Songs that have brief musical references to other tunes in there..

Yet another Aimee Mann: "Could've Been Anyone," includes a musical quote from the beginning of The Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man." And it is, of course, played by McGuinn.

Swing out sister breakout --> West End Girls bassline at the beginning

Didn't Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" have a bit of Hendrix's "Third Rock From the Sun" in it, or am I thinking of another song? I know someone included Third Rock somewhere.

The Amboy Dukes quoted it in "Journey to the Center of the Mind", and I seem to recall Santana quoting it on some live album. And the Replacements did the same during their 2013 Toronto reunion set.

_Is the coda to Love Will Tear Us Apart a quote from Then He Kissed Me?_
How did I never notice this before? :0

Ah, it was also foregrounded on earlier Isley’s studio version.

Back to that other recent birthday boy who also liked lightning bolts who was mentioned in the OP: In “The Jean Genie” David Bowie does a “Ooh-wooh” reminiscent of Howlin’ Wolf in “Smokestack Lightning.”

El perro del mar - walk on by quotes massive attack - unfinished sympathy

"Like a soul without a mind, in a body without a heart, I'm missing every part"

The part in Big Boi's Shutterbug where the music stops and everyone starts singing "BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY" is great

Did we mention the snippet of "In the name of love" in "Love on your side" ?

I love the 'Silent Night' phrasing in the flute solo to 'Holes' by Mercury Rev.

_Is the coda to Love Will Tear Us Apart a quote from Then He Kissed Me?_
How did I never notice this before? :0

Me neither. Good catch.

Wow, me either.

'cherub rock' by the smashing pumpkins has a couple: the opening E octave vamp is a rip from the middle of rush's 'bytor and the snow dog,'

!

There's a hook in the "Hummer" coda that sounds a bit like a reference to Rush's "In the End", from the same album.

Scott Walker is good at this, but sometimes the references are so cryptically buried as to not be noticed:

- Intro to 'Jesse' is the same opening chords as 'Jailhouse Rock'
- 'The Psoriatic' contains elements of the jazz standard "Ja-Da (Ja Da, Ja Da, Jing, Jing, Jing!)"
- The sound effect at the beginning of 'The Escape' is a riff on the start of the Looney Tunes Merrie Melodies theme

"Ja-da" writer is credited on the album

There's a hook in the "Hummer" coda that sounds a bit like a reference to Rush's "In the End", from the same album.

― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Thursday, January 11, 2018 5:11 AM (eight hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wow, good catch! the acoustic bit in the beginning is very similar to the main chord progression in 'hummer' (D-G/B-C). also when the electric guitars kicked in on 'in the end,' i immediately thought of 'snail.' but yeah that riff at 4:34 in the rush song is identical to the coda of 'hummer.'

'rocket' has one, but no one knows the source. in the 2011 reissue of siamese dream, billy wrote in the liner notes that he lifted the guitar lead line at the end of the song (when everything drops out) from someone/somewhere he "can never reveal." i'm assuming it's rush

"Back on the Chain Gang" brings in the "ooh! ahh!" backing vocals from the original "Chain Gang."

De La Soul's "Ego Trippin' Part Two" quotes (lyrically and melodically) from like a dozen classic rap tunes

"Back on the Chain Gang" brings in the "ooh! ahh!" backing vocals from the original "Chain Gang."

I wonder what is the most quoted/referenced classic rap song... "Top Billin'," maybe?

"La Di Da Di" maybe

There seems to be a couple of references to Scott Walker in Kid A/Amnesiac era Radiohead, an obvious one is that static string chord at the beginning of How To Dissappear.. which is voiced very similarly to the first chord of Sleepwalker's Woman.

The most referenced hip-hop song might still be Rapper's Delight tbh

'vine street' as performed & arranged by van dyke parks on song cycle features a very obvious string quote of beethoven's 9th

Which then dissolves into a lick from "The Entertainer"! There are probably fifteen little jokes on that album

“Mind on my money, money on my mind” from Snoop’s “gin and juice” (is this actually the origin?) referenced in like 1,000 hip hop songs.

The origin of that phrase was recently an answer to a question on HQ Trivia

One of my favourite recent instances of this is when Perfume Genius sings "you can 'say a little prayer for me'" on "Go Ahead"

I like it when this stuff happens in classical music most of all. I love when Debussy starts mocking the opening of "Tristan And Isolde" in the middle of "Golliwog's Cakewalk". The intro to Beethoven's 5th pops up all over the place in Ives' "Concord Sonata" like a persistent catchphrase.

Have we really not got to the "Jesus Christ Superstar" quote in Soundgarden's "Jesus Christ Pose" yet?

robert pollard's "subspace biographies" is practically karaoke of the police's "ωmegman"

Rush's "La Villa Strangiato" quotes the middle section of Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" at one point, can't remember if it was actually credited or not.

It wasn’t, but Rush later contacted Scott and arranged for some form of royalty payments.

'vine street' as performed & arranged by van dyke parks on song cycle features a very obvious string quote of beethoven's 9th

Which then dissolves into a lick from "The Entertainer"! There are probably fifteen little jokes on that album

there are probably fifteen little jokes in that one song, the album is just relentless

echo...

Cate le Bon - wild features a guitar solo that references my favourite things from sound of music.

She also references Bowie on rock pool

this is a great thread. My mind is blown by the grace jones/wichita lineman and (to a lesser extent) love will tear us apart/and then he kissed me.

Crowded House's Four Seasons in a Day includes a despondent nod to their own Don't Dream It's Over.

The harmonic guitar pattern in How Soon Is Now is taken from a Lovebug Starski track.

Dillinger Escape Plan's 'Sugar Coated Sour' quotes that Entry Of The Gladiators circus tune for a split second. Which I guess has likely been done before, I bet by Primus or maybe some jam band.

it might not be brief enough for this thread, but the original version of Spirtualized's "Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" which quotes from "Can't Help Falling in Love"

portishead's machine gun probably is referencing blue monday

The bridge in “blue flower” by mazzy star contains the melody of “i’ll be your mirror”

It’s so seamlessly integrated but also an unmistakable nod. I love it.

was the bit of madonna's "express yourself" that sounds just like the bit from the staple singers' "respect yourself" intentional or no? i don't see mention of it on wikipedia/discogs/etc. and when i google it all i get are petty madonna-gaga stan wars

"Colorado" by the Flying Burrito Brothers sounds a lot like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Xm7s9eGxU

I love the "Moon River" string instrumental line that forms a counterpoint to the melody in Cat Power's "The Greatest"

The bridge in “blue flower” by mazzy star contains the melody of “i’ll be your mirror”

― treeship 2, Monday, January 15, 2018 10:54 PM (yesterday) Bookmark

this is a cover and it also sounds like VU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsUoEaRNDTM

the original ^^ has a "waiting for the man" vibe

Interesting, I’ve never heard of this other band but I like this version too. Thanks LL!

i didn't know til a few years ago and it explained why i liked that mazzy star song so much more than the other ones i heard. it was actually sort of fun?

Maybe obvious but there's also the quote from "Blue Moon" at the beginning of Clapton's solo in "Sunshine of Your Love".

^^ I swear I was literally just coming here to post that.

Sly & The Family Stone - Plastic Jim/Beatles - Eleanor Rigby

another madonna one that i figure must be intentional is in "justify my love": I don't wanna be your mother/I don't wanna be your sister either/I just wanna be your lover -- must be a reference to prince "i wanna be your lover", yes?

OK how about a bit of Beethovens fifth in in Paul Nicholas' "Reggae like it used to be"

"Reggae Beethoven" indeed