Pop wisdom: Best advice in a (pop) song?

"It doesn't matter how far you've come / You've always got further to go" (The Go Betweens)

"Women should be hated, but first impersonated / And charm, he said, is essential to misogyny" (Momus)

"The further one travels / The less one knows" (The Beatles)

"No one will ever love you honestly" (The Magnetic Fields)

"If you must go to work tomorrow / Well if I were you I wouldn't bother"

"If you think that peace is a common goal that goes to show how little you know"

"Don't forget the songs that made you laugh, and the songs that made you cry / Yes, you're older now, and you're a clever swine / But they were the only ones who ever stood by you" (The Smiths)

"Reach for the stars" (S Club 7)

I'm only joking about one of these, and it's not S Club 7

"Don't hate her when she gets up to leave" - Neutral Milk Hotel

"Get me an ugly wife / No man would look twice / I can fall asleep at night / And dream of someone else."

Actually, the amount of choice Marc Almond/Soft Cell lyrics for this could go on forever.

"Change What you Cannot Accept...Do Not Accept what You Can't Change" - Cop Shoot Cop

"If the World Doesn't Understand, then the World has Got to Learn!" - The Wedding Present

"Dodge the Bullets or Carry the Gun; the Choice is Yours" - Killing Joke

"An anchor lets you see the river move"

What an incredible observation to pack into eight words! And the perfect way to think about getting older. As you acquire an anchor when you start a family, you can gain another perspective on how life flows. Beautiful.

"It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not" from Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi.

"Just cause you're not wrong doesn't mean that you're right" from When Not Being Stupid Is Not Enough by Built to Spill Caustic Resin

That Sisters of Mercy line sounds like a bumper sticker.

Alex - it's 'faithful' not 'patient' , or am I missing something?

"take a chance and step outside/lose some sleep and say you tried" (joy division -- "autosuggestion")

"go up to her and say/'i love you' anyway" (sonic youth -- "waist")

"You can leave your friends behind / Because your friends don't dance and if you don't dance / Well, you're no friend of mine" - Men Without Hats.

I swear to god. That was the best advice I ever got, because people who don't dance SUCK THE BIG ONE. Not even Madonna has better advice. Or Shaggy, although "Say it wasn't you!" is pretty close.

"You gotta do it 'til you're through it, so you better get to it." -Elvis Costello

"Put it in your mouth." -Akinyele

Another bit of good advice: "Save me from my own hand". Jarvis is god.

Tom I actually know someone who could do that. Except I'm not speaking to him, so I fucked you over. Sorry.

Who the fuck cares if you CAN'T dance? Why the hell would what some loser in the corner (who probably has learnt his every move from a Madonna video and looks like a tosser and has a small dick) says about you matter one bit? If you're going to let THAT stop you from a good time, then quite frankly, you're lame.

But this only proves my point: I have no interest in being friendly towards the people being horrifyingly offended at a Men Without Hats joke. The wild men who dance with dwarves win again.

but other than that time i hate dancing. i'd rather stab myself in the eye.

"So here's two rules I've got for you / Great ones for living under / First don't sweat the little shit / Second is, there ain't no other." -- David lee Roth, "No Big 'Ting" (Recorded as above, later amended to "First don't sweat the little shit / Second is, it's all little shit.")

"You've got to roll with the punches to get to what's real." -- Van Halen, "Jump"

I have lived my life by that maxim, and truer words have never been spoken.

And "you can't hurry love, no you just have to wait, love don't come easy, no matter how long it takes" was pretty good, too. Or was it actually my mum that used to tell me that?

well no-STAR, but *** in Q

The Smiths - 'give up education as a bad mistake'

what good has education ever done for the world anyway?

"Are you taking over, or are you taking orders? Are you going backwards, or are you going forwards?" -- the Clash

"Don't fuck with a girl from the projects!" -- Ice Cube

Tom Waits (song: "Telephone Call From Istanbul" album: 'Frank's Wild Years')

YOu're gonna have to serve somebody, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord but you're gonna haveta serve somebody ...
Robert Zimmerman

Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife/ for the first time in my young life
Smog

I want to defy the logic of our sex laws
/Im a full grown man but im not afraid to cry
beck

Dont go home drinkin w. lovin on yr mind
Tammy Wynette

My Fathers Mansion has many rooms , enough for all his children , as long as they do share his love and see that all are free ...
Billy Bragg

Let it all go at once!

Not piece by piece...

But like a whole bucket of stars dumped into the universe!

(woooo!)

Don't forget the songs that made you cry/and the songs that saved your life
Yes you're older now, and you're a clever swine, but they were the only ones who ever stood by you - The Smiths, Rubber Ring

"I wanna be a human being not a human doing" - Scatman John

"Don't fall in love with me yet
We've only recently met
True I'm in love with you but
you might decide I'm a nut
Give me a week or two to
go absolutely cuckoo
then, when you see your error,
then, you can flee in terror
like everybody else does
I only tell you this cause
I'm easy to get rid of
but not if you fall in love
Know now that I'm on the make
and if you make a mistake
my heart will certainly break
I'll have to jump in a lake
and all my friends will blame you
There's no telling what they'll do
It's only fair to tell you
I'm absolutely cuckoo" - Magnetic Fields

"never trust a hippy" - the Sex Pistols

It's my motto and design for life.

"Buttercups, daisies, and most anything,
They wither and fade, after blossom in Spring,
Time conquers innocence, pride takes a fall,
in knowledge lies wisdom, that's all."

"They say love is a gamble-- hard to win, easy lose,
And while sun shines you´d better make hay,
So if life is your table, and fate is the wheel,
Then let the chips fall where they may"

"Ditch that guy, and come with me"

"Don't do what boys tell you"

"Do the Sex"

And Turbonegro:

"Rock Against Ass"

Don't fish for tunny in Meat Madras
With blotting pads as bait
Don't converse with shrimps of higher class
About the church and state

I'd play hoop-la with Saturn's rings
I'd tie a knot in Erroll Flynn's
Sing, yi yi yip, yip yipee ying
For you

Don't dance the polka in a dhoti
And whistle the Rite of Spring
Don't recite Hamlet's soliloquy
While munching onion rings

Don't plant a stickleback in a field
On St.Augustine's Day
Don't sharpen your sword and beat your shield
And somersault up a brae

I'd juggle with Jupiter's moons
I'd flatten the Sahara's dunes
Sing, yi yi yip, yip yipee yoon

Don't build a pyramid on the pole
With Frosties packets and glue
Don't serve rubber bullets in a bowl
And call it Irish Stew

Don't change all the water into wine
And walk on the Dead Sea
Never sing the Song of the Golden Rhine
With an augmented flea

I'd make a world in seven days
I'd pasteurise the Milky Way
Sing, yi yi yip, yip yipee yay

I'd play hoop-la with Saturn's rings
I'd tie a knot in Erroll Flynn's
Sing, yi yi yip, yip yipee ying

I'd juggle with Jupiter's moons
I'd flatten the Sahara's dunes
Sing, yi yi yip, yip yi pee yoon

I'd kick Mars into a black hole
I'd spread plum jam on Denning's rolls
Sing, yi yi yip, yip yipee yole

I'd squeeze the spots out from the sun
I'd swim the Mare Imbrium
Sing, yi yi yip, yip yipee yun

Mush a ding, toodle eye-ay
Tara diddle dyno day
Yi yi yip, yip yipee yay"

Ten Don'ts For Honeymooners - The Monochrome Set

"What's hard to give is hard to get/and once you've lost it it's always gone"--Dag Nasty

"Walk now/Talk now/Live now"--Day One

"I'm writing 'young and gifted' in my autobiography/I figure who would know better than me?"--Sloan

(From "Sunscreen"....)

from "Have you seen this cat" by Mark Grout.

If you want a friend, feed any animal. - Jane’s Addiction, Summertime Rolls

Laugh hard—it’s a long way to the bank. - Modest Mouse, Paper Thin Walls

Life is what you make it. And if you make it death, well, rest your soul. - Mother Love Bone, Stardog Champion

"Sometimes you got to get knocked down to get up!"- Mystikal

don't laugh.

i wish i could follow that advice!

-Erykah Badu

Coming soon, to an ILX compilation near you...

"I want you to remember everything that I said
I want you to remember you're not better off dead" - Andrew WK

"Get off the Internet." - Le Tigre

Guru

And if Im the man,
Then youre the man, and
Hes the man as well so you can
Point that fuckin finger up your ass"

Tool - Hooker with a penis

Get down and get with it.
Slade.

Don't go breaking my heart
Elton John and Kiki Dee

art brut - about time

(Repeat chorus)

Good morning to the new world.......

David Berman (Silver Jews), "Advice to the Graduate"

On first read I took "Grace Jones" as part of the lyric...

If you're going to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair

If you should see me, and I walk on by
Oh, darling, please don't cry
Tonight we'll meet
At the dark end of the street

not really pop, but N.W.A....

Find Em, Fuck Em, and Flee

"You know a man can't get your love unless your woman lets him
A man can't get no farther than a woman lets him
So if you see a man loving your woman'
DON'T BLAME THE MAN"

---Roy C., 1973

xpost
"A man can't get your love unless your woman GIVES IT TO HIM"

"IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE EFFECTS, DON'T PRODUCE THE CAUSE."

"You are the only censor. If you don't like what I say, you have a choice: You can turn me off." - Alice Cooper

"Keep on smoking it!" - Ozzy

express yourself

enjoy yourself...it's later than you think

"Free your mind and your ass will follow
the kingdom of heaven is within."

"Stand up and be counted" (Hughie Green)
"If you love someone - don't think twice" (Rubettes)
"Put your hand on your mouth when you cough - that will help the solution" (Staple Singers)
"If these words sound corny, switch it off, I don't care" (Dexy's)
"Buy a British car and look for the sun" (Bruce Forsyth)
"Back off Boogaloo" (Ringo Starr)
"Just say NO" (Grange Hill Cast - a controversial yet timely message for us all)
"Don't go chasing waterfalls" (Paul McCartney)
"Give peace a chance" (John Lennon)
"Go to Rhino Records" (Wild Man Fischer)

"This is your one way ticket, so don't fuck it up" (Teenage Fanclub)

(however the same song also proclaims "I've never looked for answers in a song")

"Listen awhile and do what I say/Play safe but smart 'cos it’s better that way" (Alvin Stardust)

Don't you ever stop being dandy, showing me you're handsome

"Take off your shoes, the both of youse" (Gilbert O'Sullivan)

"You've gotta be a hustler if you wanna get on" (Sue Wilkinson)
"Don't jump off the roof Dad" (Tommy Cooper)

"Don't blame him for refusing your bid, he didn't decide to love, you did"
(PSB)

Was thinking about this on the way home--figured there'd be a thread.

1. Do what you should/Let it be good/You know it'll work out right. ("What Goes On," Velvet Underground)

2. Don't play dumb/And don't act smart. ("Do It Right," Maureen Tucker)

3. Everybody will help you/Some people are very kind. ("I'll Keep It with Mine," Bob Dylan)

4. Everything goes when you're dead/Everything empties from what was in your head. ("It's Going to Happen!" Undertones)

Sometimes sooner than that--I had a fifth one I can't remember now.

Oh, the rich people want what the poor people's got.
And the poor people want what the rich people's got.
And the skinny people want what the fat people's got.
And the fat people want what the skinny people's got.
You can never please anybody in this world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8MQcrR4OSc

Fame is but a fruit tree
So very unsound.
It can never flourish
Till its stock is in the ground.
So men of fame
Can never find a way
Till time has flown
Far from their dying day.
Forgotten while you're here
Remembered for a while
A much updated ruin
From a much outdated style.

Life is but a memory
Happened long ago.
Theatre full of sadness
For a long forgotten show.
Seems so easy
Just to let it go on by
Till you stop and wonder
Why you never wondered why.

Safe in the womb
Of an everlasting night
You find the darkness can
Give the brightest light.
Safe in your place deep in the earth
That's when they'll know what you were really worth.
Forgotten while you're here
Remembered for a while
A much updated ruin
From a much outdated style.

Fame is but a fruit tree
So very unsound.
It can never flourish
Till its stock is in the ground.
So men of fame
Can never find a way
Till time has flown
Far from their dying day.

Fruit tree, fruit tree
No-one knows you but the rain and the air.
Don't you worry
They'll stand and stare when you're gone.

Fruit tree, fruit tree
Open your eyes to another year.
They'll all know
That you were here when you're gone.

(Excuse the typos and misspellings; I copy-pasted it.)

non stop amazing advice in this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2GZ1u01zB0