
Planet of the Bass: Will a Parody Be the Song of the Summer? Alum Chrissi Poland lends her voice to the Eurodance parody thats gone viral on TikTok and beyond.
By
Bryan Parys
August 18, 2023
Posing on The Planet of the Bass: DJ Crazy Times (Kyle Gordon), left, and Ms. Biljana Electronica (played in the video by Audrey Trullinger), right
Image courtesy of Kyle Gordon/TikTok
The Eurodance parody Planet of the Bass by DJ Crazy Times (played by comedian Kyle Gordon)-now a genuine contender for Song of the Summer-owes much of its mega-viral status to its highly meme-able lyrics.
Chrissi Poland B.M. 01
The lines between parody, homage, and nostalgia here are blurry, though. Gordon doesnt take any shortcuts on quality. For one, the voice behind the character Ms. Biljana Electronica is the acclaimed soul and jazz vocalist Chrissi Poland B.M. '01, who studied performance at Berklee, and has worked with Nile Rodgers '18H, Scissor Sisters, and more. And the words and arrangement are a pitch-perfect clone of the Eurodance genre that dominated the global charts in the 1990s.
How Does It Mean? Lyrically, Gordon does his job so well that it's hard to tell apart his parody from the original sources.
Consider some of the songs most memorable lines: All of the dream / How does it mean? There is nothing to be sad. If you want parties to be making / Have some noise.
Now compare these to the refrain, What is love? / Baby don't hurt me, from Trinidadian-German singer Haddaway; Rhythm Is a Dancer by German duo Snap!; or the line from Belgian/Dutch act 2 Unlimited that goes, People started dancing a long time ago / The bass was fast, but then again it was slow.
The People Wanna Make a Fun While the song does have good-natured fun with the Eurodance trope of clumsy English translations, it highlights one of the genre's most memorable feats: shifting focus from the lyrics' literal meaning to their sound, and to the feelings they can evoke.
A close look at the actual text of these lines is bound to uncover some silliness-that's what makes the genre so ripe for parody. But that's also a comment on how transporting these songs were in their day: we rarely stopped to think about what they were saying while they danced their way to the top of the global charts.
In a Stereogum article about the Swedish pop-rock group Roxette, music critic Tom Breihan makes the argument that lyrics in this vein are a feature, not a bug. Breihan says that, for their 1989 No. 1 smash The Look, Roxette was really participating in the grand Swedish pop tradition of picking the word that'll sound the best, regardless of meaning. . . . The lyrics, ridiculous as they are, are merely part of the whole musical equation. Everything about The Look is mathematically calibrated to hit just right.
A Passion in a Million Way Making Gordon's achievement even more impressive is the fact that he was able to evoke this whole genre while still sounding distinct.
It's a task that the king of contemporary parody music, Weird Al Yankovic, says is quite difficult. In an interview with Fast Company, Yankovic said, It's certainly more work to do a genre parody, compared to parodying one specific song. For a genre parody, not only do you have to do all the work that one necessarily does with an original song, but you also have to do a fair amount of research into the chosen genre or other artist's work.
Everybody Movement Does this mean that Planet of the Bass will actually topple songs such as Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo, Troye Sivan's Rush, or Barbie World by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice (which just so happens to feature seminal Eurodance band Aqua) as the definitive summer jam of 2023? Only time will tell. Until then, DJ Crazy Times entreats you to simply get out on the dance floor and have a body, feel the groove.
Oh wait, did you say you wanted a Eurodance playlist? Happy to oblige:
Related Categories
News
Playlists
Most Popular
Goose guitarist and vocalist Rick Mitarotonda B.M. 16 performed with the band at a sold-out Portland, Maine, show on July 6, 2023.
Image by Adam Berta
Both Sides of Goose, Americas Premier Jam Band On a new Sounds of Berklee: Goose's live act attracts a devoted following-and the bands studio work highlights the sharp songs that spark their legendary jams.
Latest
John Paul McGee, assistant chair of Berklees Piano Department
Image courtesy of John Paul McGee
Gospejazzical Pioneer to Moderate Panel with Hip-Hop Icons Dr. John Paul McGee, Berklee's assistant chair of piano, will guide a discussion with a group that includes Cheryl Salt James of Salt-N-Pepa about the influence of jazz and R&B on early hip-hop.
Danielle Queen D. Scott
Image courtesy of the artist
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Turns 25 Berklees Arun Pandian and Danielle Queen D. Scott talk about the groundbreaking album and its impact on their lives.
cehryl
Image courtesy of the artist
Hong Kong Indie Artist cehryl Faces Her Fears The alum talks through her layered pop/R&B production, then explores some common fears of the artist and the importance of just getting to work.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
19/05/2026
Actus Digital, a LiveU company, and a leading provider of intelligent media monitoring and broadcast compliance platforms, announced today that METEO CONSULT ha...
19/05/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of managed services for the broadcast and media industry, today announced the completion of a major renovation of its Singapore fa...
19/05/2026
Following a major upgrade to its Connecticut remote production centre with the installation of three 60-fader Argo S consoles in 2023, RPS has switched one of t...
19/05/2026
PlayBox Technology today announced the launch of Celebro Play, a browser-based media orchestration platform designed specifically for broadcast facilities and p...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions for broadcast, post, and professional AV will showcase its latest signal processing solutions at B...
19/05/2026
Media Links, a leading developer and manufacturer of IP media transport solutions, has announced the integration of its Xscend platform with Skyline Communicat...
19/05/2026
Collaboration expands regional partner ecosystem as Media Links showcases IP media transport solutions on stand 4M4-4 and alongside Clearcast Asia on stand
Me...
19/05/2026
Company Highlights Labor-Saving Control and Custom Branding Opportunities Designed to Increase Integrator Profitability
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of ele...
19/05/2026
Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools
Brie Clayton May 18, 2026
0 Comments
New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...
19/05/2026
It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Agentic AI inference at one-tenth the cost per token with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL7...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...