This song, on the surface, does not seem to be high art. It seems to be synth-heavy derivative Euro dance pop music. However, this Swedish quartet brought us a song that was so much more than that.
Lyrically, this is one of the cleverest songs of the last thirty years. Balancing the little-girlish innocence with the adolescent sexuality is something that Mattel has done for more that 50 years with the Barbie doll. Aqua brings both of those feelings to this song in a lyrical sense. They did a good enough job at it to speak a lawsuit by Mattel (which Mattel lost) to protect the Barbie image...
The irony is that Mattel now licenses the song for use in promoting Barbie.
A lot of you are scoffing at my love of this song and my belief that it is clever. Perhaps it's the presentation. To prove to you that it is far more than just synth-heavy derivative Euro dance pop music, here is a clip of Aqua performing a far more rock-and-roll version of the song.
And, so you know they actually ARE musicians, here's their folksy version..... Actually, maybe it's more bossa nova.
You know what? I can't decide which version I like best. I like them all. Let me know in the comments what you think!
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