‘Music For The Dancers’ N°333 – Vintage 2000s Music Videos

1 . Garbage – Cherry Lips [Go Baby Go!]

“Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)” emerges as a curious artifact from Garbage’s 2002 output, nestled snugly within the eclectic fabric of their third album, “Beautiful Garbage.”

Where the song truly flexes its identity is in its patchwork instrumentation, a tech-meets-whimsy concoction that insists on its quirks. Steve Marker’s tuba routed through a wah-wah pedal pushes the sonic envelope just enough to escape kitsch, while Daniel Shulman’s bassline—produced via a Sabre bass and an Ampeg B15 amplifier—grounds the track in groove. It’s a beeping, burbling, glam-charged bubblegum anthem, textured but never overdone. Call it retro-futuristic, if you must, but one suspects the band called it sheer fun in Smart Studios while locking it down in April and May of 2001.

Originally titled “Wonderjam,” the track gives away its lighter ambitions, unconcerned with the dense tensions of Garbage’s earlier oeuvre. And yet, its buoyancy earned it wide global appeal. Peaking at No. 7 on Australia’s ARIA Singles Chart and eventually going Gold, its infectiousness was undeniable, even as its New Zealand chart position at No. 22 hinted at less universal enthusiasm. Italy’s winter Breil Stones campaign gave “Cherry Lips” a marketing edge, boosting it to No. 8 there—proof of its commercial malleability.

The video, directed by Dawn Shadforth, arguably steals the show. The mashup of 1960s biker movies and Japanese manga lifts the song’s visual counterpart into the realm of pop-art pastiche, distilling a celebration of eccentricity that the music only flirts with. But does the track itself risk feeling lightweight in contrast? Perhaps.

Garbage’s live outings peppered the promotion cycle with appearances on platforms such as “Later With Jools Holland” and “Top of the Pops,” as well as radio takes on shows like Radio One’s “Evening Session.” Yet the track’s legacy remains entwined with goodwill: as their first release following September 11, the band donated royalties to the International Red Cross. Substance, then, sits just behind the glitter, even if the track itself skims surfaces more than it excavates depths.

“Cherry Lips” is exactly what it purports to be: fizzy, self-aware, and a bit offbeat. While not a revolutionary addition to Garbage’s catalog, it stakes its claim as a playful diversion, denying heaviness while still landing blows where it counts.

Featured on the 2001 album “Beautiful Garbage”.

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2 . Green Velvet – La La Land

“La La Land” by Green Velvet, released in 2001 as part of his album “Whatever,” feels less like a track and more like a knowing grimace aimed at the excesses of electronic music culture.

Written and produced by Curtis Alan Jones (the man behind the alias), with additional vocals by Walter Phillips, the song’s deadpan delivery pairs with a frenetic, acidic beat to weave a sly commentary on indulgence. Lyrically, it’s sparse but effective—one could argue its repetition mirrors the cyclical, almost mechanical nature of the scenes it critiques.

Its reception was as diverse as its remix portfolio. Chart-wise, “La La Land” sat comfortably, peaking at number 12 on the *Billboard* Dance Club Songs chart and hitting number 29 on the UK Singles (OCC) chart, all the while nabbing the top spot on the UK Dance (OCC) chart. It’s undoubtedly a hit, though its reach varies across regions, from Belgium’s Ultratop 50 Flanders chart (22) to a more modest position in Germany at 48. The track exists in multiple incarnations, with extended cuts, remixes by Dave Clarke and Filterheadz, and a Future Shock Club Mix stretching it out to nearly eight minutes of twisted euphoria.

What makes “La La Land” endure isn’t just its sardonic edge but its adaptability. It’s no accident that DJs like Tiësto and CamelPhat continue to find it useful in sets over two decades later—it offers both a critique and a piece of the very culture it lampoons. Green Velvet’s techno and house roots are evident here, and while the production is polished, the song eschews gloss for a deliberately raw undercurrent.

If there’s something to be said against it, “La La Land” might occasionally feel too self-aware for its own good, its humor bordering on cynical detachment. But perhaps that’s the point: in the hedonistic chaos of “Whatever,” it’s a track that dares to blink first.

Featured on the 2001 album “Whatever”.

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3 . Dirty Vegas – Days Go By

“Days Go By” by Dirty Vegas stands as a paradox within early 2000s house music, straddling accessibility and emotional depth with mixed results.

Initially composed acoustically on an Ibiza beach before its transformation in London, the track owes much of its structure to Ben and Paul Harris’s polished production and Steve Smith’s airy vocal delivery. The song’s shift from wistful guitar chords to four-on-the-floor beats creates a dichotomy, swapping raw fragility for radio-ready sheen.

Its mainstream breakthrough came, fittingly, via a 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse advertisement. The partnership felt less like a happy accident and more like a calculated move, the song’s hypnotic hook seamlessly pairing with sped-up shots of urban landscapes. This corporate marriage propelled it to number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100—a rare feat for a British electronic act at the time.

The accompanying music video reflects this dual personality. Set outside Chroni’s Famous Sandwich Shop in East Los Angeles, the image of a man breakdancing as a plea to win back a lost love borders on poignancy but treads close to absurdity. In cutting a second, more commercial version featuring a car, Dirty Vegas undercut some of their artistic aspirations.

Winning the Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2003 situates “Days Go By” among more complex contenders like Kylie Minogue’s “Love At First Sight.” While it’s hard to argue with its success, its placement alongside tracks in “Dance Central” or “DDRMAX2 -DanceDanceRevolution-” reinforces its role as dancefloor filler rather than high art.

As a flagship track from their debut album, “Dirty Vegas,” which debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200 and went Gold, its longevity rests less on innovation and more on a polished, middle-ground appeal. Dirty Vegas carved out this niche with skill but left questions of depth unanswered.

Featured on the 2002 album “Dirty Vegas “.

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4 . Lady Gaga – Beautiful Dirty Rich

“Beautiful, Dirty, Rich” captures the scrappy ethos of an artist clawing her way through the glitter and grime of New York’s Lower East Side, framed within the synthetic pulse of late-2000s dance-pop.

The song’s producer, Rob Fusari, nudges Lady Gaga’s initial hesitation toward dance beats into a polished electro-disco-funk blend. With a groove structured around a brisk 120 BPM and a B minor progression, the track is built on synthesizers that strut with the confidence of Queen’s drum machines—a direct comparison Fusari reportedly used to coax Gaga’s collaboration.

The lyrics are both declarative and sneering, speaking to Gaga’s observations of indulgence and entitlement among “rich kids” while she navigated the harsh realities of a “struggling artist.” The irony is that this anthem of critique is now a product of the kind of fame she was chasing, lending the track an odd but fitting double edge.

The accompanying music videos split their personality—a half-hearted tie-in with ABC’s *Dirty Sexy Money* in one version, and Gaga’s more characteristic vision of decadence and irreverence in the other, burning money in a mansion alongside high-energy choreography.

“Beautiful, Dirty, Rich” earned modest chart success, peaking at 83 on the UK Singles Chart. Yet, its enduring role in Gaga’s live catalog, from *The Fame Ball Tour* to *Enigma*, elevates its significance within her canon. Her performance choices—like donning a futuristic bustier early in her career—cement it more as a celebratory relic of her pre-fame hustle than a standout single.

While the track doesn’t reach for profundity, it thrives in its tight, concocted ferocity. Its feisty tone might teeter close to caricature, yet it refuses to be ignored—a likely reflection of the artist herself.

Featured on the 2008 album “The Fame“.

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5 . Meck – Thunder In My Heart Again (w/ Leo Sayer)

“Thunder In My Heart Again” takes Leo Sayer’s 1977 disco anthem “Thunder In My Heart” and hurls it into the sleek, synthetic world of mid-2000s dance floors, courtesy of British producer Meck.

This remix, released in 2006, is a resurrection story—one that owes its existence to Meck’s serendipitous discovery of the original track buried in a Los Angeles discount bin. Far from merely dusting it off, Meck reimagines Sayer’s effervescent original with a glossy, trance-ready pulse, embellishing it with modern electronic textures while retaining its unmistakable vocals.

Sayer’s voice, rich and yearning in its original iteration, feels surprisingly at home in this updated context—a testament to its timeless emotive quality. But where Richard Perry’s 1977 production dripped with orchestral drama, Meck’s version is a study in controlled euphoria. The arrangement pares back the excess, replacing disco strings with unrelenting beats and frothy synth loops, creating a singular focus on movement.

The track’s commercial reception underscores its accessibility. Debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart and achieving silver certification from the BPI by 2013, it succeeded in transforming nostalgia into contemporary currency. Yet, its most fascinating quality might be Meck’s ability to maintain fidelity to the soulful heights of Sayer’s original while rebranding it for nightclub ubiquity.

“Thunder In My Heart Again” peaks where it needs to—its hooks punchy, its rhythm persistent—but whether it transcends its functional, dancefloor ambitions is debatable. For all its polish, it orbits the ephemeral worlds of remix culture, a vivid aftershock rather than a self-contained quake.

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6 . Dave Clarke – What Was Her Name

“What Was Her Name” from Dave Clarke’s 2004 album *Devil’s Advocate* lands somewhere between icy provocation and chaotic allure, much in sync with its collaborators, Chicks on Speed.

Opening with aggressive pulsations and minimalist synth stabs, the track builds a mechanical fervor that owes more to dissonance than harmony, creating a soundscape that feels both deliberate and detached. The German electroclash trio’s contribution sharpens the mood with robotic vocals, a perfect foil to Clarke’s metallic undercurrents. Their delivery doesn’t aim for melody but wields repetition like a blunt instrument, more confrontational than catchy.

Taken as part of *Devil’s Advocate*, which also includes appearances from Mr Lif and DJ Rush, the song underscores the album’s fragmented focus. While Clarke’s production offers his trademark precision, this precision comes off as clinical here, leaving little warmth for listeners seeking an emotional payoff. Its peak at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart suggests its appeal was niche, capturing fleeting attention without crafting a lasting imprint.

Yet, one can’t entirely dismiss the track’s intent. Clarke’s Brighton upbringing and early hip-hop and post-punk influences color the edges of these angular rhythms, though they’re more hinted at than fully embraced. As Clarke moved into his post-label era and projects like “White Noise” on VPRO and RTÉ 2fm, tracks like this seem less a core expression and more an experiment—intense, ambitious, but ultimately isolating.

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7 . Novaspace – Time After Time

“Time After Time” by Novaspace recalibrates Cyndi Lauper’s 1984 pop anthem into a glossy Eurodance framework arranged by Felix Gauder. The resulting track balances the 1980s nostalgia with an unmistakable early-2000s trance aesthetic, albeit with mixed success.

Jessica Boehrs’s vocals, while competently delivered, lack the vulnerability that Lauper’s original brought to the table. What Boehrs does bring, however, is a polished, radio-ready performance that fits snugly within Novaspace’s stylistic intent. Her background work with acts like Caught In The Act and Tic Tac Toe clearly informs her ability to navigate the track’s layered production. Whether this calculated smoothness enhances or flattens the song depends on your tolerance for Eurodance’s sanitized ethos.

The track’s commercial performance—peaking at #6 in Germany, #7 in Austria, and #15 in Australia—underscores its appeal in markets where dance remixes of ’80s hits found fertile ground. Its later rise to #29 in the UK almost a year after release reflects a slower, ripple-effect reception rather than immediate impact.

Included on Novaspace’s debut album, “Supernova,” the song inhabits its place in a lineup that prioritizes reinterpretation over reinvention. The album’s ability to climb to #28 in Germany and #39 in Austria suggests a steady, though unspectacular, foothold in the region’s Eurodance scene.

Gauder’s production is functional yet unambitious, adhering to formulaic trance patterns that neither elevate the material nor diminish it entirely. The appeal of this version lies not in its reinterpretive boldness but in its fidelity to a proven formula. For a project like Novaspace, that was likely the point—and, commercially speaking, it paid off.

Featured on the 2003 album “Supernova”.

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8 . Safri Duo – Played-A-Live

“Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)” by Safri Duo straddles a peculiar axis: part tribal ritual, part euro-dance fever dream. Produced by Michael Parsberg and featuring the percussion-heavy sensibilities of Morten Friis and Uffe Savery, this 2000 release is less a conventional melody and more an intense rhythmic workout, where the primal energy of tribal drums crash into synthetic electronic landscapes like two worlds colliding.

Released as the flagship single from the duo’s mainstream debut, *Episode II*, the track’s ambition is evident—it doesn’t just suggest motion, it demands it. That might explain its utility as one of the musical themes for the adrenaline-soaked Kingda Ka coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure or its inclusion in EA’s *FIFA 2003*. Its appeal lies not in lyrical sophistication—it’s essentially an instrumental—but in its raw, kinetic urgency.

Its commercial achievements are nothing short of staggering. Selling 1.5 million copies globally, it virtually stormed the charts: number one in Denmark and Switzerland, number two in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and even cracked the top 10 in the UK and US dance arenas. Few tracks can claim the title of the fourth-fastest-selling single in Europe without leaning heavily on vocals, yet Safri Duo somehow rewrote the rulebook here.

The production, recorded in The Safri Studio in Copenhagen and engineered by Johnny Stage, is meticulous, with the strategic layering of rhythms leaving little room for critique. From DJ Tandu’s to Nick Sentience’s remixes, reinterpretations abound yet rarely stray from the original’s potent core. Still, one could argue the track walks a fine line between hypnotic and repetitive, a sentiment not easily tempered by its club-perfect pulse.

By scooping up “Danish Club Hit of the Year” at the 2001 Danish Music Awards, the track asserted its dominance in its home country, but its reach far exceeded its Scandinavian roots. This isn’t the kind of song that evolves—it captivates, pummels, and exits, without so much as a narrative arc. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, though its repetition might limit its longevity off the dance floor. For Safri Duo, it was less about subtlety and more about visceral impact—a hit forged in rhythm, not melody.

Featured on the 2001 album “Episode II “.

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9 . Frisco vs Ice MC – Think About The Way

The Eurodance hit “Think About the Way” by Ice MC from his 1994 album “Ice’n’Green” pulses with the energy of its time, blending rapid-fire verses from British-Italian rapper Ian Campbell (Ice MC) with the honeyed but uncredited vocal contributions of Alexia.

Produced by Roberto Zanetti, also known as Robyx, the track is a rhythmic mesh of cascading synths and thumping beats, a hallmark of ‘90s European club music. Ice MC’s lyrical delivery is quick and clipped, almost functioning as a percussive element more than a narrative device, while Alexia’s voice provides the melody that anchors the song’s pounding tempo.

The track found its niche in Europe, charting in the top 10 in Belgium, Italy, and Scotland, and breaking into the top 20 in countries like Germany and France. Despite these achievements, its performance in the UK was more restrained, where it landed at number 38 on the UK Singles Chart but claimed a respectable sixth position on the UK Dance Chart.

While “Think About the Way” exhibits all the tropes of Eurodance—relentless energy, glossy production, and anthemic vocals—it is also a time capsule that captures the interplay of genre trends and regional club dynamics in 1994. Whether this is a virtue or a limitation depends on how deep one’s appreciation for the period extends. For some listeners, its repetitive structure and straightforward rhythms might feel more functional than artistic, serving the dancefloor without aspiring to transcend it.

Alexia’s absence from the music video underscores the emphasis on Campbell’s persona over collaborative presentation, reflecting a common practice in the genre and leaving one to wonder what dimension her presence might have added to the visual narrative.

As Ice MC’s most commercially successful track, “Think About the Way” remains both a quintessential and divisive artifact of its era—celebrated by dance enthusiasts but perhaps less compelling for those seeking lyrical or structural complexity.

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10 . Hi Tack – Say Say Say [Waiting 4 U]

“Say Say Say [Waiting 4 U]” by Hi Tack arrives with the unmistakable shadow of its source material: Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit “Say Say Say.”

Produced by Koen Groeneveld and Addy van der Zwan, the track leans heavily on those marquee names, repackaging their iconic collaboration into a slick, radio-friendly house anthem that hit UK shelves on 16 January 2006.

It’s a well-calculated gambit, borrowing the vocal hooks from the original while wrapping them in a polished electronic sheen that thrives in clubs and streaming playlists alike.

The sonic energy is effective, even if somewhat risk-averse, prioritizing accessibility over boundary-pushing artistry.

Its chart performance nods to its undeniable catchiness—peaking at number three in Finland, number four in the United Kingdom, and number eight in Ireland, the track clearly found its audience.

The release strategy seems as calculated as the music itself, offering different mixes tailored for diverse palates: a radio mix, the Tocadisco “Not Guilty” remix, and the darker Delano & Crockett “Late Nite Dub” flaunt enough variety to justify multiple formats across Dutch, UK, and Australian markets.

What Hi Tack brings to the table is a contemporary slickness, but there’s an irony in how this contemporary sheen feels almost sterile compared to the soulfulness of the original track.

For a Dutch duo with a knack for house music production, this is undoubtedly one of their more notable contributions, yet it rests more on the nostalgic power of McCartney and Jackson than on innovative ideas of its own.

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11 . Santos – Camels

“Camels,” released in 2001, finds Italian DJ and musician Sante “Santos” Pucello operating at the intersection of understated minimalism and hypnotic repetition.

Peaking at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart on January 20, 2001, this track carved out its influence less through revolution and more through refinement.

Its success owes much to heavy endorsement by influential tastemakers like Pete Tong, Annie Nightingale, Judge Jules, and Basement Jaxx, each lending their credibility to its slow-burn architecture.

Coming six years after “The Piano,” his 1995 release under Mantra Vibes, “Camels” mirrors Santos’ inclination for stripped-down electronic landscapes that are functional yet far from groundbreaking. By the time his debut album *R U Shakadelic?* materialized post-“Camels,” its implicit question seemed almost rhetorical—a nod toward both his playful persona and his winking acknowledgment of house music’s self-similar iterations.

The track’s allure lies in its discipline more than its daring.

Its restrained progression neither indulges in excessive ornamentation nor pretends to upend the genre’s conventional scaffolding.

What “Camels” lacks in melodic innovation, it compensates for with a rhythmic consistency that rewards patient listeners without pandering to transient trends.

Santos, born November 28, 1971, in Frosinone, Italy, started his music career in 1992, but it’s “Camels” that arguably crystallizes his reserved aestheticism.

Whether this track delivers a profound statement or merely functions as polished utility depends on the listener’s threshold for repetition as both method and message.

Featured on the 2001 album “R U Shakadelic?”.

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12 . +44 – When Your Heart Stops Beating

“When Your Heart Stops Beating,” the titular track from +44’s sole album, is both a lament and a defiant exhale, shaped by the debris left in the wake of Blink-182’s dissolution. Released on November 14, 2006, as the album’s second single, this Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker collaboration feels like the sonic equivalent of an open wound stitched with pop-punk hooks and electronic undertones.

The track’s chart performance—peaking at number 14 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks—suggests a middling success, yet its layered production carries the weight of something sharper. Beneath the glossy rock instrumentation lurks the rawness of post-breakup reflection, interspersed with jolts of energy seemingly borrowed from Barker’s drum-fueled adrenaline and Hoppus’s melodic sensibilities.

Produced alongside the late Jerry Finn, a frequent Blink-182 collaborator, the song avoids a linear narrative, opting instead for themes that oscillate between personal loss and fleeting catharsis. Its connection to the tragic tale of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen underscores the resonance of despair, though the delivery never gets bogged down in melodrama, maintaining just enough buoyancy to stay tethered to its pop-punk roots.

Shot under the direction of Liz Friedlander and Sheli Jury, the music video, filmed on September 9, 2006, in Los Angeles, visually mirrors the song’s intensity, albeit through a lens that doesn’t quite innovate. The album itself, released November 13, 2006, debuted at a respectable #10 on the Billboard 200, yet struggled to sustain commercial momentum, much like the band, which folded after Hoppus and Barker realigned with Blink-182 in 2009.

While the electronic textures feel more experimental, they don’t always anchor the track in new territory, leaving its mark as that of a song reaching for catharsis but not quite breaking free. As part of the Honda Civic Tour in 2007, “When Your Heart Stops Beating” found a home in live performances, where its layered angst likely resonated most with fans seeking a bridge between a fractured Blink-182 and the raw immediacy of this short-lived supergroup.

Featured on the 2006 album “When Your Heart Stops Beating”.

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