# Dilbert's mix tape - anti-corporate songs
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 6, 2001, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163 "2001-12-06T03:29:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Max\_Harvey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Harvey)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/1 "2001-12-06T03:29:02Z")
Currently trapped in a cubicle farm making rich people even richer, I’d like to play some music at work that reminds me I’m not a “human resource” waiting to be “downsized”.
The only song that comes to mind is Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job And Shove It”, which hardly fits the need. There’s a lot of songs that have one or two lines of such sentiment, but I’m looking more for anthems.
Not communist or anti-capitalist songs, mind you. Just ones opposed to (or making fun of) unchecked corporate greed.
---
### Author:  [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/2 "2001-12-06T03:33:34Z")
Besides the entire **Office Space** soundtrack, there’s Five O’Clock World, which was once the theme song of the Drew Carey show.
---
### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/3 "2001-12-06T03:54:24Z")
Hmm, U2’s “Acrobat” comes to mind. It has the beautiful line in it; “Don’t let the bastards grind you down”. I’ve always felt that that particularly applied to the corporate world. Or, more Anthem-like, there’s Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”. Or how about Donna Summers’ “She Works Hard for the Money”?
---
### Author:  [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/4 "2001-12-06T04:55:28Z")
Crushed by the wheels of industry - ummmm, Haircut 100?
---
### Author:  [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/5 "2001-12-06T04:58:23Z")
How about Todd Rundgren’s “Bang the Drum All Day”? As in “I don’t want to work / I just want to bang the drum all day”.
---
### Author:  [@Live\_Better\_Electrically](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Live_Better_Electrically)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/6 "2001-12-06T05:27:06Z")
John Prine’s “Paradise.”
---
### Author:  [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/7 "2001-12-06T06:41:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Dragon Phoenix \*
> \*\*Crushed by the wheels of industry - ummmm, Haircut 100? \*\*
Make that Heaven17 - I knew it started with an H and had a number in there… 😛
On a slightly related topic, the boring life of an office employee was perfectly put to music by **Klaatu** in their **Routine day** , which includes the perfect line _the life I live would even make a dead man yawn_.
---
### Author:  [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/8 "2001-12-06T07:46:18Z")
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
“Stupid Day Job” by Wally Pleasant. Good song and hilarious! Perfect for what you need. Play it really loud.
---
### Author:  [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/9 "2001-12-06T07:55:30Z")
Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life.” And The Animals: “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.”
---
### Author:  [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/10 "2001-12-06T07:59:15Z")
And all those “Money” songs like Pink Floyd’s.
---
### Author:  [@jaimest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaimest)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/11 "2001-12-06T08:05:48Z")
First \*\*Sex Pistols \*\* “EMI”
-
there’s unlimited supply
and there is no reason why
i tell you it was all a frame
they only did it 'cos of fame
who? …E.M.I. \*
For a real change of pace, switch to **Dolly Parton’s** “9 to 5” 🙂
\*
Workin’ 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by
It’s all takin’
And no givin’
They just use your mind
And you never get the credit
It’s enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it
\*
And then maybe \*\*David Allan Coe’s \*\*“Take This Job and Shove It”
\*
Take this job and shove it
I ain’t working here no more
I will not get all the pieces
I’ve been working for
Paper cups, minimum wage
Just walk on out the door
Take this job and shove it
I ain’t working here no more
\*
Also covered by the Dead Kennedys if twang is not your thang…
While not really that anti-corporate, **The Beatles** “Good Morning” has the same vibe as “Five o’Clock World”.
-
Going to work don’t want to go, feeling low down
Heading for home you start to roam, then you’re in town
Everybody knows there’s nothing doing, everything is closed, it’s like a ruin
Everyone you see is half asleep, and you’re on your own, you’re in the street
-
---
### Author:  [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/12 "2001-12-06T11:31:53Z")
“Sixteen Tons” By Tennessee Ernie Ford.
_You load sixteen tons, and what-ah you get
Another day older and deeper in debt.
St. Peter don’t you call me, 'cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store._
---
### Author:  [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/13 "2001-12-06T13:43:05Z")
“Powerman” by the Kinks
If you want your money, you better stand in the line
`Cos you'll only end up picking up nickels and dimes You call him names and he sits and grins `Cos everyone else is just a sucker to him.
“Fast Food” by Richard Thompson
Fry them patties and send `em right through
Microwave oven going to fry me too
Can’t lose my job by getting in a rage
Got to get my hands on that minimum wage
Shove it in their faces, give `em what they want
Got to make it fast, it’s a fast food restaurant.
“Radio, Radio” by Elvis Costello
I hate to suggest this, but how about “Workin’ for MCA” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It’s one their few songs I can stand.
---
### Author:  [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/14 "2001-12-06T13:46:39Z")
“I Quit” - Blotto
“Where the Hell’s My Money?” - Mojo Nixon
“I Wanna Be a Lifeguard” - Blotto
“I Wish I Was a Lesbian” - Loudon Wainwright III
---
### Author:  [@Philo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philo)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/15 "2001-12-06T14:12:56Z")
Paralyzed - Gang of Four
Kerosene - Bad Religion
Soup is Good Food - Dead Kennedys
---
### Author:  [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/16 "2001-12-06T14:13:09Z")
\*_Industrial Disease_ by Dire Straits
---
### Author:  [@BeerDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeerDog)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/17 "2001-12-06T15:29:58Z")
_My Music at Work_ – The Tragically Hip
Is that aptly named or what?
---
### Author:  [@Mighty\_Maximino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Maximino)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/18 "2001-12-06T15:40:10Z")
_Minimum Wage_ by **They Might be Giants**.
At least, that’s what I think it’s about, considering that it’s a 25 second song involving the lyrics “Minimum Wage” followed by a whip cracking.
---
### Author:  [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/19 "2001-12-06T15:47:23Z")
_Working in a Coal Mine_ as done by **Devo**
Man I miss the show “Working”…
---
### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2001, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/20 "2001-12-06T15:52:33Z")
Or at least 50% of Woody Guthries catalog.
Whipper Snappers.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163.md?page=2)