Songs in which a singer mentions another singer by name

[upsidedownwalrus]

Pavement - Range Life

After the glow, the scene, the stage, the set
Talk becomes slow but theres one thing Ill never forget:
Hey, you gotta pay your dues before you pay the rent.
Over the turnstile turn out in the traffic
Theres ways of living its the way Im living
Right or wrong, its all that I can do,
And I wouldnt want to let you be

I want a range life, if I could settle down,
If I could settle down, then I would settle down
[x2]

Run from the pigs, the fuzz, the cops, the heat
Pass me your gloves, theres crime and its never complete
Until you snort it up or shoot it down
Youre never gonna feel free
Out on my skateboard the night is just hummin
And the gum smacks are the pulse Ill follow if my walkman fades
But Ive got absolutely no one, no one but myself to blame

Dont worry- were in no hurry
Schools out, what did you expect?

I want a range life, if I could settle down,
If I could settle down, then I would settle down
[x2]

Out on tour with the smashing pumpkins
Nature kids, i/they dont have no function
I dont understand what they mean
And I could really give a fuck.
The stone temple pilots,
Theyre elegant bachelors
Theyre foxy to me are they foxy to you?
I will agree there isnt absolutely nothing
Nothing more than me

Dreamin dream dream dream....

 

[Combustible]

I vote for the democratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

Phil Ochs - Love Me I'm a Liberal

 

[Dirty Martini]

"Sebastian and Zol formed the Spoonful
Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful
McGuinn and McGuire just a-catchin' fire
In L.A., you know where that's at
And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass"

(The Mamas & Papas, The Lovin' Spoonful, and The Byrds!)

Just had another look at this ... And Barry McGuire!

 

[Sunspots]

Just had another look at this ... And Barry McGuire!

Doh, yeah, of course; that one hadn't ever clicked 'til now.

It's now a quadruple whammy!

 

[Yetman]

William Shatner - You'll Have Time (Lou Gehrig and Joey Ramone - DEAD!)

 

[Dirty Martini]

'Hank and Lefty Raised My Country Soul', as sung by Emmylou Harris.

 

[Roadkill]

Bob Dylan - Highlands

I won't post the whole lot since it's sixteen minutes long, but here's the relevant verse:

I'm listening to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound
Someone's always yelling turn it down
Feel like I'm drifting
Drifting from scene the scene
I'm wondering what in the devil could it all possibly mean?

 

[belboid]

Neil Young -Hey Hey, My My - "Is this the story of a Johnny rotten?"

Pixies - Allison, okay he didn't actually sing, but it's about a musician so that counts

Cool as Kim Deal, by, mm, wotstherenames

Pavement - Stereo
"What about the voice of Geddy Lee
How did it get so high?
I wonder if he talks like an ordinary guy
(I've heard him, and he does)

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

"give me a leonard cohen afterworld" - Penny Royal Tea, Nirvana

 

[clandestino]

Alison's Starting To Happen by the Lemonheads - About Betty Boo of course. Or was it Alison from Smudge....I forget...

 

[kained&able]

I reckon theres a few examples in this thread.

http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=280275&highlight=beef


dave

 

[haushoch]

Jeffrey Lewis - The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song

"the sign ahead glowin' red
said the chelsea hotel
where nancy and syd vicious
and my friend dave once dwelled"

"she was tryin' to describe
a song i knew well
the leonard cohen song
about the chelsea hotel

and i smiled a smile to myself
when she said
that was the song where he talked about
someone giving him head
on the bed was unmade
and how the song was outrageous
and that's when i got
uncharacteristicly courageous
i could left the three of them laughin'
and just gone on home
but i turned and i faced her
and i said leonard cohen?
.....just like that...."

 

[matt m]

I wore it like a badge of teenage film stars
Hash bars cherry mash and tinfoil tiaras
Dreaming of Maria Callas
Whoever she is

R.E.M. - E-bow the Letter

'Sfunny, much as I hate REM, I've often been struck by the way Michael Stipe can actually write quite interesting, surreal lyrics in a sort of Frank O'Hara way when he wants to.

 

[matt m]

Good call. I don't care that it's done oh-so-knowingly, it's still a fucking great list.

Yeah but there's no free improv or noise in it. He's a beginner.

 

[May Kasahara]

Hello Minnie, Moony, Vicious, Vicious, Buddy Holly, Sandy Denny
Please don't thump me
Don't bump me
Don't dump me back there
Please don't thump me
Don't bump me
Don't dump me back there
Please don't thump me
Don't bump me
I want to stay here


... from "Blow Away" by Kate Bush

Good call! I love that song...so gorgeous.

Don't wanna be Grant McLennan
Don't wanna be Grant McLennan
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison or John Lennon

Smudge - umm, Don't Wanna Be Grant McClennan

Nightshift by the Commodores - 'Marvin, he was a friend of mine...'

There's a Low song, off Trust, that mentions "Gillian [Welch] and Dave [thingummy]" but I can't remember which one

 

[i_hate_beckham]

Bloodhound Gang mention loads in Fire Water Burn:

Yo yo this hard-core ghetto gangster image takes a lot of practice,
I'm not black like Barry White no I am white like Frank Black is,
So if man is five and the devil is six than that must make me seven,
This honkey's gone to heaven,
But if I go to hell then I hope I burn well,
I'll spend my days with J.F.K., Marvin Gaye, Martha Raye, and Lawrence Welk,
And Kurt Cobain, Kojak, Mark Twain and Jimi Hendrix's poltergeist,
And Webster yeah Emmanuel Lewis cause he's the anti-christ,
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
We don't need no water let the motherfucker burn,
Burn motherfucker burn.


RHCP Californication mentions Kurt Cobain:

Space may be the final frontier
But it's made in a Hollywood basement
Cobain can you hear the spheres
Singing songs off station to station
And Alderon's not far away
It's Californication

New Radicals mention some in Get What you Give:

Fly high
What's real can't die
You only get what you give
Just dont be afraid to leave
Health insurance rip off lying FDA big bankers buying
Fake computer crashes dining
Cloning while they're multiplying
Fashion mag shoots
With the aid of 8 dust brothers Beck, Hanson
Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson
You're all fakes
Run to your mansions
Come around
We'll kick your ass in!
Don't let go
One dance left

 

[kained&able]

Bloodhound Gang mention loads in Fire Water Burn:



RHCP Californication mentions Kurt Cobain:


Cobain can you hear the spheres
Singing songs off station to station

for years i thought that line was cobain can you hear miss spears(as in briteney)singing songs form station to station.

I reckon mines better.


dave

 

[Sunspots]

The Make Up ~ Free Arthur Lee