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Chris Bridges' new article reminded me of this.
I want to put together a cd where the songs are a conversation of sorts between different artists. I think the easiest way to explain this would be an example:
Neil Young "Southern Man" Lynyrd Skynyrd "Sweet Home, Alabama" Warren Zevon "Play it All Night Long"
"Southern Man" is the starting song. "Sweet Home, Alabama" is a message back to Neil Young ("I hope Neil Young will remember, a southern man don't need him around, anyhow") talking about how great the south is. "Play it All Night Long" is in response to "Sweet Home, Alabama" that talks about how horrible the south is.
The other sequence I have is this: Paul McCartney "Too Many People" John Lennon "How Do You Sleep?" Paul McCartney "Let Me Roll It"
In these songs, John and Paul are sniping at each other after the breakup of the Beatles.
The problem is, those six songs are not enough to fill a cd. I need more sequences, but I can't think of any. Please, Hatrack, you're my only hope! [/Leia]
Here are my rules. 1. The songs can't be by the same artist. It has to be different artists referring to previous songs.
2. I don't really want sequels to songs, but responses. It's like an online political thread: one song makes an assertion, the next one challenges it, the next one comes up with a different interpretation, and then it devolves into a flamewar. Ok, maybe not that last bit.
3. I don't like listening to country, rap/hip hop, or light rock. So feel free to list songs in those genres, but they most likely won't make it onto my playlist.
posted
So, Violent Femmes wrote "Country Death Song" in response to Beck's "Loser"? And R.E.M. wrote "Everybody Hurts" in response to "Country Death Song"? If so, awesome! If not, then not quite what I'm looking for.
I probably wasn't very clear. The concept can be difficult to describe properly. I want each succeeding song to have been written in response to the previous one. Or, alternatively, several songs by different artists written in response to a single "trigger song".
Thanks for coming up with some ideas, I'll check them out.
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Sheryl Crow "Strong Enough" and Travis Tritt's stupid response, "Strong Enough to Be Your Man"
I know you said you don't like country, and I wouldn't put a Tritt song on my mix either, but it's all I thought of -- don't know if any other artists have joined the dialogue.
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A girl I went to college with, Annie Lin, wrote a song in response to the folk song "Oh Susanna." I'm not sure if it's on any of her albums (she's put out at least one, but I'm not sure how widely available it is), or what it's called, exactly. But I really liked the song when she performed it.
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posted
That is a difficult request to fill. I know that there are some on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite place them. I'll be thinking about this though.
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I should clarify that I don't like most modern country, particularly "pop country." I like folksy music, bluegrass, etc. So, go ahead and list your examples. That way I can listen and decide for myself if I like them.
posted
I didn't know that "Let Me Roll It" was in response to "How do you Sleep?" I guess you learn something new everyday. I would say that you could also add "Here Today" by McCartney, even though it wasn't in direct response to a song by Lennon, it was in response to his death and the feelings that McCartney could never express publicly until the release of Tug Of War. It's a very touching song.
"How do you Sleep?" is a great song. I believe it was Ringo Starr who said that originally the song was much harsher, and included a few more vitriolic verses, but they were able to convince Lennon to tone it down a bit. It's kind of funny that they were writing songs in response to each other, as they did still communicate fairly often in the 70s, and there's even a recording of them playing in a late night jam session together. The song being Lucille, with Lennon sining and McCartney on drums.
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"Wild Side of Life" by Freddie Fender (Hank Thompson? I think he might be the writer.) "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels", Kitty Wells (a response to the first song)
And I think there's another one that alludes to them both, but I can't remember it.
I'm thinking of some others, I'll try to look it up.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Here's a story I once heard straight from the mouth of one of The Eagles in a talk show interview, so although it sounds like an urban legend I think there's some creedence to it.
Steely Dan were into The Eagles, so they wrote a song for their The Royal Scam album called "Everything You Did". In this song, describing a domestic dispute, they included the lyrics, "Turn up The Eagles, the neighbors are listening." The Eagles heard this song and thought it was cool, so they wrote one in response. They made it somewhat more in the Steely Dan style than their average song, and included the line, "they stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast." Yes, that song was "Hotel California"
So it's too bad that you'd have to include one of SD's least interesting songs (although still not really a bad one), but it would fit the theme.
Oh, and I also always liked how Talking Heads used "(Nothing But) Flowers" to cleverly parody/refute all of Joni Mitchell's schmaltzy lyrics from "Big Yellow Taxi". I don't know of Joni was ever aware of it, but it was a response, so it might work. And they're both great songs (in their original incarnations... if I ever hear another irritatingly chipper cover version of "Big Yellow Taxi" I'm going to go into a homicidal rage and remove the voice box of whomever is singing it), so that's another bonus for your mix.
(edited to add links to lyrics from authors' sites. Scroll down through the album to find the songs listed.)
Oh, and regarding the first post, I was always under the impression that "Sweet Home Alabama" was a response to Neil Young's "Alabama" from Harvest. Although I can see it being about both songs, now that you mention it.
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It's just for fun. Several years ago I heard the Warren Zevon song "Play it All Night Long" that was clearly a response to "Sweet Home Alabama." I thought it would be cool to make a cd with sequences of songs like that, but I didn't know any more other than the first two I posted. So the idea has been languishing for a couple of years and Chris Bridges' article reminded me of it.
Ooh, I never noticed the lyrics to "Alabama." I'll have to listen to it and see if it belongs in the sequence. Thanks!
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Sam Cooke was wowed by Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin"and wanted a song as powerful - "A Change is Gonna Come"
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(Which I like MUCH better. Well, we all know I can't stand Dylan and love Cooke, so maybe that's why. )
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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How about Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #35" and Simon & Garfunkel's "A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)"?
I'm not sure it's directly in response but it's obviously in Dylan style and it references the song ("everybody must get STONED").
And also, Joan Baez's "Please Come to Boston" and Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe".
John Lennon's "God" and U2's "God II" is a bit obvious, but I guess it could count.
"Midnight Radio" from the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch is obviously referencing David Bowie's "Rock and Roll Suicide".
Also, "The Ballad of Maxwell Demon" from Velvet Goldmine was actually written to replace Bowie's "All The Young Dudes" after Bowie said he didn't want his songs in the film.
The Beatle's "Do You Want To Know A Secret" was in response to some song that had some verry similar lyrics. It's in the first section of The Beatles Anthology, but I don't have mine here and I can't remember specifically which song.
Paul McCartney wrote his "Golden Slumbers" after seeing another "Golden Slumbers in a songbook.
Maybe you won't consider them as different artists (thier songs appear on the same album, often one after the other), but John and Yoko have a whoooole bunch of songs inspired by each other's.
I suspect that U2's "Vertigo" was at least partially inspired by Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" but I don't know if that's true.
Monty Python and George Harrison teamed up to do "The Pirate Song", which was inpsired by the lawsuit over the similarity of the Chiffon's "He's So Fine" to Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". Harrison also wrote "This Song" about it. Depending on how much of a purist you are, you could pass it off as Python and Harrison as well...I dunno, I think it's a really fun song so I thought I'd mention it.
That's all I can think up off the top of my head. Good mix idea, Crow's wife!
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quote:Paul McCartney wrote his "Golden Slumbers" after seeing another "Golden Slumbers in a songbook.
It's an old slave cradle song. He actually used the lyrics and most of the melody, and just added stuff around it. I don't think that's a "conversation" so much as using old material for a new piece, which is a time-honored musical tradition.
quote:Maybe you won't consider them as different artists (thier songs appear on the same album, often one after the other), but John and Yoko have a whoooole bunch of songs inspired by each other's.
I don't think that counts. And really, does she want to listen to Yoko? >_<
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posted
I just heard "San Antonio Romeo" by Tish Hinojosa, which is a response to "San Antonio Rose" by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, and musically "quotes" several bars of the latter several times.
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: I just heard "San Antonio Romeo" by Tish Hinojosa, which is a response to "San Antonio Rose" by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, and musically "quotes" several bars of the latter several times.
That sounds like a winner. Now to track down copies of those songs...
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Jay-Z and Talib Kweli have several songs with this dynamic. I can't remember exactly what they are at the moment, but I'll try to remember and post here.
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