Dance with Me (Blink-182 song) explained

Dance with Me
Border:yes
Type:single
Artist:Blink-182
Album:One More Time...
Recorded:2022–2023
Length:3:08
Label:Columbia
Producer:
  • Travis Barker
Prev Title:One More Time
Prev Title2:More Than You Know
Prev Year:2023
Next Title:Fell in Love
Next Year:2023

"Dance with Me" is a song recorded by American rock band Blink-182. The song was released on October 5, 2023, through Columbia Records as the fourth single from their ninth album One More Time.... It was written by bassist Mark Hoppus, guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker, alongside engineer Aaron Rubin and songwriter Nick Long.

Background

The song opens with a crude, spoken-word joke from DeLonge: "When I teach masturbation, I'm always just like, 'Have fun with it.'"[1] Throughout the song, DeLonge encourages a partner to dance, with lyrics like "I've been waiting around to lose / So dumb, trying to make believe / You're mine, what are you gonna do / Come here, do you want to come dance with me?"[2] Columnists for Spin observed the song shares a title with another song by T.S.O.L., one of DeLonge's preferred groups.[3]

Music video

The song's music video was intended as a "love letter" to the Ramones, one of their biggest influences. It finds the band dressing up in the style of the Ramones, including wigs, sunglasses, and leather jackets.[4] [5] The clip begins with an interview (featuring Lisa Gilroy as host), spoofing the Ramones' 1981 interview on The Tomorrow Show.[6] [7] As the song begins, the video switches to the three seated at a table—a reference to the 1988 "I Wanna Be Sedated" visual[8] —while doctors, nurses (with one portraying the nurse from the band's own Enema of the State album cover), clowns, cheerleaders, construction workers, brides, and various other people run around. The footage is intercut with shots of the band playing at a CBGB-style backdrop,[9] as well as posing in front of a brick wall, a la the Ramones' famous debut album cover.[10]

The video was directed by the Malloys,[11] with whom the band last collaborated with on the 2001 videos for "The Rock Show" and "First Date".

Reception

"Dance with Me" was well-received among music critics. Kate Solomon at The Guardian observed: "Blink have not lost their knack for crafting thumping choruses before hitting you with a ghostly, mesmeric bridge to remind you that life is fleeting and you might as well be in a sweaty pile of bodies yelling “olé olé olé” while you’re here."[12] Bobby Olivier at Spin called it "a high-tempo party cut with its deliciously dopey chorus [...] Is it a little hollow? Sure, but you'll be singing before the tune is finished."[13] Uproxx writer Danielle Chelosky described the "clamorous" song "as fun as it is loud, and the lyrics are as chaotic as the sound."[2] Helen Brown from The Independent commended its energy and "pelting pace,"[14] while Gil Kaufman of Billboard described "Dance with Me" as a "raucous pop-punk tune".[10]

Many reviewers favorably compared the song to the band's earlier material. Stereogum editorialist Pranav Trewn viewed the song as a "real gem" that earns its place among "pre-hiatus material on a setlist."[15] Emma Wilkes from NME concurred: the "gloriously sticky hook is instantly memorable and is silly enough to have been a relic from Blink’s most popular era."[16] Matt Collar from AllMusic considered the song a "classic Blink-anthem that wouldn't sound out of place" on its millennial albums.[17]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the song's YouTube video.[18]

Blink-182

Additional Musician

Production

Charts

Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA)[19] 26
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[20] 23
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[21] 6

Notes and References

  1. Web site: blink-182 release new single and video, DANCE WITH ME . Kerrang! . October 5, 2023 . October 5, 2023.
  2. Web site: Chelosky . Danielle . Blink-182 Dresses Up As The Ramones For Their Fun 'Dance With Me' Video . UPROXX . October 5, 2023 . October 5, 2023.
  3. Web site: Blink-182 Pays Tribute To The Ramones In 'Dance With Me' Video . Spin . October 5, 2023 . October 5, 2023.
  4. Web site: Watch Blink-182 Cosplay as Ramones in Video for New Song "Dance With Me" . Pitchfork . October 5, 2023 . October 5, 2023.
  5. Kreps . Daniel . Blink-182 Pay Homage to Ramones in Video for New Song 'Dance With Me' . Rolling Stone . October 5, 2023 . October 5, 2023.
  6. Web site: Blink-182 Pays Homage to Punk Icons The Ramones in New 'Dance with Me' Music Video . Peoplemag . October 5, 2023 . October 6, 2023.
  7. Web site: Sacher . Andrew . blink-182 channel the Ramones in video for new song "Dance With Me" . Alternative Press Magazine . October 5, 2023 . October 5, 2023.
  8. Web site: Cingrana . Joe . blink-182 drops Ramones-flavored video for new single 'Dance With Me' . audacy.com . October 5, 2023 . October 6, 2023.
  9. Web site: Duran . Anagricel . Blink-182 channel the Ramones in new video for 'Dance With Me' . NME . October 5, 2023 . October 5, 2023.
  10. Kaufman . Gil . Blink-182 Channel Punk Godfathers The Ramones in 'Dance With Me' Video . Billboard . October 5, 2023 . October 5, 2023.
  11. Web site: Helfand . Raphael . Blink-182 are the Ramones in "Dance With Me" video . The FADER . October 5, 2023 . October 5, 2023.
  12. Web site: Solomon . Kate . Blink-182: One More Time review – gross-out pop-punk trio come of age . the Guardian . October 20, 2023 . March 25, 2024.
  13. Web site: Olivier . Bobby . Blink-182, 'One More Time...': Album Review . SPIN . October 20, 2023 . March 25, 2024.
  14. Web site: Brown . Helen . Blink-182’s big reunion album is hardly revelatory – review . The Independent . October 20, 2023 . March 25, 2024.
  15. Web site: Trewn . Pranav . Premature Evaluation: Blink-182 'One More Time...' . Stereogum . October 20, 2023 . March 25, 2024.
  16. Web site: Wilkes . Emma . 'One More Time' review: a surprisingly touching reunion . NME . October 19, 2023 . March 25, 2024.
  17. Web site: One More Time... . AllMusic . October 20, 2023 . March 25, 2024.
  18. Web site: DANCE WITH ME . YouTube . October 5, 2023.
  19. The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 16 October 2023. The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association. 1754. 9. October 16, 2023.
  20. Web site: NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ. October 16, 2023. October 14, 2023.
  21. Web site: Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart. Official Charts Company. October 13, 2023. October 13, 2023.