Surprisingly, one of the most iconic jams of the summer is a parody of ’90s Eurodance songs like “What is Love” by Haddaway, “Be My Lover” by La Bouche, and the infamous “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” by Eiffel 65.
It’s called “Planet of the Bass,” and it relies on pretty standard (but oh-so-satisfying) clubby synth beats and nonsensical lyrics that would make everyone from Ace of Base to the Real McCoy blush, either from flattery or annoyance that someone has turned their musical stylings into a meme.
The artist? He goes by DJ Crazy Times. Of course, that’s not his real name — but the moniker sounds great coming from a guy rapping lyrics like:
“Life, it never die/
Women are my favorite guy/
Boom! Hear the bass go zoom/
Have a body, feel the groove”
So if you do indeed have a body, check out more of the song below:
What is DJ Crazy Times’ real name?
Per NME, the real guy behind this opus is New York writer, comedian, and content creator Kyle Gordon. In July, he posted the spoof on TikTok, where it immediately caught fire and spread to Tumblr and X, formerly known as Twitter, as well.
Even Danish Eurodance band Aqua — who released the earworm “Barbie Girl” back in 1997 — celebrated “Planet of the Bass.” The group acknowledged the male rapper-female vocalist setup that it helped pioneer with a comment saying, “Wait, is this play about us???”
Play. Adorable.
In an interview with the New York Times, Gordon said he wrote the song as a loose parody and homage to artists like Aqua.
He also shared credit with Brooks Allison, a writer for The Tonight Show, and music producer Jamie Siegel, who both helped him polish the track. (He plans to release a full version of the song on Aug. 15.)
Since the clip already has more than 80 million views on X, people are wondering whether it’s technically an ironic hit or a real hit. Gordon suggested that the distinction doesn’t really matter. He explained, “If it starts off as ironic but people genuinely love it — and let’s say it does chart — at a certain point the irony has to wear off.”
Indeed, maybe we all just want to go back to a time before late-stage capitalism collectively traumatized us. Why do you think there are so many reboots these days? It’s not even irony at this point — it’s plain old escapism.