History LyricalDissonance / Electronic

--> My baby's gonna break my heart \\

* Cherry (same person as Leslie Parrish, but different style) isn't much better. For example, the main melody to "I Can't Stay Without Your Love" sounds like background music to a carnival or theme park scene, but the lyrics are about the narrator being broken up with.

** Lampshaded in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E9cK8-_o2w a sketch]] from ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'', which first asks if you like dancing to the themes of ParentalAbandonment, world hunger or depression, and if so, consider hiring him for other events such as downsizing, chemotherapy or exotic occasions like stoning.

[[folder: Drum n' Bass]]
* Though a generally positive sounding bit of drum n' bass, "Encoder" by Music/{{Pendulum|Band}} is, by WordOfGod, about [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech kicking worthless acquaintances to the curb]]. As a bonus, it closes with what sounds suspiciously like someone drowning.

Well at least we took the ride
-->There's no relief in bitterness
-->May as well let it die

[[folder:Electronic / Techno]]

* Sunscreem - "Looking At You". Bright, major-keyed, Europop tune about being haunted to death by the images of an ex-lover:
--> There is a hollow in the bed / Where you last slept/ I took a picture/Are you laughing at me/I scratched your records, dear/And threw them in the nearest river/Are you laughing at me?
--> Still I try/To get by/But I know I'll di-i-ie/Looking at you

* The bulk of the [[StealthParody humor]] in Passenger Of Shit's work relies on the ridiculous [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggeration]] of this trope--often, cheesy, saccharine or melodramatic melodies score puerile, obscene lyrics of sexual and scatological nature.

* Music/EmilieAutumn's song "Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches", which is about Victorian Lunatic Asylums... sung in the style of Miss Suzy Had A Steamboat.
** She also has "Marry Me", who to a sweet waltzy tune, narrates in first person the story of a woman who copes with being trapped in an arranged marriage with a rich older man by indulging in alcohol and having a lover (while denying her husband his "marital rights"). All of this, while waiting for her own death. But hey, at least she has quite the pretty clothes!
** Emilie Autumn does this fairly often. "The Art of Suicide" comes to mind, a cheery tune about, well, suicide. "Thank God I'm Pretty" also qualifies, a happy-sounding song about being judged solely on looks.
*** "The Art of Suicide" is even worse than that-- it's not about ''suicide'', it's about the disturbing implications of ''romanticising'' suicide. "Ankles displayed, melodramatically laid...."

-->I hate my life I want to die
-->I was just pretending all this time
-->A mask I wear so I don't bare
-->My soul to the cold, harsh world out there
-->Try to prevail but only fail
-->Each time on a grander and grander scale
-->My life is worthless and so am I
-->I hate my life I want to die

-->Emotions I once kept concealed
-->Now flow freely like a river
-->Life's great mysteries revealed
-->Love's great promises delivered

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkbLcPvWIG0&fmt=18 "Cinderella's Revenge"]] is happy and upbeat tune with Cinderella singing about seeing her sisters hang.
** Hey, in the original fairy tale, their fate was even ''worse'' - as punishment for trying to con Prince 'Charming', they were ordered to dance at their step-sister's wedding... while wearing ''red-hot iron boots''.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAJA-bz1uo0 "Paper Planes"]] by MIA seems pretty cheery going by the tune, but the lyrics seem to be sung from the point of view of a violent, drug-addled gangster.

* Basshunter does this often, especially on his DarkerAndEdgier third album.
* Renard Queenston does this a lot.

-->As I seep into the blackest void of all
-->I'm nothing, I am no one
-->As I sleep, I hear them creeping down the hall
-->They're nothing, they are all gone
** One of his songs, under the alias Furries in a Blender, is entitled "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfpHI1mZp-w ''Last Moment on Earth'']]". The song is in FIAB's trademark incredibly cheerful style, despite multiple samples about various news anchor reactions to the end of the world.
* "Aisha" by Death In Vegas; AxCrazy [[Music/TheStooges Iggy Pop]] seems to be trying his hardest not to kill Aisha.
* Groove Coverage frequently did this, especially in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvnMPM_7uRY "Little June"]], which is an energetic hands-up/hard dance song about a girl named June who was murdered by "a man that she barely knew". By the way, it's very similar to Mike Oldfield's "Moonlight Shadow", which they also officially covered. Another notable one is "The End", whose lyrics are [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly about]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt what its title suggests]].

* Music/TheCrystallineEffect. "Life Has Failed You", "How I Get Out", "As Long As You Need", and that's just the start...

* Several of Hadouken!'s songs are probably the catchiest {{Heroic BSOD}}s you'll ever hear.

--> Every street I ever walked, every home I ever had is lost
--> Every flower I ever held, every spring I ever had has dried
--> Every man I ever knew, every woman I ever had is gone
--> Everything I ever touched, everything I ever had has died

* Music/YellowMagicOrchestra's "Taiso"
* "Runaway" by Real [=McCoy=]
* The Cruxshadows' "Winterborn" is rather upbeat and danceable by {{darkwave}} standards, while its lyrics tell of HeroicSacrifice, WatchingTroyBurn, and possibly [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Armageddon]], accompanied by nuclear air raid sirens.

--> We fell in love with gravity
--> And I really really miss you
--> Oh, I love you (you, you, you)
--> All I love, all my love (all my love)

--> Please tell my mother I'm down on my knees
-->And I really really miss you
-->Oh, I love you (You, you, you)
-->All I love, all my love. (All my love)

* With its upbeat sound and the repeated lyrics, "Here, the world that the children made," you might be forgiven for thinking "Veldt" by Music/{{Deadmau5}} is an optimistic look at the future. It's actually based on Ray Bradbury's short story, "The Veldt," in which two children lure their parents into a virtual-reality device and allow them to be eaten by lions. Yikes.
* "Never Say Farewell" by Interface features an eerie melody and robotic, monotone vocals (and a cyborg performing self-surgery on the album cover!) The lyrics go like this:
-->When there is darkness, you'll always find a light.
-->When things have gone wrong, I know you'll put them right.
-->The strength within is everything you need
-->To break away from things which make you weak.

--> Shoot me like a gun\\
Beat me like a slave\\
Stone me like the Lord\\
And send me to my grave.
* All over the place in ''Music/LemonDemon'' songs, especially in ''Spirit Phone'':

-->I earn my life, I earn my life\\

** Likewise, Music/KatyPerry's "Last Friday Night" is an upbeat sappy song about similar things. "This Friday night, we do it all again..."
* Passion Pit's "Little Secrets" is made of this trope. You've got the ultra-happy glitch-pop backing, the soaring falsetto vocal, and a freaking ''children's choir'' on one side; on the other, you've got the horrifically depressing, disparaging lyrics. The most common interpretation is it's about coping with depression by abusing drugs.
** The entirety of Passion Pit's second album, Gossamer, is this trope. Sugary synths, choirs and booming drums backing lyrics about schizophrenia, alcoholism, relationship troubles, bankruptcy and a suicide attempt - all of which, except for the bankruptcy, [[CreatorBreakdown was based on the lead singer's life between their first and second albums.]]
* Everything by Elite Gymnastics

* Dead Or Alive (yes, the "You Spin Me Round" guys) had a more minor hit back in 1986 called "Brand New Lover". It's a joyful, dancey, Hi-NRG tune... about the singer telling his girl/boy/whatever (with Pete Burns it's hard to tell) that he's bored with her/him and wants to leave.
* The [[SpeedyTechnoRemake Eurobeat remix]] of Newton - "Sky High" (itself a cover of Jigsaw).

* Oda's "Sex Crime" is a catchy Eurobeat number that's about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin wanting to rape someone]]. Near the end there are lyrics like ''you make me want to kill you'' and the song gets a lot creepier.

* eiffel65's "Blue". Considering that the word Blue can be used as a euphemism for sad or depressed, it takes on a whole new meaning when you hear the singer talk about having his feelings be "blue". Even simply describing the world as "Blue" could be seen as a world where nothing is perceived to be good and happy. All with that catchy beat it has.

* The SpeedyTechnoRemake of Faith Hill's "There You'll Be" (featured in ''[[VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution DDR Max 2 JP]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution DDR Extreme US]]'').
* The well-known Eurodance cover of The Cranberries' "Zombie" by ADAM & Amy. Also TheCoverChangesTheMeaning.

* Italian but English-singing Europop/dance singer Alexia has a song with very cheerful and dancey tunes, but quite depressing lyrics about a bad breakup. The song starts with the lyrics "I've never been so sad in all my life"; in the video clip, she sings this line while ''smiling and dancing about''. Here, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKfTPMuJAlU see for yourself]].

---> One day you came and made me blue
---> Nobody close to me but you
---> You have the power in your eyes
---> Today you left me far behind
---> How could I live without you tell me now
---> Forever waiting for your love

* Another jarring dance cover is Kandystand's version of Heart's "Alone".
* Blue Pearl's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE404PBcmR8 "Feel the Passion"]]. Pumping Euro-house track, lyrics about [[SelfHarm self-injury]]("playing with knives", "break the glass", "kiss the razor's edge", etc.) and other dangerous adrenaline-seeking behavior.

* Music/{{Alphaville}}'s "Forever Young" was already rather dissonant, being a sappy synthpop ballad about [[FaceDeathWithDignity facing impending nuclear annihilation with dignity]], but DJ Company took it a step further with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jkLgi7j8x8 their Eurodance cover]].

* Robyn's "Dancing on My Own" is a very dancey retro synthpop song about being jilted at a dance club.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIS0W4esOXk "So Many People"]] by German synthpop artist/band Hubert Kah is a majestic Hi-NRG tune about [[WarIsHell the countless casualties of war.]]

* Annie's "The Countdown To The End Of The World", much like Alphaville's aforementioned "Forever Young", is an uplifting power ballad about exactly what the title implies. "The Bomb" from the same album is a dancefloor-worthy techno-pop tune with similar subject matter.
* Sine City's "Such A Fragile Thing" is a plucky Music/{{Kraftwerk}}-esque synthpop song about contemplating suicide.

[[folder: UK Garage]]
* The song "5 AM", by British singer Katy B, despite the song's dancey, 90's-revival-ish atmosphere, the song's lyrics, well...
---> Oooh, I need somebody to calm me down
---> A little loving like Valium
---> I need somebody to knock me out, I need some loving like
---> Oooh, I don't know what I'm running from
---> But when the sun comes up it won't be wrong
---> I need some loving like Valium, I need some loving like
** Basically, the song is about desperately needing someone, with drug-related metaphors.

* "[[https://youtu.be/ykuS8vu82eA Do You Remember Me]]?" by Jenny, a {{Eurobeat}} TranslatedCoverVersion of a CityPop song by Yuki Okazaki, despite being uptempo and energetic, is a [[TearJerker tearful]] LoveNostalgiaSong.

* "Do You Remember Me?" by Jenny, a {{Eurobeat}} TranslatedCoverVersion of a CityPop song by Yuki Okazaki, despite being uptempo and energetic, is a [[TearJerker tearful]] LoveNostalgiaSong.

* "Do You Remember Me" by Jenny, despite being uptempo and energetic, is a [[TearJerker tearful]] LoveNostalgiaSong.

* Sine City's "Such A Fragile Thing" is an upbeat Music/{{Kraftwerk}}-esque synthpop song about contemplating suicide.