Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Direct Response...when musicians answer each other in song

My friend and I have been playing a little game. We’ve been trying to come up with a list of songs that are direct responses to other famous songs. Here's what we've come up with so far:

1. Peter Schilling’s Major Tom to David Bowie’s Space Oddity
2. Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart to Captain and Tennille’s Love Will Keep Us Together
3. Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly to Don McLean’s American Pie
4. Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville (whole album) to Rolling Stones’ Exile on Mainstreet
5. Lynard Skynard’s Sweet Home Alabama to Neil Young’s Southern Man
6. My friend added Eddie Money’s Take Me Home Tonight to the Ronettes’s Be My Little Baby, but that one bothers me for being too collaborative.
7. Woody Guthrie's "this land is your land" is an angry retort to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America"

Can you think of others? Please add.
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7 comments:

  1. Andy4:56 PM

    Hey, thanks for the comment and the link! You've got a great blog here, and I especially love the hipster post. :)

    Skull tees forever! ;) (Heh, kidding.)

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  2. Anonymous9:33 AM

    Hmmm... it's said that there was something like a competitive dialogue between the Beatles and the Beach Boys (of all the odd rivalries!) at one point--I believe "Pet Sounds" is supposed to be a response to "Sgt. Pepper," and "Back in the USSR" is an obvious glove-slap to the Beach Boys, perhapse in response to "Pet Sounds." I'd be interested to hear what anyone else knows/theorizes about this...

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  3. Laura9:39 AM

    You know...my friend and I had also discussed that we thought there was a beach boys song to be added to this list somewhere, we just couldn't think of any. I think there is definitely a case to be made their for the whole album Pet Sounds.

    I tried to leave a comment for you on myspace, but it appears to be broken. :(

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  4. Anonymous12:08 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  5. Ayatollah Mugsy3:37 AM

    Killing Me Softly and American Pie? I must go study the lyrics ...

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  6. Anonymous4:54 PM

    little known fact... the line "they stab it with their steely knives" in The Eagles "Hotel California" refers directly to the band Steely Dan, basically in response to a compliment that steely dan had gave the eagles in an interview. However, what they didn't know was that Steely Dan was being completely sarcastic and that the compliment was completely backhanded.

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  7. Laura11:59 AM

    Upon reviewing the lyrics, I've decided that the Roberta Flack/American Pie connection isn't really there. Oh well, can't believe everything you hear.

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