# Name-Checking Yourself In Rock Music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 20, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822 "2014-02-20T21:38:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/61 "2014-02-21T03:39:46Z")
**Loretta Lynn** name-checks herself in [Hey Loretta](http://youtu.be/N4jl3J9J0R0). **The Big Bopper** name-checks himself in [Chantilly Lace](http://youtu.be/4b-by5e4saI). ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/62 "2014-02-21T03:45:01Z")
Fun Lovin’ Criminals-“The Fun Lovin’ Criminal” _Stick ‘em up punk, it’s the Fun Lovin’ Criminal_ ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/63 "2014-02-21T04:00:55Z")
_“The arsenals of **Megadeath** can’t be rid, they said…”_ _“You won’t hear a sound until my knife’s in your back, the **Exodus** attack!”_ ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/64 "2014-02-21T04:22:49Z")
Some time ago I made a music trivia game consisting entirely of self-referential songs. Some of the ones I used have already been posted, but there are others. (Note that some of these are country songs, but since “Hey Loretta” and “Family Tradition” — also a part of my game — were mentioned here, I figured it’s OK.) Here we go: **China Girl** – Iggy Pop (“My little china girl says ‘Oh Jimmy just you shut your mouth’”) [Iggy Pop’s real name is James Osterberg, Jr.] **Lickin’ Stick, Lickin’ Stick** – James Brown (“Caught himself doin’ the James Brown”) [I suspect James has other songs in which he namechecks himself] **Honey Don’t** and **Matchbox** – Ringo namechecks himself on both of these Beatles Carl Perkins’ covers (Speaking of whom) **Boppin’ the Blues** – Carl Perkins (“The doctor told me, ‘Carl, you don’t need no pills’”) **I Dreamed of Hillbilly Heaven** – Tex Ritter (“Tex Ritter? Well, that’s when I woke up”) **Who Do You Love** – The Woolies (“Arlene took me by the hand, she said ‘Cool me, Stormy, you’re my man’”) [Stormy was the lead singer of the band who did this Bo Diddley cover] **Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb** – Ed (“Kookie”) Byrnes and Connie Stevens (title phrase) [Connie actually utters this, but since they’re both credited as artists….] **Nothin’ Ever Hurt Me Half as Bad as Losin’ You** – George Jones (“I went out with a girl who told me ‘George, you have bad breath!’”) **You Ain’t Gonna Have Ol’ Buck to Kick Around No More** – Buck Owens (title phrase) **The Boys in the Band** – The Boys in the Band (“How about a little hand, for the boys in the band”) [A minor radio hit in the early 70s] ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/65 "2014-02-21T05:06:44Z")
Okay, to make up for my fuzzy-headed misinterpretation of the OP previously (somehow I thought it was asking for shoutouts in rock as well as personal name-checking), I have a couple of examples in order to attempt to redeem myself: Atari Teenage Riot - constantly name-checks themselves but for REALZ they do it on the song [_Atari Teenage Riot_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o5v2E20jKg) Butthole Surfers - [_Butthole Surfer_ from **Psychic… Powerless… Another Man’s Sac**](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75H4bxZGMFE) Bullet - [_Bite The Bullet_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTCbIF66RJs) Lard - [The Power of Lard](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbiVi39J_08) Talk Talk - [_Talk Talk_ from the 1982 album **Talk Talk**](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqjttpl3peI) Peaches - [Fuck The Pain Away (NSFW (duh))](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geV8SmVhs0U) and [AA XXX (also NSFW (double duh))](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKDmnOqPb_M) Refused - [The Refused Party Program](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH_E_dFXDKA) and [Refused Are Fuckin Dead](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcCOivLG1Ag) (although I hesitate to include the latter because the name-check is just in the title, not in the lyrics) Stormtroopers Of Death - [March of the S.O.D.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUM-ydLxSKM) (again: just the title; this is an instrumental) & [Sargent “D” & The S.O.D.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEpFLwlcsU4) Sex Bob-Omb - [We Are Sex Bob-Omb](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmQVm18Q_Io) (ddamn I like this song!) Sister Double Happiness - [Sister Double Happiness](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-6gnNl08qk) Speedwolf - [Speedwolf](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqWic_huWZI) (imagine if Motörhead played fast and loud…! :D) Suicidal Tendencies do it all the time, but right now my favorite is [Shake It Out](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDZdJWadET4), the 1st track on their latest album. Not only do they name-call the band, but Mike calls his own name as well. Tenacious D - [The Ballad Of Hollywood Jack And The Rage Kage](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px254bv3gl4), which isn’t really name-checking as much as it is autobiographical-ish Venom - [Venom](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lIV6NXoI6M) Zeke - [Zeke You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jleW4xBh9M) I know I missed a bunch of stuff; sleep deprivation does funny things to me. Anyway, these next two I’m including because they fit the OP’s criteria albeit loosely, and because I love them both: Ramones - [R.A.M.O.N.E.S.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jleW4xBh9M) (yes, it’s a cover, but hey, fuck it, it’s the Ramones playing Motörhead, c’mon) Brak - [I Like Hubcaps](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKwnnRWNQ3E) ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/66 "2014-02-21T05:12:49Z")
Does the drummer of They Might Be Giants claiming to be Whitney Houston in a Marty Beller mask count? Huh. Why did my iPad try to make it Bellerophon? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/67 "2014-02-21T05:42:00Z")
And I’ve drunk myself blind to the sound of old T.Rex And Who’s Next. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/68 "2014-02-21T06:15:54Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Stormtroopers Of Death - [March of the S.O.D.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUM-ydLxSKM) (again: just the title; this is an instrumental) & [Sargent “D” & The S.O.D.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEpFLwlcsU4) And Billy Milano did it more obviously with his other band, M.O.D, in **Theme** : _“I’m Billy Milano, I’m a bold courageous man”_, and _“We’re M.O.D. and we’re on Megaforce”_. Also, Eminem in **Without Me** : _'Cause nobody wants to see Marshall no more. They want Shady, I’m chopped liver_. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/69 "2014-02-21T14:49:21Z")
Yeah but, the OP was specifically asking for examples in rock, as opposed to rap/hip-hop, where they’re a dime a dozen. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/70 "2014-02-21T15:04:22Z")
Forgot one: “Ramona” by The Ramones: Hey Johnny, hey Dee Dee Little Tom and Joey You know we’re comin’ over Sweet sweet little Ramona ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/71 "2014-02-21T15:23:47Z")
**Barenaked Ladies’** “Grade 9” has a bit where Ed Robertson says “They called me Eddie.” ---
**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:** [February 21, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/72 "2014-02-21T15:30:15Z")
[Dance to the Music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4URogrXiKsI) mentions drummer Greg Errico, trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, and saxophonist Jerry Martini. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/73 "2014-02-21T15:46:26Z")
> [@picker](#): > > David Allan Coe name-checks himself as well as Merle Haggard and Charlie Pride in “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” Coe has a bit of a habit of this. He also does it in “Longhaired Redneck”: [quote=] They tell me I look like Merle Haggard, And sound a lot like David Allan Coe [/quote] And “Son of the South”: > [@](#): > > I like to play Hank Williams, Jr. records > Just as loud as they will go. > I’m into Lynyrd Skynyrd, > The Allman Brothers, and David Allan Coe ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/74 "2014-02-21T15:53:27Z")
Another: “Stand by Me” by Spyder Turner. After several very good imitations of other soul artists singing the song (“Jackie Wilson might say…,” etc.), he concludes by saying “But I’m Spyder Turner, and I’ll get down on my knees and say [singing] ‘Darlin’, don’t go’…” ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/75 "2014-02-21T15:55:04Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > Coe has a bit of a habit of this. He also does it in “Longhaired Redneck”: > > And “Son of the South”: It would make a good contest to see whose records are more self-referential (or, if you’re being less charitable, ego-fueled): Coe’s or Hank Williams Jr.'s. ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/76 "2014-02-21T16:10:25Z")
Either drop the hits like de la or get the fuck off the commode. - Zach de la Rocha. (i’m counting Rage Against the Machine as rock and not hiphop). ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/77 "2014-02-21T16:11:44Z")
Garfunkel and Oates in [“This Party Took a Turn for the Douche”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHH3brmhPyw&feature=kp). ETA: Actually, I don’t think that’s rock. The Jim Croce reference misled me. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/78 "2014-02-21T16:44:42Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Garfunkel and Oates in [“This Party Took a Turn for the Douche”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHH3brmhPyw&feature=kp). > > ETA: Actually, I don’t think that’s rock. The Jim Croce reference misled me. Eh, I’m just looking for anything other than rap & hip-hop. I put “rock” in the thread subject just as a (poorly-chosen) shorthand. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/79 "2014-02-21T17:28:27Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > Either drop the hits like de la or get the fuck off the commode. - Zach de la Rocha. (i’m counting Rage Against the Machine as rock and not hiphop). Actually, the line is “drop the hits like de la O” and is a reference to Genovevo de la O. (The title of the song is “Bulls on Parade.”) > **[Genovevo de la O](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genovevo_de_la_O)** > > Genovevo de la O (January 3, 1876 – June 12, 1952) was an important figure in the Mexican Revolution in Morelos. > He was born in Santa María Ahuacatitlán, Morelos, to sharecropper parents. He was dedicated to the plight of Mexico's peasants and came to be an outstanding Liberation Army of the South guerrilla general. After Emiliano Zapata's death, he and the other guerrillas threw their lot in with Álvaro Obregón and went on to become a minor but long-lasting figure in national politics. > From hi... ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822/80 "2014-02-21T17:50:26Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Garfunkel and Oates in [“This Party Took a Turn for the Douche”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHH3brmhPyw&feature=kp). > > ETA: Actually, I don’t think that’s rock. The Jim Croce reference misled me. Turn for the Douche is basically hip-hop. Novelty hip-hop, but still. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-checking-yourself-in-rock-music/681822.md?page=5)