Any John Mayer song probably fits this thread. Daughters, Body is a Wonderland, No Such Thing (Because I Am An Affluent White Guy) etc.
― the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually (man alive), Thursday, 31 August 2017 17:15 (seven years ago) link
WAiting on the world to change would fit even more if it just came out now
"activism just happens, maaaaaan"
― Neanderthal, Thursday, 31 August 2017 17:18 (seven years ago) link
bohemian rhapsody
― Week of Wonders (Ross), Thursday, 31 August 2017 18:21 (seven years ago) link
"Session Man" by the Kinks
"He's not paid to think just play"
i get that it's "satire" but that line especially makes Ray Davies seem like a rockist jerk.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 2 October 2017 11:18 (six years ago) link
he's taking the side of the session man while calling him a brainless tool
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 2 October 2017 11:20 (six years ago) link
plenty of session guys happily agree that they are paid to play and not think. Could probably include Nicky Hopkins in there as well, I would guess, given that he plays on the track and it's about him.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 2 October 2017 16:03 (six years ago) link
I think it was just cos he hated Jimmy Page
― PaulTMA, Monday, 2 October 2017 19:00 (six years ago) link
Maybe I'm Amazed -- it starts out fine but I get a very bad vibe from "Maybe I'm a man, maybe I'm a lonely man who's in the middle of something/that he doesn't really understand."
― the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually (man alive), Monday, 2 October 2017 19:03 (six years ago) link
When it comes to Kinks songs that make Ray Davies seem like a jerk, 'Session Man' isn't even on the list, IMO.
― more Allegro-like (Turrican), Monday, 2 October 2017 19:07 (six years ago) link
I don’t know if Lennon qualifies as he always came off as a dick and it seems like he was conscious of it half of the time.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Monday, 2 October 2017 19:27 (six years ago) link
lol, never noticed the bolded line, my suspicion was correct, speaker is a total dick:
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the timeMaybe I'm afraid of the way I love youMaybe I'm amazed at the the way you pulled me out of timeAnd hung me on a lineMaybe I'm amazed at the way I really need youMaybe I'm a man and maybe I'm a lonely manWho's in the middle of somethingThat he doesn't really understandMaybe I'm a man and maybe you're the only womanWho could ever help meBaby won't you help me understandMaybe I'm a man and maybe I'm a lonely manWho's in the middle of somethingThat he doesn't really understandMaybe I'm a man and maybe you're the only womanWho could ever help meBaby won't you help me understandMaybe I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the timeMaybe I'm afraid of the way I leave youMaybe I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my songRight me when I'm wrongMaybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you
― the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually (man alive), Monday, 2 October 2017 22:35 (six years ago) link
I mean it seems to me like the whole song is an elaborate rationalization/apology for using someone and being ambiguous and non-committal when you know they want commitment.
― the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually (man alive), Monday, 2 October 2017 22:49 (six years ago) link
"All Things Must Pass" maybe? I mean, it's beautiful and sounds universal, but it's also, "I dumped you out of the blue, but don't worry, you'll get over it."
― JoeStork, Saturday, 7 October 2017 04:53 (six years ago) link
Joe OTM
― Week of Wonders (Ross), Saturday, 7 October 2017 05:17 (six years ago) link
Isn't this really most Wedding Present songs? Or the whinier Field Mice stuff.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 7 October 2017 14:17 (six years ago) link
working class hero - lennon
― Week of Wonders (Ross), Saturday, 7 October 2017 23:14 (six years ago) link
Paul Williams - To Put Up With You
Don't think I'm not impressed with your looks'Cause I think that you look just fineAnd don't think that I haven't considered you, girlOr the fact that you could be mineYes I'd like to hang aroundBut I'll have to let you downI just haven't got what it takesTo put up with you
― henry s, Monday, 9 October 2017 15:50 (six years ago) link
Any of the songs like 'Let's Hear It For the Boy' or 'You've Got What It Takes' (I know there are others) wherein the singer celebrates their love by frontloading the song with all of their lover's faults. Thank you for telling the world that I'm an impotent dogface with no sense of rhythm. I love you, too.
― I believe I will have another helping of your scrumptious casserole (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 16:30 (six years ago) link
Backstreet Boys - As Long As You Love Me
He doesn't care who you are, where you're from, what you did, as long as you love him.
In summary: 'Blah blah blah cool story about that time you went travelling round Australia, now let's screw'
― Hire Planes (dog latin), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 11:48 (six years ago) link
I always heard it as "hey, look, the past is the past. So you've been arrested for stalking a few times. So you went out of your way that one time to hit that cat with your car. I don't hold that against you, baby. Just don't forget my birthday and shit, and we're good."
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 23 May 2018 11:59 (six years ago) link
I always heard it as a confession of having pathologically low standards.
― incel elgort (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 12:50 (six years ago) link
My Lean Baby, sung by Sinatra (lyrics by Roy Alfred) is slightly wtf.
My lean baby - tall and thinFive feet seven - of bones and skinBut when she tells me maybe she loves meI feel as mellow as a fellow can be
She's so skinny - she's so drawnWhen she stands sideways - you (would) think (that) she's goneBut when she calls me: "baby" - I feel fineTo think she's frantically, romantically mine
She's slender, but she's tenderShe makes my heart surrenderAnd every night, when I hold her tightThe feeling is nice - my arms can go around twice
My lean baby - she's so slimA broomstick's wider - but not as trimAnd when she starts to kiss me - then I knowI love her so, I'll never, ever, let her go
My lean baby - strange to seeAnd all that nothing - it belongs to meAnd though she may be scrawny - she's okBecause I wouldn't want her any other way
I chased her - and I caught herThen a diamond ring - I bought her(hey) the diamonds shine - the ring is so fineBut here is the twist - she wears it right on her wrist
My lean baby - tall and thin...(do-do-do-do-do,...)
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 23 May 2018 12:57 (six years ago) link
Lobo - Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend
― noel gallaghah's high flying burbbhrbhbbhbburbbb (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 13:16 (six years ago) link
She was gonna be my wifeAnd I was gonna be her manBut she let another guy come between usAnd it shattered our plans
Well, Rhonda you caught my eyeAnd I can give you lotsa reasons whyYou gotta help me RhondaHelp me get her out of my heart
entire song is about Rhonda being a rebound
― Hazy Maze Cave (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 13:18 (six years ago) link
yup. and she's just "gotta" provide this emotional labor, cause he's bummed. he does declare that he can give her "lots of reasons why" this might actually be worth her while, but we don't hear them. bummer cause it's an amazing song.
― noel gallaghah's high flying burbbhrbhbbhbburbbb (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 13:23 (six years ago) link
yup, absolutely a rebound.
― Hire Planes (dog latin), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 13:30 (six years ago) link
Barbara Ann is similar in theme. Both see the Beach Boys stumbling around tipsy and desperate at the party, pinning hopes and dreams on various women, believing if they reciprocate then everything will be okay
― Hire Planes (dog latin), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 13:31 (six years ago) link
although i know Barbara Ann isn't an OG BB's song.
― Hire Planes (dog latin), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 13:32 (six years ago) link
"Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)," though obviously a towering classic, is kinda one of these.
― This is a total Jeff Porcaro. (Doctor Casino), Monday, 23 July 2018 00:54 (six years ago) link
Ghostbusters theme.
Look I get what Ray is trying to do. But he's making Janine's job hell.
Look at the reasons he urges you to call:
*Something strange in your neighborhood (Like...a robbery?)
*Something weird and it don't look good (Like a crazy guy ranting with a megaphone?)
*If you're seeing things running through your head (Like...an acid trip?)
*If you're all alone (da fuq?)
Like the only valid reason he gives id the invisible man in the bed. Poor Janine is probably referring customers elsewhere all day
― fuck the NRA (Neanderthal), Monday, 3 September 2018 14:48 (six years ago) link
The Turtles, "Happy Together"
― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Monday, 3 September 2018 15:12 (six years ago) link
(That "My Lean Baby" song is amazing, btw)
― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Monday, 3 September 2018 15:14 (six years ago) link
From Sammy Johns 1973 hit, "Chevy Van":
"I gave a girl a ride in my wagonShe crawled in and took controlShe was tired as her mind was a-draggin'I said get some sleep and dream of rock'n'roll
'Cause like a princess she was laying thereMoonlight dancing off her hairShe woke up and took me by the handShe's gonna love me in my Chevy van and that's all right with me
I put her out in a town that was so smallYou could throw a rock from end to endA dirt road main street, she walked off in bare feetIt's a shame I won't be passin' through again"
― enochroot, Monday, 3 September 2018 16:12 (six years ago) link
At least he waited for her to make the first move.
― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Monday, 3 September 2018 17:14 (six years ago) link
The singer in “Wham Rap” encourages being unemployed and has contempt for working people trying to make ends meet (“Hey jerk, you work. This boy’s got better things to do!”).
― Mr. Snrub, Wednesday, 3 July 2019 01:43 (five years ago) link
Rather that than Mick Jagger's contempt for the unemployed and 'lazy' & belief that work can 'kill poverty' in Let's Work.
― The Pingularity (ledge), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 08:21 (five years ago) link
pretty sure it turned out he did have better things to do with the time the dole allowed him to develop his skills, too
― quelle sprocket damage (sic), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 10:58 (five years ago) link
The dole is a vital part of the nurturing of new artistic talent, its destruction has robbed the country of a good deal of talent, however there will always be normies and no need to be rude to them just for doing their thing, see also Too Much Too Young.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 11:20 (five years ago) link
tbf there are like twenty lines of the NPCs attacking and degrading him before he finally snaps in response with the outrageously extreme verbal assault “hey, jerk”
― quelle sprocket damage (sic), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 11:40 (five years ago) link
Ha, I didn't know George Michael rapped about the joys of collecting unemployment in 1982.
― All along there is the sound of feedback (Sund4r), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 12:56 (five years ago) link
I’m on Michael’s side here. There are better things for a young person to do with their time than fuck with the toad Work.
― Una Palooka Dronka (hardcore dilettante), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 13:44 (five years ago) link
tbf there are like twenty lines of the NPCs attacking and degrading him before he finally snaps in response with the outrageously extreme verbal assault “hey, jerk”This is an amusing comment, but is anyone attacking & degrading him? It sounds like GM is the one an assault most of the time (other than the few lines of ”Get yourself a job!”).
― stan by me (morrisp), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 14:49 (five years ago) link
(Also, in the context of the video at least, those few lines of nagging are coming from the protagonist’s parental units.)
― stan by me (morrisp), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 14:54 (five years ago) link
love this revive
― john. a resident of evanston. (john. a resident of chicago.), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 16:18 (five years ago) link
i often think about how confusing the lyrics to my favorite late period Bee Gees song are:
I couldn't figure whyYou couldn't give me what everybody needsI shouldn't let you kick me when I'm downMy babyI find out everybody knowThat you've been using meI'm surprised youLet me stay around youOne day I'm gonna lift the coverAnd look inside your heartWe gotta level before we goAnd tear this love apart
Chorus:There's no fight you can't fightThis battle of love with meYou win againSo little timeWe do nothing but competeThere's no life on earthNo other could see me throughYou win againSome never tryBut if anybody can, we canAnd I'll be, I'll beFollowing you
Oh girl, oh girl, oh baby I shake you from now onI'm gonna break down your defensesOne by oneI'm gonna hit you from all sidesLay your fortress open wideNobody stops this body from taking youYou better beware, I swearI'm gonna be there one day when you fallI could never let you cast asideThe greatest love of all
(Chorus x 3)
― blue light or electric light (the table is the table), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 16:56 (five years ago) link
xp Bow Wow Wow did this idea in '81 with "W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah, No My Daddy Don't)" but I guess their take is more inspirational than insulting unless you take it the wrong way
― Josefa, Wednesday, 3 July 2019 16:58 (five years ago) link
This is an amusing comment, but is anyone attacking & degrading him? It sounds like GM is the one an assault most of the time (other than the few lines of ”Get yourself a job!”).
I only heard the song today but in this version, the line Mr Snrub quotes comes up pretty early in the song before he even quotes anyone nagging him. The speaker is being a bit of a dick but I also get the feeling that he means to.
― All along there is the sound of feedback (Sund4r), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 17:23 (five years ago) link
Reeling all morning from the Jagger "Let's Work" lyrics. I bet the production sounded very modern coming out of the studio monitors. I'm sure Mick was thinking, "let's knock this out quick, spontaneous, like "Monkey Man", but in the spirit of the day. 'S'not 1969 anymore." And he'd totally forgotten Prince having a "Let's Work" song in his opening set a few years back.
― bendy, Wednesday, 3 July 2019 17:39 (five years ago) link
before he even quotes anyone nagging him
he's responding to unquoted criticisms though - "You can't tell me that I'm not," "So you don't approve - well who asked you to?"
― quelle sprocket damage (sic), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 18:55 (five years ago) link
Those criticisms may be all in his head, though -- the way I hear it, he's just be projecting them onto the "Hey, everybody" he's addressing.
FTR, here's the original version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsyHQgiem8c
― stan by me (morrisp), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 19:00 (five years ago) link