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.)
this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2024
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Have a Cigar was the first song I thought of.
"Oh, by the way, which one's Pink?"
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
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.
Reel Big Fish - Sell Out
Tool - Hooker With A Penis
Please play this song on the radio - NoFX
Rockin' the suburbs - Ben Folds
Dinosaurs Will Die - NOFX
From most favorite, descending:
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Bomb the Music Industry! - Side Projects are Never Successful (punk)
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Backini - Radio (hip-hop)
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They Might Be Giants - Hey Mr. DJ I Thought You Said We Had a Deal (alt-pop)
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Reel Big Fish - Sell Out (ska)
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MC Lars - Download This Song (cross-genre)
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Billy Joel - The Entertainer (pop)
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Barr - The Song is the Single (rock)
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They Might Be Giants - Working Undercover for the Man (alt-pop)
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Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs (pop)
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David Rovics - The Pirate Radio Song (acoustic punk)
Edited to provide links and genres.
MC Lars - Download This Song (cross-genre)
You've reminded me of my answer to this question:
Weird Al - Don't Download This Song
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They Might Be Giants - Rhythm Section Want Ad
They Might Be Giants - We're the Replacements
They Might Be Giants - the entirety of Venue Songs
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EMI, Sex Pistols
Unlimited supply!
Complete Control by The Clash
Against Me - Unprotected Sex with Multiple Partners
Dinosaurs will die - NOFX
Interstellar555, the music video movie that accompanies Daft Punk's Discovery album
I think the most obvious album to point out which is about many things (including the abuse of the music industry) is To Pimp a Butterfly. I'm surprised I haven't seen it here yet. Even the title is very on-the-nose – the "pimp" in reference is both the music industry and (more frequently) the US government/social structures, and the "butterfly" is a fledgling Kendrick/black rappers/black Americans in general (context depending on the exact song). It's meant to be listened in exact order. Many people say it's overrated but I really disagree. It's an amazing narrative and powerful symbolism with good music.
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)
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Death on Two Legs - Queen
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.
Cover of the rolling stone
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.
lost in hollywood by system of acdown
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This - Eurythmics
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.”
Death on two legs, by Queen, is a track of reckoning with their former manager.
Plus it's a pretty little known but great early queen rock song. Freddie's viciousness really spews out from it.
Life's Been Good - Joe Walsh
Mr. Recordman by Ugly Kid Joe
Welcome to the Machine by Pink Floyd is right up there.
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.
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.
Barracuda by Heart
You can’t really get any more outrageous than Death to all but Metal
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