Angry songs about the music biz

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The more personal and detailed, the better! Try to avoid 'anti-press' songs as that's been done elsewhere

― dave q, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'Complete Control' (yawn) - The Clash. 'EMI' - The Sex Pistols. 'Mercury Poisoning' - Graham Parker. 'Rough Trade' - Stiff Little Fingers. 'So You Wanna Be A Rock'n'Roll Star?' - The Byrds.

― Andrew L, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'Betrayal by ex-manager' songs could be a genre in themselves. What usually happens IRL is some idiot who thinks he's automatically deserving of being paid to exist signs a bunch of things without looking at them, then just CAN'T BELIEVE that the 'machinery' (i.e. people doing REAL jobs to sell this idiot's music) can negotiate a 'cut' too! Add in that musicians are usually a)young, b)stupid, and c)incredibly susceptible to flattery, and you get some major-league hissy fits!

Some tunes - "The Promise" (Springsteen), "Cocaine Decisions" (Zappa), "EMI" (Pistols), "Denmark Street" (Kinks), "No Vaseline" (Ice Cube, for the reference to Jerry Heller), "Do It Like a G.O." (Geto Boys), "Bastard" (Motley Crue), "Steel and Glass" (John Lennon, where he talks about Allen Klein's body odour)

― dave q, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Morrissey's insane rant about his court case on his last album.

― Tom, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Not all those above are 'anti-ex-manager' of course

The only pro-biz reference I ever heard was in Van Halen's "I'm the One"!

― dave q, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Wasn't The Stone Roses "How do you sleep" about their ex-manager? The guy they tipped paint over.

Also John Fogerty's "Vanz Kant Danz" - didn't his ex-manager sue him for ripping himself off?

The Smiths "Paint a Vulgar Picture".

Also didn't the wretched Luke Haines write something about the boss of Fire Records on the Auteurs first album.

― Dr. C, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Radio, Radio - Elvis C.
Union Man - Neil Young

― Dave225, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

john fogerty's zaentz can't dance cost him a LOT of money

― mark s, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Behind the Music - The Vandals (= Not that angry)

Long Live The British Music Scene - Helen Love (= Never heard it)

Karma Killa - Robbie Williams (= angry ex-manager song "I hope you choke/On your Bacardi and Coke")

― Graham, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

From what I can gather, that would be the subject matter for a good chunk of the songs on Juliana Hatfield's "Bed" album.

Another example would be Marvin Gaye's "Is That Enough" from the "Here My Dear" album. The album was created as a divorce settlement for his ex-wife, who happened to be Berry Gordy's sister. In "Is That Enough", he references Berry Gordy too, and not in a flattering way.

And don't forget John Mellencamp's "Pop Singer"...

― popmusic, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Mostly Everything on Scrawl's "Bloodsucker" EP.

High Roller
Cold Hearted Snake
Please Have Everything

Written as a FuckYou to Rough Trade.

― Dave225, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Virgin" by Prince Far-I, marvellous stuff. "Branson is a pickle with no place upon my plate..."

― Tim, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Divine Comedy" by Tricky. Really really not a happy camper.

― Tom, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

How could I have forgotten Lee "Scratch" Perry's "Chris Blackwell is a Vampire"?

― dave q, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What was the story behind that unsubtle title 'Only stupid bastards sign for EMI'? Something to do with that unsubtle band the New model Army when they sold out, but that's all I can recall.

― Daniel, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Isn't there a song on the new Pink album that goes off on L.A. Reid? I'm forgetting the name of it now.

Also didn't the wretched Luke Haines write something about the boss of Fire Records on the Auteurs first album?

Yup, that would be "Idiot Brother".

― Nicole, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"polygram is a nigga" - tricky. some limited 12". fopp claimed that it was exclusive to fopp but that seems unlikely. quite explicitly anti-well....polygram really. these contractual wrangles, eh?

― ambrose, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Have a Cigar" by Pink Floyd

― Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Ex have done a couple of them--"E.M.Why?" on their first album-- "EMI smiles/They're glad the Gang of 4 are fooled/Now they can exploit them/Now they can exploit them/Now they can exploit them..."

If memory serves, their _Dead Fish_ EP is entirely biz-related, including a song about the collapse of Red Rhino distro.

― Douglas, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Barracuda" by Heart (after some record industry swine apparently insinuated that playing up a sisterly lesbian aesthetic might help record sales).

"Money is Not Our God" by Killing Joke (although not striclty limited to the record industry)

― Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Producer" - Gang of Four.

"Day in, Day out - he hears the same hits ...
..Lies on Sale! Lies on Sale!"

― Dave225, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Abrose - that's "Divine Comedy". It wasn't exclusive to Fopp!

― Tom, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

dave q: I think "Chris Blackwell is a Vampire" pretty much takes the cake.

― cybele, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I seem to remember Lawrence having a pop at Cherry Red on the first Denim album. "I'm against the 80's" I think.

― flowersdie, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Dude, "Workin for MCA"!

― Kris, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Slave 4 U?

"Cut Your Hair" by Pavement (& "Range Life" to a degree, but damn Pavement never really got mad about ANYTHING did they?)

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ex-manager rant song: Queen- Death On Two Legs (dedicated to...)

― harvey williams, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"I Shot My Manager" - Gruppo Sportivo. (Not very angry, actually, more tongue in cheek.)

― Jeff W, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Hell, here's another by Tricky- "Record Companies", A nice mix of hateful, bite the hand that feeds me sentiments driven by thunderous percussion and a din of noise . Lovely!

― Brenya, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Austin band Spoon released a single on Saddle Creek this year or last with two songs about their A&R guy at Elektra (where they were promptly dropped after one album) Ron Lafitte, who now plies his trade at Capitol. If I remember correctly the two tracks were "The Agony of Lafitte" and "Lafitte Don't Fail Me Now".

― Dan Gibson, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Robbie Fulk and Aimee Mann have done many opuses on this theme--I think so has Steve Forbert or someone like that.

― Mickey Black Eyes, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Genius - "Labels", Dr. Dooom "Leave me Alone"....

― Honda, Wednesday, 28 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Doesn't get much more personal or (angry) than Del Tha Funky Homosapien's "Del's Nightmare." It's one of those songs that just hammers you on first listen; you just have to lean back and say "Woah." Nice, suspenseful sample too, does anyone who's heard this track know the source?

"Time to get a mop, 'cause without promotion, of course sales drop."

― Jack Redelfs, Thursday, 29 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Robbie Fulks - Fuck This Town is perhaps the angriest anti indusrty song i have heard

― anthony, Thursday, 29 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

the genesis behind Saint Low's 'walk on by' is pretty intriguing... when madder rose were entering the last stretch of their atlantic deal, they played the label honchos demos of what, i guess, eventually became 'hello june fool', to which the execs replied, 'i don't hear a single'.

anyways, Mary Lorson was hit pretty hard by this rejection, stormed home and started playing on her piano. she came up with this beautiful melody, and sang over and over again, 'i don't hear a single'... but she hated the idea of giving the label creeps the satisfaction of her writing a song about them, so penned a second line which made the song run "i don't hear a single / word that they're saying to me now"... the song became 'walk on by', and its just about one of my favourites ever...

― stevie, Thursday, 29 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Neglekted" - Afghan Whigs (this song's working title seems to have been "Sylvia," as in Elektra Records' boss Sylvia Rhome.)

― j.lu, Thursday, 29 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Seen Your Video - The Replacements

"your phony rock n roll ... we don't wanna know"

― cbs, Thursday, 29 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Industry rule #4080
Record company people are shady
So kids watch your back 'cause I think they smoke crack
I don't doubt it, look at how they act. -A Tribe Called Quest, forget the title, from The Low End Theory.

― hstencil, Thursday, 29 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

& of course Jay-Z talkin about payback for what they did to the cold crush.

― Sterling Clover, Thursday, 29 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'Seymour Stein' by Belle And Sebastian - especially the bit where Seymour says he likes a jacket (I think) because it reminds him of Johnny Marr.

― Ben Butler, Thursday, 29 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I read a short Morrissey interview around 1986/7 in which he said the the song "The Boy With A Thorn In His Side" was about The Smiths and the music business.

― Eagle, Friday, 30 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Prisnors of Rock and Roll - Neil Young
Sugarcube - YLT (video form)

― Mr Noodles, Wednesday, 5 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

XTC "Funk Pop A Roll"

Funk pop a roll beats up my soul
Oozing like napalm from the speakers and grill
Of your radio
Into the mouths of babes
And across the backs of its willing slaves

Funk pop a roll consumes you whole
Gulping in your opium so copiously from a disco
Everything you eat is waste
But swallowing is easy when it has no taste

They can fix you rabbits up
With your musical feed
They can fix you rabbits up
Big money selling you stuff that you do not need

Funk pop a roll for fish in shoals
Music by the yard for the children they keep
Like poseable dolls
The young to them are mistakes
Who only want bread but they're force-fed cake

Funk pop a roll the only goal
The music business is a hammer to keep
You pegs in your holes
But please don't listen to me
I've already been poisoned by this industry!

Funk pop a roll beats up my soul...

― Brian MacDonald, Wednesday, 5 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

In his cover of Adam Ant's "Physical," Trent Reznor whispers "eat your heart out, Steve" in reference to TVT big shot Steve Gottlieb. Most of "broken's" angst stems from that contract dispute.

― bnw, Wednesday, 5 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

From your fave album, dave--Hole-"Playing Your Song", "Awful". Of course, they're both really about her, but what do you expect? I think they're great.

― Arthur, Wednesday, 5 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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