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I was listening to Lil Nas X's "Panini" the other day and was wondering what he meant by referring to someone as "Panini" (as the lyrics open with "Ayy Panini, don't you be a meanie"). I assumed it was either the nickname of someone he once knew or some obscure slang. Turns out it it's way simpler than I expected, "Panini" is a reference to the character of the same name from Chowder. He's referring to fans who adored him when he was underground but yet now are dismissive of him now that he's hit it big. I often forget a lot of these younger rappers and whatnot are around the ages of 18-25 so them referencing 00s or early 2010s Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon cartoons in their music or whatnot should be something I'd expect but yet I never do (Desiigner made a song awhile back called 'Tiimy Turner," Lil Uzi Vert used recolored Scott Pilgrim artwork for two of his online mixtapes, and even the infamous 6ix9ine equally infamously used traced Adventure Time fan art for one of his album covers).

Lyrical dissonance is quite rampant within the Vocaloid scene, so I run in to this a lot. A considerable number of top hits songs are deceiving in nature and are either depressing/disturbing or so abstract/vague, even Japanese speakers have hard time interpreting them. One pick, Cantarella, seemed mostly innocent on the surface, until I learned the context behind the song and its title. Total 180.

Something less weeb, Mr. Lonely by Bobby Vinton. I've heard the song re-purposed countless time, most famously by Rapper Akon, that I never knew about the original. I know the song had become a staple of the "forever alone" meme years back, but the actual meaning behind the song is a lot more depressing. It's about a conscript's agonizing homesickness during the Vietnam War.

Wait, it actually is about the Chowder character?! I was thinking of the character when i first heard the song, and i had to see if someone did a Chowder AMV of some sorts with that song…didn't think that was the basis

Vamous a la Playa by Righeria.

About a nuclear test and people not being aware of it.

1999 by Prince.
I wondered why the phrase "Party like it's 1999" was a thing…then I realized that song was about the end of the world, when people thought the year 2000 would be the end so 1999 would be the last year to party. Sure is an upbeat song about Y2K

"Flying Whales" by Gojira – the albums theme is regarding global warming and stopping/reversing it. The song itself is about humanity living at the bottom of the oceans and having to learn to fly (swim) with the whales.

The final track Global Warming is a good listen.

Welcome to the jungle
English is my second language

Probably the more obscure case of mistaken meaning would be Alphaville's Big in Japan. Paraphrasing wouldn't do it justice, so read this instead: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/alphaville/big-in-japan