Dance Sensation: Difference between revisions

 

One thing is required: the rhythm [[Ear Worm|has to be catchy]].

 

== [[Film]] ==

* At least 20% of ''[[Hairspray]]'' (the original) is a compilation of these songs.

* "The French Mistake" from ''[[Blazing Saddles]]''

 

* "Do The Urkel" from ''[[Family Matters]]''.

* "The Chicken Song" from ''[[Spitting Image]]'' parodies this

* The ''[[Hannah Montana]]'' [[The Movie|movie]] has the "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlnbmZK7GxU Hoedown Throwdown]". Even in-universe, this one is stretching [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]] a bit.

* Leather Tuscadero wrote & performed "Do the Fonzie" on ''[[Happy Days]]''

* Carmine Ragusa sang "Do the Carmine" on ''[[Laverne and Shirley]]''

 

== [[Radio]] ==

 

== [[Theatre]] ==

* "The Pussy Foot" from ''Goldilocks'' has a somewhat catchy tune but awful lyrics.

* Cole Porter's "Heaven Hop," last seen as a musical stowaway in revivals of ''Anything Goes''.

* "Off-Time" from ''Ain't Misbehavin'''. Like the title song, this was originally used in the 1929 revue ''Hot Chocolates''.

* Played with in the Broadway production of ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'' with "The Transylvania Mania" because they're trying to distract the townspeople from the Monster's sounds and so making it up on the spot. The lyrics consist of contrived rhyming claims on how much fun it is (but purposefully for parody)

* "Yankee Doodle Rhythm" from the 1927 version of ''Strike Up the Band''.

* "Evil Dead: The Musical" tried to do this with "Do the Necronomicon".

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' with "Do the Bartman".

** In another episode, Patrick wins a dance contest after rolling around because of a cramp. (He won by default, as the only dancer who did his own dancing.) This is followed by a fake commercial for "The Cramp".

* ''The [[Super Mario Bros Super Show]]'''s ending credits instructed viewers on how to "Do the Mario."

** For those unfamiliar, you swing your arms from side to side, take one step, and then again. The Mario is just ''running.''

* ''[[The Flintstones]]'' had "The Twitch", created by a singer after an allergic reaction to pickled dodo eggs.

* The Schmeerskahoven in ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' stimulated every pressure point on the body during the dance, allowing the dancer to be completely brainwashed.

** "Rock Around The Clock"

** [[Christmas Songs|"Jingle Bell Rock"]]

''Come on, come on (it's called the U Turn)'' }}

* ''"Baila en tu cuerpo alegría, Macarena, que tu cuerpo es pa' dar alegría, cosa buena..."''

* Parodied in [[Lemon Demon]]'s "Dance Like An Idiot"

* DJ Casper's "Cha Cha Slide"

* "Mambo Number Five" by Pérez Prado, covered by Lou Bega.

* [[The Village People|"YMCA"]]

* [[Soulja Boy|YOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU]]

* Marcia Griffiths's "Electric Slide"

* "''[[Caramelldansen Vid|Caramelldansen]]''" is pure this (though the dance described in the lyrics has nothing in common with the "dance" from the [[Memetic Mutation|looped video clip]] that made it popular). Translated, it goes something like this:

* ''Limbo good, Limbo fine, Everybody gets a chance...'' Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!

* "The Compromise" by the Format satirizes this by describing a dance whose steps are "Throw your partner behind a desk, where they'll do absolutely nothing so it's your job to dance and smile". It's a retaliation against the record company, who asked them to write a hit (hence "The Compromise").

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8fndX_7PqQ Put your elbow up tight, make a step with the right, tilt your head to the side and smile real, real wide! LEO STRUT!]

* "Do the Strand" by Roxy Music. There are [[Calvin Ball|almost literally no instructions on how to do it]] in the lyrics, so it's possible it's just a long reference to other songs of this trope.

* Parodied in "The Sacro-Iliac" by 10CC:

* "Do The Reggay" by Toots & The Maytals. Possibly the most successful one of all, since instead of popularizing a dance, it wound up naming an entire genre of music (with a minor change in spelling).

* "The Vatican Rag" by [[Tom Lehrer]] is another satirical example.

* ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj9_yW8tZxs The Humpty Dance is your chance to do the hump!]''

* [[Cab Calloway|"The Calloway Boogie"]]

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184&feature=related Well everybody's heard about the bird...] (The Bird was originally a dance, and was indeed "the word.")

* "The Wilbury Twist" by [[Supergroup|The Traveling Wilburys]] invites the dancer to, among other things, fall on his ass, put his teeth in a glass, and put his blindfold on so his friends can get away from him ("Could be ''years'' before you're missed!").

** "The Crusher" [[Covered Up|was originally by]] obscure 60's garage rock group The Novas, who used [[Guttural Growler]] vocals to fit with the wrestling-themed "dance" of the title: the only two moves given for the crusher itself are "take your fist and put it on your waist" and "squeeze your partner's head 'til she's blue in the face", and the listener is also repeatedly urged to "do the hammerlock" and "the eye-gouge".

* Parodied with The Lonely Island's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPZmPaHme0 "The Creep"], a dance specifically designed to make one look like, well, a creep.

* The Cupid Shuffle. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h24_zoqu4_Q To the right! To the right! To the right! To the right!]

* A slew of awkwardly titled rap-dance sensation songs were released after the success of the Soulja Boy, with varied amounts of success:

** The Stanky Legg

** The Dougie (discussed in TWO songs)

** Lean Like a Cholo

* The Dismemberment Plan's "Do The Standing Still", which uses the lyrical format of a typical dance sensation song to satirize how non-demonstrative indie rock audiences often are:

** Oddly predated by 15 years with an identically titled song by Belgian [[New Wave]] band The Employees, which had basically the same lyrical premise.

* "The Crunge" by [[Led Zeppelin]] is another parody of this style of song, influenced by [[James Brown]], but with an undanceable, oddly-timed rhythm.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Dancing Tropes]]

[[Category:Music Tropes]]