SOME PEOPLE ARE AFRAID ILM IS TURNING INTO THE TVTROPES OF MUSIC, SO HERE'S A CATCH-ALL THREAD WHERE WE CAN DOCUMENT THE THEMATIC/SONIC/COMPOSITIONAL LINKAGES BETWEEN SONGS WITHOUT HAVING TO START A NEW THREAD FOR EACH AND EVERY TROPE THAT POPS INTO OUR HEADS DURING MOMENTS OF DESPERATE BOREDOM
― how to diss a peer completely (unregistered), Monday, 12 February 2018 01:44 (six years ago) link
songs where a woman corresponds with her husband under an assumed identity and arranges a liaison with him as a test of his marital fidelity:
Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Piña Colada Song)Kate Bush - Babooshka
― how to diss a peer completely (unregistered), Monday, 12 February 2018 01:45 (six years ago) link
"some people"
― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Monday, 12 February 2018 01:45 (six years ago) link
Songs that are not John Cage's 4' 33"
― calstars, Monday, 12 February 2018 02:26 (six years ago) link
Songs in which Instrumentation is or is not used
― calstars, Monday, 12 February 2018 02:27 (six years ago) link
Songs in which the vocalist audibly takes a drag on a cigarette between verses:
Sandy Denny - "No End"
― J. Sam, Monday, 12 February 2018 02:28 (six years ago) link
this would be a good thread to collect all of the disparate 'songs where' threads, cause i can never find any of them.
― hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Monday, 12 February 2018 02:34 (six years ago) link
songs where you can't find what you're looking for
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - U2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K89RsKaEO7I
― how to diss a peer completely (unregistered), Monday, 12 February 2018 02:41 (six years ago) link
songs written by a non-famous family member of the recording artist:
Grizzly Bear - MarlaThrowing Muses - Sinkhole
― how to diss a peer completely (unregistered), Monday, 12 February 2018 02:46 (six years ago) link
Songs by 90's-era American indie bands about 80's-era British female singers:
Unrest - "Cath Carroll"June & the Exit Wounds - "Cathy Dennis"
― henry s, Monday, 12 February 2018 15:27 (six years ago) link
Songs by 90's-era American indie bands about 80's-era British female singers
Black Tambourine - Throw Aggi Off the Bridge
(about Aggie and Stephen Pastel)
― how to diss a peer completely (unregistered), Monday, 12 February 2018 19:50 (six years ago) link
the plot thickens!
― henry s, Monday, 12 February 2018 20:04 (six years ago) link
songs where the narrator is so miserable that even the sight of children playing fails to cheer his burdened heart:
Rolling Stones - As Tears Go ByPearl Jam - BlackScreaming Trees - Winter Song
― the yolk sustains us, we eat whites for days (unregistered), Sunday, 22 April 2018 22:26 (five years ago) link
Lol
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Sunday, 22 April 2018 22:38 (five years ago) link
young girl: hahaha wheeee I love playing in the puddlesMark Lanegan, grunger: HOW CAN YOU BE SO CAREFREE WHEN MY SOUL IS LITERALLY DYING 😢😢😢
― the yolk sustains us, we eat whites for days (unregistered), Sunday, 22 April 2018 22:40 (five years ago) link
songs that in off whacking with which trailer
― j., Sunday, 22 April 2018 23:38 (five years ago) link
lol i have been bumping a lot of these
― flappy bird, Monday, 23 April 2018 00:08 (five years ago) link
songs where the narrator is so miserable that even the sight of children playing fails to cheer his burdened heart
How could you leave off The Chi-lites, Have You Seen Her
― lana del boy (ledge), Monday, 23 April 2018 08:37 (five years ago) link
and Chicago, Make Me Smile
― Lee626, Monday, 23 April 2018 09:16 (five years ago) link
Songs in which, it is not I who is mad, it's you normals!
Elton John - Madman Across the WaterBonzo Dog Band - My Pink Half of the DrainpipeSupertramp - Asylum
― Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 24 April 2018 03:48 (five years ago) link
Songs where the singer is bored of music:
Cat Power - Colors and the Kids
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 04:28 (five years ago) link
songs where a singer expresses disdain for being put on a pedestal as artist
ionnalee- samaritan
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 06:14 (five years ago) link
London CallingDon't Look Back in Anger
?
― ad homineminem (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 08:47 (five years ago) link
much better to have a catch-all thread, good job
― niels, Tuesday, 24 April 2018 17:04 (five years ago) link
Eminem - Marshall Mathers
― 808s & Deep States (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 17:16 (five years ago) link
Ani DiFranco - Little Plastic Castle
People talk about my imageLike i come in two dimensionsLike lipstick is a sign of my decling mindLike what i happen to be wearingThe day that someone takes a pictureIs my new statement for all womankindAnd i wish they could see us nowIn leather bras and rubber shortsLike some ridiculous new team uniformFor some ridiculous new sportQuick someone call the girl policeAnd file a report
And i wish they could see us nowIn leather bras and rubber shortsLike some ridiculous new team uniformFor some ridiculous new sportQuick someone call the girl policeAnd file a report
― ... (Eazy), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 17:19 (five years ago) link
"Where Is My Mind"
― ... (Eazy), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 17:22 (five years ago) link
Neil Young - On The Beach
^ arguable, but i think he touches on the need for an audience and how frustrating that is - possibly more ambivalent??
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 17:24 (five years ago) link
songs where the strength of the protagonist's relationship is evaluated based upon their awareness of their lover's potato preferences:
Gershwin - Let's Call the Whole Thing OffSia - Sweet Potatoes
― ilxor-com-dog-meat-drawer-7-840-x-600.jpg (unregistered), Friday, 3 August 2018 03:36 (five years ago) link
Songs in which the Beatles wish you a Happy Birthday
― i’m still stanning (morrisp), Friday, 3 August 2018 04:20 (five years ago) link
Songs in which the singer reads off a phone number:“867-5309/Jenny” — Tommy Tutone“Group Sex” — Circle Jerks“The Vietnamese Telephone Ministry” — Fiery Furnaces
― i’m still stanning (morrisp), Friday, 3 August 2018 04:30 (five years ago) link
^Brenda Lee - Bigelow 6-200
― ilxor-com-dog-meat-drawer-7-840-x-600.jpg (unregistered), Friday, 3 August 2018 04:37 (five years ago) link
Transylvania 6-5000
― calstars, Friday, 3 August 2018 04:39 (five years ago) link
Oh snap!
― i’m still stanning (morrisp), Friday, 3 August 2018 04:40 (five years ago) link
Songs in which the boys are back in town:
Thin Lizzy - The Boys are Back in Town
― josh az (2011nostalgia), Friday, 3 August 2018 07:03 (five years ago) link
roxy music - remake/remodel ... "CPL 593H!"
― visiting, Friday, 3 August 2018 07:06 (five years ago) link
scraping foetus off the wheel - DI-1-9026
― visiting, Friday, 3 August 2018 07:10 (five years ago) link
isaac hayes - good love ... "call good love 69-9-69"
― visiting, Friday, 3 August 2018 07:26 (five years ago) link
squeeze - "853-5937"
are there any phone-number songs yet that have modern 8, 10, or 11 digit numbers?
― Lee626, Friday, 3 August 2018 08:19 (five years ago) link
City Boy – 5705
― the word dog doesn't bark (anagram), Friday, 3 August 2018 08:24 (five years ago) link
Not a phone number, it was the registration number of Bryan Ferry's car.
― Father Ted in Forkhandles (Tom D.), Friday, 3 August 2018 08:48 (five years ago) link
songs written by a non-famous family member of the recording artist:Grizzly Bear - MarlaThrowing Muses - Sinkhole― how to diss a peer completely (unregistered), Monday, 12 February 2018 02:46 (five months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― how to diss a peer completely (unregistered), Monday, 12 February 2018 02:46 (five months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Lyn Paul - The Waiting Game (Doreen Belcher)
I know. I do.
― Mark G, Friday, 3 August 2018 10:21 (five years ago) link
"Maybe Baby" had some lines written by Buddy Holly's mom.
― Sam Weller, Friday, 3 August 2018 10:40 (five years ago) link
George Harrison's "Piggies" had one line he couldn't fill, needed to rhyme with "lacking". His mum suggested "What they need's a damn good whacking" which is the "WHOA" line in the song.
― Mark G, Friday, 3 August 2018 11:09 (five years ago) link
Isn’t this every Cat Power song?
― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 3 August 2018 11:30 (five years ago) link
POLL: Songs Written By The Artist's Mom
― Sam Weller, Friday, 3 August 2018 11:44 (five years ago) link
Harry Nilsson, "Little Cowboy"Harry Nilsson, "Marchin' Down Broadway"
― Father Ted in Forkhandles (Tom D.), Friday, 3 August 2018 12:07 (five years ago) link
Jeremih - 773 LOVE
― ant banks and wasp (voodoo chili), Friday, 3 August 2018 12:36 (five years ago) link
This doesn't count but Hoyt Axton's mom wrote "Heartbreak Hotel."
― devil's avocado (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 3 August 2018 12:42 (five years ago) link
Ray Davies shading various managers in the Kinks' "The Moneygoround."
― Josefa, Monday, 7 August 2023 17:05 (seven months ago) link
Songs whose title(s) were the title of the band's preceding album, rather than the album they appeared on:
Marmoset - Record in Red
― Deflatormouse, Monday, 7 August 2023 17:07 (seven months ago) link
Songs in which the artist refers (by name) to a manager or other non-performing member of their “team”:
Spoon - Laffitte Don't Fail Me Now, &Spoon - The Agony of Laffitte
― nate woolls, Monday, 7 August 2023 22:58 (seven months ago) link
I thought that was about an A&R guy.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Monday, 7 August 2023 23:57 (seven months ago) link
The Ballad of John and Yoko (Peter Brown)
― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 00:07 (seven months ago) link
John Fogerty "Zanz Kant Danz"
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 00:09 (seven months ago) link
(Saul Zaentz)
would bet that The Beta Band Rap does this more than any other song ever recorded
― Deflatormouse, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 00:23 (seven months ago) link
Zaentz was also a label guy (and not quite what I had in mind with the query, though this is def a category in itself).
― Nonhuman biologics enthusiast (morrisp), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 00:33 (seven months ago) link
My fav Boyz II Men song is an interlude called "Khalil", which is about their manager that had recently been killed in a shooting.
Very moving piece of music
― linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 01:37 (seven months ago) link
Khalil Roundtree
― linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 01:38 (seven months ago) link
??There's an mma fighter called Khalil Rountree, but he's still alive, and never managed boyziimen afaik...
― m0stly clean (Slowsquatch), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 01:53 (seven months ago) link
I was including it as other non-performing member of their “team”
― nate woolls, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 02:32 (seven months ago) link
While traveling the country, their tour manager Khalil Rountree was murdered in Chicago, and the group's future performances of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" were dedicated to him. As a result of this unfortunate experience, the song helped advance their success.
― linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 04:05 (seven months ago) link
Holy heck!It's his son....Khalil Rountree Jr...So strange....
― m0stly clean (Slowsquatch), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 04:12 (seven months ago) link
Dante is a scrub
― symsymsym, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 05:21 (seven months ago) link
R.E.M. - Little America (“Jefferson” (Holt), the band’s manager at the time)
(Having become persona non grata, "Jefferson" changed to "Washington" on the Live at the Olympia album.)
― Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 05:45 (seven months ago) link
“Hamilton” would work well today.
― Nonhuman biologics enthusiast (morrisp), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 06:08 (seven months ago) link
Songs in which the artist refers (by name) to a manager or other non-performing member of their “team”
Enya - Orinoco Flow (Rob Dickins)Beastie Boys - Intergalactic (Mario C)
And ofc Blur now have an an album named after Smoggy
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 19:44 (seven months ago) link
Funkadelic, "Cholly (Funk Gettin' Ready to Roll)" (Cholly Bassoline, George Clinton's manager)
Always sounded like a made up name to me but he appears to be real:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cholly-bassoline-b0987885
― Continuous Two-Tone Warble (Tom D.), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 19:53 (seven months ago) link
BA Robertson - Bang Bang
“Life was in a ruin, she loved Johnny Fruin”; John Fruin was the head of WEA Records in 1979. Very inclusive reference from BA.
― houdini said, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 19:55 (seven months ago) link
Same thinking as Enya!
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 20:06 (seven months ago) link
I never knew the lyrics of “Orinoco Flow” (beyond the chorus), but flabbergasted that it name-checks a guy named “Rob Dickins”!
― Nonhuman biologics enthusiast (morrisp), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 20:10 (seven months ago) link
Songs in which different verses are an octave apart. Either with the same singer or different singers.
(Correct me if I am wrong, which happens frequently.)
Bill Withers starts Lean on Me low, with "some times in our lives, we all have pain" etc. The other verses are up from there, e.g., "if there is a load" etc.
So Blink-182 starts I Miss You low, with "Hello there, the angel from my nightmare" etc. The other verse is up from there "Where are you" etc.
Note: NOT a key change, just the same melody an octave up.
― Pontius Pilates (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 24 August 2023 20:05 (seven months ago) link
i know this happens a lot but can't for the life of me think of any examples rn
― budo jeru, Friday, 25 August 2023 19:34 (seven months ago) link
it definitely makes sense from an arrangement standpoint, in terms of adding variation without really doing anything new
― budo jeru, Friday, 25 August 2023 19:35 (seven months ago) link
I believe Geddy Lee does this on the last pre-chorus of "Freewill" by Rush.
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 25 August 2023 20:01 (seven months ago) link
Songs which have amazing intros and slowly drop in quality until the end is either mediocre or actually bad.
Obvious example of this = Love Is The Drug. Maybe also Pyjamarma.
― the world is your octopus (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 25 August 2023 20:04 (seven months ago) link
Xp Probably some male/female duets work this way also, but I am having trouble thinking of which. "Up Where We Belong"?
― Pontius Pilates (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 25 August 2023 20:07 (seven months ago) link
Idk if this counts but Another One Bites the Dust has a similar idea ?
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Friday, 25 August 2023 20:11 (seven months ago) link
Cat Stevens’ Father and Son
― houdini said, Friday, 25 August 2023 20:43 (seven months ago) link
Not an answer but the q makes me think of “1999”
― calstars, Friday, 25 August 2023 21:30 (seven months ago) link
Peter Hammill does the octave jump on the chorus of "Lemmings" and probably in other songs. Bowie does it twice in the opening verse(s) of "Sweet Thing".
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 26 August 2023 04:23 (seven months ago) link
Pop songs that make hooks out of pauses
The Beach Boys - The Little Girl I Once KnewSteve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)Garbage - SupervixenMadonna - Don't Tell Me
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Monday, 28 August 2023 23:42 (seven months ago) link
Funny how a song you haven't heard in maybe 30 years can sometime be the first to pop into your head after a prompt like this:
The Colorblind James Experience - A Different Bob
― Alba, Tuesday, 29 August 2023 08:34 (six months ago) link
Maybe the whole thing is too stop-start to count, but:Television - Prove It
― Alba, Tuesday, 29 August 2023 08:38 (six months ago) link
Antici
pation
― Pontius Pilates (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 29 August 2023 09:10 (six months ago) link
The Breeders – Cannonball
― Alba, Tuesday, 29 August 2023 09:13 (six months ago) link
English Beat - Rankin Fullstop
― m0stly clean (Slowsquatch), Tuesday, 29 August 2023 10:17 (six months ago) link
Fugazi - Waiting Room
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 30 August 2023 05:19 (six months ago) link
Songs which announce individual sections
From the Viz magazine single "Bags of Fun with Buster" by Johnny Japes & His Jesticles (who are certainly not John Otway, Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory):
Oh Buster, why do you let your sac swing so low? / Sax swing solo? Yes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugIShP1qgKk
― Hideous Lump, Wednesday, 13 September 2023 03:54 (six months ago) link
Songs that mention unsent letters:
R.E.M. - Letter Never SentThe Folk Implosion - Burning PaperLana Del Rey - Sweet
― Taylor Swift Reporter (morrisp), Wednesday, 13 September 2023 04:11 (six months ago) link
Top Ten Songs Titles Improved by Replacing the Word "Walk" with "Wank"
Walk Like an EgyptianWalk a Mile in My ShoesRemember (Walkin' in the Sand)I Walk on Gilded SplintersWalk Away ReneeWalking in RhythmThese Boots Are Made for WalkingDaddy Don't You Walk So FastYou'll Never Walk AloneWalkin' the Dog
― Hideous Lump, Wednesday, 13 September 2023 04:21 (six months ago) link
Walking to New OrleansWalking in Memphis
But I would wank 500 miles, and I would wank 500 more...
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 13 September 2023 10:00 (six months ago) link
Alternatively, how about songs improved by changing "Walkin'" to "Walken"?
https://ministryofbollockscouk.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/boots_walken.jpg
― Hereward the Woke (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 13 September 2023 10:02 (six months ago) link
60s UK toytown pop songs which contain the phrase “all fingers and thumbs”:
Manfred Mann - Ha! Ha! Said the ClownWorld of Oz - The Muffin Man
― houdini said, Wednesday, 13 September 2023 13:07 (six months ago) link
Baggy-type songs by (ahem) non-baggy artists. Whether intentional or not (almost always intentional).
Bon Jovi - Keep the FaithGeorge Michael - Freedom '90Jane's Addiction - Been Caught StealingSiouxsie & the Banshees - Kiss Them for MeThe Cure - Never Enough, Harold & JoeU2 - Mysterious WaysThe Fall - Telephone ThingThe Jesus & Mary Chain - Far Gone and Out, Reverence, etcJulian Cope - Poet Is Priest...Fatboy Slim - Praise YouThe Beautiful South - Hooligans Don't Fall in LoveManic Street Preachers - La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Wednesday, 13 September 2023 14:24 (six months ago) link
Can - I'm So Green
― Josefa, Wednesday, 13 September 2023 21:07 (six months ago) link
songs about getting around l.a. without a car
missing persons - "walking in l.a."juan wauters - "millionaire"
― is he disgruntled adrian? (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 4 October 2023 16:37 (five months ago) link
Hit singles that begin really dissonant and/or atonal
OMD - Maid of OrleansAdam & the Ants - Prince CharmingThe Cure - The CaterpillarFamily - In My Own Time
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Wednesday, 25 January 2023 05:27 (eleven months ago) bookmarkflaglink
I suppose Purple Haze
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Wednesday, 25 January 2023 05:28 (eleven months ago) bookmarkflaglink
The Human Beinz - Nobody But Me
(which I guess is just following the example of The Beatles - I Feel Fine)
― got it in the blood, the kid's a pelican (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 25 January 2023 12:37 (eleven months ago) bookmarkflaglink
The Wedding Present - No Christmas. Which was a hit...
The Cure - Strange Attraction. Which wasn't, unless apparently getting to no. 145 in Oz counts.
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Thursday, 28 December 2023 19:04 (three months ago) link