‘Music For The Dancers’ N°113 – Vintage 90s Music Videos

1 . The Simpsons – Do The Bartman

“Do the Bartman” barrels into the room with the kind of cartoonish pomp you’d expect from an animated nine-year-old with a slingshot in his pocket and a penchant for rebellion.

Released in 1990 as part of *The Simpsons Sing the Blues* album, the track wears its novelty status on its sleeve, serving as a pop-rap showcase for America’s favorite animated troublemaker.

Nancy Cartwright’s energetic delivery as Bart bombs through the verses, while Michael Jackson’s uncredited backing vocals add an odd pop royalty twist to the proceedings.

Despite its jokey origins, the track vaulted to the top of charts in the UK, Australia, and Ireland, where its weird blend of satire and ridiculousness resonated like a TV dinner in a microwave.

The accompanying music video is all chaotic swagger, directed by Brad Bird and set to Jackson-esque choreography that somehow makes Bart Simpson both a rebel and a reluctant pop star.

Whether you view it as an earworm or cultural artifact, “Do the Bartman” remains an unapologetically ’90s time capsule, where rap met cartoons, and absurdity ruled the airwaves.

Featured on the 1990 album “The Simpsons Sing the Blues”.

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2 . Will Smith – Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It

Will Smith’s “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” revels in unabashed exuberance, fusing hip-hop swagger with a celebratory, almost whimsical sheen.

The beat, stitched together by Poke & Tone, leans heavily on Sister Sledge’s “He’s the Greatest Dancer,” wielding nostalgia as both a weapon and a wink.

Smith’s verses are less about lyrical depth and more about cultivating an infectious confidence—equal parts charm and cheek.

The track’s use of record scratching by Jazzy Jeff is subtle yet effective, a touch that nods to hip-hop’s roots while aiming squarely at pop accessibility.

Its global success—reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100—speaks to its universal appeal, a rare alignment of mainstream pandering and credibility.

The accompanying video, directed by Hype Williams, feels like pure spectacle, oscillating between Vegas glitz and playful Egyptian kitsch while boasting choreography that flirts with absurdity and brilliance alike.

“Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” remains a lighthearted time capsule of the late ‘90s, where showmanship and positivity triumphed over cynicism.

Featured on the 1997 album “Big Willie Style”.

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3 . Reel 2 Real – I Like To Move It (w/ The Mad Stuntman)

“I Like to Move It” by Reel 2 Real, featuring the Mad Stuntman, represents a peculiar slice of mid-’90s dancehall meeting club culture.

Produced by Erick Morillo, the track layers infectious beats over Mark Quashie’s energetic vocal delivery, infusing a Trinidadian flair that feels refreshingly raw amidst the polished dance hits of its era.

Curiously, it only scraped into the Billboard Hot 100 at number 89 but found itself catapulted to chart-topping fame in Europe, with number one spots in France and the Netherlands and a strikingly wide resonance across Germany, the UK, and club charts worldwide.

Despite its limited mainstream U.S. success, the track’s DNA is unmistakably etched into the grooves of 1990s dance floors, later acquiring a surreal second life in the “Madagascar” franchise as a meme-like anthem voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen.

The production’s relentless pace and absurdly catchy hook can be both its charm and its critique—relentless repetition that either grinds or hypnotizes depending on your mood or affection for dancehall.

The song gravitates between novelty earworm and cultural touchstone, an artifact of its time that somehow still commands attention decades later. Its tension lies in a juxtaposition: a functional club hit with a strangely enduring legacy in kids’ animation, a contradiction that only makes its story more engaging.

Featured on the 1994 album “Move It!”.

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4 . Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe

Welcome to the curious sonic experiment that is “Cotton Eye Joe,” where Swedish Eurodance collides with Appalachian folk like a mechanical bull charging through a bluegrass festival.

Released in 1994 by Rednex, a group that takes its stage personas about as seriously as a denim-clad rodeo clown, the track reinvents a 19th-century American folk tune into a rave-ready anthem that thrives on its absurdity.

The production, spearheaded by Pat Reiniz, stitches together hyperactive dance beats, a relentless banjo riff, and shrill fiddles, resulting in an energetic Frankenstein’s monster of genres that somehow still gets wedding guests on their feet decades later.

Annika Ljungberg’s vocal delivery ping-pongs between enthusiastically nasal verses and the oddly infectious chorus, credited to Göran Danielsson, which loops in your brain like an advertising jingle gone rogue.

Chart-topping success around the globe, particularly in Europe, reveals a shared appetite for the ridiculous, with the track managing to claim the number-one spot in countries as diverse as Germany, Norway, and the UK.

Its reception in the United States proved slightly more restrained, peaking at a respectable yet less dominant position on the Billboard Hot 100—perhaps American audiences found it unsettling to have their own folk traditions handed back to them in neon spandex.

The accompanying music video—because of course there’s more spectacle to squeeze out—finds the group play-acting as time-traveling hillbillies, a visual cacophony that snagged accolades at the 1995 Swedish Dance Music Awards.

What “Cotton Eye Joe” lacks in nuance or subtlety, it makes up for in shameless self-awareness, proudly waving its novelty flag in a way that dares you not to join the party.

The song’s enduring popularity, whether played ironically or from genuine nostalgia, proves that occasionally the most over-the-top cultural mashups are the ones that leave the deepest grooves on the dancefloor.

Featured on the 1995 album “Sex & Violins”.

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5 . Aretha Franklin – A Deeper Love

“A Deeper Love” finds Aretha Franklin channeling pure resilience through a track born from the dynamic duo of Robert Clivillés and David Cole, with C+C Music Factory steering production.

The song bursts forth as a sonic anthem of empowerment, carried by the unflinching clarity of Franklin’s voice, underscored by Lisa Fischer’s formidable backing vocals.

Its pulsating beat doesn’t just belong to the dance floor; it demands ownership of an era, climbing to the peak of US dance charts while making modest dents in others.

Featured in the film “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit,” the remix over the end credits feels less like a closing note and more like an insistence on staying power.

Though the song fell short of a Grammy win for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, it wasn’t for lack of vocal ferocity or thematic relevance.

By 2022, its place among LGBTQ anthems was solidified, landing at number 42 on Billboard’s curated list, a nod to its enduring cultural weight.

The track doesn’t pander to vulnerability; rather, it reinforces the idea that strength lies not in dismissing struggle but in carrying it with conviction and an unapologetic groove.

Featured on the 1994 album “Greatest Hits: 1980–1994”.

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6 . Sybil – Walk on By

Sybil’s rendition of “Walk On By” peels away the melancholic haze of the Dionne Warwick original and reimagines it as a polished, danceable anthem with a 1990s pop sheen.

Produced by Eddie O’Loughlin and wrapped in the distinct production of PWL Records, the track is both nostalgic and unabashedly contemporary for its time.

Its thumping bassline and shimmering synths underscore Sybil’s smooth, expressive vocals, toeing the line between homage and reinvention.

True to its chart performance, peaking impressively at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, the song captures the transitional moment when classic 60s heartbreak ballads were being recalibrated for club environments.

The juxtaposition is almost playful: emotional devastation packaged in a form designed to make you forget your troubles on the dance floor.

Sybil had already demonstrated her knack for reinterpretation with “Don’t Make Me Over,” and “Walk On By” solidifies her ability to breathe fresh life into familiar tunes.

Still, the track sometimes feels caught between its aspirations; the glossy production risks sacrificing the emotional subtlety of the original for accessibility.

The accompanying music video captures this tension, with Sybil delivering a poised performance yet surrounded by the visual tropes typical of the late 80s and early 90s.

Despite this, the song remains a standout in her catalog—a rare moment when the weight of a classic is carried into a new era without collapsing under it.

In hindsight, “Walk On By” lands not only as a chart success but as a snapshot of the era’s broader pop trends, bridging the gap between nostalgia and reinvention with mixed but intriguing results.

Featured on the 1990 album “Sybil “.

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7 . 2 Unlimited – No limit

“No Limit” by 2 Unlimited delivers an electrifying burst of Eurodance energy, straight out of the feverish soundscape of the early ’90s.

Released in January 1993, it channels relentless optimism through high-octane beats and a hook so relentless, it’s practically engineered to carve itself into your brain after the first listen.

The track leans heavily into its production wizardry, thanks to Phil Wilde, who layers pulsating rhythms with strategically placed handclaps and a propulsive melodic backbone that screams club anthem.

Its vocal dynamic is a curious case: Anita Doth takes center stage while Ray Slijngaard’s rap contributions are surgically extracted in the UK single version, leaving only the hypnotic, looped chant of “Techno.”

The music video, directed by Nick Burgess-Jones, is equally over-the-top, blending kaleidoscopic visuals in a way that unapologetically screams peak MTV Europe.

Critics at the time labeled it “madly catchy” and “tremendously exciting,” but its colossal chart impact—claiming the number-one spot in 35 countries—was more a reflection of its sheer audacity than subtlety.

If “No Limit” falters anywhere, it’s in its repetitive insistence—it doesn’t so much evolve as it bulldozes you with the same message until submission is inevitable.

Still, this isn’t just a song; it’s an artifact of boundless possibilities wrapped in thunderous synths, leaving fans and skeptics alike tapping their feet whether they want to or not.

Featured on the 1993 album “No Limits”.

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8 . Mirrorball – Given Up

“Given Up” by Mirrorball is a curious relic of late-’90s UK pop culture, offering an ephemeral presence on the charts that flickered more than it burned. Released in 1998, this standalone single drifts through a space that faintly echoes the trance and pop experimentations endemic to that era, though it leaves no indelible mark.

The track peaked at number 11 on the UK charts in 1999, a respectable achievement for a band otherwise lost to relative obscurity. Its chart tenure of just four weeks mirrors its fleeting impact—hardly a game-changing splash, but enough to ensure its faint recollection in nostalgic playlists. One might say it arrived, nodded politely, and exited through the side door of collective memory.

Musically, “Given Up” blends ethereal, almost weightless melodies with lyrical themes orbiting surrender and resignation—possibly a reflection of the band’s own subdued commitment to asserting a larger presence in the competitive music landscape. The production teeters between minimalistic restraint and trance-like ambiance, yet it never fully realizes either path, occupying a liminal space where intent feels blurred.

Lacking a parent album to contextualize it more fully and boasting no major collaborations or noteworthy accolades, the song’s identity remains elusive. Its absence in major TV or film soundtracks underscores its peripheral status in pop’s broader lexicon, while the music video, available on platforms like YouTube, serves less as a cultural artifact than as a footnote for the few who stumble upon it.

“Given Up” sits at an intersection of mediocrity and charm, neither daring enough to captivate nor mundane enough to dismiss entirely. It’s the sonic equivalent of a passenger on a train you vaguely remember once sharing a glance with—an unintrusive companion on a journey you’ve mostly forgotten.

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9 . Take That – Could It Be Magic

“Could It Be Magic” by Take That thrives on its dichotomy: an ode to the past reimagined through the kaleidoscope of early ’90s pop exuberance. Originally rooted in Barry Manilow’s lush piano arrangement and inspired by Chopin, this rendition discards subtlety in favor of buoyant theatricality.

Propelled by the Rapino Brothers’ glossy production, the track borrows heavily from Donna Summer’s disco-infused interpretation, turning melancholic introspection into a glittering celebration. The pulsating beats and layered vocals feel like a deliberate attempt to outrun Manilow’s pensive nuances for something far more performative.

Charting at number three in the UK, the song isn’t just a commercial artifact; it’s a cultural snapshot of boy-band ambition packaged for mass appeal. The music video, a campy kaleidoscope of synchronized moves set against theatrically lit backdrops, amplifies Take That’s eagerness to imprint themselves on the MTV era.

While it lacks the original’s emotional resonance, its purpose is hardly to dig deep. This is pop at its most calculated, its most unabashedly eager to please. The track’s enduring place in the band’s repertoire—a holographic Robbie Williams cameo in their 2006 tour, for instance—signals its role as more than just a filler single. It’s a timestamp of an era unafraid to redefine legacies through the garish lens of reinvention.

Featured on the 1992 album “Take That & Party”.

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10 . Underworld – Born Slippy

Underworld’s “Born Slippy (Nuxx)” thrums with the euphoric chaos of a late-night unraveling—a pulsing ode to intoxication that crashes as much as it soars.

Far from polished poetry, the track spits out fragmented phrases and slurred observations, as if overheard from a pub’s dimly lit corner.

Karl Hyde’s half-spoken, half-sung refrains balance between exhilaration and exhaustion, creating a hazy narrative that’s as confrontational as it is hypnotic.

The relentless, looping beat from Rick Smith and Darren Emerson underpins the song’s raw emotional edges, fusing mechanical precision with human vulnerability.

What makes “Born Slippy (Nuxx)” resonate decades later isn’t just its anthem-like build or its placement in *Trainspotting*; it’s the tension between hedonistic thrill and reflective despair.

It captures a moment, a mess, a mood—neither celebrating nor condemning but existing in the blurry in-between where reality bends under the influence.

Featured on the 1995 album “Trainspotting : Soundtrack”.

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11 . C & C Music Factory – Gonna Make You Sweat [Everybody Dance Now]

Few tracks from the ‘90s radiate pure, infectious energy quite like C+C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).”

Released in November 1990 as the lead single off their debut album, the song plants itself in the sonic landscape of house beats and high-octane production.

The velvety powerhouse vocals of Martha Wash dominate the chorus, delivering the iconic “Everybody Dance Now” line with a gusto that’s instantly recognizable.

Interestingly, the song’s accompanying video presented a controversy of its own, with Zelma Davis lip-syncing to Wash’s vocals, a choice that led to a lawsuit and a consequential credit correction.

Laced with rap verses by Freedom Williams, the track brings together polar audio textures, seamlessly blending rhythmic momentum with vividly assertive delivery.

Produced by Robert Clivillés and David Cole, the song became an undeniable chart force, peaking at No. 1 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and enjoying similar acclaim across Europe.

Its music video, directed by Marcus Nispel, offers a high-energy visual feast, with pulsating dance routines matching the relentless tempo.

What makes this track compelling isn’t just the driven beat or club-floor-ready instrumentation, but its ability to toe the line between performance bombast and sheer raw dynamism.

Though the lawsuit momentarily cast a shadow over the song’s meteoric climb, it’s hard to deny how deeply it embedded itself into the pop-cultural zeitgeist of the decade.

From its gripping piano riff that opens the track to the powerhouse closer, this is more than a song; it’s a declaration to move, sweat, and yes—dance now.

Featured on the 1990 album “Gonna Make You Sweat”.

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12 . SNAP! – Exterminate (w/ Niki Haris)

“Exterminate!” by SNAP featuring Niki Haris erupts onto the Eurodance scene like a siren call from a dystopian nightclub.

Released in late 1992, it leans heavily into trance influences, offering a darker, hypnotic counterpart to the group’s earlier mega-hit, “Rhythm Is a Dancer.”

Niki Haris, often remembered more for her collaborations with Madonna, takes center stage here, delivering vocals that are as commanding as they are sleekly robotic.

The production thrives on a pulsing beat that feels almost industrial, underscored by sharp synth lines and relentless, propulsive energy.

Chart-wise, it was a juggernaut in Europe, claiming top spots in Finland and Spain while parking itself at number two on the UK charts for weeks.

Its global reach extended to Canada and even nudged its way into the U.S., though it found less commercial glory stateside.

The music video encapsulates the track’s futuristic vibe, drenched in stark visuals that flirt with cyberpunk aesthetics, blending metallic edge with just enough grit to keep it interesting.

Curiously, a 2003 reinterpretation by F. Michael Sky and Farmer Murray sprang to life in Switzerland, showcasing the song’s oddball staying power in niche pockets.

For all its success, “Exterminate!” manages to be both an artifact of its time and a track with a peculiar afterlife, straddling the line between club anthem and cultural curio.

Featured on the 1992 album “The Madman’s Return”.

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