Songs about themselves, part 2

[jbsegal]

Remember when I asked about 'songs about records'? (This is the entry, btw.)

Well, I was mostly unclear on what I was looking for.

I'm looking for songs that talk about themselves, and their place on the album.

I have some lyrics to make my point, even!


THE B SIDE (from When The Second Feature Starts)
Sung by Broadway and Bowtie

B side! B side!
Even if the band is great, the B side doesn't rate
The A side has the hit, the B side ain't got...anything
There's not much you can do when you feel like number two
You're second best, you're nothing more
You get the feeling you've heard it before
The B side! Nobody listens to the B side anyway
The B side! Not quite as good as the A side, anyway
The A side gets all the glory.
The B side? That's another story
The B side!
And you're probably not even listening to this right now
The A side is on the air, the B side is nowhere
The A side gets you acclaim, the B side's rather lame
It's really hard to take when you feel like a big mistake
You're no great shakes, you're under par
The B side'll never make you a star
I, I, I don't wanna sing the B side!
Nobody listens to the B side, anyway
The B side! Not quite as good as the A side
Can't sing along, the words are awkward
Can't move your feet, it's got no beat
Can't make up for what it lacks,
The B side is the other side of the tracks
The B side!
Nobody listens to the B side, anyway
The B side! Agh! Not as good as the A side, anyway
The A side gets the attention
The B side? Hardly a mention
The B side!
And you're probably not even listening to this right now
Well, you're probably not (probably not)
Probably not even listen to this right nowwwwwww!!!!
B SIDE!
(Thanks to: http://www.blotto1.com/lyrics.htm for this transcription)

(I'll note that it was, in fact, the B side to the single.)

and
The Washington Post had this to say about "Hidden Bonus Track" by The Bobs:

There's also a hidden bonus track, though its title, "Hidden Bonus Track", and its mid-CD location make it a little easier to find than most. Amy Engelhardt's clever lyrics suggest she's heard more than her share of these audio postscripts, replete with "odes to inanimate objects, unfunny inside jokes, ad- libs and off-key warbling, stuff that doesn't rhyme."


So...does that make more sense?

Comments

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

How about "Sad songs and waltzes" song by cake:

"I'm writing a song all about you.
A true song as real as my tears.
But you've no need to fear it
Cause no one will hear it.
Sad songs and waltzes aren't selling this year.

I'll tell all about how you cheated.
I'd like for the whole world to hear.
I'd like to get even
With you cause you're leavin'.
But sad songs and waltzes aren't selling this year.

It's a good thing that I'm not a star.
You don't know how lucky you are.
Though my record may say it,
No one will play it.
Sad songs and waltzes aren't selling this year.

It's a good thing that I'm not a star.
You don't know how lucky you are.
Though my record may say it,
No one will play it.
Sad songs and waltzes aren't selling this year."

[totient]

this is, of course, a cover of the Willie Nelson tune.

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

Ooo, learn something new every day.

[anna-phylaxis.livejournal.com]

Loudon Wainwright III, "T.S.D.H.A.V. (This Song Don't Have A Video)"
REM, "Finest Worksong" (possibly a stretch)
Kate McGarrigle [coincidentally the former wife of Loudon Wainwright], "Work Song" (also possibly a stretch)
Lambchop's Play Along, "The Song That Doesn't End" (sadly, not a stretch at all)
Dead Kennedys, "Short Songs" (more amusingly fitting than self-referential)
PiL, "This Is Not A Love Song"

Ok, I'll stop now.

[avram]

"Title of the Song" by DaVinci's Notebook.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

"Your Song" by Elton John

you can tell everybody this is your song
it may quite simple but now that it's done
I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind,
that I put down in words
How wonderful life is that you're in the world

more self-referential songs

[totient]

Not really about the records per se, but these come immediately to mind:

You're So Vain by Carly Simon
The ironically-named This Song Is Just Six Words Long by Weird Al Yankovic
I predict by The Sparks

While searching for lyrics to the above I found this discussion...

Re: more self-referential songs

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

The wierd al song, I believe is named "this song's just six words long"

[skreeky]

Well, I'm a little weak on songs that refer to the finished recording of the song. However, you did inspire me to go listen to an awful lot of Jackson Browne (yay, "The Roadies").

Rough affiliations:
Pink Floyd "The Machine"
Paul McCartney "Silly Love Song"

And my current song virus from Jim's Big Ego:

We're a local Boston band
Another local Boston band
Another local fuckin Boston fuckin band
And we're here
To sell beer
And we're here
To get you laid
And we're here
To make you wanna buy our disc
We're here, we're here...

[pobig.livejournal.com]

"Another Boring 'B' Side", Morris Minor and the Majors - I heard this exactly once, but it is unforgettable.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

I can think of only three off the top of my head:
"I'm So Worried", Monty Python's Flying Circus
"The Real Slim Shady", Eminem
"You're So Vain", I forget the artist (at least I think that's the title)
(Lyrics to refrain fragment:
"You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you")


There might be a self-referrent in "The Cockroach That Ate Cincinatti" but I forget.

[drglam]

"The Way You Say Goodnight", by Stephin Merritt (from 69 Love Songs, Vol 2 [The Magnetic Fields])

So far away and so alone
how could I ever take you home
You're beautiful, beautiful
You've a got a devastating point of view
and everything you say is true
You're beautiful, beautiful
The nightbirds start to sing
their favorite song:
"The Way You Say Good-Night"
The nightbirds start to sing
their favorite song
and the moon begins to sing
I kiss you and the sun goes down
How come it's always dark
when you're around
You're beautiful, beautiful
The nightbirds sing their favorite song
The moon begins to sing
You're beautiful, beautiful
The stars begin their
Busby Berkeley dance:
"The Way You Say Good-Night"
and the night becomes
a musical extravaganza:
"The Way You Say Good-Night"
The way you say good-night
I dream of all day long
Oh I could write a song
about the way you say good-night