# 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:** 3
### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2004, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/41 "2004-09-08T07:51:33Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#):
>
> The Beloved?
Thank you!
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### Author:  [@MinniePurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinniePurl)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2004, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/42 "2004-09-08T08:09:37Z")
[“Purple Toupee”](http://www.tmbw.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Purple_Toupee/Lyrics) by They Might Be Giants adds a further layer… it’s a bunch of mixed-up remembrances of the '60s by someone who was a young child then. My favorite:
> [@TMBG](#):
>
> I shouted out “Free the Expo '67!”, 'til they stepped on my head, and told me I was fat.
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### Author:  [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2004, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/43 "2004-09-08T09:46:53Z")
‘It’s good news week’ Hedgehoppers anonymous
‘Life is a rock(but the radio rolled me)’ Reunion, this consisted of very litle else but a list of contemporary artists of the day.
Lyrics here.
[http://home.att.net/~bubblegumusic/songliferok.htm](http://home.att.net/~bubblegumusic/songliferok.htm)
The song was later covered by Tracy Ullman with updated lyrics for the artists of the newer time.
Can’t find these lyrics though.
If you ever wondered who covered what, here is a good site for you, just put in your favourite boy/girl band and see just how ‘original’ they are,
[http://www.secondhandsongs.com/](http://www.secondhandsongs.com/)
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2004, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/44 "2004-09-08T10:27:56Z")
This will be a bit obscure to you guys…
Leadng Israeli hip-hop combo _Hadag Nachash_ (“The Fish Snake”) have a song out called **The Sticker Song** , which consists entirely of the words from popular Israeli bumper stickers, from all sides of the political and religious map. Even more amusingly, the lyrics were written (compiled?) by celebrated Israeli novelist David Grossman, author of **Smile of the Lamb** and **The Book of Intimate Grammar**. It even rhymes.
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### Author:  [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2004, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/45 "2004-09-08T13:01:28Z")
Rock & Roll Heaven" by the Righteous Brothers is just a list of dead rock stars.
“Celluloid Heroes” by the Kinks is just a list of old-time movie stars.
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### Author:  [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/46 "2004-09-08T14:13:29Z")
There’s a song by Die fantastichen Vier called “MfG - Mit freundlichen Grüßen” that’s basically a list of acronyms. [Here](http://www.getlyrics.com/lyrics.php/Fantastischen+Vier/SHOW+LYRICS/MFG) are the lyrics. I have no idea what most of the acronyms stand for; maybe a German Doper can help us out.
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### Author:  [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/47 "2004-09-08T18:31:14Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#):
>
> **"Ball of Confusion" by the Temptations**
> Refers to just about _everything_ occurring in the early 1970’s.
> [http://www.webfitz.com/lyrics/Lyrics/1970/81970.html](http://www.webfitz.com/lyrics/Lyrics/1970/81970.html)
Also of the same name but different song, Love and Rockets “Ball of Confusion” qualifies I think.
Pop culture lists make up several of Transvision Vamp’s songs, most notably “Born to Be Sold”
Another one that springs to mind is Sisters of Mercy “Detonation Boulevard”
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/48 "2004-09-08T18:50:18Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#):
>
> The Beloved?
Wow, all this time I thought it was Electronic!
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### Author:  [@angelicate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angelicate)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2004, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/49 "2004-09-09T06:25:51Z")
“[Cock Rock](http://www.punkbands.com/lyrics/bands/dieselboy/venus.htm#1)” and “[From The Used Bin](http://www.punkbands.com/lyrics/bands/dieselboy/sofa.htm)” by Diesel Boy
“[Pantera Fans in Love](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Pantera-Fans-In-Love-lyrics-Nerf-Herder/49C8D1189E4F6D0B48256C5600110F50)” by Nerf Herder
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### Author:  [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2004, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/50 "2004-09-09T06:52:39Z")
_I like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch,
'cos I’m Madison Avenue’s bitch…_
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### Author:  [@Ezekiel25\_17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ezekiel25_17)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/51 "2004-09-09T07:21:39Z")
> [@Sublight](#):
>
> _I like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch,
> 'cos I’m Madison Avenue’s bitch…_
Pretty much every LFO song falls into the “nothing but pop culture” category.
28 Days= “what would jack and diane do? Hey sharona I don’t understand”
Life is Good= “reminds me of this painting/ that I think I’ve often seen/ the kings behind the counter/ serving coffee to James Dean”
etc. etc
Now I’m slightly empbaressed to admit the depth of my familiarity with LFO’s catalogue.
sausage
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### Author:  [@Zelski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zelski)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/52 "2004-09-10T17:16:27Z")
“The Land of 1000 Dances” performed most famously by Wilson Pickett qualifies. The verses are basically lists of dances from the sixties. Here are the lyrics to the Pickett version:
[http://www.lyricsdepot.com/wilson-pickett/land-of-1000-dances.html](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/wilson-pickett/land-of-1000-dances.html)
The song was originally longer, mentioning more dances. Early in its history, a singer forgot some of the lyrics and improvised what is now thought of as the chorus. This chorus is the really famous part of the tune, now.
Some history:
[http://www.tsimon.com/land.htm](http://www.tsimon.com/land.htm)
It occurs to me that many songs about dancing from this era might qualify. “Let’s Twist Again” is mostly about “The Twist”
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### Author:  [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/53 "2004-09-10T19:01:15Z")
“Existential Blues” by T-Bone Stankus lists:
The elusive butterfly
The (NY) Yankees
Reggie Jackson
25 or 6 to 4.
Colonel Sanders
Thoreau
America
Old Glory
The lollipop kids
Munchkinland
The Wizard
A Hoover vacuum cleaner
Toto
The Duke
Follow the yellow brick road
The Wizard of Oz
Little field of poppies
Dorothy
A green El Dorado
A bottle of Yukon Jack,
Moby Dick
Herman (Melville)
A knockwurst
Germans
Butte, Montana
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/54 "2004-09-10T19:19:11Z")
The late great Michael Kamen wrote a song for the first, self-titled, New York Rock & Roll Ensemble album called “Studaeo Atlantis.”
The song sounds like a rock version of a cross between classical Arabian and Western music, sung entirely in Latin.
But the “lyrics” are really a roster of the names of the people they were working with at Atlantic Records, starting with the famed founders Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun.
Am I a font of the finest obscure trivia or just plain old? 😕
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### Author:  [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/55 "2004-09-10T19:56:00Z")
“La Vie Boheme” from RENT fits perfectly.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/56 "2004-09-10T20:20:00Z")
There’s a song on the B-52s’s self-titled first album that’s also a list of dances, I think it’s Dance This Mess Around. There are some real dances in there, like the Watusi, but in the middle it turns into a parody with lyrics like “Do the Aqua Velva!”
As I re-read the OP, it occurred to me that I _hate_ songs like this. Not all songs with pop culture references, but the ones that really fit the OP- list songs that are all or mostly pop-culture references. It reeks of writers trying to be really clever, and it’s never really clever. (Apparently it’s an easy way to come up with a popular song, since everybody recognizes the lyrics. We Didn’t Start the Fire? One Week? Not exactly the highlight their respective artists’ catalogue.) That awful Jason Mraz song (is that name right?) goes in there, too. I do like It’s the End of the World As We Know It.
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### Author:  [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/57 "2004-09-10T21:52:47Z")
For there’s Basie, Miller, Satchmo
And the king of all Sir Duke
And with a voice like Ella’s ringing out
There’s no way the band can lose
– [Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/Stevie-Wonder/sir-duke.html)
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### Author:  [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/58 "2004-09-11T00:09:36Z")
I looked but I didn’t see Playboy Mansion by U2.
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### Author:  [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/59 "2004-09-11T01:36:43Z")
Did somebody else already mention Arthur Conley’s “Sweet Soul Music” (which was little more than a list of popular 60’s soul singers)?
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### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-basically-consist-of-nothing-but-a-long-string-of-pop-culture-references/263491/60 "2004-09-13T23:31:58Z")
There was a rock critic (I think it was Dave Marsh, but I’m not sure) who wrote an article years ago in which he gave some indicators to look for, to distinguish good songs from bad ones.
One indicator I remember was this:
“A list is not a song.”
He gave as an example “We Didn’t Start the Fire”.
Ed
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