While we do wholeheartedly applaud Justin Timberlake’s dogged determination to bring sexy back, we’ve got to agree with ThisNexter Skye when - in recommending Prince’s 3121 - she points out that “sexy never left!” There’s sexy all over ThisNext’s music picks, both pre- and post-FutureSex/LoveSounds, but here’s just a sample of the songs that get us all hot and bothered.

The Valentine’s Day Eve release of Marie Antoinette is reason enough to spin the movie’s tres fantastique soundtrack over and over, but giddy little numbers like Bow Wow Wow’s “Aphrodisiac” were just made for excessive Heart Day play. Veronique of PhotoBlog hails the record as “possibly the most original and daring soundtrack of these times,” promising that “it will make you smile and it will make you want to dance.” And it might also make you think some randy thoughts, especially upon arriving at Adam and the Ants’ “Kings of the Wild Frontier” and recalling that yummy montage of kissy moments between the queen and her dreamboat Count Fersen.

But when it comes to on-screen sexiness, there’s not much hotter than Y Tu Mama Tambien, the much-acclaimed road movie that Alfonso Cuaron made five years before his latest masterpiece Children of Men. Cath digs the film’s soundtrack, which features an “eclectic mix of songs” by artists as diverse as Frank Zappa and Bran Van 3000. “At times saucy and raucous, at others reflective and sensual it inspires you to find a hidden beach of your own with whomever you choose to travel with,” says Cath.

The late Ted Demme’s endlessly lovely movie Beautiful Girls is more sweet than sexy, but there’s no denying the steaminess that infiltrates some of the soundtrack - especially when the Afghan Whigs gloriously nail their cover of Barry White’s classic “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe.” And, adds Cath, it’s an “immensely playable album even if you haven’t seen the movie - blending ‘classic’ 90s rock from the Afghan Whigs and Pete Droge and some old classics by KISS and the song I can’t help to sing along to, ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Neil Diamond.”

Sometimes sexy just takes a hot beat and one killer line - such as on “Yummy,” arguably the best track off of Gwen Stefani’s Sweet Escape (a recent fave for OooLaLa, John and Rose, mellafe, and thedelicious). When Gwen sorta-raps that lyric that goes “wanna spend the night, don’t bring pajamas,” you’ll wish so bad you’d thought of it first.

Equally unsubtle are Electric Six, a band that - as msr41 shares - hold a firm belief that “Infected Girls Do It Better.” On their 2003 CD Fire, the Detroit act gave us a whole lotta quotable come-ons (e.g., “Let’s start a nuclear war”). But my personal fave has got to be from the super-danceable “Danger! High Voltage,” with its unforgettable chorus of “Danger, danger - high voltage!/When we touch, when we kiss” (sung in part by White Stripe/Raconteur Jack White, no less).

Another band that proves the irresistibility of joke sexiness, Eagles of Death Metal totally slay with their 2006 album Death By Sexy. Prone to wearing capes and handlebar mustaches, lead singer Jesse “The Devil” Hughes charms the skintight jeans right off us with songs like “Eagles Goth.” Speaketh J. Devil at that track’s chorus: “Should be clear I’m a cold, hard killer who’s sophisticated with touch of high-class, a heart-breaker bringing death by sexy, a lady-killing mama in a rock n’ roll band.” So if anything, we can’t say he didn’t warn us.

See more of my Sexy Songs list at ThisNext.