Songs with the 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' chord progression

Tim McGraw, "Renegade" (1995)

Tim McGraw, "Renegade" (1995)

Great bump. A++++

I can't believe somebody on this thread dissed "We Will Fall".

archigram - doggystyle

Sonik Yoot - "White Kross" ?

-- Noodle Vague, Wednesday, March 14, 2007 2:17 PM (7 months ago) Bookmark Link

that was my first thought, but i think its just the gtr rhythm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54yjLSmXtV0

"magic potion," at least sun dial's cover of it. i've never heard the original open mind version, but i think it came out in 1969. that would be funny if it sounds like the sun dial version, and "i wanna be your dog" follows the "magic potion" chord progression. or i guess not that funny

there was some song by gvsb that had a similar progression -- bulletproof cupid?

NIWBYD is soooo classic, one of Ig's great moments (and the sleigh bells make it even more evil)

Suicidal Tendencies - "I Saw Your Mommy"

Can, Outside my Door

Is there not a Spacemen 3 song that does this?

"PAT! THE TRIP! DISPENSAAAAHHHH!!!"

Is there not a Spacemen 3 song that does this?

You might be thinking of their cover of Mudhoney's When Tomorrow Hits

I was just working on the assumption that all their best songs pilfered riffs from the Stooges (OD Catastrophe), the MC5, Lou Reed etc...

i interviewed Mark Arm once and he told me that they chose to cover Sonic Youth's 'Hallowe'en' because most SY songs used puzzling tunings, but 'Hallowe'en' sort of devolves into 'IWBYD' after a while, and Mudhoney knew they could play that.

You might be thinking of their cover of Mudhoney's When Tomorrow Hits

...which was itself basically a Wire ("Lowdown") ripoff. It gets confusing after awhile...

Peglegasus, "Marcus"

As for "1969", that two-chord riff shows up in The Byrds' "Gathering of Tribes" and (at twice the speed,) Ted Nugent's "Wango Tango".

Swell Maps, "Harmony In Your Bathroom"

You're obsessed!

i think "bulletproof cupid" by girls against boys sorta has it, maybe?

You're obsessed!

Not really. I just keep hearing these songs by accident; it's not like I'm looking for them. The chord progression just jumps out of albums at me.

OMFG I can't believe none of you came up with the most OBVIOUS and GLARING and ILXY one: "Premature Burial" by Siouxsie & the Banshees. Quick! Go listen to it and see.

I like that word "ILXY" and look forward to reading it in future threads

Almost none of these songs have the same chord progression.

Plastic People of the Universe, "Toxica" (though eventually it turns into more "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," maybe appropriately given its title.)

Er...I meant "Zácpa," actually. (Same band, but forget what I said about the title.)

Too Slim & The Taildraggers, ""Make It Sound Happy"

Fleetwood Mac, "Homeward Bound" (off Bare Trees -- if not exactly this chord progression, something close to it.)

Pop Will Eat Itself "Def Con One".

The guitar break after the chorus always sounded a lot like the intro to Proud Mary to me.

Pop Will Eat Itself "Def Con One".

Well, yeah, the original version actually samples I Wanna Be Your Dog

Hanoi Rocks, "Lost In The City" (I assume this one is intentional.)

wtf

Almost none of these songs have the same chord progression.

― billstevejim, Saturday, May 2, 2009 9:41 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark

bIII, V/V, I)

I haven't spent a lot of time with it, and there's a fair bit of distortion on the recording while I'm using an acoustic, but I'm not sure I'm hearing a third in any of the chords (especially the third chord, the tonic chord): I'd just as soon call it G5-F#5-E5 over a pedal point on E (which effectively turns the first chord into Em7). I actually don't see a reason to analyse it in a major key, assuming that's what you meant by calling the third chord "I". The other person who has tried to analyse it here seems to have analysed the same way, though, so maybe I'm missing something. If I had to put Roman numerals under it, right now, I'd probably just write "e: i[7]-ii-i (over tonic pedal)". It's basically a tonic prolongation, not that it's functional anyway.

Like, this is what I'm hearing:
http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/i/iggy_pop/i_wanna_be_your_dog_tab.htm
http://youtu.be/yeTjztRmGkc

Actually, you could even just write "i-----" and call the F# and C# embellishing notes.

Starting to listen to other examples: in the Mazzy Star, it's even more clearly just a riff or melodic gesture over a drone/pedal.

otm. In a way it is a variant of "Venus In Furs" which is, I think, a droning C# minor going up and down C#,D#, E, D#. Obviously a different key and slightly different pattern but the idea and vibe are certainly related.

I think "Phoenix" is mostly the bassist playing the pitches (not chords) G-F#-F-E while the guitarist improvises in E blues minor, sometimes playing a power chord on the tonic?

xpost

And the riff in "Two Beads at the End" sounds like A5-G#5-E5, which is pretty different.

OK, listening to the Boston song now, billstevejim OTM.

The "Venus in Furs" comparison makes sense to me.

Actually, you could even just write "i-----" and call the F# and C# embellishing notes.

The C# reinforces the idea that it's E major to me. In general, I just think major key even if I'm not hearing the thirds in the guitar just because of so much tradition of rock and roll songs that are in major keys but have blue notes and/or bIII and bVII chords.

(Minor pentatonic guitar solos over major key songs, etc.)

The C# reinforces the idea that it's E major to me.

Borrowing ^6 from the parallel key is really common practice and doesn't really prove much on its own. Besides, you get C natural in the only other real riff in the song. There's really nothing else to suggest E major. Any time ^3 appears in the song, it's G natural, as far as I can tell. It's not just a case of blue notes over a major-key chord progression.

I think people were mistaking riffs that have a vaguely similar rhythm and contour as having a similar 'chord progression'??

(Btw, "G5-F#5-E5 with a pedal point on E" was the first thing I said. 'Theory snobbery' only came in when I had to argue the point.:P)

nah man I wasn't calling you a snob at all, your breakdown has been interesting. Just trying to point out that when people are saying "not the same chord progression" it's not because of some subtle difference, it's because they are completely different. Did you try singing I wanna be your dog along with Oh Yoko yet, btw? Kinda fun

It's cool, fgti. Was feeling defensive, I guess.

This revive turned out to be pretty interesting. Enjoyed everybody's comments.

Just started burning that massive history of female punk. Don't much care for this, but it clearly belongs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VxILA32Nd4

Buzzcocks, "Something's Gone Wrong Again" has not only the riff but the exact same one-note piano as the original.

Hmm, this thread - most of these songs are nothing like I Wanna Be Your Dog chord progression! Bela Lugosi's Dead and the end of Mudhoney's Halloween definitely are though.

Was wondering about this...would some of those curious examples be given if thread title asked for 'riff' instead of 'chord progression'?

Ty Segall - Manipulator

Chrisma, "Black Silk Stocking"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DY-MYND-zg

Alternative TV, "Splitting In Two"

The Fall managed it twice - the peel session version of Clasp Hands used it too...

― Geoffrey Priory (big peach), Saturday, September 16, 2006 12:34 PM (fourteen years ago)

Thrice if you include "Big New Prinz" which is like a mash-up of "Rock & Roll pt 2" & "IWBYD".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wygQmJ59E4Q

Yo La Tengo - "Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEVK7oJNw5A

Just heard “Phoenix” by The Cult blasting out of a nearby barbecue place which brought me to this thread.