Win Nick’s Voucher

at

It’s Friday again and that can only mean one thing: competition time.

Readers have a chance to win a highly coveted Golden Discs voucher worth a wallet/purse-popping €25.

To enter, simply reply below to the following question: what’s your favourite song that mentions another song or artist?

Here’s mine.

The winner will be chosen by my pet rabbit.

Lines MUST close at 3.15pm EXTENDED until 9pm MIDNIGHT 6am Saturday SUNDAY!

(Include video where possible)

Nick says: Good luck.

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130 thoughts on “Win Nick’s Voucher

  1. Bertie Theodore Alphege Blenkinsop

    Dream Academy – Life in a Northern Town

    https://youtu.be/X5uxQElYu68

    They sat on the stony ground
    And he took out a cigarette out
    And everyone else came down
    To listen
    He said, “In winter 1963
    It felt like the world would freeze
    With John F. Kennedy
    And The Beatles” (yeah, yeah, yeah)

  2. Slightly Bemused

    Summer in Dublin by Bagatelle!
    “I remember that summer in Dublin, and the Liffey as it stank like hell,
    And the young people walking on Grafton street, and everyone looking so well,
    I was singing a song I heard somewhere, called “Rock ‘n’ roll never forgets”,
    When my hummin’ was smothered by a 46a and the scream of a low flying jet.”

    Given the day that is in it, I thought this would be an appropriate link:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X97mUFKgSfM

    And, for those interested, Rock ‘n’ Roll Never Forgets, by Bob Seger:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ_kYEDZVno

  3. Mick

    Stevie Wonder – Sir Duke
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6fPN5aQVDI

    Written in tribute to Duke Ellington, with special mentions to Count Basie, Glen Miller, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald:

    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

    1. f_lawless

      seems to be a running theme with Dexys – there’s also ”Jackie Wilson Said’ and in “Come On Eileen” the opening line is “Poor old Johnny Ray”

        1. f_lawless

          You’re right of course – there’s another one “Geno” – written as a tribute to soul singer Geno Washington ;)

    1. Slightly Bemused

      There are times it is acceptable. When Kirsty McColl is involved, that time is anytime :)

  4. Termagant

    Cheating a little because it’s not a lyric, it’s more of an interlude in a live recording where Buck talks about selling his soul to the devil to become a rock’n’roll star

    BOC – 7 Screaming Diz-Busters
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqwW1xm5vvU

    “So I can see myself 50 years from today
    I’ll be sitting in the old rock’n’roll stars home
    I’ll be sitting right next to Jeff Beck and Elton John
    We’ll be in jet-powered wheelchairs
    doing drag-races and wheelies down the halls
    and grabbing all the nurses”

    Being only a young stripling of a man it’s bizarre to me to think there was a time when Elton John wasn’t considered one of the most fabulous homosexuals on the planet

    1. Joe cool

      I to my shame only found this version last week. What a voice and way of singing a song this man had

  5. Janet, I ate my avatar

    hey I loved the hard stuff at 16

    Godamn Electric, Pantera

    There is a part of me that’s always sixteen
    I’ve found the secret of eternal youth
    Some get high on life or money
    But there’s an escape
    Drop out the race
    To walk through world by one’s self
    You can’t be protected
    Your trust is in whisky, weed and Black Sabbath
    It’s goddamn electric

  6. nicorigo

    Belle and Sebastian -Like Dylan in the movies-
    “If they follow you, don’t look back, like Dylan in the movies.”

    The glorious Glaswegian fanfare quotes (throught the lens of D. A. Pennebaker) Mister Bob Dylan on their very debut album in an ever charming little ditty.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYnEulW6IYk

    1. Brother Barnabas

      in that vein (ish)

      eminem – without me

      references and takes heartfelt aim at his list of then nemeses – limp bizkit, chris kirkpatrick, obie trice and, most memorably, moby:

      “and moby
      you can get stomped by obie
      you 36 year old bald headed fag blow me
      you dont know me
      you’re too old
      let go
      it’s over, nobody listens to techno”

      and finds space to get in a couple of other references to prince and elvis

      youtube.com/watch?v=787xjYpTzrs

  7. Brother Barnabas

    song to woody ~

    “hey hey woody guthrie, I wrote you a song”

    youtube.com/watch?v=RMqw1lNldEQ

  8. Brother Barnabas

    https://youtu.be/8EPROqJcr5c

    devendra banhart – the beatles

    as well as name checking paul mccartney and ringo star, honorable mention for donovan, marc bolan and ben chasny and his six organs of admittance – all in around 30 seconds

    it’s also got the great lines “como la flor mas gorda que no tiene sabor, que rica es la vida que rico es el amor. Mata el toro, no mates al toreador”

    words to hang your hat on

  9. Rugbyfan

    Only wanna be with you by Hootie and the Blowfish

    and the verse goes…

    Put on a little Dylan sitting on a fence
    I say that line is great, you ask me what I meant by
    ‘Said, I shot a man named Gray, took his wife to Italy
    She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me, I’ll get over it if I’m lucky’
    I only wanna be with you
    Ain’t Bobby so cool
    I only wanna be with you

    Hootie got in trouble for using the quote too!!!

  10. f_lawless

    I think this song would qualify! Harry Nilsson’s cover version of the Beatles’ “You Can’t Do That” in which he manages to reference about 20 other Beatles songs along the way. Lovely harmonising – one of those rare occasions where the cover surpasses the Beatles original – IMO
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue0Mf7_EHk8

  11. Owen Matthews

    Has to be Californication by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
    “Space may be the final frontier but it’s made in a Hollywood Basement.
    And Cobain can hear the Spheres singing songs off Station to Station.
    And Alderaan’s not far away, it’s Californication”

    Mentioning the Legend that was Curt Cobain.

    Brings back good memories.

    https://youtu.be/YlUKcNNmywk

  12. Noa

    Lynryd Skynyrd
    Sweet Home Alabama

    Well, I heard Mister Young sing about her
    Well, I heard ol’ Neil put her down
    Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
    A Southern man don’t need him around anyhow

    1. Slightly Bemused

      Hah! Not sure why I did not think of that when I thought of the other :) Good song, turn it up!

  13. Casey Jones

    Robert Plant and Alison Krauss-Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us- A tribute to the great gospel and blues singer,and pioneering electric guitarist,Sister Rosetta Tharpe

  14. Jibjob

    I have no idea whether this counts, but David Bowie refers to the same Major Tom in Space Oddity later on in Ashes to Ashes and (in collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys) Hello Spaceboy.
    All three are regularly on my playlist.

    1. Slightly Bemused

      I love it when the songwriter does not bother interpreting their own song. They wrote it, they have nothing to interpret.

      A beautiful version, thank you for posting it!

      1. Otis Blue

        Or better still Vincent Van Gogh by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers

        Who also sang of Pablo Picasso on their debut album, which by an odd quirk I bought today. In Dungarvan.

  15. sinead waters

    Better than Ezra
    Song: “Extra Ordinary”
    Mentions: (Many in this song, but my favorites):

    Though I got more hooks
    Than Madonna got looks
    And just like that AC/DC song
    Come on baby, shake me all night long

  16. Henry Porter

    Song for Bob Dylan by David Bowie
    “Now hear this Robert Zimmerman
    I wrote this song for you
    About a strange young man called Dylan
    With a voice like sand and glue.”

    Bowie references not only Dylan but also his real name. His description of Dylan’s voice is spot on

    https://youtu.be/v23YSyH3Fe8

  17. soulie

    this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lCv0S7j7dE

    ….from 1970 . produced by Gamble and Huff, written by Gene Dozier and Keni Lewis… tis only at the end that you hear who will be turning up at the party … Jerry Butler, Aretha, James Brown, Luther…. but whilst you wait you can bounce around the living room

  18. Otis Blue

    The Boy with the Arab Strap – Belle & Sebastian

    https://youtu.be/zqv7q8VxcOk

    Bela Lugosi’s Dead – Bauhaus

    Ingrid Bergman – Billy Bragg & Wilco

    Waterloo Sunset – The Kinks

    Not even Stevie Nicks – Calexico

    Andy Warhol – David Bowie

    The night Josh Tillman came to our Apt. – Father John Misty

  19. Danny

    Reasons to be cheerful part 3

    Some of the singers and performers mentioned.

    Buddy Holly
    Good golly, Miss Molly (
    The Bolshoi Ballet
    Levi’s and Scotty (Moore)
    We’re Willy Harris (skiffle star)
    Listening to Rico (Rodriguez) went on to play with the Specials
    Shostakovich
    Smokey Robertson
    John Coltrane
    Adriano Celentano (Italian singer)

    Lots more famous people, but all the above involved in music.

    Actually I saw him perform in the ill-fated Stardust a few weeks before the tragic fire and when I was there the escape door were chained and locked.

    1. Slightly Bemused

      I remember the Stardust fire like it was yesterday. I know no one involved directly, but in the wake, as a stupid teenager I used do a silly, insensitive joke until a good friend, who did lose family in the event, braced me over it. It took me years, but I did try to learn not to be as stupid again.

      I do hope recent events help the families get what they need. Justice!

      1. V

        Slightly
        If we ever meet for a glass of orange sometime
        Make sure I tell ye about my night and days after the Stardust Fire

        I know it’s not about me, but those of us – 80s kids I mean, all have a memory of that night – the tragedy of tragedies, that never leaves; it’s like it’s yesterday

        1. Slightly Bemused

          My lady V, I would like that. Sometimes it is by being stupid we learn. While I like to think I learned something from being a stupid teenager, one thing I did learn was that I did not truly understand that the ‘news’ for me was reality for others.

          First orange is on me.

    1. Slightly Bemused

      Fantastic! I love that song :) I am sure it inspired Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimon for Good Omens :)

  20. Otis Blue

    William Byrd – The Revenants

    Sylvia Plath – Ryan Adams

    My Perfect Cousin – The Undertones

    And It Stoned Me – Van Morrison

    Buddy Holly – Weezer

    Tom Courtenay – Yo La Tengo

  21. f_lawless

    Tom Tom Club – Genius of Love (1981) is a personal favourite and does plenty of namedropping

    “Clinton’s musicians such as Bootsy Collins
    Raise expectations to a new intention

    No one can sing
    Quite like Smokey, Smokey Robinson

    Stepping in a rhythm to a Kurtis Blow
    Who needs to think when your feet just go?
    etc

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECiMhe4E0pI

  22. Max Bialystock

    The intro to “Woke up this morning” by Alabama 3:

    “And just like Charles Mingus wrote that beautiful piece of music ‘Epitaph’ for Eric Dolphy, I say, so long Eric. So long John Coltrane and Charles Mingus. So long Duke Ellington and Lester Young. So long Billie Holliday and Ella Fitzgerald. So long Jimmy Reed. So long Muddy Waters, and so long Howlin’ Wolf”

  23. Fluffybiscuits

    Rock and Roll Kids by Charlie Mc Gettigan and Paul Harrington. They mention Elvis and Jerry Lee. I was 12 and lost my grandfather who I was close to in 1994. Took it badly. It reduces me tears as a 37 year old man. They look back nostalgically at old times…just beautiful❤

  24. Niall

    For the sheer numbers of other artists mentioned, Billy Joel’s: We Didn’t Start the Fire must be the winner

    Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chubby Checker, Dylan, Beatlemania and Punk Rock are all referenced not to mention actors, writers, movies and plays.

    https://youtu.be/eFTLKWw542g

  25. Ricky Byrne

    Has to be John Lennon’s song. “How do you sleep at night”.

    https://youtu.be/teD9t-lO_o0

    McCartney started flinging crap on his RAM album and then Lennon came back with this equally shade throwing track.

    “The only thing you done was yesterday”. Is any absolutely stellar play on words and a brilliant diss.

  26. Cool_Hand_Lucan

    Scrubious Pip vs Dan Le Sac – Thou Shalt Always Kill

    I’m picking this due to the gargantuan level of name checking other artists.

    “The Beatles were just a band
    Led Zeppelin, just a band
    The Beach Boys, just a band
    The Sex Pistols, just a band
    The Clash, just a band
    Crass, just a band
    Minor Threat, just a band
    The Cure were just a band
    The Smiths, just a band
    Nirvana, just a band
    The Pixies, just a band
    Oasis, just a band
    Radiohead, just a band
    Bloc Party, just a band
    The Arctic Monkeys, just a band
    ‘The next big thing’, just a band”

    https://youtu.be/CWrMGXwhFLk

    1. Slightly Bemused

      That is funny! I used have that song on a promotional Digital Audio Cassette, a format that never really (ever) took off! They played at The Point for the launch of that album (Private Investigations) and gave out a number of them. Not having a DAC player, I am not entirely sure there was actually anything on the tape :)

  27. Otis Blue

    “She wears denim wherever she goes,
    says she’s gonna get some records by the Status Quo. Still she won’t be forced against her will, says she don’t do drugs but she does the pill…”

    The Concept – Teenage Fanclub

    https://youtu.be/7JYH1pVbqpQ

    1. Otis Blue

      And also the lines

      “A custard-coloured super-dream
      Of Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen
      I give to you…”

      And

      “The spinal cord of JFK
      Wrapped in Marilyn Monroe’s negligee
      I give to you…”

  28. Otis Blue

    Anyone up for melancholic ruminations on life, death and Led Zeppelin?

    Of the 1970’s, playground punches, recording contracts and ‘Thank You’s?’

    I Watched the Film The Song Remains the Same – Sun Kil Moon

    https://youtu.be/WU27JJ01PeE

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