# Songs that basically consist of nothing but a long string of pop culture references
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 7, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491 "2004-09-07T15:23:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/1 "2004-09-07T15:23:38Z")
Ok, off the top of my head, I can think of two songs that basically consist almost entirely of meaningless pop culture references. That is to say, there is a chorus, a musical bridge and then basically just a rambling list of stuff from movies, TV, politics and current events:
1. We Didn’t Start the Fire - Billy Joel ("…Rock&Roll, the Cola Wars, I can’t take it any more!!!)
and
1. One Week - Barenaked Ladies ("…Watchin’ X-Files with no lights on…We’re dans la maison…I hope the Smoking Man’s in this one…Like Harrison Ford I’m getting frantic…Like Sting I’m tantric…Like Snickers, guaranteed to satisfy…")
are there any other songs like this?
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/2 "2004-09-07T15:26:57Z")
_TV Party_ by Black Flag is kinda close. It’s largely lists of TV shows (now almost all cancelled).
_Sodomy_ from Hair might count, as might the song that starts off talking about LBJ on the IRC (can’t recall the exact title).
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/3 "2004-09-07T15:27:30Z")
Methinks you ignored the odd-vious: **American Pie** by Don McLean.
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### Author:  [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/4 "2004-09-07T15:28:12Z")
REM: “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
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### Author:  [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/5 "2004-09-07T15:32:42Z")
There’s a song from the mid-1970’s, “Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)”, which consists largely of a list of musicians.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/6 "2004-09-07T15:33:17Z")
If you’re allowing parodies and such, there are several of Weird Al Yankovic’s songs that would qualify (“I Can’t Watch This,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Dare to be Stupid” …)
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### Author:  [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/7 "2004-09-07T15:44:28Z")
As far as pop-culture references, it’s hard to beat Beck’s “Loser.” A long string of non-sequiturs that basically refers to all sorts of loser behaviors and pastimes.
At least, as near as I can tell.
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### Author:  [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/8 "2004-09-07T16:31:48Z")
The **Artifical Joy Club** album _Melt_ contains several pop references from Star Trek to Bambi vs. Godzilla to Forest Gump to Tarantino to Pez. Its a Canadian band which didn’t last too long in the spotlight, one of **Leslie Howe** ’s projects (and probably the latest incarnation of **One to One** for those who remember the late 80’s – early 90’s).
[slight hijack]
For those Americans not in the know, **Leslie Howe** produced and co-wrote **Alanis Morrissette** ’s first album _Alanis_. _Jagged Little Pill_ was her third album and the first two are a little hard to find now.
[/slight highjack]
-DF
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### Author:  [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/9 "2004-09-07T16:54:45Z")
**This Note’s For You** : _Neil Young & The Bluenotes_ lament the commercialization and list a few products - mainly beverages.
**A Simple Desultrory Philipic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara’s Into Submission)**: _Simon & Garfunkel_’s homage to politicians, writers, philosophers & their muical contemporaries.
_Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention’s_ entire album **We’re Only In It For The Money** tears down a whole host of Hippie/Beatles pop culture.
_Bob Dylan_ does it alot too - most memorably (for me) in his song **Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream** ; where he tells of sailing to the New World on the Mayflower and finds himself smack dab in the middle of contemporary (late 60’s) America.
As far a **list of pop icon names** , you can find an alphabetical lists of people mentioned in **Monster’s** thread “Songs that name other people” linked below:
[Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=2057994&postcount=80) (First 323 Names (A thru G),
[Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=2058026&postcount=81) (Next 340 Names (H thru Presley) and
[Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=2058051&postcount=82) (Last 250 Names (Previn thru Z).
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### Author:  [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/10 "2004-09-07T17:02:46Z")
Ookla the Mok does one called [Still Can’t Buy Me Love](http://www.otmfan.com/ltagallery/html/scbml.html)
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### Author:  [@grand\_poobah\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grand_poobah_bear)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/11 "2004-09-07T17:18:37Z")
Dire Straits: Money for nothing (the song is based on utterances they heard during the pre concert set up)
Devo: Whip It
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### Author:  [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/12 "2004-09-07T19:17:49Z")
Eytan Mirsky’s _(I Just Wanna Be Your) Steve McQueen_ is basically a bunch of McQueen movie titles made into a love song.
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### Author:  [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/13 "2004-09-07T19:32:35Z")
Almost any song by Bloodhound Gang is nothing but pop culture.
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### Author:  [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/14 "2004-09-07T19:52:16Z")
Bowling for Soup’s “1985” fits this description nicely.
I still like it, though.
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### Author:  [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/15 "2004-09-07T20:14:27Z")
Julie Brown’s _Will I make it through the 80s’_ fits this.
There was a parody of the b-52s _Love Shack_ called _Radio Shack_ which captures geekdom of that technological moment.
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### Author:  [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/16 "2004-09-07T20:21:20Z")
[_Babies of the 80s_](http://www.lyrics007.com/Something%20Corporate%20Lyrics/Babies%20Of%20The%2080s%20Lyrics.html) by Something Corporate
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### Author:  [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/17 "2004-09-07T20:35:14Z")
_Purple Toupee_ by TMBG has a few, like, “I heard about some lady named Selma and some blacks
Somebody put their fingers in the President’s ears
It wasn’t too much later they came out with Johnson’s wax.”
There are a few more too.
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### Author:  [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/18 "2004-09-07T20:37:13Z")
Tom Lehrer’s _National Brotherhood Week_ would also fit into this.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/19 "2004-09-07T21:26:52Z")
> [@Miss Mapp](#):
>
> REM: “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
Don’t know how I forgot about that one.
As for American Pie, all I know is the chorus (and that a levy is like a dike or canal or seawall or something).
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/20 "2004-09-07T21:35:34Z")
Probably not exactly what the OP had in mind, but there was an old Charlie Daniels Band song called “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” which mentioned just about every southern rock band popular at the time.
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