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

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

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 15 January 2018 22:43 (six years ago) link

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

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 15 January 2018 22:45 (six years ago) link

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.

MaresNest, Monday, 15 January 2018 22:46 (six years ago) link

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"

Number None, Monday, 15 January 2018 23:46 (six years ago) link

portishead's machine gun probably is referencing blue monday

kolakube (Ross), Tuesday, 16 January 2018 04:07 (six years ago) link

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

treeship 2, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 04:54 (six years ago) link

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

treeship 2, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 04:55 (six years ago) link

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

dyl, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 05:05 (six years ago) link

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

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

flappy bird, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 06:41 (six years ago) link

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

Dan S, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 06:49 (six years ago) link

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

weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Tuesday, 16 January 2018 13:48 (six years ago) link

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

weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Tuesday, 16 January 2018 13:49 (six years ago) link

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

treeship 2, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 13:54 (six years ago) link

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?

weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Tuesday, 16 January 2018 14:00 (six years ago) link

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

No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Tuesday, 16 January 2018 14:04 (six years ago) link

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

Millennial Whoop, wanna fight about it? (Phil D.), Tuesday, 16 January 2018 15:18 (six years ago) link

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

Colonel Poo, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 22:21 (six years ago) link

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?

dyl, Tuesday, 16 January 2018 23:23 (six years ago) link

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

"Reggae Beethoven" indeed

Mark G, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 08:57 (six years ago) link

At 1:41 in Alice Coltrane's 'Journey In Satchidanda' Pharoah Sanders quotes something Freddie Hubbard does at 16:53 in John's 'Ascension (Edition I)'.

Noel Emits, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 23:30 (six years ago) link

Which is dead cool as in both instances it's in the context of improvisation. Unless it's originally a reference to something else.

Noel Emits, Wednesday, 17 January 2018 23:38 (six years ago) link

In Huey Lewis's "I Want A New Drug," lead guitarist Chris Hayes plays the intro riff to "Purple Haze" during his outro solo.

Millennial Whoop, wanna fight about it? (Phil D.), Thursday, 18 January 2018 16:11 (six years ago) link

Richard Thompson "The Great Valerio" has a brief exposed quotation from the "Balancoire" number from Erik Saties "Sports et Divertissements" suite

In "Good Love" Prince says Mahler No. 3 is jamming on the box and a short in your face synth-orchestral riff comes in suddenly and I have not identified it as a specific moment from Mahler's 3rd but I feel confident is

Winter. Dickens. Yes. (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 18 January 2018 16:49 (six years ago) link

Soloing in Silkworm's "Raised by Tigers" mimics soloing/vocalizing from Pavement's "In the Mouth a Desert." I listened to that Silkworm album, In the West, once in like '95, noticed that musical reference, and have been waiting 22 years for this thread so I could share this observation. Thank you.

andrew m., Thursday, 18 January 2018 20:29 (six years ago) link

I can die now.

andrew m., Thursday, 18 January 2018 20:30 (six years ago) link

Oh, and the intro and outro of Sammy Turner's "Stay My Love" reference the 2nd movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony

andrew m., Thursday, 18 January 2018 20:31 (six years ago) link

the entire song sounds like it's derived from that movement

dyl, Thursday, 18 January 2018 23:04 (six years ago) link

Ha, you are so right, dyl. Guess it doesn't qualify as brief musical reference.

andrew m., Friday, 19 January 2018 15:01 (six years ago) link

Tons on the new Lana :

- "don't worry baby" and "my boyfriends back" in lust for life

- "Scarborough fair" is referenced in "cherry"

- Neil young and the locomotion track both referenced on the closing cut

- "stairway to heaven" referenced on coachella I'm my mind

kolakube (Ross), Friday, 19 January 2018 15:08 (six years ago) link

speaking of Scarborough Fair: Elizabeth My Dear by the Stone Roses

nate woolls, Friday, 19 January 2018 15:41 (six years ago) link

more than a bit brief tho I suppose, it's basically Scarborough Fair with new lyrics

nate woolls, Friday, 19 January 2018 15:44 (six years ago) link

In "Lazy Sunday" by the Small Faces they play the Stones' "Satisfaction" riff on kazoo, and also the "Colonel Bogey March" (the whistling tune in Bridge on the River Kwai)

Josefa, Friday, 19 January 2018 16:33 (six years ago) link

The intro to Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions is done to the tune of Hey Jude

EMEL, Friday, 19 January 2018 17:20 (six years ago) link

Oh, and there's the bit in the Bridge Is Over that's rapped to the tune of It's Still Rock & Roll To Me

EMEL, Friday, 19 January 2018 17:22 (six years ago) link

Correction: don't worry baby ref is in the song love not lust for life

kolakube (Ross), Friday, 19 January 2018 18:42 (six years ago) link

"Glass Onion" has a reference to "The Fool on the Hill" after John sings "I told you bout the fool on the hill / I tell you man, he's living there still" - and then Paul plays a brief phrase on the recorder, calling back to "The Fool on the Hill."

flappy bird, Friday, 19 January 2018 18:48 (six years ago) link

The Beatles "Polythene Pam" uses the "Yeah yeah yeah" refrain from "She Loves You". the inclusion of the catchphrase turns that section of the Abbey Road medley into a conscious throwback to their first hit 6 years prior

AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 19 January 2018 18:51 (six years ago) link

^ that also shows up at the end of "All You Need is Love," Paul singing the chorus of "She Loves You" slowly by himself as the song fades out

flappy bird, Friday, 19 January 2018 18:53 (six years ago) link

Dean blunts Papi liberally samples echoes by pink Floyd for the beat

On the same record he samples oh daddy by Fleetwood Mac, particularly a stretch of the beat used near the outro of the original song

kolakube (Ross), Friday, 19 January 2018 19:08 (six years ago) link

Steely Dan's Show Biz Kids has that little bit of the Reelin' in the Years guitar lick after the "They got the Steely Dan t-shirt" line.

Gavin, Leeds, Friday, 19 January 2018 19:27 (six years ago) link

Speaking of the Beatles, the Offspring's "Why Don't You Get A Job" borrows heavily from "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da."

nickn, Friday, 19 January 2018 19:28 (six years ago) link

Also in "All You Need Is Love," one of them shouting "ALL TOGETHER NOW" in the outro

hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Friday, 19 January 2018 21:55 (six years ago) link

even at their most acid fried the Beatles understood the concept of good brand synergy

AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 19 January 2018 22:07 (six years ago) link

I think "All together now" came after "All you need is love"

Mark G, Friday, 19 January 2018 22:44 (six years ago) link

Jenny hval kingsize references Laurie Anderson

"But here I see no subculture, no future;
No big science"

kolakube (Ross), Saturday, 20 January 2018 09:19 (six years ago) link

Also jenny hval references merry Xmas - war is over in take care of yourself. Throw back to Fiona Apple on "and feminism is over and socialism's over"

kolakube (Ross), Saturday, 20 January 2018 09:35 (six years ago) link

The solos in "People Who Died" repeatedly throw in the "Roll Over Beethoven" riff, but that may just reflect Chuck's contribution to rock DNA generally.

if you steeleye spanshine (Doctor Casino), Thursday, 25 January 2018 14:57 (six years ago) link

There's a live version of The Go-Betweens' "The Clock" where Grant, right before Robert's outro guitar solo, says/sings "Play, magic fingers!" exactly the way Mike Nesmith does on The Monkees' "Papa Gene's Blues."

Millennial Whoop, wanna fight about it? (Phil D.), Thursday, 25 January 2018 16:26 (six years ago) link

There's a song on the new first aid kit which has the line "what comes after this, momentary bliss" - beach house

kolakube (Ross), Monday, 5 February 2018 20:25 (six years ago) link

speaking of Scarborough Fair: Elizabeth My Dear by the Stone Roses
― nate woolls, Friday, January 19, 2018 10:41 AM (two weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Scarborough Fair is actually a folk song from like the 16th century which has lots of variants, so you could just say the Stone Roses were reclaiming that tradition.

enochroot, Tuesday, 6 February 2018 14:11 (six years ago) link


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