Songs about other musicians

[lazyhour]

Yeah, there are loads of them.  Most are shit by definition, but others are by Welsey Wills.  He's sadly dead now, but he was alive when he did this:

"The Flaming Lips" by Wesley Willis

Any other good songs about other musicians?  Or was this thread just an excuse to upload this great Wesley Willis track?

[mayer]

John Lennon - How Do You Sleep?.... a whiny bitch about Paul ("the only thing you did was, yesterday)
nearly all of Ian Brown's Unfinished Monkey Business was bitching about John Squire
in Leonard Cohen's Chelsea Hotel #2 the lady giving him head (on the unmade bed) is Janis Joplin.
Motorhead's R.A.M.O.N.E.S. (covered brilliantly by the Ramones)

EDIT:
that shit Don McLean song.
Sex Pistols - New York (all about the Dolls)

EDIT 2:
ICB by New Order (Ian Curtis Buried)
Malcolm McLaren - Punk It Up (about the Pistols, of course)
some group did a song about Brian Wilson in his sandbox that Brian started covering live
i'm told that Gay Dog by the Gay Dogs  is about Pete Doherty
Manic Street Preachers - Let Robeson Sing

[weekender]

'Solid Air' by John Martyn was written about Nick Drake, and that's a class tune.

[The Culture Bunker]

"The Missing Boy" by the Durutti Column is about Ian Curtis.
"William, It Was Really Nothing" by the Smiths is said to be about Billy McKenzie, who wrote a song called "Steven, You Were Really Something".
"Beatles and the Stones" by the House of Love

[9]

I like the track on 'Last Splash' where kim deal sings 'we were rich once, before your head exploded', obviously refering to Frank Black. Well You're rich again now love!


I also like 'Glam Racket' by the Fall in which Mr E. Smith savages Suede and their glammy ways.

And of course Starfuckers by Nine Inch Nails is about Marilyn Manson; "My God smiles from the cover of the magazine/My God is a shallow little bitch trying to make the scene/And when I suck you off not a drop will go to waste/its really not so bad once you get past the taste/STARFUCKER!"  Storming song that...

[Peking O]

Kim Deal and The Flaming Lips have been mentioned on this thread, so it seems appropriate to mention "Kim's Watermelon Gun" by the Lips, which is about Ms. Deal and some Lollapalooza antics.

[TraceyQ]

"Been Swank" by the Von Bondies is an obvious swipe at Ben Swank from the Soledad Brothers.

[Bollock Chops]

Andy Warhol by David Bowie
Song for Bob Dylan by David Bowie
Cool as Kim Deal by The Dandy Warhols

EDIT: Isn't Professional Widow by Tori Amos meant to be about Courtney Love?

[Rats]

"we're the replacements" by they might be giants
You could list loads by the fall
"kimble"
"I am damo suzuki"
"I'm Frank"
"Hey! Marc Riley"

edit: "Wake up bomb" by REM is about liam gallagher I think
"yoo hoo" by imperial teen is about courtney as well I think

[dan dirty ape]

'Sir Duke', Stevie Wonder, about yer boy Ellington

'Nirvana Ripoff', Done Lying Down (as rightfully mentioned in the underrated albums thread)

'When Smokie Sings', ABC

'Stutter'. Elastica, about Damo's low sex drive and occasional brewer's droop, apparantley

'Animal Lover', Suede, about Brett's resentment/jealousy towards Damon for nicking his missus

'No Distance Left To Run', Blur, about Damon splitting up with Justine. The incestuous world of Britpop, eh, kids?

'Stardust', Menswear, I've read it's about Bobby Gillespie. TJ'll no doubt know.

'Hey Hey My My', Neil Young, namechecks Johnny Rotten

'Real Gone Kid', Deacon Blue,  about Maria Mckee (boring, but therey'go)

Loads of Culture Club songs Boy George wrote about Jon Moss, Culture Club's drummer

'Geno', Dexys Midnight Runners, about Geno Washington

Practically all of the songs on 'The Boatmans Call' by Nick Cave are meant to be about Polly Harvey

'Joey Ramoney', Helen Love

'It's About Time', Lemonheads, about Juliana Hatfield

And if you start on hip hop we'd be here all year...

[mayer]

'Hey Hey My My', Neil Young, namechecks Johnny Rotten

and of course Elvis too in the previous line.

[Doctor Stamen]

'Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence' by Pavement, which is about R.E.M.

[Rats]

and of course "Hey! Mark E Smith" by pavement which is about someone I can't remember the name of.
We can't be just having songs that mention a bands name, the thread would never end. The chisselers by the fall has the line "stones are short, pink flloyd are short" anyway

[El Unicornio, mang]

'Killing Me Softly' is apparently about Don McLean

[gazzyk1ns]

"The Ballad of Toni Iommi" by Furnaceface

[Ambient Sheep]

'Hey Hey My My', Neil Young, namechecks Johnny Rotten

That reminds me: Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama:

Well I heard Mister Young sing about her
Well, I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around anyhow

in response to Neil Young's attack on the Deep South in his song Southern Man.

Apparently - and I didn't know this until I went to check the lyrics just now - this went back and forth for years, apparently quite good-naturedly, see here.

But FUCK, see here (a link off that previous page).  Seriously scary racist shit there in the comments.  :-(

[Ambient Sheep]

A couple of the songs on Pink Floyd's The Division Bell are almost certainly about Roger Waters and/or Syd Barrett.  Can I be arsed to look up which ones?  No, not really.

However Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Wish You Were Here are both about Syd Barrett, especially the former.

[butnut]

Roll over Beethoven?

[MonkeyDrummer]

Paul McCartney's Silly Love Songs is reportedly a jibe back at John Lennon who said, all Paul ever writes are silly love songs.

[elderford]

Brian Eno's King's Lead Hat is from an anagram of Talking Heads.

[Malachi Constant]

also like 'Glam Racket' by the Fall in which Mr E. Smith savages Suede and their glammy ways.

Apparently thats not actually about Suede, Mark himself refuted it.

Talking of the Fall, German band Tocotronic have a song which is all about eating pizza with Mark E Smith, think its called " Ich hab geträumt, ich wäre Pizza essen mit Mark E. Smith"

Rats: who is 'Kimble' about? I know its a cover of a Lee Scratch Perry song but havent really listened closely enough to find out what its about.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Amadeus by Falco. It's about some obscure Austrian composer or other.

[Garfield And Friends]

Somewhat like McCartney and Lennon....

Bryan Ferry fired Brian Eno from Roxy Music after their second album. No slouching from Eno - he set about recording his first solo album (with the help of most every Roxy Music member, bar Ferry). One of the tracks "Dead Finks Don't Talk" features Brian Eno doing a spot-on (and funny) Bryan Ferry impersonation, and another track "Blank Frank" is directly barbed at Ferry. Bryan Ferry responded by recording "Casanova" to dig at Eno. All great music. They've long since patched things up however, and Eno + Ferry co-wrote the excellent "I Thought" on Ferry's last studio solo album 'Frantic'.

[Sulphagne]

There are two songs about, and entitled, Ben Lee (there could be more, but two is unlikely enough as it is, considering just how unremarkable and relatively recent he is): one by the Australian band Klinger, who only explicitly mention him in the chorus (And you're lucky that you met me / 'cause I'm arrogant like Ben Lee / and some people they don't get me / 'cause I'm a genius like Ben Lee), although the rest of the song could easily be about him (He's featured in glossy magazines / the envy of guitar-toting teens); the other is by The Ataris out of America, and every single word is clearly about him (I know that Claire Danes is your chick / to me you're just some ugly prick / who got lucky 'cause he knew the Beastie Boys).

Incidentally, the Ataris also did a song called Teenage Riot, which is your usual pop-punk rollocks, but I'd be surprised if the title wasn't a deliberate reference to Atari Teenage Riot.

Then there's "Coattails of a Dead Man" by Primus (and, to a large extent, Tom Waits), which is almost certainly about Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. Worth a listen, or at the very least, a read (a page with lyrics on it and not a single bit of advertising or crippling spyware, fancy that).

On a more positive note, The Flaming Lips also did "Thank You Jack White (For The Fiber-Optic Jesus That You Gave Me)" fairly recently, and it always warms my heart to hear of friendship/mutual admiration between favourite artists of mine (see also: Stereolab's "Nothing To Do With Me", which doesn't quite qualify for this thread). And Mogwai have, at times, named songs after the artist they think it sort of sounds like, most notably Tracy.

[Bonely Child]

John Cale's "Mr Wilson", concerning a certain Brian Wilson.

Oasis' "Cast No Shadow", about Richard Ashcroft.

Eddie Floyd's "Big Bird", about Otis Redding.

[NobodyGetsOutAlive]

Rapeman did a song called 'Kim Gordon's Panties' abotu her what was in Sonic Youth.

Is the Cocteau Twins track 'Ivo' about Ivo Watts-Russell, Mr4AD? Seems like too much a of a coincidence. Not a singer, but y'know.

[mayer]

that Courtney Love number i haven't heard about being too old to fuck Julian Casablancas.

[TraceyQ]

that Courtney Love number i haven't heard about being too old to fuck Julian Casablancas.

"But Julian, I'm a little older than you"

[Peking O]

that Courtney Love number i haven't heard about being too old to fuck Julian Casablancas.

There's also a song by New York noise band The Action Swingers called "Courtney Love"

[TJ]

'Stardust', Menswear, I've read it's about Bobby Gillespie. TJ'll no doubt know.

Certainly is!