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Teya & Salena represented Austria in Eurovision last year with “Who the Hell is Edgar?”, it was written from the perspective of wanting to be taken seriously in the industry, veiled through a fun song about being possessed by the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe, though the bridge gets quite blatant and singles out Spotify for not paying its artists properly. It was one of the favourites in the Eurovision community last year and I think it would’ve done better had the Finland vs. Sweden rivalry not happened.
Dinosaurs will die - NOFX
There’s a song about how it feels when you get your royalty check. I think that’s what it’s about… Cannibal Corpse - Meat Hook Sodomy.
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.
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.
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
So many songs by Muse which I find most amusing because they have an anti-corporate message but are made under a giant corporate label.
Specifically what comes to mind when it comes to the music industry itself are Showbiz and Uprising.
Porcupine Tree - The Sound of Muzak has one of my favorite lines ever in any song: “Music of rebellion makes you wanna rage, but it’s made by millionaires who are nearly twice your age.”
Reel Big Fish - Sell Out
Tool - Hooker With A Penis
Good songwriters can do some good stuff when they are writing what they know. Bad singwriters can crawl up their own assholes, though. Some good Americana Alt-Country ones:
Mercury in Retrograde - Sturgill Simpson takes on the realities of “success”. Really the whole Sound and Fury album, though; the whole thing is just him raging at the labels and expectations people put on him as “the next Waylon Jennings.”
Bible on the Dash: Life for work-a-day touring musicians. Corb Lund and Hayes Carll actually come up with something useful about a hotel Bible.
Robert Earl Keen:
My Home Ain’t in the Hall of Fame. Checking out of the Nashville rat race.
What I Really Mean: Wistful realities of road life for someone at a different life phase than the one above.
The Road Goes On & On: a vicious diss track at Toby Keith’s expense. REK is like the chill Democrat New-Balance Suburban Dad of brilliant Americana singer-songwriters, so he probably wouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but I will. Fuck Toby Keith.
Mr. Recordman by Ugly Kid Joe
Gillian Welsh - Everything is Free.
Great song about the difficulties of making a living off music now that everything is available for nothing. Father John Misty recorded a version when he was invited to the Spotify Sessions, which was a nice little fuck you to the people inviting him.
I think Hank Williams III with the Grand Ole Opry Ain’t so Grand deserves a shout-out. Basically a song about how the institution that chewed up and then expelled his grandfather can eat shit.
Welcome to the Machine by Pink Floyd is right up there.
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’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.
