This may be too common especially in rap but I'm interested in Songs Not Explicitly About A Place But That Feature Lyrics That Hint The Characters/Story Exists In A Specific Place To An Extent You Think The Song Represents That Place Better Than Songs Explicitly About The Place
― Indexed, Thursday, 11 March 2021 16:09 (three years ago) link
any examples?
― beer drops on my keytar (morrisp), Thursday, 11 March 2021 16:23 (three years ago) link
The Hold Steady's "Little Hoodrat Friend" for Minneapolis. I started thinking about this when listening to Neko Case's "Margaret vs. Pauline," which has the line "Two girls ride the blue line," which I assume is a Chicago reference?
― Indexed, Thursday, 11 March 2021 17:07 (three years ago) link
Is it? I never knew where that song was set, which I guess is your point (Minneapolis has a blue line!)
― beer drops on my keytar (morrisp), Thursday, 11 March 2021 17:22 (three years ago) link
To be clear, I'm not sure about the Case reference - my guess comes from the fact that she lived in / has roots in Chicago and there are other Chicago references on Fox Confessor, like the intro to "Star Witness" - but this got me thinking about the prompt.
― Indexed, Thursday, 11 March 2021 17:30 (three years ago) link
Maybe "Echo Beach" by Martha and the Muffins, about Toronto? (They did put a map of the city on their album cover, and there actually is an Echo Beach now, named after the song.)
― Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 11 March 2021 18:13 (three years ago) link
This may be too common especially in rap
yes, this is every rap song haha. "regulate" and "gin & juice" both specifically mention the "lbc"
― caek or daeth (voodoo chili), Thursday, 11 March 2021 18:21 (three years ago) link
I'm having trouble thinking of songs that strongly evoke a particular city or town without at least naming streets or landmarks (which even that Hold Steady song seems to do). There are songs like "Every Day Is Like Sunday" that have a strong sense of place but without getting specific.
― beer drops on my keytar (morrisp), Thursday, 11 March 2021 20:09 (three years ago) link
Then there's "Take Me Home, Country Roads," which DOES explicitly mention place... but it's the wrong place.
Bill Danoff was from Massachusetts, and had first considered "Almost heaven, Massachusetts..."
He was (the story goes) inspired by driving to visit Taffy Nivert's family in Maryland. In December 1970 the two of them sat down with John Denver in Washington DC to work on the song.
The line "Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River" always bugged me because those are mostly in Virginia (though a little bit of each does cross in to WV, so we'll allow it).
Hence: the song was inspired by drives through Maryland, mixed with memories of Massachusetts. It was written in Washington DC and prominently name-drops geographical features that are predominantly in Virginia. Yet it is West Virginia's state song.
― wake me up before you cuomo (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 12 March 2021 04:54 (three years ago) link
Back in Your Life by Jonathan Richman and "Snow" from the movie White Christmas are both about Vermont without naming it.
― everything, Friday, 12 March 2021 05:15 (three years ago) link
Songs that were "jump the shark" moments for bands:
Megadeth - Crush Em
― "Salvation Army FUCK!" (Neanderthal), Monday, 22 March 2021 14:36 (three years ago) link
Songs which are deliberately set up to sound like the band are playing out of time until you realise it's all a brilliant trickThe Fall - I Am Damo SuzukiCrime - Murder By Guitar
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Thursday, 15 April 2021 20:38 (three years ago) link
PiL - Pop Tones
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Thursday, 15 April 2021 20:41 (three years ago) link
There's this thing called "A Day in the Life" offa some Bea'uls record, maybe you've heard of it
― Jurassic parkour (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 15 April 2021 20:56 (three years ago) link
but that doesn't do that
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Thursday, 15 April 2021 20:59 (three years ago) link
every Chief Keef song but except it's not intentional
― P-Zunit (Neanderthal), Thursday, 15 April 2021 21:11 (three years ago) link
(batsignal sent, *sit back and wait*)
Song titles that are the full name of a (non-fictional) person:
"Tim McGraw" (T. Swift)"Pete Davidson" (A. Grande)"Cath Carroll" (Unrest)"Rosa Parks" (Outkast)"Clint Eastwood" (Gorillaz)
― best time to call is friday and saturday afternoons! (morrisp), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:12 (three years ago) link
"Jessica Simpson" (the Moldy Peaches guy)
― best time to call is friday and saturday afternoons! (morrisp), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:16 (three years ago) link
"Brian Wilson" - Barenaked Ladies
― Lily Dale, Friday, 23 April 2021 16:20 (three years ago) link
"faron young" (prefab sprout)"lee remick" (the go-betweens)
― voodoo chili, Friday, 23 April 2021 16:20 (three years ago) link
"Virginia Woolf" (Indigo Girls)
― Jurassic parkour (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:27 (three years ago) link
"Debbie Harry" (Family Fodder)"Winona Ryder" (Unrest)
(just now learned that the latter song is derived from the former, which I had never heard of)
― best time to call is friday and saturday afternoons! (morrisp), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:27 (three years ago) link
"The Ballad of Davy Crockett"
― Jurassic parkour (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:32 (three years ago) link
^disqualified!!
― best time to call is friday and saturday afternoons! (morrisp), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:35 (three years ago) link
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Magic Johnson
― Filibuster Poindexter (Neanderthal), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:37 (three years ago) link
Sheck Wes - Mo Bamba
― Filibuster Poindexter (Neanderthal), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:40 (three years ago) link
oh man, I should have thought of "Magic Johnson"!
― best time to call is friday and saturday afternoons! (morrisp), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:45 (three years ago) link
Rick Ross - Gunplay f. Gunplay
― Filibuster Poindexter (Neanderthal), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:49 (three years ago) link
“David Bowie” - phish
― calstars, Friday, 23 April 2021 16:49 (three years ago) link
'Andy Warhol' - David Bowie
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:52 (three years ago) link
Duck Sauce • Barbra Streisand
― Blick, Bils & Blinky • Let's Skip The Shaker Intros (breastcrawl), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:56 (three years ago) link
lots of ‘em here:Songs with footballers in their titles
― Blick, Bils & Blinky • Let's Skip The Shaker Intros (breastcrawl), Friday, 23 April 2021 16:59 (three years ago) link
“Alex Chilton” - the Replacements
― Lee626, Friday, 23 April 2021 17:10 (three years ago) link
Oh, good catch
― Jurassic parkour (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 23 April 2021 17:18 (three years ago) link
“P.F. Sloan” - Jimmy Webb“Buddy Holly” - Weezer“Frank Sinatra” - Cake
― Lee626, Friday, 23 April 2021 17:21 (three years ago) link
"Penelope Tree" - Felt
― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Friday, 23 April 2021 17:22 (three years ago) link
"Ry Cooder" and "Jim Cain" by Bill Callahan
"Marilyn Monroe" – Dan Bern
― Canon in Deez (silby), Friday, 23 April 2021 17:25 (three years ago) link
"Jacques Derrida" - Scritti Politti"Perry Como" - Sean O'Hagan"Van Dyke Parks" - Van Dyke Parks
― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Friday, 23 April 2021 17:36 (three years ago) link
Uma Thurman - Fall Out Boy
― peace, man, Friday, 23 April 2021 17:38 (three years ago) link
Tiger Woods - Dan Bern
― peace, man, Friday, 23 April 2021 17:39 (three years ago) link
Bands named after songs from the Talking Heads:
Big CountryRadio head
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, 23 April 2021 17:42 (three years ago) link
"Robert Montgomery" by Love."James Dean" by Eagles.
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 23 April 2021 17:43 (three years ago) link
Bands named after songs by Can:
SpoonMoonshakeHunters & Collectors
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, 23 April 2021 17:44 (three years ago) link
Heaven
― Jurassic parkour (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 23 April 2021 17:44 (three years ago) link
xxp "River Phoenix" (Japanther)"Stanley Kubrick" (Mogwai)
― best time to call is friday and saturday afternoons! (morrisp), Friday, 23 April 2021 18:52 (three years ago) link
"Woody Allen" (Unrest)
― best time to call is friday and saturday afternoons! (morrisp), Friday, 23 April 2021 18:57 (three years ago) link
"Pablo Picasso" (The Modern Lovers)!
― best time to call is friday and saturday afternoons! (morrisp), Friday, 23 April 2021 19:05 (three years ago) link
"Willie Nelson" by Miles Davis (plus numerous songs named after boxers)
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 23 April 2021 19:24 (three years ago) link