# Dilbert's mix tape - anti-corporate songs **URL:** \ **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:** 2
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/21 "2001-12-06T15:52:46Z")
_Welcome to the Machine_ by Pink Floyd. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/22 "2001-12-06T16:14:27Z")
_I Hate Banks_ by Mojo Nixon ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/23 "2001-12-06T16:58:22Z")
Working for a living, Bachman Turner Overdrive ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/24 "2001-12-06T17:15:00Z")
For working-class laments in Brit post-punk vernacular, you can’t beat XTC: “Day In Day Out”: “Clock in my head/Clock on the wall/And the two of them/Don’t agree at all/Friday is heaven/Friday is heaven…” [http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Drums\_and\_Wires.html#2](http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Drums_and_Wires.html#2) “Paper and Iron” – about wage-slavery, 'natch: [http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Black\_Sea.html#7](http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Black_Sea.html#7) “Train Running Low on Soul Coal” – about getting used, used up, and finally discarded by one’s employer: [http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Big\_Express.html#10](http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Big_Express.html#10) “Leisure” – a wonderful screed about un- & under-employment: [http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/English\_Settlement.html#8](http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/English_Settlement.html#8) “English Roundabout” – about the miseries of commuting by car, delivered in a bouncy, upbeat 5/4 time: [http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/English\_Settlement.html#13](http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/English_Settlement.html#13) “Earn Enough for Us” – “…I can take humiliation/And hurtful comments by the boss/I’m just praying by the weekend/I can earn enough for us…” [http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Skylarking.html#7](http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Skylarking.html#7) “One of the Millions” – about staying in a “safe,” comfy job/lifestyle that’s killing you by degrees: [http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Oranges\_and\_Lemons.html#6](http://chalkhills.org/lyrics/Oranges_and_Lemons.html#6) * * * For more left-leaning Brit music (sorry, I just love the Brits and my brain is actually organized this way), you could also try Gang of Four, Billy Bragg, The Mekons, The The (Matt Johnson), and Chumbawumba, for starters. The The’s latest album, “NakedSelf,” is terrific stuff, and a lot of it is of a macro/micro-political bent (“GlobalEyes”). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/25 "2001-12-06T17:21:07Z")
“Taking Care of Business” also by BTO. And a good song to have just before leaving for the day is the main theme from **The Great Escape**. I sometimes whistle a variation of this on my way out to see if anyone notices; if anyone has they haven’t said anything. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/26 "2001-12-06T18:21:32Z")
The Kinks’ _A Soap Opera_ has some really great songs for work-inspired ennui. Nine to Five, Rush Hour Blues, and Underneath the Neon Sign are my favorites. If I find myself playing this album while getting ready to go to work in the morning, I know it’s time to start looking for another job. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/27 "2001-12-06T20:06:33Z")
**Friday I’m In Love** by The Cure **Friday On My Mind**. I’m pretty sure that it was The Easybeats that did it originally, but I love the David Bowie cover. ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/28 "2001-12-06T20:12:28Z")
May I suggest **Take Stuff From Work** by King Missle? It’s a short spoken word piece (with an instrumental accompaniment) about gleefully nicking office supplies. “I took a whole desk from the last place I worked. They never noticed and it looks great in my apartment. […] It’s your duty as an oppressed worker to steal from your exploiters.” The songwriter points out the irony that, since he wrote the song at work, the company is paying the songwriter to write about stealing from them. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/29 "2001-12-06T20:43:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mighty Maximino \* > \*\*_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. \*\* TMBG’s got a whole bunch of anti-work songs. My favorite is “Hearing Aid” (which appears right before “Minimum Wage” on _Flood_). Sample line: “No coffee for me, boss / 'Cause I’m not as messed up as I’d like to be…” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/30 "2001-12-06T21:01:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bleach \* > \*\*May I suggest **Take Stuff From Work** by King Missle? It’s a short spoken word piece (with an instrumental accompaniment) about gleefully nicking office supplies. “I took a whole desk from the last place I worked. They never noticed and it looks great in my apartment. […] It’s your duty as an oppressed worker to steal from your exploiters.” The songwriter points out the irony that, since he wrote the song at work, the company is paying the songwriter to write about stealing from them. \*\* Along the same lines is “One Piece at a Time” by Johnny Cash. ---
**Author:** ![HalberMensch242](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@HalberMensch242](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HalberMensch242)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/31 "2001-12-06T21:14:05Z")
**Snog** -Corporate Slave ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/32 "2001-12-07T00:26:34Z")
The (International) Noise Conspiracy – Um, anything they ever made. 😃 I’d say “Bigger Cages, Longer Chains”. Super Furry Animals - The Man Don’t Give a Fuck Primal Scream’s “Keep Your Dreams” would be a good choice for a comp closer. Aargh, this is hard. I know this is supposed to be an easy one, there are millions of anti-corporate songs out there… darn. ---
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/33 "2001-12-07T02:36:48Z")
**Butterfly Wings** by **Machines of Loving Grace** is my suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/34 "2001-12-07T02:43:04Z")
I don’t know why, but “Imagine” by Lennon comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/35 "2001-12-07T03:14:26Z")
Shoot, if you got “Good Morning” you’re just a track away from “A Day in the Life.” Woke up / fell out of bed / dragged a comb across my head / found my way downstairs and drank a cup / looking up I noticed I was late / found my coat grabbed my hat / made the bus in seconds flat / found my way upstairs and had a smoke 😃 and somebody spoke and I went into a dream. Finish the tape with the dreamy “Imagine” and you’ve found the way out! ---
**Author:** ![khanada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3be4f8/32.png) [@khanada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/khanada)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/36 "2001-12-07T03:16:32Z")
What? No one’s listed “Frankly Mr. Shankley” by the Smiths?! ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/37 "2001-12-07T03:22:33Z")
“Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival starts out: “Left a good job in the city, working for the man every night and day”. There’s got to be a few anti-corporate songs in Bruce Springsteens ouvre, as well… ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/38 "2001-12-07T05:36:11Z")
“Working For A Living” and “Couple Days Off” by Huey Lewis and the News ---
**Author:** ![Lockfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@Lockfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockfist)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/39 "2001-12-07T08:30:07Z")
**Napalm Death** - _Multinational Corporations Genocide of the Starving Nations_ **Metal Church** - _Date with Poverty_ **Megadeth** - _Peace Sells…but Whos Buying ?_ …off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163/40 "2001-12-07T08:34:55Z")
Manic Monday – the Bangles: [http://www.davemcnally.com/lyrics/Bangles/ManicMonday.asp](http://www.davemcnally.com/lyrics/Bangles/ManicMonday.asp) Six o’clock already I was just in the middle of a dream I was kissin’ Valentino By a crystal blue Italian stream But I can’t be late 'Cause then I guess I just won’t get paid [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilberts-mix-tape-anti-corporate-songs/97163.md?page=1)