Eurodance: Search and Destroy

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Was thinking of putting this up earlier. Now I find that Tom has, slightly, stolen my thunder. Ah well.

Which were the heights and which were the horrors? I reckon: search Culture Beat's "Mr Vain" and "Got To Get It" / destroy Aqua's "Barbie Girl" (but leave a moment's affection for the Obligatory Soundalike Follow Up "Doctor Jones").

Eiffel 65's "Too Much of Heaven": why didn't that do anything here?

― Captain Swing aka King Penda, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Search: Corona

Destroy: Scatman - the fact that he didn't know what 'scat' is doesn't redeem his looking like somebody who rakes leaves at a local playground and drags a wagon loaded with broken toys in it

― dave q, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Dont forget Snap's "Rhythm Is A Dancer" or Living Joy's "Dreamer"! Or the fantastic "More and More" by Captain Hollywood Project.

― Dan Perry, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"The Rhythm of the Night" and "Don't Stop Movin'", hell yeah.

― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I decree that "Barbie Girl" be spared from destruction. Even though I never want to listen to it again... I'm glad it happened.

― Ian White, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Search: ATC - "Around the World" (English and Russian versions), "My Heart Beats Like A Drum", "Why Oh Why"; Ace of Base - "Voulez Vous Danser"; Aqua - "Barbie Girl" (German version); A*Teens - "Gimme Gimme Gimme"; Eiffel 65 - "My Console", "Blue", "Move Your Body".

Destroy: other genres.

― Otis Wheeler, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Captain Penda, I desperately dislike "Too Much of Heaven". But I want you to tell me why I shouldn't.

― Mitch Lastnamewithheld, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Nothing wrong with disliking "Too Much of Heaven": it's twee, simplistic and written in very *very* shaky English. That just happens to be precisely what I like about it :).

― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Keep warm by Jinny, what a monster tune that was. I have to admit a certain fondness for Gina G's ooh aah (just a little bit).

― Billy Dods, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Gina G! Forgot about her!

Deep house is probably outside of scope here, but at the same time Culture Beat and Captain Hollywood Project were doing well here, we had Robin S's "Show Me Love" stomping up the charts as well. Also, Crystal Waters!

― Dan Perry, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, and The Real McCoy, particularly "Runaway"!

― Dan Perry, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"She's just like you and me but she's homeless, she's homeless" = terribly irritating at the time, great now, I find.

― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

That was a great single, another Soundalike Follow-Up that improved on the original (in this case, "Another Night").

― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Stakka Bo. The Nordic Stereo MCs, or something.

― Dr. C, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Clearly the best Real McCoy single was in fact the THIRD one, even if I cannot remember a single thing about it. "Gypsy Woman" was fun, but "100% Pure Love" was so much better - probably my favourite song of whichever year it came out. Aqua did a surprisingly enjoyable ballad last year (?) with the tremulous, Abba-esque "Around The World". Ace Of Base - "The Sign": immortal. Oh, and what about Rosella!

At the time when most of this stuff was coming out I honestly couldn't distinguish between euro-pop, C&C Music Factory style house (another big favourite) and R&B. T'was all just pop music to young, impressionable me. If only we held on to our critical faculties as they were when we were ten...

― Tim, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The third single was the iffy "Love And Devotion", IIRC.

― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah! 'Rhythm Is A Dancer'! I loved that at the time, but then I woz 12.

― DG, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Aren't you missing soemthing obvious?*ahem*Groove is in the heart*ahem*

I'm too young to know whether it counts, but I remember liking that "I've got the key/I've got the secret" thing. And I very vaguely remember something else that needs to be here, and I'm now forced to spend all tomorrow going through old tapes to find it.

― Graham, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

if 'groove is in the heart' belongs here (which id be highly surprised about), then that is the best. however i think snap rule over all others.

"exterminate" is wicked. also remember that 'doop' song? i quite liked that one.

'callin mr vain, callin mr wrong, callin him insane'........that was pretty good. dont know if i got the lyrics quite right but they didnt seem to make the slightest bit of sense.

someone else mentioed stakka bo. that tune was cool too.

― ambrose, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yo, Wheeler, what the fuck, you were supposed to get me a copy of that version of Barbie Girl, which is, incidentally as an aside to everyone else as if it's you people's business, the best thing I've ever heard in my life. It's wicked disturbing. Barbie Girl in any version is clearly the best thing that was ever recorded, all other songs are just vague fascimiles of something way greater, namely Barbie Girl.

― Ally, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I saw Elaine C Smith (Mary in Rab C Nesbitt) do a version of Barbie Girl in panto in Glasgow about 3 years ago. Definitely wicked disturbing.

― Billy Dods, Wednesday, 5 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I love Aqua. Why did they have to leave? I tell ya, if they'd ONLY put out "Halloween" as a single they would still be around, getting top 5 singles and pissing off serious music fans everywhere. Come back, Lene, Rene, Klaus and Soren!

And if we're talking Snap, what about "Oops Up"? I loved that because back when I was 9, I thought the "What's in the bowl bitch" bit was just hysterical.

2 Unlimited, of course, are classic. Except for "Magic Friend". That blew. Didn't Kylie rip off one of their songs as well? That makes them doubly classic.

― EdwardO, Wednesday, 5 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Whigfield - Saturday Night.

not sure if it counts, but that recent(ish) poptrance tune that goes "dancing through the love parade" (or something). i can't remember who the hell its by, though, Alice Deejay?

― gareth, Wednesday, 5 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Whigfield's "Think Of You" is one of the loveliest records of its era. Also JX, who weren't mainland European but were brilliant - "There's Nothing I Won't Do" is still one of my favourite 90s singles.

― Tom, Wednesday, 5 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The best Snap single is "The First The Last Eternity"- fact. Whigfield's "Saturday Night" is classic. Don't discount het "Last Christmas" cover, either. I don't know how well know they ever were outside of the Netherlands, but Twenty 4 Seven almost invented this music. It was perfected by 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor. Indeed, "The Rhythm Of The Night" by Corono almost defines eurodance. That's an Italian single, and eurodance's roots can be traced not just to ABBA and Giorgio Moroder, but also to the so-called Italo-disco (or just plain Italo) style of the mid-Eighties. Think of Lime, Gino Soccio and, especially, Fun Fun. Is there a box-set somewhere that covers all of this with clever liner-notes? I think Rhino should take note. I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

― JoB, Wednesday, 5 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Had an argument with my sister about "Break My Stride" (by Unique II or somesuch group). She was saying it was from 1997, and I was sure that it came out long before that (and no, I wasn't thinking about the original version by whoever wrote it, as I could remember the video clip). Something about "Break My Stride" and all the other tracks of its ilk seem so desperately early-nineties (not necessarily a bad thin), it's hard to think that they're still being made.

― Tim, Wednesday, 5 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

three years pass...

reviving because i'd like some help from the ILM massive.

i'm co-hosting a eurodance-themed party sometime in november (post-election) and i'm basically assuming DJ skills, as i have the greater wealth of such songs than my co-host. anyhoo, i'm looking for suggestions of great, campy europop to play for a bunch of college kids - i think the campier/trashier, the better.

to be somewhat more specific, i'm looking for stuff along the lines of black box, snap!, vengaboys, aqua/toybox, eiffel 65, happy hardcore, even stuff like french house or italo disco. anything unapologetically "euro" and extremely danceable, basically. also, any tips on things i maybe should avoid playing would be great, too. this would be my first DJ-ing for a group of people experience and even though most people probably aren't gonna give a shit, i'd like to do a top-notch job of this.

so, throw some suggestions my way if ya got 'em. duly appreciated.

― joseph (joseph), Monday, 11 October 2004 15:36 (twenty years ago)

first experience DJ-ing for a group of people, that should read. yikes.

― joseph (joseph), Monday, 11 October 2004 15:37 (twenty years ago)

thirteen years pass...

Or the fantastic "More and More" by Captain Hollywood Project.

This has been on repeat this week...

― ... (Eazy), Friday, 22 December 2017 16:24 (seven years ago)

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