"Maybe it's the worst song ever, but it's also a great song"
July 21, 2023 8:39 AM Subscribe
Todd in the Shadows' One Hit Wonderland retrospective of Aqua's "Barbie Girl"
Side note: surprised Todd in the Shadows hasn't yet his ('own'?) tag on the site, added in another fun aconymistic tag alongside that. ;)
posted by Pachylad at 9:05 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Pachylad at 9:05 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Barbie Girl is just a good song. I remember getting that CD at a white elephant gift at school, kids thought it was like a gag gift, but that whole album owned. Still play it through time to time.
posted by GoblinHoney at 9:09 AM on July 21, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by GoblinHoney at 9:09 AM on July 21, 2023 [13 favorites]
this may be something discussed in the video — i'm saving it to watch with others tonight — but i feel absolutely positively compelled to note that aqua in general and this song in particular were basically hyperpop decades in advance. all the hyperpop dna is there. like, the overall aesthetic of barbie girl is "what if pop but too much, far too much," it feels like two or three different songs jammed awkwardly together, the vocals sound like the lead singer just sucked down a big bag of helium, and it has something subtle and smart to say about gender but it's masked behind a deliberately stupid-seeming hedonist façade. 100% hyperpop, but made in the late 90s.
aqua was brilliant and entirely ahead of their time and if you're not into aqua i'm not into you.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 9:09 AM on July 21, 2023 [26 favorites]
aqua was brilliant and entirely ahead of their time and if you're not into aqua i'm not into you.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 9:09 AM on July 21, 2023 [26 favorites]
Don't forget the bass shredding interpretation!
posted by Dark Messiah at 9:12 AM on July 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Dark Messiah at 9:12 AM on July 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
i would absolutely enjoy a Gecs cover of Barbie Girl, yeah
posted by cortex at 9:18 AM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by cortex at 9:18 AM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Barbie Girl is well suited to be sung to dogs.
Important qualities for songs being sung to dogs:
(1) Simple and catchy, ideally at least a little annoying
(2) Easily transmutilated so the words are about the dogs in question
I'm a puppy girl in a puppy world (vallhund girl, [name of dog] girl also work well here)
Eating kibbles sometimes I go dribbles
"Shake Your Love" also works well because of the simple "verb the noun" structure. Bite the leg, I gotsta bite the leg, bite your leg, I just gots to bite your leg. And also obviously Copacabana.
You'll know you're doing it right when your dogs are ashamed to be seen with you.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:38 AM on July 21, 2023 [29 favorites]
Important qualities for songs being sung to dogs:
(1) Simple and catchy, ideally at least a little annoying
(2) Easily transmutilated so the words are about the dogs in question
I'm a puppy girl in a puppy world (vallhund girl, [name of dog] girl also work well here)
Eating kibbles sometimes I go dribbles
"Shake Your Love" also works well because of the simple "verb the noun" structure. Bite the leg, I gotsta bite the leg, bite your leg, I just gots to bite your leg. And also obviously Copacabana.
You'll know you're doing it right when your dogs are ashamed to be seen with you.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:38 AM on July 21, 2023 [29 favorites]
Barbie Girl is a fantastic song and (although I did not recognize it until decades later because I was a stupid teenager when it came out) so much kinkier and more transgressive than the edgelord crap I was listening to at the time.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:38 AM on July 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:38 AM on July 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
I have always unapologetically loved this song and I still don’t get why people hate it (lyrics aside) (and even the lyrics never really bothered me because I always heard the song as coming from an actual doll - and those were pretty much always upside down naked in the toy box. So to me the lyrics never felt sexual so much as inappropriate.)
You can almost feel yourself getting dumber as you listen …why does he say that like it’s a bad thing? Forget it, Jake, it’s pop music.
The worst song ever is “What Does the Fox Say.” Or if we can go back further, “Turn on Your Heart Light.”
posted by Mchelly at 9:39 AM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
You can almost feel yourself getting dumber as you listen …why does he say that like it’s a bad thing? Forget it, Jake, it’s pop music.
The worst song ever is “What Does the Fox Say.” Or if we can go back further, “Turn on Your Heart Light.”
posted by Mchelly at 9:39 AM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Or if it was just way too sad.
Barbie's Adagio?
posted by Paul Slade at 9:40 AM on July 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
Barbie's Adagio?
posted by Paul Slade at 9:40 AM on July 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
Barbie's Adagio
I was today years old before it occurred to me to wonder whether "Ken" might be a reference to "Kennedy".
(Per wikipedia, Ruth Handler's son "Kenneth" is the doll's namesake. Still..)
posted by gauche at 9:53 AM on July 21, 2023
I was today years old before it occurred to me to wonder whether "Ken" might be a reference to "Kennedy".
(Per wikipedia, Ruth Handler's son "Kenneth" is the doll's namesake. Still..)
posted by gauche at 9:53 AM on July 21, 2023
Compared to the typical "I'm attracted to someone, and I'm gonna sing four chords about it" songs, Barbie Girl is practically progressive rock. There's a different topic, and at least six chords. It was on our wedding reception playlist.
The worst song ever is "Oh No" by Tiktok.
posted by kurumi at 9:57 AM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
The worst song ever is "Oh No" by Tiktok.
posted by kurumi at 9:57 AM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Don't forget the bass shredding interpretation!
> Or if it was just way too sad.
or the medieval bardcore version
posted by trig at 10:20 AM on July 21, 2023
> Or if it was just way too sad.
or the medieval bardcore version
posted by trig at 10:20 AM on July 21, 2023
The worst song ever isn't really that bad, if it catches you when you're in the right mood for it.
posted by box at 10:26 AM on July 21, 2023
posted by box at 10:26 AM on July 21, 2023
> i would absolutely enjoy a Gecs cover of Barbie Girl, yeah
i was thinking more the pc music corner of hyperpop but also yes totally this track is practically a spiritual successor to barbie girl.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 10:31 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
i was thinking more the pc music corner of hyperpop but also yes totally this track is practically a spiritual successor to barbie girl.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 10:31 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
this may be something discussed in the video — i'm saving it to watch with others tonight — but i feel absolutely positively compelled to note that aqua in general and this song in particular were basically hyperpop decades in advance.He absolutely does go into this too around 16:18-17:07, also noting it being probably The Codifier for the 'Barbie' aesthetic borrowed by pop stars like Nicki Minaj and Kim Petras.
posted by Pachylad at 10:36 AM on July 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
I like "Barbie Girl." I also like "Blue (Ba-Da-Bee)," though, so there's that. I'm up for a good silly song that's about fun, especially if it's sly. It's the ones that are trying to be ponderous in some way that get on my nerves. Or misogynistic, of course. I really liked "If You Want to Be Happy" when I was a little kid and didn't really hear the words.
posted by Countess Elena at 11:08 AM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 11:08 AM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
i was thinking more the pc music corner of hyperpop
I find the idea of a like Hannah Diamond or A. J. Cook version less specifically tempting because they tend to be sparkly to begin with so I'm not sure the feel would shift enough (though I agree that some of the squeaky-clean fuckery side of PC Music would have been a perfect place for it to happen the first time). But split the difference and let's have GFOTY do it.
It's exactly that great hyperpop punk feeling of Dumbest Girl Alive or or Hollywood Baby that I think would work really well from 100 Gecs, yeah. Barbie Girl with hollering and a big abrasive guitar riff.
posted by cortex at 11:43 AM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
I find the idea of a like Hannah Diamond or A. J. Cook version less specifically tempting because they tend to be sparkly to begin with so I'm not sure the feel would shift enough (though I agree that some of the squeaky-clean fuckery side of PC Music would have been a perfect place for it to happen the first time). But split the difference and let's have GFOTY do it.
It's exactly that great hyperpop punk feeling of Dumbest Girl Alive or or Hollywood Baby that I think would work really well from 100 Gecs, yeah. Barbie Girl with hollering and a big abrasive guitar riff.
posted by cortex at 11:43 AM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Add me to the "Barbie Girl" is a great song and Aqua is awesome chorus.
The worst song is "Soul Sister" by Train. I would rather be hit by a train, thanks.
posted by the primroses were over at 12:42 PM on July 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
The worst song is "Soul Sister" by Train. I would rather be hit by a train, thanks.
posted by the primroses were over at 12:42 PM on July 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
hey, that's unfair, Train has also written some other bad songs
posted by cortex at 12:45 PM on July 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by cortex at 12:45 PM on July 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
but it's also a great song"
there are no bad songs, only bad performances.
I have yet to hear a good performance of Barbie Girl.
posted by philip-random at 12:55 PM on July 21, 2023
there are no bad songs, only bad performances.
I have yet to hear a good performance of Barbie Girl.
posted by philip-random at 12:55 PM on July 21, 2023
Sorry, the worst moment that ruins an otherwise OK song is when Chris Frantz "sings" "James Brown" in a fake James Brown voice in the middle of "Genius of Love". Makes me rage every time if I forget to skip the track before I get to that point.
posted by maxwelton at 1:17 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by maxwelton at 1:17 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
But Barbie Girl is a great song. I'd buy an album of covers of it from unexpected bands.
posted by maxwelton at 1:18 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by maxwelton at 1:18 PM on July 21, 2023
Y'all haven't lived until you've heard my death metal rendition of 'Barbie Girl'. It was one of the highlights of my karaoke performances...
Maxwelton: As a child of the 1980s, I respectfully disagree on "Genius of Love"- the 'James Brown' is the non sequitur that blends into the relaxed caribbean beat to make a perfect summer breezy song. It's like the ridiculous garnish added to a mai tai. It's stupid but it's a way of saying "hey relax and enjoy, this isn't meant to mean anything".
posted by LeRoienJaune at 2:11 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Maxwelton: As a child of the 1980s, I respectfully disagree on "Genius of Love"- the 'James Brown' is the non sequitur that blends into the relaxed caribbean beat to make a perfect summer breezy song. It's like the ridiculous garnish added to a mai tai. It's stupid but it's a way of saying "hey relax and enjoy, this isn't meant to mean anything".
posted by LeRoienJaune at 2:11 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Well, the first hit on my search "Barbie Girl Cover" is from Postmodern Jukebox, and it's pretty okay.
I saw a 9am showing of Barbie this morning, so I'm more than up for all of this.
posted by hippybear at 2:14 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I saw a 9am showing of Barbie this morning, so I'm more than up for all of this.
posted by hippybear at 2:14 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
OOh, Ali Spagnola covering 'Barbie Girl' in the style of The Killers... as of 4 hours ago.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 2:16 PM on July 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 2:16 PM on July 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'd listen to Dr. Mrs. The Monarch sing "Barbie Girl"
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:17 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:17 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
OOh, Ali Spagnola covering 'Barbie Girl' in the style of The Killers... yt as of 4 hours ago.
Just imagining this is entertaining.
posted by Selena777 at 2:32 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Just imagining this is entertaining.
posted by Selena777 at 2:32 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was introduced to Aqua by Ali Davis's marvelous True Porn Clerk Stories. She worked in a video store, and the unwritten rule was that the clerks had to be far cooler than the customers, and if possible than each other. Her approach was to open the store by playing two entire Aqua albums back to back.
She pointed out that they were Swedish and how else are you going to get going in the long dark winters except with hyperkinetic pop?
Anyway, Aqua is awesome, and for those who never got the memo, "Barbie Girl" is ironic.
posted by zompist at 2:43 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
She pointed out that they were Swedish and how else are you going to get going in the long dark winters except with hyperkinetic pop?
Anyway, Aqua is awesome, and for those who never got the memo, "Barbie Girl" is ironic.
posted by zompist at 2:43 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
omg omg okay i need someone to do me a favor: please ask me what my favorite talking heads song is.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 2:43 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 2:43 PM on July 21, 2023
> Barbie Girl" is ironic.
and iconic. it's like, ironic and iconic, it's got it all
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 2:45 PM on July 21, 2023
and iconic. it's like, ironic and iconic, it's got it all
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 2:45 PM on July 21, 2023
Have not logged into metafilter for like 1-2yrs. Not sure why not...who knows...but this post was great and thank you. That was a great link! Beats reading about politics, climate-change, or corruption on the internet for sure.
posted by skepticallypleased at 2:49 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by skepticallypleased at 2:49 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
> Barbie Girl" is ironic.
and iconic. it's like, ironic and iconic, it's got it all
Life's fantastic when you're plastic.
posted by hippybear at 2:56 PM on July 21, 2023
and iconic. it's like, ironic and iconic, it's got it all
Life's fantastic when you're plastic.
posted by hippybear at 2:56 PM on July 21, 2023
The Strange, True Story of Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” How Mattel learned to stop worrying and embrace Aqua’s infamous hit. [Slate]
posted by hippybear at 3:26 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:26 PM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Y'all haven't lived until you've heard my death metal rendition of 'Barbie Girl'.
tried some random Youtube Barbie Girl death metal options. They all failed, because for me, the gimmick is way too obvious. Whereas this Medieval Style Cover feels like it has a reason to exist. But the winner has to be Johnny Cash sings "Barbie Girl" (A.I.)
posted by philip-random at 3:49 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
tried some random Youtube Barbie Girl death metal options. They all failed, because for me, the gimmick is way too obvious. Whereas this Medieval Style Cover feels like it has a reason to exist. But the winner has to be Johnny Cash sings "Barbie Girl" (A.I.)
posted by philip-random at 3:49 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Barbie Girl is well suited to be sung to dogs.
I just had a sudden memory of singing that song to my previous puppers (RIP): "C'mon Daisy, let's go potty. ah ah ah"
posted by hydra77 at 3:49 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I just had a sudden memory of singing that song to my previous puppers (RIP): "C'mon Daisy, let's go potty. ah ah ah"
posted by hydra77 at 3:49 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have time for Todd in the Shadows, that song about the guys in the mine eating their pal was great. And I love that he has respect for Hanson.
posted by Elmore at 4:27 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by Elmore at 4:27 PM on July 21, 2023
The worst song ever is "Oh No" by Tiktok.
I had to look up what this meant. If you’re referring to the Shangri-Las’ Remember (Walkin’ in the Sand) then the you couldn’t be more wrong.
posted by stopgap at 5:42 PM on July 21, 2023
I had to look up what this meant. If you’re referring to the Shangri-Las’ Remember (Walkin’ in the Sand) then the you couldn’t be more wrong.
posted by stopgap at 5:42 PM on July 21, 2023
For those who can't get enough covers, here are six of them:
"I'm a Barbie girl" again, but in the style of 6 classical composers (SLYT)
Via kottke
posted by lhauser at 7:37 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
"I'm a Barbie girl" again, but in the style of 6 classical composers (SLYT)
Via kottke
posted by lhauser at 7:37 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
“Five Good Covers: ‘Barbie Girl’ (Aqua), ” Sara Stoudt, Cover Me, 21 July 2023
posted by ob1quixote at 8:39 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by ob1quixote at 8:39 PM on July 21, 2023
i’m going to pretend that someone has asked me what my favorite talking heads song and will answer accordingly:
> hey, lowercase bombastic pronouncements! what’s your favorite talking heads song?
my favorite talking heads song is genius of love!
anyway. i watched the todd in the shadows thing last night and i gotta tell you i was not impressed. is it because of his audience that he has to do all this performative “everyone thinks this song is awful and bad and terrible but what if maybe it’s smart and good? so to make this material relatable to that everyone who thinks the song is awful and bad i’m going to start off by calling it awful and bad and terrible and make a disgusted voice about it so when i finally call this smart and good song a smart and good song it’ll seem like that obvious fact is being dragged out of me by misogynist homophobic wolves” stuff?
because in my universe, which admittedly might not be consensus intersubjective reality such as it currently is, in my universe people have pretty much agreed that aqua is dope for decades at this point. like the whole “oh noes aqua bad111!!” guff from the late 1900s was just an artifact of them being way ahead of their time — they were doing interesting experimental things with the pop genre while also using a bunch of high-pitched electronic sounds that people generally didn’t use at the time, and that combo set off peoples’ “unfamiliar thing? unfamiliar bad! thing bad!” responses in an era where “unfamiliar bad!” was a more socially acceptable stance.
anyway. todd. just say the good song is good and talk about it and its history and leave the “i believe that you believe the song is bad so i’m going to pretend i agree with you in order to coax you toward realizing the song is good” strategy behind, because it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard to have media that i’m watching treat me like i’m someone who doesn’t even know that aqua is good. it’s 2023 and knowing that aqua is good is some basic-ass shit these days, it’s 101-level humaning, and people who don’t know that aqua is good need to complain to whoever educated them because it’s clear that whoever that is has done it wrong.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 8:45 AM on July 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
> hey, lowercase bombastic pronouncements! what’s your favorite talking heads song?
my favorite talking heads song is genius of love!
anyway. i watched the todd in the shadows thing last night and i gotta tell you i was not impressed. is it because of his audience that he has to do all this performative “everyone thinks this song is awful and bad and terrible but what if maybe it’s smart and good? so to make this material relatable to that everyone who thinks the song is awful and bad i’m going to start off by calling it awful and bad and terrible and make a disgusted voice about it so when i finally call this smart and good song a smart and good song it’ll seem like that obvious fact is being dragged out of me by misogynist homophobic wolves” stuff?
because in my universe, which admittedly might not be consensus intersubjective reality such as it currently is, in my universe people have pretty much agreed that aqua is dope for decades at this point. like the whole “oh noes aqua bad111!!” guff from the late 1900s was just an artifact of them being way ahead of their time — they were doing interesting experimental things with the pop genre while also using a bunch of high-pitched electronic sounds that people generally didn’t use at the time, and that combo set off peoples’ “unfamiliar thing? unfamiliar bad! thing bad!” responses in an era where “unfamiliar bad!” was a more socially acceptable stance.
anyway. todd. just say the good song is good and talk about it and its history and leave the “i believe that you believe the song is bad so i’m going to pretend i agree with you in order to coax you toward realizing the song is good” strategy behind, because it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard to have media that i’m watching treat me like i’m someone who doesn’t even know that aqua is good. it’s 2023 and knowing that aqua is good is some basic-ass shit these days, it’s 101-level humaning, and people who don’t know that aqua is good need to complain to whoever educated them because it’s clear that whoever that is has done it wrong.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 8:45 AM on July 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
I absolutely would’ve told you, before watching this video, that I didn’t know a single Aqua song other than Barbie Girl, but I knew not only Doctor Jones and Turn Back Time, but also Cartoon Heroes. So yeah, if you were a teen in Northern Europe in the late 90s, they were inescapable.
And let me agree with Todd in the Shadows that of those, Turn Back Time is the pick of the lot.
posted by Kattullus at 11:55 AM on July 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
And let me agree with Todd in the Shadows that of those, Turn Back Time is the pick of the lot.
posted by Kattullus at 11:55 AM on July 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Hey! the guy who did "Barbie Girl in the Style of Six Old Masters" (linked above by lhauser) also did it as a Three-Part Fugue.
(...Which cracked me up...)
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 4:38 PM on July 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
(...Which cracked me up...)
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 4:38 PM on July 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
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