was Wozniak's "first stab at coolness" following a childhood where he was isolated and often bullied. 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." Wozniak's explanations of the song's meaning have changed. In a 1997 interviw 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." 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: Composition "Sex and Candy" is a post-grunge song with elements of psychedelic music that lasts for two minutes and fifty-two seconds. It has a slow tempo and down-tempo chords. Abstract lyrics reference "double cherry pie," "disco superfly," "disco lemonade" and "platform double-suede". While this studio recorded track merits notable mention of producer and musician Jared Kotler on drums, and Glenn Braver on bass, "Sex and Candy" features "drawling" vocals from John Wozniak. Band members include Dylan Keefe (bass guitar) and Dan Reiser (drums). The track's refrain is "I smell sex and candy." Jon Vena of MTV News described the track as "radio-friendly". 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." Several media outlets compared "Sex and Candy" to the work of Nirvana 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. 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. 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 suicide of Kurt Cobain; Gladstone opined "Only in the most superficial way is this song Nirvana-esque. It's moody and hooky." Other bands and sounds that critics heard in the song were