LET'S TALK ABOUT "SEXUAL"

"This is a woman who is pregnant every second week. What was that all about?"
--Amber on Marie Osmond, who refused to say the full title of Amber's single "Sexual (Li Da Di)" when the singer performed on Donny And Marie in 1999

There are few pleasures in life more digable than an excellent meow moment. And boy, did Amber make a good point. One can only hope that loopy Marie has gotten more comfortable publicly uttering big words like "sexual" in the nine years since. At least she was with it enough to have Amber on the show.

I don't know why, but I've been listening to "Sexual (Li Da Di)"--or as Marie would simply say, "Li Da Di"--on my iPod a lot this week. It's a shame that Amber never really caught on in the mainstream--with the exception of 1996's incredibly tacky Top 40 hit "This Is Your Night." Any artist who has the gall to quote James Joyce's Ulysses on the chorus of a pop track, which Amber did on her 2002 single "Yes!," is alright with me. (No word on why the author's estate granted Amber permission to use the final words of Molly Bloom's soliloquy but denied Kate Bush's request 10 years earlier, forcing her to write lyrics "inspired" by Ulysses for her 1989 single "The Sensual World.")

"I put my arms around him, yes/And drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts/And his heart was going like mad/And yes, I said, yes, I will, yes."

Waiter! Bring me water!

DOWNLOAD Amber: "Sexual (Li Da Di)"