music-videos/| archive-date=September 10, 2015| url-status=live}}</ref>
==Cover versions and usage in media== [[File:Maroon 5 2016.jpg|thumb|right|Maroon 5's cover of "Sex and Candy" received critical acclaim.]] "Sex and Candy" appeared on the soundtrack albums for the films ''Hurricane Streets'' (1997) and ''Zack and Miri Make a Porno'' (2008).<ref name=allmusic/> The song is included in "Polka Power!", a polka medley from "Weird Al" Yankovic's album ''Running with Scissors'' (1999). Will Hines of ''Vulture'' deemed Yankovic's rendition of "Sex and Candy" the comedic highlight of the medley.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/01/an-insanely-thorough-and-expansive-ranking-of-every-weird-al-polka-medley.html| title=An Insanely Thorough and Expansive Ranking of Every Weird Al Polka Medley|first=Will|last=Hines|magazine=Vulture|date=January 6, 2015| access-date=March 6, 2019}}</ref> "Sex and Candy" was used in "Scratches," a 2009 episode of ''True Blood''{{'s}} second season. Sheila Dichoso of ''Paste'' wrote that the episode's use of the song was one of the show's "best musical moments."<ref>{{cite web |work= Paste |url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2011/06/the-12-best-music-moments-from-true-blood.html |last= Dichoso |first= Sheila |title= The 12 Best Musical Moments from True Blood |date= June 26, 2011 |access-date= March 7, 2019 |archive-date= March 8, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190308081659/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2011/06/the-12-best-music-moments-from-true-blood.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> Jimmy Fallon parodied the song with Halloween-themed lyrics during a ''Weekend Update'' sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''.<ref name=disturb>{{cite web| url=https://diffuser.fm/marcy-playground-sex-and-candy-disturbing-songs/| title=Marcy Playground 'Sex and Candy' – Disturbing Songs People Love|first=Joe|last=Robinson|publisher=Diffuser.fm|date=June 7, 2013| access-date=March 6, 2019}}</ref>
Maroon 5 released a slow, soul cover of the song as a bonus track on the album ''V'' (2014).<ref name=idolator/><ref name=maroon/> ''Bustle'' deemed it the best song on the album and praised it for sounding different from Maroon 5's earlier work,<ref name=maroon/> while Idolator said the cover "is a well-executed reminder that the late '90s were, well, completely awesome."<ref name=idolator/> A version of "Sex and Candy" serves as the opening track of Slothrust's ''Show Me How You Want It To Be'' (2017), an EP of cover songs. Slothrust's arrangement of the song includes a classic rock-style guitar solo.<ref name=slo/> Beth Bowles of ''Exclaim!'' enjoyed the cover, calling it "haunting and raw, closely comparable to the original but threaded with Slothrust's signature smoky grunge."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/slothrust-show_me_how_you_want_it_to_be|last=Bowles|first=Beth|title=Slothrust Show Me How You Want It to Be|work=Exclaim!|date=November 10, 2017|access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>
==Track listing== #"Sex and Candy" – 2:54 #"The Angel of the Forever Sleep" – 4:53 #"Memphis" – 2:37
==Personnel== Credits adapted from liner notes.<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Marcy Playground|year=1997|publisher=Capitol Records|others=Marcy Playground|type=liner notes|id=7243-8-53569-2-6}}</ref>
*John Wozniak – vocals, guitar *Jared Kotler – bass, drums
==Charts== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}
===Weekly charts=== {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+Weekly chart performance for "Sex and Candy" !Chart (1997–1998) !Peak<br />position |- {{single chart|Australia|8|artist=Marcy Playground|song=Sex and Candy|rowheader=true|refname="aus"}} |- {{single chart|Austria|24|artist=Marcy Playground|song=Sex and Candy|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|2|chartid=3560|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Canadaadultcontemporary|27|chartid=3554|rowheader=true|access-date=June 5, 2020}} |- {{single chart|Canadarock|1|chartid=3463|rowheader=true}} |- !scope="row"|European Radio Top 50 (''Music & Media'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1998/MM-1998-06-06.pdf |title=European Radio Top 50 |magazine=Music & Media |volume=16|issue=12|date=June 6, 1998|page=17|oclc=29800226 |access-date=August 20, 2025 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> |37 |- {{single chart|Germany|90|artist=Marcy Playground|song=Sex and Candy|songid=57697|rowheader=true}} |- !scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timarit.is/page/2970421#page/n7/mode/2up|title=Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (11.6. – 18.6. 1998)|newspaper=Dagblaðið Vísir|language=is|page=22|date=June 12, 1998|access-date=October 3, 2019}}</ref> |4 |- {{single chart|Norway|15|artist=Marcy Playground|song=Sex and Candy|rowheader=true}} |- !scope="row"|Quebec Airplay (ADISQ)<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129063315/http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/palmares/2010-Anglo-Allophone/Anglo-Compilation_succes_ordre_alpha_interpretes.pdf|url=http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/palmares/2010-Anglo-Allophone/Anglo-Compilation_succes_ordre_alpha_interpretes.pdf|title=Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec|publisher=BAnQ|language=fr|access-date=September 11, 2019|archive-date=November 29, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> |6 |- !scope="row"|Scandinavia Airplay (''Music & Media'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/00s/1998/MM-1998-06-06.pdf|title=Major Market Airplay|magazine=Music & Media|volume=16|issue=47|page=29|date=June 6, 1998|access-date=August 20, 2025}}</ref> |4 |- {{single chart|Scotland|25|date=19980418|rowheader=true}} |- !scope="row"|Spain Airplay (''Music & Media'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1998/MM-1998-07-11.pdf|title=Major Market Airplay|magazine=Music & Media|volume=15|issue=19|page=25|date=July 11, 1998|access-date=August 4, 2022}}</ref> |13 |- {{single chart|Sweden|21|artist=Marcy Playground|song=Sex and Candy|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|UK|29|date=19980418|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Billboardhot100|8|artist=Marcy Playground|access-date=October 6, 2010|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Billboardadultalternativesongs|6|artist=Marcy Playground|access-date=July 14, 2019|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Billboardadultpopsongs|4|artist=Marcy Playground|access-date=October 6, 2010|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|1|artist=Marcy Playground|access-date=October 6, 2010|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|4|artist=Marcy Playground|access-date=June 5, 2020|rowheader=true}} |- {{single chart|Billboardpopsongs|3|artist=Marcy Playground|access-date=October 6, 2010|rowheader=true}} |} {{col-2}}
===Year-end charts=== {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+Year-end chart performance for "Sex and Candy" !Chart (1998) !Position |- !scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aria.com.au/charts/1998/singles-chart|title=ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1998|publisher=ARIA|access-date=October 17, 2020}}</ref> |59 |- !scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://rpmimages.3345.ca/pdfs/Volume+68-No.+12-December+14%2C+1998.pdf|title=RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of '98|magazine=RPM|volume=63|issue=12|page=20|date=December 14, 1998|access-date=March 23, 2019|archive-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091139/http://rpmimages.3345.ca/pdfs/Volume+68-No.+12-December+14%2C+1998.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> |13 |- !scope="row"|Canada Rock/Alternative (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6985&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6985.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6985|title=RPM's Top 50 Alternative Tracks of '98|magazine=RPM|via=Library and Archives Canada|access-date=June 7, 2018}}</ref> |2 |- !scope="row"|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref> {{cite web|url=http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1998|title=Billboard Top 100 – 1998|access-date=August 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309202636/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1998|archive-date=March 9, 2009|url-status=live}} </ref> |28 |- !scope="row"|US Adult Top 40 (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mw0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA44|title=The Year in Music 1998: Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks|magazine=Billboard|volume=110|number=52|date=December 26, 1998|access-date=December 24, 2023|page=YE-96}} </ref> |23 |- !scope="row"|US Mainstream Rock Tracks (''Billboard'')<ref name="usrockye">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mw0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA32|title=The Year in Music 1998|magazine=Billboard|volume=110|number=52|date=December 26, 1998|access-date=June 15, 2013|page=YE-84|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704044712/http://books.google.com/books?id=Mw0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA32|archive-date=July 4, 2014|url-status=live}} </ref> |7 |- !scope="row"|US Mainstream Top 40 (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1998|magazine=Airplay Monitor|volume=6|issue=52|page=45|date=December 25, 1998}}</ref> |14 |- !scope="row"|US Modern Rock Tracks (''Billboard'')<ref name="usrockye"/> |1 |- !scope="row"|US Triple-A (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Best of '98: Most Played Triple-A Songs|magazine=Airplay Monitor|volume=6|issue=52|page=35|date=December 25, 1998}}</ref> |20 |} {{col-end}}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "Sex and Candy"}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1997|certyear=1998|access-date=July 14, 2019}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Marcy Playground|title=Sex and Candy|award=Platinum|relyear=1997|certyear=2022|source=radioscope|access-date=April 2, 2026}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}
==See also== {{Portal|1990s|Rock music}} * 1997 in music * List of Billboard number-one alternative singles of the 1990s * List of one-hit wonders in the United States {{clear}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Marcy Playground}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sex And Candy}} Category:1997 singles Category:1997 songs Category:Bryn Mawr College Category:Capitol Records singles Category:Crossover (music) Category:Marcy Playground songs Category:Songs written by John Wozniak