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Have a Cigar, Pink Floyd.
Life’s Been Good to Me So Far, Joe Walsh.
Lito Shuffle, Boz Scags.
Jukebox Hero, Foreigner.
Piano Man, Billy Joel.
(Yes, I am old.)
Have a Cigar was the first song I thought of.
“Oh, by the way, which one’s Pink?”Primus’ rendition is also awesome. https://youtu.be/aEf0SpAEnIc?si=PVfnyKpxFRuslQXo
Not bad, but let me present you with the definitive cover: The Main Squeeze - that solo trounces everything, I’d go as far as, even the original.
I love that some music industry asshole actually asked them that once, and the quote made it into the song.
I love that there’s a little guitar break right after that question, almost like a response
A fun industry fact: Have A Cigar was sung by Roy Harper, as he happened to be in the studio and the members of Floyd thought he could be a good fit. Roy Harper is perhaps more known in the mainstream through the Zeppelin song Hats Off to (Roy) Harper than through his own recordings, though he’s still alive and active.
Harper didn’t feel like he was appropriately compensated for his work on Have a Cigar, which is ironic considering the overall thematic.
Dinosaurs Will Die - NOFX
From most favorite, descending:
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Bomb the Music Industry! - Side Projects are Never Successful (punk)
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Backini - Radio (hip-hop)
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They Might Be Giants - Hey Mr. DJ I Thought You Said We Had a Deal (alt-pop)
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Reel Big Fish - Sell Out (ska)
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MC Lars - Download This Song (cross-genre)
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Billy Joel - The Entertainer (pop)
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Barr - The Song is the Single (rock)
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They Might Be Giants - Working Undercover for the Man (alt-pop)
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Ben Folds - Rockin’ the Suburbs (pop)
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David Rovics - The Pirate Radio Song (acoustic punk)
Edited to provide links and genres.
They Might Be Giants - Rhythm Section Want Ad
They Might Be Giants - We’re the Replacements
They Might Be Giants - the entirety of Venue Songs
I almost included “The End of the Tour” but decided against.
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EMI, Sex Pistols
Unlimited supply!
Reel Big Fish - Sell Out
Tool - Hooker With A Penis
Dinosaurs will die - NOFX
Against Me - Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners
Nice!
There’s also this one: rock and roll lifestyle
To some extent, Sad songs and waltzes.
And I’ll be honest I have no idea what this song is about, so who knows: wheels
Interstellar555, the music video movie that accompanies Daft Punk’s Discovery album
lost in hollywood by system of acdown
Maggie’s Farm by Bob Dylan
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter by Nirvana
All the Best by R.E.M.
Intro by The Prodigy (not a song, technically, but a clear statement of intent from Liam Howlett)
Hmm songmeanings.com has following opinion about the nirvana song:
Kurt said it himself that this song has no meaning and that it’s a bunch of random poetry lines thrown together to a kick ass motherfucking melody. This is one of my favorite Nirvana songs.
Yeah, I’m going mainly by the ironic title to be honest - it always feels to me like Cobain’s snarky response to studio pressure to make another Nevermind. I’ve not looked into closely though, I have to admit.
I agree that it’s still saying something about the music industry, just not with the specific lyrics, but rather with the sound and the title.
I think the most obvious album to point out which is about many things (including the abuse of the music industry) is To Pimp a Butterfly. I’m surprised I haven’t seen it here yet. Even the title is very on-the-nose – the “pimp” in reference is both the music industry and (more frequently) the US government/social structures, and the “butterfly” is a fledgling Kendrick/black rappers/black Americans in general (context depending on the exact song). It’s meant to be listened in exact order. Many people say it’s overrated but I really disagree. It’s an amazing narrative and powerful symbolism with good music.
I’d argue that Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb belongs here: AFAIK it’s about a band manager injecting the strung out musician with drugs, so he can get up and perform the show that night.
Is it about the history of rock’n’roll, or something else?
