I don't have to explain myself to you
April 17, 2011 1:32 PM   Subscribe

I'm looking for bubblegum dance music. The most sublime bubblegum dance you know of. Things like Waka Laka or the famous Barbie Girl.

I have an incredibly high tolerance for annoying things. So don't hold back.

I'd like to emphasize that I am not looking for plain ordinary dance music. I have plenty of dance music. I am looking for bubblegum. The sweetest, most painful, most sugary bubblegum you know of.
posted by Rory Marinich to Media & Arts (55 answers total) 54 users marked this as a favorite
 
Any particular historical era or style or anything like that? I like The Sylvers, a family group probably most famous for the giant break 'Misdemeanor.'

Also, you should read Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth.
posted by box at 1:40 PM on April 17, 2011


Best answer: Frankmusik is pretty feelgood. I don't know if you'd call it bubblegum or not, though. Listen to 3 Little Words (bonus! low-budget music video!).
posted by rossination at 1:49 PM on April 17, 2011


Not sure if the 80s/italo is fair game here but I would have to draw your attention to Your Heart Keeps Burning by Blind Date.
posted by Captain Najork at 1:51 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


What could be better than Yummy, Yummy, Yummy from the 1910 Fruitgum Company? Here are the dense and meaningful lyrics.
posted by mono blanco at 1:54 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


For a '90's feel similar to Barbie Girl, try Roller Girl and Alice DeeJay
posted by cosmicbandito at 2:00 PM on April 17, 2011


Best answer: You need Korean pop music. Behold.
posted by bewilderbeast at 2:04 PM on April 17, 2011 [8 favorites]


Boom boom boom boom by Vengaboys (or was it Aqua?)
posted by wowbobwow at 2:23 PM on April 17, 2011 [2 favorites]


Well, I kinda think DDR on the Wii - okay, DDR in general, but Wii DDR is what I know - is a goldmine for this sort of thing. Catchy, sugary, obnoxious, dancey. Full-length versions of a lot of the game songs are available for download.
Candy (UFO mix) - The Sweetest
Love Shine - WWS
You Are A Star - Naoki
Gotta Dance - Naoki
TrueLove (Clubstar's True Club Mix) - Jun feat. Schanita

D.A.N.C.E. - Justice
Cheeky Girls - Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)
'80s flashback: L'Trimm - Cars That Go Boom

posted by flex at 2:23 PM on April 17, 2011


Best answer: Toy-Box - Tarzan & Jane

I am so sorry
posted by Jelly at 2:24 PM on April 17, 2011 [6 favorites]


CSS - Alala
posted by cashman at 2:29 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]




Brisk & Trixxy- Eyeopener
chipz - bang , bang or kiss me
Caramell - Doktorn cos I'm assuming you've already listened to sticky Caramelldansen?
Miss Papaya - Pink dinosaur
posted by ilk at 2:31 PM on April 17, 2011


Las Ketchup Song
Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat!
posted by vespabelle at 2:42 PM on April 17, 2011


Response by poster: Things like that Franzmusik song are great. The Blind Date wasn't what I was thinking, but I still liked it a lot.

I'm listening to these very slowly in between cleaning, so sorry that I'm not keeping up with all of your suggestions. But this is great! I'm excited to listen through these.
posted by Rory Marinich at 2:50 PM on April 17, 2011


An AskMe search for workout music led me recently to the utterly ridiculous, bubbly, makes me laugh every time it comes on my workout playlist because it's so bloody silly, Oh Oh Oh Sexy Vampire by Fright Ranger.

Probably only works for certain definitions of sweet/sugary, but it's the first thing that popped to mind, so I'll offer it up for a listen.
posted by Stacey at 3:03 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


One song that always use to push me over the edge that my daughter listened to when she was younger was Hamtaro. Same intro music over and over.

Or maybe you'd prefer Hello Kitty. Or if you REALLY want to push yourself over the edge, check out Hatsune Miku singing Triple Baka (Stupid, Stupid, Stupid) in Japanese with English subs.

That should do it.
posted by garnetgirl at 3:05 PM on April 17, 2011


Peaches "Rosa Helikopter"
Chic-A-Tac "I'm No Kitty Cat"
Basshunter "Boten Anna"
Chilli Feat. Carrapicho "Tic Tic Tac"
Boom Boxx Feat. Linda O "Balla Da Li"
Alexandra Stan "Mr Saxobeat"
Paradisio "Bailando"
French Affair "Sexy"
Modern Talking "You're My Heart, You're My Soul"
Sabrina "Boys"
Günther & The Sunshine Girls "Ding Dong Song"
The Tutti Frutti-Girls "Cin Cin" and "Super Europe" (Theme songs from the early 90's Italian TV show "Colpo Grosso", remade in Germany as "Tutti Frutti")
posted by iviken at 3:12 PM on April 17, 2011


My Boy Lollipop - Millie Small
posted by illenion at 3:12 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


Also, I thought Toy-Box was Aqua for the longest time...

Best Friend - Toy-Box
posted by illenion at 3:15 PM on April 17, 2011


Chewing Gum by Annie
posted by mmmbacon at 3:57 PM on April 17, 2011


Triim "Pop The Music"
Lio "Banana Split"
posted by iviken at 4:06 PM on April 17, 2011


Jennifer Paige - Crush
posted by carmicha at 4:49 PM on April 17, 2011


Over twenty replies and no one's mentioned Tony Basil - Hey Mickey?
posted by spectrevsrector at 4:55 PM on April 17, 2011


O-Zone, Dragostea Din Tei. The song starts about 50 seconds into the video, so give it a moment. Also has the advantage of not being in English, so you can't tell the lyrics aren't necessarily as bouncy as the music.

Not sure it's sweet enough, but I can tell you people find it annoying as all get-out when I play it.
posted by immlass at 4:56 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


immlass: "O-Zone, Dragostea Din Tei . The song starts about 50 seconds into the video, so give it a moment. Also has the advantage of not being in English, so you can't tell the lyrics aren't necessarily as bouncy as the music.

Not sure it's sweet enough, but I can tell you people find it annoying as all get-out when I play it.
"

I had to sing/chair-dance along with that.

Yes, I am fat.
posted by Samizdata at 5:17 PM on April 17, 2011


Junior Senior - Move Your Feet
posted by hydrophonic at 5:20 PM on April 17, 2011


You can't go wrong with k-pop!

Kara "Mister" in Korean or Japanese
Girls' Generation "Gee"
Dalshabet "Pinkrocketh"
Orange Caramel "Magic Girl"
Secret "Shy Boy"

More from the indie spectrum, and a bit like Franzmusik in feel is Oldfish "dot dot dot"
Some of the Clazziquai Project stuff is very sweet, like "Tell Yourself" (compare to the Daishi Dance remix).
posted by needled at 5:34 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: THis is my favoritest topic ever.

Hit'N'Hide - Space invaders is another one of those groups that's indistinguishable from Aqua.

Much of the music by E-rotic, such as Fred come to bed (NSFW) falls in this category.

Oh Oh Oh Sexy Vampire mentioned above is from a production company called Disko Warp. All of their songs are like this. Here are a couple earlier ones:
Becky - Less than three
Kick & Punch - Space Space Shooter

anything by smile.dk (ex:Boys) or Papaya (mentioned above. Hero is another one.

All of the above were groups that I first discovered via Dance Dance Revolution. DDR is flat out the best resource for this sort of light, bubbly dance music.

Branching about a bit into the realm of K-Pop
Luv - Orange Girl

Everything by the Thai-pop group China Dolls. EVERYTHING.
I cannot recommend China Dolls enough
Soy 4, Tom Yum, Muay Nee Kah, Ting Nong, Oh Oh Oh, HNY, Pleng mah mah
posted by yeolcoatl at 5:54 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Oh crap! I totally forgot about ParaPara! There's an entire genre of this stuff in Japan. And if you have no shame whatsoever, you can learn the hand-motions, too.

here's a sample of whatever google search threw at me. It's pretty representative.
Hinoi Team - Ike Ike
NIKO - Night of Fire
Para Para Sakura (from the chinese movie of the same name)
Ishida Youko - Para Para Max 1 (for the anime inclined)
posted by yeolcoatl at 6:04 PM on April 17, 2011


And just ran into this YMCK remix of Tokyo Girls' Style "Kodo no Himitsu" (鼓動の秘密). Actually I think anything from YMCK is great sweet bubbly dance music.
posted by needled at 6:06 PM on April 17, 2011


Response by poster: ParaPara is INCREDIBLE. Why have I never heard of this. Thank you so much, yeolcoatl. You've introduced me to a new world.
posted by Rory Marinich at 6:11 PM on April 17, 2011 [3 favorites]


Whigfield, as best represented by Saturday Night. The mid 1990s was a great time for this sort of thing.

MAX (ex: GET MY LOVE, LOVE LOVE FIRE (yes, in block caps)) is japanese group with a sound similar to ParaPara, although I don't know that that ParaPara is actually done to their music.
posted by yeolcoatl at 6:22 PM on April 17, 2011


The Chicken Noodle Soup song is more savory than sweet, but I promise you'll be dancing all day long.

(User warning: ridiculous lyrics alert!)
posted by WaspEnterprises at 6:28 PM on April 17, 2011


What about Dragostea Din Tei aka the Numa Numa song?
posted by moammargaret at 6:36 PM on April 17, 2011


Darn - got here too late to recommend parapara - but here's my favorite cut: ParaPara Queen
posted by Mchelly at 6:46 PM on April 17, 2011


The first time I ever heard the term "Bubblegum music," it was being applied to "MmmBop" by Hanson.
posted by IndigoRain at 7:01 PM on April 17, 2011


If you are interested in learning more about the cultural context that created parapara music, the book 'Tokyo Schoolgirl Inferno' is a great place to start.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:24 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


I asked this before, and got some great responses.
posted by SNWidget at 8:22 PM on April 17, 2011


How have Erasure and Owl City not yet been mentioned?
posted by holterbarbour at 8:28 PM on April 17, 2011


Ok, I'm about to trump everything that could possibly be posted in this thread. There's a subgenre of Japanese pop called denpa. It exists in a space between childish glee and intentionally being fucking obnoxious. Don't say I didn't warn you. 1 2 3 4
posted by p3on at 9:24 PM on April 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


Oh and as far as denpa, for specific artists I'd recommend とろ美 (Toromi), MOSAIC.WAV, and ave;new.

Also I'm gonna be honest, I'm like seriously ashamed that I'm so into this stuff
posted by p3on at 9:36 PM on April 17, 2011


Mika - Lollipop (sorry for not linking.. I'm low on time, but I still want to recommend!)
posted by Mael Oui at 9:55 PM on April 17, 2011


My husband (then boyfriend) and I came across Hey Willpower (loud youtube link!) when we were following dressed up people off of MUNI and ended up at Folsom Street Fair. I hadn't lived in San Francisco very long so this was a great adventure! After seeing Hey Willpower at the Folsom Street Fair we followed them around to ANY place they were playing in the bay area. We were immediately fans! They are SO bubblegum, so fun, and great for dancing! They even did a duet of Chewing Gum with Annie! I don't think they are making music together anymore, and if you have a hard time finding their music, if you like it, I'll happily mail you a cd!
posted by Swisstine at 10:23 PM on April 17, 2011


How about some french bubblegum?

Alizée: L'Alizé ; Gourmandises
posted by litleozy at 1:12 AM on April 18, 2011


Response by poster: How have Erasure and Owl City not yet been mentioned?

Don't get me wrong, I love both bands. But I wouldn't call either one bubblegum.

(Well, Erasure, maybe, at its absolute sweetest. But Owl City certainly not.)
posted by Rory Marinich at 3:23 AM on April 18, 2011


Pancakes!
posted by hot soup girl at 5:54 AM on April 18, 2011


Best answer: Oh, jackpot! Bookmarking this thread. :-)

Well, pretty much anything by Aqua, but I'd like to call out my favorite Aqua song: Dr. Jones. I think it has something to do with Indiana Jones.

The other option is to fire up a Pandora station based on Aqua, and you'll get all kinds of good stuff.
posted by losvedir at 6:17 AM on April 18, 2011


Best answer: High tolerance, eh? How do you like...Blümchen?

This thread is awesome.
posted by Lieber Frau at 6:46 AM on April 18, 2011


Mika. Every single Mika song. We Are Golden, Lollipop, Grace Kelly, Love Today.

More broadly, you might like what you find on wikipedia's page on Wonky Pop.
posted by oreofuchi at 10:15 AM on April 18, 2011


I have always loved this little ditty:

Get Your Ass in the Air
posted by frecklefaerie at 12:05 PM on April 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


Ooh, and I just found the original by Barracuda.
posted by frecklefaerie at 12:09 PM on April 18, 2011


Sugar Sugar by the Archies.
Goody Goody Gumdrops - by the 1910 Fruitgum company
posted by rongorongo at 3:10 AM on April 19, 2011


Two Mix's Rhythm Generation - the Red Monster Mix.

Also seconding DDR.
posted by IndigoRain at 11:44 PM on April 19, 2011


Katy Perry does this in spades. Watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F57P9C4SAW4
posted by talldean at 12:44 PM on April 28, 2011


Best answer: I've been lurking on MetaFilter for a while (years?). I couldn't help but register to be able to comment here. I consider myself a huge fan of bubblegum dance, and generally disagree with quite a few the answers above (or at least find a poor signal to noise ratio).

First I have to point out the most definitive site I know of on the topic:
http://www.bubblegumdancer.com/
Which says:
"bubblegum dance can be described as a type of "Eurodance" music, mixed with "Bubblegum pop" music. Bubblegum dance typically has a female vocalist singing a catchy, fun and bouncy chorus, and a male doing back up vocals such as rapping and extras."
Lots of the suggestions above seem to be missing most of those elements.


So with that here's my list:

Most everything by (some mentioned): Aqua, Blümchen, Miss Papaya (try Hero, Supergirl), Rollergirl (I Keep On Rolling, Luv U More), Smile.dk, and Toy-Box (Best Friend, Superstar).

Also:
Boomtang Boys - Squeeze Toy
Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - hardcore feelings
Dragonette - Fixin to Thrill (Cavaliers of Fun + Anagramme Remix)
Cerrone - Supernature (my copy must be a dance-ier mix than what I can find a link for)
Chris Lake - Changes (Dirty South remix)
Cicada - The Things You Say (Dirty South Remix)
Freeform Five - No More Conversations - Mylo Remix
Hulagirl - Hula All Over the World
Judy Crystal - Tokyo All Ready
Lykke Li - Little Bit (Gigamesh Remix)
Love Hina opening Sakura saku (DDR Remix)
Madison Avenue - Don't Call Me Baby ( Original Mix)
Misa - Banzai
Sharkara - A Hate Love Relationship


Not quite bubblegum dance, but related to a lesser degree (a lot of what I like about bubblegum comes out elsewhere if it's high pitched/uptempo enough and dance-y):
Lots by Dr. Bombay
ATC - Around the World
Arno Cost & Arias - Magenta (Original Mix)
C-Mos - 2 Million Ways (Axwell Remix)
DJ Spiller - Batucada Elusive Samba Vocal Mix
Madonna - Hung Up
Mylo - In My Arms (Tocadisco's Zwischen Den Stuhlen Mix)
The Drill - The Drill

And one of my favorites to finish with:
The Holly Dolly Song
posted by arantius at 12:27 PM on May 4, 2011 [2 favorites]


« Older How much can I expect to spend in two weeks at the...   |   How do I convert video from my DSLR? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.