Poison Paeans -- Hateful Songs about other Celebs/Artists

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To contract that "Songs About Celebrity Ex-Lovers," please cite some bitter songs about other artists/celebs.

I've come up with:

"Stacked Actors" by Foo Fighters -- A tirade about Courtney Love
"How Do You Sleep" by John Lennon -- " " " " Paul McCartney
"The Magnificent" by the Professionals - " " " " John Lydon
"Starfuckers, Inc." by Nine Inch Nails - " " " " Courtney Love

"Trash" by Robyn Hitchcock is also about someone specific, but I've never been able to break the code. Possibly Captain Sensible?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Eminem - "Without Me"

― Curtis Stephens, Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:38 (twenty-three years ago)

is that a guess abt trash or d'you have good dish, alex? i tht everyone loved the captain!! hitchcock also wrote "the lonesome death of ian penman"

mccartney wrote a reply to "how d'you sleep?" (it's a better song also, i vaguely recall, except i can't remember what it's called)

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Eminem and Moby were lovers?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Elvis Costello, "How to Be Dumb"

― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:40 (twenty-three years ago)

duh: Carly Simon's "Your So Vain" = Warren Beatty
George Harrison's "Wah-Wah" = the Macca
...and my personal favorie Ice Cube's "No Vaseline" = Dr. Dre, Yella, and Eazy-E.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:41 (twenty-three years ago)

"Eminem and Moby were lovers?"

Only if John and Paul were

― Curtis Stephens, Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:43 (twenty-three years ago)

I honestly don't know who "Trash" is about, but if I remember correctly, he alludes to someone very specific in the original liner notes to INVISIBLE HITCHCOCK. The lyrics certainly point to one person, but I can't think of who it is. I believe Robyn ran in the same circles as the Damned way back when, so maybe that's where I came up with Captain Sensible, although you're right -- he seems like a mighty amiable gent (as does Robyn, for that matter), so that could be a completely bad guess. Maybe it's about Dave Vanian (a much more likely candidate). I dunno. Someone ask Robyn.

Who is Elvis' "How To Be Dumb" about? I'm not familiar with the track.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Bruce Thomas, his bassist.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Makes sense.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:50 (twenty-three years ago)

i thought "you're so vain" wz about me james taylor!?

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:53 (twenty-three years ago)

Elvis Costello has that song about Sting too. I forget the title, it's on "Mighty Like a Rose"...

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 5 February 2003 22:56 (twenty-three years ago)

"Dre Day" versus "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" FITE!!!

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 23:07 (twenty-three years ago)

from official carly simon site:
In January of 1973, You're So Vain was the # 1 hit song on the radio. Carly had just married fellow pop-superstar James Taylor a month before, so when You're So Vain hit the airwaves, it stirred intense curiosity about which one of her previous lovers was the subject of this wry nod to the male ego.

Was it Mick Jagger? Cat Stevens? Warren Beatty? Kris Kristofferson? It was common knowledge that she had been involved with each of them in the past.

Carly has never revealed who she had in mind when she wrote You're So Vain, and almost 30 years later interviewers are still asking her this same question.....

(sorry shakey and hstencil, this isn't mark s being snarky as per, i wz genuinly surprised when i read yr posts, as i'd ALWAYS heard taylor)

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 23:10 (twenty-three years ago)

Bill Drummond did "Julian Cope is Dead" and later on Julian responded with "Port of Saints" about Bill Drummond and David Balfe. Julian's "Queen/Mother" off 20 Mothers might be slagging off Courtney Love... he certainly doesn't speak very highly of her in his books or liner notes. Hates U2 as well, but hasn't yet written a song about it. Oh yeah, there's a dig on I think Ian McCullough on Droolian that's pretty funny if true and not stolen from somebody else.

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 23:17 (twenty-three years ago)

"(sorry shakey and hstencil, this isn't mark s being snarky as per, i wz genuinly surprised when i read yr posts, as i'd ALWAYS heard taylor) "

No biggie - I've always heard Beatty (and it fits his personality - Mick too). I don't think hstencil's even looked at this thread tho.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 5 February 2003 23:19 (twenty-three years ago)

"Be A Man" by Hole is Courtney's riposte to Dave. It's also a much better song.

Ben Folds "Rockin' The Suburbs" = Jonathan Davis (the KoRn guy, not the rugby dude).

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 6 February 2003 01:13 (twenty-three years ago)

i guess elvis costello's cover of linda ronstadt's "you're no good" could qualify here, too.

― Tad (llamasfur), Thursday, 6 February 2003 01:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Tori Amos. "Professional Widow." ---> Ms. Courtney Love

― janni (janni), Thursday, 6 February 2003 01:31 (twenty-three years ago)

Luna "Slash your tires" -> about Damon & Naomi (and they wrote a few catty songs about Dean in return)

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 6 February 2003 01:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Babes in Toyland's "Bruise Violet" was the first anti-Courtney song, was it not?

― Aaron A., Thursday, 6 February 2003 01:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Is the Pet Shop Boys' "How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously" specifically a dig at Sting and Bono, or is it more general?

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 6 February 2003 01:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Pavement didn't like STP or Smashing Pumpkins

― Michael B, Thursday, 6 February 2003 02:04 (twenty-three years ago)

Blur's "Country House" was about Dave Balfe too wasn't it?

― Charlie (Charlie), Thursday, 6 February 2003 02:09 (twenty-three years ago)

"'Be A Man' by Hole is Courtney's riposte to Dave. It's also a much better song."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahahahahahahahahahhehehehehehehehhohohohohohohohohhho ho ho ho ho hum....zzzzzzzz

BULLSHIT!

"Stacked Actors" shits from a great, splattery height all over anything Hole has *EVER* done. Death to Courtney.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 6 February 2003 02:25 (twenty-three years ago)

The Wonderstuff's "Astley in a Noose"
A brave band for taking on such a revered artist.

― Bruce Urquhart (Bruce Urquhart), Thursday, 6 February 2003 03:30 (twenty-three years ago)

hahaha RICK Astley?

"never gonna give never gonna give (give you up!!)"

― Aaron A., Thursday, 6 February 2003 03:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street"=several prominent folkies who thought he sold out
John Lennon's "Serve Yourself"=Bob Dylan's Jesus period
The Band's "Stage Fright"-Dylan again
The Byrd's "Drug Store Truck Driven' Man"=Ralph Emery
Ryan Adams' "Nobody Girl"-Winona Ryder
and my favorite:
Mudhoney's "Into Yr Shtik"=Courtney Love, Layne Staley, and a couple others.

― Clayton Grisso, Thursday, 6 February 2003 18:18 (twenty-three years ago)

New Order. "Liar." --> Mr. Anthony H. Wilson.

― janni (janni), Thursday, 6 February 2003 18:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Pussy Galore did an Anti-Ian MacKaye song

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 6 February 2003 18:31 (twenty-three years ago)

Sweet Home Alabama

Hey Alex did you coin "poison paeans"?

― Paula G., Thursday, 6 February 2003 18:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, that's one o' mine.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 6 February 2003 19:57 (twenty-three years ago)

'Cause it's one of the better puns in the world.

― Paula G., Thursday, 6 February 2003 20:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Pussy Galore did an Anti-Ian MacKaye song

Didn't Unrest do an anti-Pussy Galore song?

― Clayton Grisso, Thursday, 6 February 2003 20:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, thanky, Paula.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 6 February 2003 21:31 (twenty-three years ago)

It is good - and look - only one hit on google:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&client=googlet&q=%22poison+paeans%22

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 6 February 2003 22:18 (twenty-three years ago)

well, it's not a tremendous leap, is it. From Pen to Paean, I mean.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 6 February 2003 23:16 (twenty-three years ago)

About half of Mclusky's songs are about other bands being stupid cunts. There aren't that many specific references though, although there's a song called Random Celebrity Insult Generator on their last EP that just constantly repeats the words 'NICK BERRY HAD TALENT IN A PREVIOUS LIFE (WIFE)'.

― Ferg (Ferg), Thursday, 6 February 2003 23:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Poison Idea's 'Ian Mackaye' EP had a picture of an actual anus on the cover

― dave q, Friday, 7 February 2003 09:42 (twenty-three years ago)

I Hate Nerys Hughes - Half Man Half Biscuit

― Jez (Jez), Friday, 7 February 2003 10:25 (twenty-three years ago)

Mudhoney's deft, subtle "Into Your Schtick" ("Why don't you blow your brains out too!")

― dave q, Friday, 7 February 2003 10:27 (twenty-three years ago)

I'd always heard that "You're So Vain" was about Warren Beatty. I dunno, I figured Beatty was kinda the horse-y type (y'know, going to Saratoga, etc.).

― hstencil, Friday, 7 February 2003 19:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Anal Cunt - "Everyone in Anal Cunt is Dumb"

― Curtis Stephens, Friday, 7 February 2003 21:13 (twenty-three years ago)

Capt. Beefheart, "Beatle Bones 'n' Smokin' Stones"

In "Love Bones," Johnnie Taylor warns Tyrone Davis and James Brown to watch out for their own love bones.

At the end of the Alex Chilton non-masterpiece "Bach's Bottom," someone asserts that "If you was Mott the Hoople I'd come out there and pee all over you, but who gives a shit."

― Edd Hurt (delta ed), Saturday, 8 February 2003 00:11 (twenty-three years ago)

"here's the part of the record where I want everybody to throw your hands up in the air...and kiss my ass, cuz your girlfriend still loves me"
http://www.mtv.com/news/images/j/jsbx981201.gif

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Saturday, 8 February 2003 03:04 (twenty-three years ago)

five months pass...

Carly Simon auctions off secret of who 'You're So Vain' was about.

Fantastic!

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 06:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I always thought Mick was singing backup on "You're So Vain"

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:21 (twenty-two years ago)

He was. It could still be about him though.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 5 August 2003 08:24 (twenty-two years ago)

five months pass...

Edwyn collins is always good for a dig. Judas in blue jeans is about David Bowie and has the line "you cant even cut it as a middle aged swinger". Does anyone know who Gorgeous George is about?

― david ashley, Wednesday, 14 January 2004 09:27 (twenty-two years ago)

"You're so vain" - here you go ...

The song chorus "you probably think this song is about you"

(invisible line is "but it's not, it's about me and how I ended up being screwed over by you...")

There. Put that mother to bed guys...

Yours sincerely

― Carly Simon, really... (mark grout), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 12:12 (twenty-two years ago)

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