Songs that namecheck other artists

Others:

Creedence, Lookin' Out My Back Door ("Listenin' to Buck Owens...")

Blame Canada ("that bitch Anne Murray too....")

Tone Loc's immortal Funky Cold Medina ("Like Mick Jagger says, I just can't get no satisfaction..")

 

"American Pie": "The Byrds flew off with a fallout shelter/Eight miles high and falling fast."

 

It's a fairly common practice in country music.

DAC also sang "Willie, Waylon and Me," which also mentions the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Eagles.

Waylon sang "Willy The Wandering Gypsy And Me," though Billy Joe Shaver, who wrote the song, misspelled Willie's name. Waylon also recorded "Are You Sure Hank Woulda Done it This Way?" and "Bob Wills is Still the King."

"Luckenbach, Texas," by Waylon and Willie mentions Jerry Jeff Walker in the final verse.

Cash sang "The Night Hank Williams Came to Town."

Dixie Chicks also mention Hank, Hank Jr., and Johnny Cash in "Long Time Gone."

Alan Jackson's "Don't Rock the Jukebox" mentions both George Jones and the Rolling Stones (actually rhymes them).

 

Ben Folds, "Late" - written about and references Elliott Smith

Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Good Time Boys" - Fishbone, Thelonious Monster

Elvis Costello's "The Other Side of Summer" doesn't mention the artists by name, but it isn't exactly had to figure out who he's talking about:

"Was it a millionaire who said 'Imagine no possessions?'
A poor little schoolboy who said 'We don't need no lessons'
The rabid rebel dogs ransack the shampoo shop
The pop princess is downtown shootin' up
And if that goddess is fit for burning
The sun will struggle up, the world will still keep turning"

X, "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts" - Minutemen, Flesh Eaters, DOA, Big Boys, Black Flag

ABC, "When Smokey Sings" - Smokey Robinson

 

Pantera - Goddamn Electric

"Your trust is in whiskey and weed and Black Sabbath/It's goddamn electric!...

You're trust is in whiskey and weed and Slayer/It's goddamn electric!"

 

Counting Crows -- Mr. Jones (Bob Dylan)

Cross Canadian Ragweed -- Dimebag (Dimebag Darrell)

Dan Bern -- Too Late To Die Young (Elvis)

Drive-By Truckers -- The Night GG Allin Came To Town (GG Allin)

Regina Spektor -- On the Radio (Guns N Roses)

Robert Earl Keen -- Feelin' Good Again (Otis Redding)

Todd Snider -- The Ballad of The Kingsmen (The Kingsmen, Marilyn Manson)

Weezer -- El Scorcho (Green Day) and Buddy Holly (Buddy Holly)

 

And Kristofferson has two entire songs that are almost nothing but namechecks --

Don't Cuss the Fiddle

and

Anybody That Don't Like Hank Williams...

 

Nerf Herder - Pantera Fans In Love

I bleached my hair just like Vince Neil
Then you made me cut it like James Hetfield
We're gonna put an end to alternative rock
We'll find a way to make the Cranberries stop
We went to Sears for pictures at Christmastime
But they wouldn't let us make the metal sign
No they wouldn't let us make the metal sign

...

What's with these punk rock nerds, they can't even sing
I wish we'd never heard of The Offspring
A candlelit dinner, now we're holding hands
I taught you how to draw your first pentagram
We went miniature golfing but we didn't get far
Because we used the clubs to play air guitar
Oh we used the clubs to play air guitar now

...

We saw Ozzy on our first date
Our special song is Crazy Train
Makin' out in the middle of the pit
How come Slayer doesn't sing about this
If anything comes between you and me
Then heavy metal heaven, that's where we'll meet
We are Metallica fans
We are Megadeth fans
We are Manowar fans in love
We are Pantera fans in love

 

Then there are the songs that namecheck Stevie Nicks: Calexico's "Not Even Stevie Nicks" and The Rotters' "Sit On My Face Stevie Nicks."

 

Bowling For Soup's song "1985":
"Since Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV "

 

krs-one -- sublime

 

I've got a question. This name-checking thing -- it means bashing someone, correct?