Music Criticism Within Songs

"range life" by pavement. like duh.

"Range Life"? YAWN. I rather prefer going to the source, aka Mark E. Smith. I seem to remember the one song mentioning "idiot groups with no shape or form/out of their heads on a quid of blow," allegedly about early Blur. Then there's "Glam Racket" and...

Not a specific target, but The Fall's 'C n C Stop Mithering'.

"All the English groups / Act like peasants with free milk / On a route / On a route to the loot / To candy mountain / Five wacky English proletariat idiots "

And then later "You think you've got it bad with thin ties, miserable songs synthesized/ or circles with A in the middle/ Make joke records, hang out with Gary Bushell/ Join Round Table. 'I like your single - yer great!' / A circle of low IQ's."

He's right, I assume.

I once read someone try to argue that those lines in 'Range Life' weren't supposed to be disparaging of the Stone Temple Pilots and their ilk, but I didn't understand what they were on ab

The Sci-fi Song by the Philistines Jr.

Then of course there's Pavement's brilliant Mark E. Smith, which they have played live, and which you should hunt down on napster. Lyrics are as such: "Mark Smith used to work for me back in manchester back in 1983. Stole all his ideas from me. Now I steal them right back from him again. Do you know what I mean I mean about.. Do you talk talk talk talk to loud. Are you sterile, are you invisible? Can you be taken up down around with me? I know a journalist who started in England. Got back to New York. (unintelligible) Then there's the weekly times. Don't know how to sing! Don't know how to rhyme! Who are the people that he sings about? Don't know the people that he sings about! Driving me crazy. (unintelligible) 12345678. Who do we hate? You! Me! Everyone on earth. We hate them. We are sarcastic motherfuckers we hate everybody."

You're so vain/You probably think this song's about you..."

Does that count?!?

Olf Fart!!!

1. 'And anyways I'd rather listen to Coltrane than go through all that shit again' - Cowboy Junkies, 'Sun Comes Up It's Tuesday Morning' (1990?). (I used to think she said 'coal trains', which moved me more.)

2. 'And you can go back to your Five Leaves Left' - Lloyd Cole, 'What's Wrong With This Picture?' (2000). There must be any number of further Lloyd cases. Like, for instance, 'Seen The Future' (1993) with its line 'Man, I need TV - for when I've got my Morrissey' (or whatever he says exactly). And cf also his 1993 B- side '4MB', which is about Marc Bolan.

3. Um - 'The Beatles and the Stones / sucked the marrow out of bones'. It's a point of view.

That's just a start. If they count, there must be a ton more.

How about criticism of criticism? The canonical and hilarious example being Axl Rose's calling-out music critics by name in "Get in the Ring."

Wasn't it "*Go on* Round Table", i.e. the Radio 1 discussion of the week's new releases?

Yeah, you're right Blandford. I was just copy-pasting from a Fall lyrics site as my memory is rarely up to accurate recall.

I wish Radio 1 would revive Round Table / Singled Out. I love hearing pop stars talk about the latest releases. I know they sometimes do it elsewhere, but never in such a chatty environment or for a whole hour. I've got a tape somewhere of Morrissey on it in about 1984. I think the only thing he liked was something by Cabaret Voltaire. And for some reason Wendy and Lisa slagging off Liza Minelli (involving a definition of the word 'unctious') has always stuck in my mind.

The entire bis back-catalogue.

I love it when people call me by one of my pseudonyms as though it was my real name :). Actually, wasn't Collins and Maconie's Hit Parade in 94-97 a revival of the Round Table format? I actually remember it being referred to on air as "a Round Table for the 90s".

Deiter Meier of Yello (IIRC) described Mike and the Mechanics' "The Living Years", quite rightly, as "worse than the worst pornography" on that particular programme. However, having Mike Read present a review of the new single releases in *1991*, as was the case in the 'Table's dying days, is exhibit A for the necessity of a certain M. Bannister.

I quite like 'The Living Years'.

Strangely enough, so do I in an "emotionally manipulative" way. But it's hard to imagine a song that tugs at the heartstrings more shamelessly.

Jonathan Richman's viewpoint on "Velvet Underground" has got to be the most original take on the band I've heard. He looks at them from the standpoint of being in the rock tradition, like they could be featured in a Buick commercial or something (they probably will be one day!) Those lines, "They were wild like the U.S.A./ a mystery band in a New York way/ Rock and roll, but not like the rest/ and to me, America at it's best." Incredibly dorky, but coming from a guy that saw VU live more than a 100 times.

Helen Love's "Long Live the UK Music Scene". Can't believe no-one mentioned that little beaut. ;-)

Love the sarcastic reassurance to Johnny Cigs and Swells therein ...

Old Fart!!: We'll count 'You're So Vain'!!

'This Might Be Satire' is a pretty good knock on all the bands on Fat Wreck...

Industry Criticism? Its only Rock n Roll.., The Stones Not for you, Pearl Jam Rock and Roll aint nosie pollution, AC/DC Actually half of Lou Reed, Neil Young from the 80's in fact just about every punk song written so what a crap idea to start a list of but cant go without mentioning

Radio Friendly Unit Shifter- Nirvana,ha de fucking ha

Jonathan Richman again. "When Harpo played his harp, it was a mystery / And all the laughter stopped back to the balcony / Chico, Chico sure to please / Now let’s watch him shoot the keys".

Hello? Scritti Politti to thread (Green also recorded dandy semiotics lessons).

I can't believe Gang of Four's "Anthrax" was not the first entry on this thread

Biafra saying "Overproduced by Martin Hannett" at the beginning of NPFO might squeak in, though I'm not sure if he's actually making a comment about Hannett's production (obviously he didn't actually producew the track) or just making a pointless joke. And it isn't quite IN the song, but before it.

Isn't there a Loudon Wainwright song ("Bob Dylan Blues" or something) where he talks about Dylan's albums (Sample: "Self-Portait?/Well, it was an interesting effort").

does losing my edge count

been rhymin since 86 when r&b wasnt feelin us
no rap on soul train motherfuck don cornelius
now they all lovin us after all that we been through
still think i shouldnt have no beef like a hindu
i listen and laugh at your cd with my crew
sound like bein a fake me is better than bein a real you
yo is that it? hell naw nigga got more to tell
aint feelin your albums like i swam in oragel

Your music's shite
it keeps me up all night/up all night

Pavement - "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence."
it's even structured like a review. bio filler to pad wordcount, then criticism.

"Some bands I like to name check,
And one of them is REM,
Classic songs with a long history
Southern boys just like you and me.
R - E - M
Flashback to 1983,
Chronic Town was their first EP
Later on came Reckoning
Finster's art, and titles to match:
South Central Rain, Don't Go Back To Rockville,
Harbourcoat, Pretty Persuasion,
You were born to be a camera,
Time After Time was my least favourite song,
Time After Time was my least favourite song.
The singer, he had long hair
And the drummer he knew restraint.
And the bass man he had all the right moves
And the guitar player was no saint.
So lets go way back to the ancient times
When there were no 50 states"

more fanboy than critic, but still fucking sweet

Just gimme indie rock!

Started back in ‘83
Started seeing things a differently
And hardcore wasn’t doin’ it for me no more
Started smoking pot
Thought things sounded better slow
Much slower, heavier
Black magic melody to sink this poseur’s soul

VU Stooges undeniably cool
Took a lesson from that drone rock school
Manipulate musicians hack righteous drool
Getting loose with the Pussy Galore
Cracking jokes like a Thurston Moore
Pedal hopping like a Dinosaur, J...

Rock and Roll genius, ride the middle of the road
Milk that sound, blow your load
Shoot it further than you ever said it go
Four stars in the Rolling Stone

Oooh sludge rock,
That’s hard as harsh
Just gimme indie rock!
It’s gone big
Come on indie rock
Just gimme indie rock

Taking inspiration from Husker Du
It’s a new generation
Of electric white boy blues
Come on indie rock
It’s gone big
Come on indie rock
Just gimme indie rock

Breaking down the barriers
Like Sonic Youth
They got what they wanted
Maybe i can get what i want too
Come on indie rock
It’s gone big
Come on indie rock
Just gimme indie rock

Time to knock
The hard rock on it’s side
Time to knock
The shit right up a storm
Turn to amaze
With the indie sludge
Grunge!
Aaah!

Art Brut "can't stand the sound /
of the Velvet Underground"

erick sermon - "music"
tupac - "I remember Marvin Gaye used to sing to me, had me feelin like black was the thing to be", which would be one of the AMG "moods" in a perfect world.

10cc: We've Heard It All Before

Edwyn Collins "Keep on Burning" dissects both grunge ("it got no style,no elequence,no elegance,no sensuality)and Britpop (Its the same old story,Englands glory,Claming back the Union Jack my arse).