Kromm January 16, 2015 Share January 16, 2015 (I put this here instead of the Music forum, because it's bound to be more about the TV/Movie celeb culture aspect than analyzing the music itself) Just for amusement, lets riff on songs that mention our favorite TV & Movie personalities in them. For example, I found it amusing today listening to the Marc Ronson/Bruno Mars Current #1 charted hit, "Uptown Funk" and it's almost immediate Michelle Pfeiffer reference. I wonder what it takes to elevate a celeb to being appropriate for inclusion in a hit song lyric. What kind of people fail in those mentions and which succeed? Link to comment
FormerMod-a1 January 16, 2015 Share January 16, 2015 The biggest I can think of (yet old now... I'm old now... lol) is Bette Davis Eyes. I also thought of Lose Yourself by Eminem that mentions Mekhi Phifer, but that was in the movie they did together - 8 Mile. 1 Link to comment
Darian January 16, 2015 Share January 16, 2015 David Duchovny by Bree Sharp. The lyrics kill me. 3 Link to comment
BetterButter January 16, 2015 Share January 16, 2015 Set Adrift on Memory Bliss mentions Christina Applegate 1 Link to comment
Popples January 16, 2015 Share January 16, 2015 Vogue mentioned damn near everyone who was famous from the 1940s. 3 Link to comment
Gudzilla January 16, 2015 Share January 16, 2015 The obvious Rosanna by Toto. Celluloid Heroes by The Kinks, has a whole slew of them. 2 Link to comment
Kromm January 16, 2015 Author Share January 16, 2015 The obvious Rosanna by Toto. I was gonna ask "Rosanna" who, but just looked it up. That said, apparently the band later denied the song was about Rosanna Arquette (which could have just been them covering their asses, since one of them apparently had dated her in the past). Oddly though, she was supposedly the actual inspiration for the Peter Gabriel song, "In Your Eyes" (which doesn't name her though). 2 Link to comment
manbearpig January 16, 2015 Share January 16, 2015 (edited) High School Never Ends by Bowling for Soup mentions Reese Witherspoon, Brad Pitt, Jack Black, and probably a few others. Style from Taylor Swift's recent album 1989 mentions James Dean. Edit: Thought of another one. Alfie by Lily Allen is about her brother, Alfie Allen, who plays Theon on Game of Thrones. It came out years before he was on the show though. Edited January 16, 2015 by manbearpig Link to comment
opus January 16, 2015 Share January 16, 2015 Lots of mentions in Billy Joel's' We didn't start the fire 1 Link to comment
Gudzilla January 16, 2015 Share January 16, 2015 Lots of mentions in Billy Joel's' We didn't start the fire Which always leads me to this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waOp_cVluNg Link to comment
Rick Kitchen January 17, 2015 Share January 17, 2015 Style from Taylor Swift's recent album 1989 mentions James Dean. Edit: Thought of another one. Alfie by Lily Allen is about her brother, Alfie Allen, who plays Theon on Game of Thrones. It came out years before he was on the show though. And thank God, Lily didn't take the incest role of Alfie's character's sister in GoT, that would have been beyond squickie. Wait, you mean Taylor Swift had an affair with James Dean? Man, she can't get along with anybody, can she? Link to comment
Snow Apple January 17, 2015 Share January 17, 2015 (edited) What a fun topic! Shania Twain's You Don't Impress Me Much mentions Brad Pitt (Well, just his name. It's not about him, but still....) Edited January 17, 2015 by Snow Apple 2 Link to comment
MichelleAK January 17, 2015 Share January 17, 2015 Two R.E.M. songs come to my mind immediately: "Man on the Moon" (Andy Kaufman) and "Electrolite" (James Dean, Steve McQueen, Martin Sheen). Link to comment
GreekGeek January 17, 2015 Share January 17, 2015 (edited) Dion's "Donna the Prima Donna" rhymes "girl next door" with "Zsa Zsa Gabor." David Bowie's "China Girl" mentions Marlon Brando. Brigitte Bardot gets a line in Elton John's "I think I'm gonna kill myself." There's a funny song by Sunspot on "Scott Bakula" that rhymes his last name with "smackula," "dracula," and "crackula." ETA: Here's a list from Songfacts: http://www.songfacts.com/category-songs_inspired_by_actors.php Edited January 17, 2015 by GreekGeek 1 Link to comment
StaceyNotStacie January 17, 2015 Share January 17, 2015 For example, I found it amusing today listening to the Marc Ronson/Bruno Mars Current #1 charted hit, "Uptown Funk" and it's almost immediate Michelle Pfeiffer reference. Riptide by Vance Joy also has a reference to Michelle Pfeiffer. 1 Link to comment
Kromm January 17, 2015 Author Share January 17, 2015 Riptide by Vance Joy also has a reference to Michelle Pfeiffer. Yup. I swear she's destined for the screenClosest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh It is just that people of a certain age have some image of her as the ultimate movie hot chick? Link to comment
Kromm January 17, 2015 Author Share January 17, 2015 What a fun topic! Shania Twain's You Don't Impress Me Much mentions Brad Pitt (Well, just his name. It's not about him, but still....) Frankly as a bit of social commentary it's more interesting I think when a show uses a famous name but isn't necessarily ABOUT the person. It enters this interesting territory I was alluding to in the first post where the very name is iconic and caries an inherent meaning that informs the plot of the song. Take "Michelle Pfeiffer". The point of the mentions of her in Uptown Funk is to convey quality--a primo girl. She's compared to White Gold. Her name is used more like an adjective than a noun. THAT'S what's so interesting about its use in that song to me. 1 Link to comment
MyAimIsTrue January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 She's not mentioned by name but 1960's model Pattie Boyd was the inspiration for three songs: "Something" by the Beatles (written by her then husband and my favorite Beatle George Harrison), "Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes (featuring Eric Clapton, her second husband), and "Wonderful Tonight" also by Eric Clapton. 2 Link to comment
ParadoxLost January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 (edited) Barenaked Ladies - One Week has the Starsky/Hutch and Dukes of Hazard cars in the video. The song references X-Files and Sailor Moon. Edited January 19, 2015 by ParadoxLost 1 Link to comment
Popples January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 She's not mentioned by name but 1960's model Pattie Boyd was the inspiration for three songs: "Something" by the Beatles (written by her then husband and my favorite Beatle George Harrison) I don't know if he was being facetious, but George Harrison said he wrote it with Ray Charles in mind. http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/something/ Link to comment
Kromm January 19, 2015 Author Share January 19, 2015 (edited) One in the back of my mind was that I was sure that John Wayne had to have been mentioned in songs, and probably also Clint Eastwood.To my surprise, looking around the only things of note for Eastwood (so far) was the Gorillaz song CALLED "Clint Eastwood", which in fact doesn't actually name him inside the song itself (or in fact, actually have anything to do with him). EDIT - Apparently Brad Paisley has a song called "Eastwood". Although it's an instrumental (with two audio clips of Eastwood speaking woven into it).For Wayne... so far I've found...Big & Rich's Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) - a country song most of us have probably heard includes Wayne. ("I'm the only John Wayne left in this town").Paula Cole's Where Have All The Cowboys Gone - not even a country song, has a main lyric ("Where is my John Wayne?Where is my prairie song? Where is my happy ending? Where have all the cowboys gone?")A song by some group I've never heard of, "Little Green Cars" called "The John Wayne"--which like the Gorillaz song doesn't have much to do with the song name, but does mention him in it as a bit of imagery (a girl telling the song protagonist that her name is John Wayne, so he can later talk about how she "shot him down"). An actual (albeit lesser known) Queen song, Bicycle Race. The lyric is "You say coke I say caine, You say John I say Wayne, Hot dog I say cool it man, I don't wanna be the President of America, You say smile I say cheese, Cartier I say please..." So it's there as a cultural bit of namechecking in a nonsense rhyme--which is interesting in of itself but if anyone is an icon to randomly namecheck, it's John Wayne. A Seals & Crofts song (ouch, oldie...) named John Wayne, which also namechecks Gene Kelly. ("Do I feel that I'll prove a match to this world? Does Gene Kelly sing in the rain? Yes, I have a mind with a mind of its own. A soul like the soul of John Wayne..") Edited January 19, 2015 by Kromm 1 Link to comment
ParadoxLost January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 To my surprise, looking around the only things of note for Eastwood (so far) was the Gorillaz song CALLED "Clint Eastwood", which in fact doesn't actually name him inside the song itself (or in fact, actually have anything to do with him). Amazing what you can find out on the internet. The song is named Clint Eastwood because it was untitled until the video was done. In the video, they used an instrument also used in scoring 'A Fistful of Dollars' so the song once completed reminded them of an old Clint Eastwood western, hence the name. Link to comment
selkie January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 Style from Taylor Swift's recent album 1989 mentions James Dean. As does "Rock On", covered by assorted bands over the years. Two R.E.M. songs come to my mind immediately: "Man on the Moon" (Andy Kaufman) and "Electrolite" (James Dean, Steve McQueen, Martin Sheen). And "It's the End of the World" has Lenny Bruce, Leonard Bernstein, and Lester Bangs. Weezer- "Buddy Holly" and Mary Tyler Moore. She's a C lister by professional athlete standards, but "Hey There Delilah"- Delilah DiCrescenzo- has a couple of Ivy League degrees, has qualified to represent the United States several times at the World Cross Country & Track and Field championships, and has a long time boyfriend not in a band. And does indeed still live in New York City. 1 Link to comment
Luckylyn January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 Do mentions of athletes count? I was thinking of from South Park. 3 Link to comment
joelene January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 (edited) ETA: Oops, wrong thread! Edited January 21, 2015 by joelene Link to comment
Snow Apple January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 If we can do athletes, Mrs. Robinson mentions Joe DiMaggio. Elton John's Goodbye Norma Jean is of course about Marilyn Monroe. How about historical figures? In Don McLean's American Pie, "Lenin read a book on Marx." and his Vincent (Starry Starry Night) is about Vincent Van Gogh. (Sorry if this thread should only be about TV and Movie stars) 1 Link to comment
Crisopera January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 "John Wayne is Big Leggy" is a fantastically terrible song by a fantastically terrible British New Wave band called Hayzi Fantasee. Link to comment
Kromm January 21, 2015 Author Share January 21, 2015 Style from Taylor Swift's recent album 1989 mentions James Dean. Yeah, overall Taylor Swift defies this topic though, because her songs are continuously ABOUT famous people, but typically don't actually name them! So she's kind of the "anti" to this topic, sans something like this James Dean reference. In fact, I actually think "Blank Space" is a rather large "fuck you" from her to how people have made fun of/criticized her for every damn song of hers being about an ex. Whatever else you think of her, that song, if you read the actual lyrics, is taking the issue head on and is pretty blistering in making hay from the idea of her as some kind of Black Widow. Link to comment
BoogieBurns January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 Childish Gambino, in You See Me, raps "Texting with Olivia Munn, hopefully she'll give me some." It's so darn romantic, right? I suppose rappers do plenty of name-dropping, but usually it is about other rappers. 1 Link to comment
selkie January 22, 2015 Share January 22, 2015 The Smithereens mention Jean Shrimpton's hair in 'Behind the Wall of Sleep' The Barenaked Ladies have Harrison Ford and Kurosawa in 'One Week' as well as having a verse devoted to the X-Files 1 Link to comment
Kromm January 22, 2015 Author Share January 22, 2015 Here's a full circle. The song (by Cake) name-checking a movie star, "Frank Sinatra", appeared prominently on a TV show, The Sopranos (which also constantly name-checked Sinatra). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-AOIJ_CdCc Link to comment
BetterButter January 22, 2015 Share January 22, 2015 Bela Lugosi's Dead Robert de Niro's waiting Shia LaBeouf Link to comment
MyAimIsTrue January 23, 2015 Share January 23, 2015 How about historical figures? In Don McLean's American Pie, "Lenin read a book on Marx." and his Vincent (Starry Starry Night) is about Vincent Van Gogh. Even though their names aren't mentioned the line in American Pie "the day the music died" refers to the 1959 plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens. Also I once heard that the line about "I met a girl who sang the blues..." is a reference to Janis Joplin as is, allegedly, the line "someone told me there's a girl out there with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair" from Led Zeppelin's Going To California. Link to comment
braziliangirl January 23, 2015 Share January 23, 2015 One of my workout songs mentions a lot of famous Hollywood Stars (and is sung by Walt from Lost): Classic - MKTO Link to comment
ABay January 24, 2015 Share January 24, 2015 If we're including singers, the Righteous Brothers' "Rock and Roll Heaven" mentions a slew of them. Link to comment
ParadoxLost January 25, 2015 Share January 25, 2015 (edited) One in the back of my mind was that I was sure that John Wayne had to have been mentioned in songs, and probably also Clint Eastwood. To my surprise, looking around the only things of note for Eastwood (so far) was the Gorillaz song CALLED "Clint Eastwood", which in fact doesn't actually name him inside the song itself (or in fact, actually have anything to do with him). You can find Clint Eastwood in stuff by Adam and the Ants. His name is the chorus in Los Rancheros and he dresses up as the Man With No Name in Prince Charming video. Taco name checks Gary Cooper in Putting on the Ritz. Edited January 25, 2015 by ParadoxLost Link to comment
ABay January 25, 2015 Share January 25, 2015 Irving Berlin name-checked Cooper, I think. 3 Link to comment
Crisopera January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 Yep - "Puttin' on the Ritz" Dressed up like a million dollar trooperTrying hard to look like Gary CooperSuper-duper 1 Link to comment
kassa January 29, 2015 Share January 29, 2015 Taylor Swift also had a hit with "Tim McGraw." Elton John- Candle in the Wind -- Norma Jean Puttin' on the Ritz also mentions "where Rockefellers walk with sticks" Take me Home tonight - Eddie Money - mentions Ronnie Spector (she does vocals on it) 1 Link to comment
ParadoxLost January 30, 2015 Share January 30, 2015 How about the Beastie Boys and Star Trek. "Intergalactic", "Brouhaha", and "So Whatcha Want" reference Bones, Spock, and Sulu. ""Ch-Check It Out" had them dressed up as McCoy, Kirk, and Spock. Then the newest movies returned the favor by having Kirk listen to the Beastie Boys. 1 Link to comment
Luckylyn January 30, 2015 Share January 30, 2015 Weird Al's White & Nerdy mentions Captain Kirk and Captain Picard. 1 Link to comment
ParadoxLost January 30, 2015 Share January 30, 2015 So give you ID card to the border guardYour alias says you Captain John Luke PicardOf the United Federation of Planets Refreshments -Banditos 1 Link to comment
Sister Havana January 30, 2015 Share January 30, 2015 Destiny's Child name-checks Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz in "Independent Women Part 1." The Ataris' song "My So-Called Life" is about Claire Danes. 1 Link to comment
BW Manilowe March 19, 2015 Share March 19, 2015 (edited) Brad Paisley also has a song called Celebrity (from his Mud on the Tires CD), which talks about the various (mostly bad) behaviors celebrities engage in once they become famous. 1 of the lines in it has the main character talking about how he's gonna cry to Barbara Walters on TV (which I don't think he can now, since she's mostly retired). Ray Stevens did a parody song called I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow which mentions Barry by name in the title & the chorus, & the verses parodied various things Barry, as a singer, & many of his hits, are known for being/alleged to be, as well as incorporating a number of titles from his hits at the time (the song is from 1979, so sort of early in his career). As a huge Manilow fan (like my screen name doesn't give that away), I can say I'm honestly not embarrassed by, nor do I hate, this parody. And I'm including it--& the song below--'cause Barry has done both TV & movies in his career, so I think it counts. And Barry himself released a song titled They Dance, which is originally from his 2001 CD Here at the Mayflower, & was subsequently released in a slightly longer "dance" version. The song name checks various stars--some maybe not so obvious--known for their dancing ability: (Snip) And they dance And she feels like Ginger Rogers They dance! He's got the flair of Fred Astaire (Snip) And they dance! He's as hot as John Travolta And they dance! She's as cool as Janet J. (Janet Jackson) (Snip) And they dance! He's Antonio Banderas They dance! She's Ann Miller on the screen Edited March 19, 2015 by BW Manilowe Link to comment
kili March 21, 2015 Share March 21, 2015 Nena's "99 Luftballoons" mentions Captain Kirk (in both the original German and English versions "Everyone's a Captain Kirk"). P!nk mentions Jessica Simpson in "So What (I'm Still a Rockstar)" (the waiter gives Jessica her table just showing how far P!nk has fallen). BNL has the song "Be My Yoko Ono". She obviously also gets mentioned in the title of The Beatles "The Ballad of John and Yoko", but it is BNL that users her as a noun. 1 Link to comment
turnitwayup April 7, 2015 Share April 7, 2015 Spielberg and Kubrick get named drop in X Ambassadors's Renagade. Link to comment
ShortyMac April 7, 2015 Share April 7, 2015 "Rockstar" - Nickelback Somewhere between Cher and James Dean is fine for me I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassels 1 Link to comment
turnitwayup April 21, 2015 Share April 21, 2015 Adam Lambert's Ghost Town mentions Elvis, James Dean and Hollywood. I tried to believeIn God and James DeanBut Hollywood sold out Tonight Elvis is deadAnd everyone's spreadAnd love is a satire Link to comment
MargeGunderson April 22, 2015 Share April 22, 2015 (edited) The New Radicals "Get What You Give" namechecks Beck, Hanson, Courtney Love, & Marilyn Manson (and now that's stuck in my head). Edited April 23, 2015 by The Crazed Spruce added punctuation 2 Link to comment
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