Line #3 BitingTheHandHumor/Music


1	* Music/PinkFloyd's song "Have a Cigar" from ''Music/WishYouWereHere1975'' is a clear mockery of record companies and producers who want hit singles instead of artistic freedom.
2	* The Music/DeadKennedys had a legendary performance of "Pull My Strings" at the Bay Area Music Awards in 1980. Asked by the organizers to play "California Über Alles" to give the event some "New Wave credibility", the band played the intro of the song before lead singer Jello Biafra stopped the band and mockingly said "we're not a PunkRock band, we're a {{New Wave\|Music}} band"; the band then began playing "Pull My Strings", a song making fun of record industry politics and manufactured artists.
3	* The back cover of Music/TheReplacements' ''Let It Be'' is a picture of graffiti the band members had written on a door, including "Twin/Tone eats slotty crap" (or possibly "...''sloth'' crap" depending on how you interpret the scrawled handwriting). The Replacements were signed to the label Twin/Tone at the time, and what makes it even funnier is that on some editions of the album, the Twin/Tone logo is positioned directly beneath that message.
4	** The rarity "Lookin' For Ya" (which they would re-work into "Love Lines") ends with Paul Westerberg ad-libbing "Keep your riches, give me a Budweiser!" This is because it was originally recorded for ''Trackin' Up The North'', a compilation put together as part of a "Rags To Riches" battle of the bands co-sponsored by Miller High Life.
5	* Music/MrBungle were apparently doubtful as to whether or not their major label debut would even be released: In one line of "Carousel" they ask "Will [[Creator/WarnerBrosRecords Warner Brothers]] put this record on the shelf?" (although the liner notes make the [[BlatantLies blatantly false]] claim that the lyric is "[[Film/{{Grease}} look at me I'm Sandra Dee]])."
6	* Take a guess as to what the Music/NineInchNails song "The Hand That Feeds" [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin is about]].
7	* Music/{{Devo}} was also known to mock [[Creator/WarnerBrosRecords Warner Bros. Records]] and the music industry in general. Their promotional videos included characters that embodied every record executive stereotype: Rod Rooter, a pimply manager who didn't get Devo ("I can forgive you guys for being artists, but I can't forgive you for being stupid!" "Look at the airplay charts! No, no Devo!") and Daddy-Know-It-All, the boss of Big Entertainment who orders Rod to keep Devo in line.
8	* In ''Theatre/DonGiovanni'', during the dinner scene, when the stage band starts to play 'Non più andrai' from ''Theatre/TheMarriageOfFigaro''--and [[ServileSnarker Leporello]] insists that he is sick of hearing that tune all the time.
9	* Music/SoulCoughing's "The Bug" from the ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' soundtrack includes a hidden (and probably tongue-in-cheek) dig at one of the film's stars - if you listen carefully to the end of the song you can hear a quiet loop of Mike Doughty intoning "Creator/GeorgeClooney is Satan".
10	* Music/RageAgainstTheMachine's contribution to the soundtrack of the 1998 remake of ''Film/{{Godzilla\|1998}}'' was the song "No Shelter", a four-minute ProtestSong about how Hollywood supports the spread of consumerist values and [[AmericaTakesOverTheWorld American hegemony]] worldwide. It includes a direct TakeThat at the film it's supposed to be promoting, in the form of the line "Godzilla, pure motherfucking filler, to keep ya eyes off the real killer". And just to drive the point home, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NEoesmnYU4 the video]] makes reference to, among other things, the Hiroshima bombing -- the event that [[Film/Godzilla1954 the original film]] was a commentary on (commentary that was, [[LowestCommonDenominator of course]], scrubbed from the remake).
11	* Music/SaraBareilles' "Love Song" is directed squarely at her recording company - it concerns her refusal to obey the company's request to put a love song on her album.
12	* Ad-Rock of Music/BeastieBoys revealed that "Sabotage" is a tongue-in-cheek rant at their producer Mario Caldato Jr., who insisted that they finish ''Ill Communication'' as soon as possible, even at the expense of creativity.
13	* "Money For Nothing" by Music/DireStraits from their album ''Music/{{Brothers in Arms\|Album}}'' criticized MTV, while at the same time having a music video that got a lot of airplay on the channel.
14	* Similar to the Dire Straits example, Music/{{Queen}}'s "Radio Gaga" bemoans the fall of radio and the rise of MTV, sounding leery about "all this video". Meanwhile the ''Film/{{Metropolis}}''-inspired video was irresistible to MTV.
15	* Also similar to the Dire Straits and Queen examples, Music/DuranDuran, a band that broke through in the U.S. largely because of MTV, released a single off their massive self-titled 1993 "comeback album" (aka ''The Wedding Album'') called "Too Much Information", that contained lyrics that went, "Destroyed by MTV, I hate to bite the hand that feeds me/So much information". An album track on their 1997 album ''Medazzaland'', "Undergoing Treatment", is even more acerbic but more toward the media in general and their fair-weather "fans".
16	* Music/ElvisCostello does a self-demonstrating version in "Radio Radio" from ''Music/ThisYearsModel''.
17	-->''I wanna bite the hand that feeds me.''\
18	''I wanna bite that hand so badly.''\
19	''I want to make them wish they'd never seen me.''
20	* Around the same time of the ''Saturday Night Live'' example above, various employees at NBC got together with the production group who did their "We're Proud!" jingle to make a parody called "We're Loud!" which expressed their frustration at how bad NBC was doing at the time. Then, Creator/DonImus made the mistake of ''airing it'' on live radio and pissing off then-head Fred Silverman.
21	* Music/{{Pulp}}'s "Bad Cover Version" ended up doing this by accident. They took a pop at, among other things, "the second side of ''Til The Band Comes In''" - and later on had ''Til The Band Comes In'''s performer, Music/ScottWalker, brought on as producer for the parent album. He took it in stride.
22	* The autographs of Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart's horn concertos, apparently all intended for Joseph Leutgeb, a horn player 23 years Mozart's senior, include various insulting remarks directed at the performer. Most notoriously, the Rondo of K. 412 includes a mocking running commentary in Italian that begins with the incorrect tempo marking "Adagio."
23	* When Music/{{Korn}}'s label and management wanted them to record a hit single, they recorded the song 'Y'all Want a Single' which ran for a length of 3:19 (the average length of hit singles). The song and video were highly critical of the music industry and featured 89 instances of the F-word.
24	* Music/AliceInChains' "Sludge Factory" is at least partially about friction between the band and their label: At one point Layne Staley received a call in studio from executives, who gave positive mention of how successful ''Above'' by his side project Mad Season had been, then informed him that Alice In Chains only had nine more days to complete the album they were working on. This incident inspired the lyric "call me up, congratulations ain't the real why / there's no pressure besides brilliance, let's say by day nine"
25	* The title of Music/TheFugs' EP ''Thrown Off Atlantic'' is a reference to the band signing with Creator/AtlanticRecords, recording an album for them, then having its release canceled at the last minute.[[note]]Allegedly, this was because Atlantic was about to be bought out by Creator/WarnerBros and were afraid that such a controversial band might ruin the deal. The Fugs got their revenge by signing to [[Creator/WarnerBrosRecords Warner Bros.']] sublabel Creator/{{Reprise\|Records}}, whose owner Music/FrankSinatra gave the signing his personal approval![[/note]] Some later releases of ''The Fugs' First Album'' include a track consisting of a recording of the initial contract signing party for the album, under the title "In the Middle of Their First Recording Session the Fugs Sign the Worst Contract Since Music/LeadBelly's" (a reference to the way Blues legend Huddy 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter was forced to sign over all rights to his songs for a pittance).
26	** In similar technically-ineligible honourary mention fashion, Music/TheSexPistols recorded and released "EMI", essentially a punk version of a rap [[TheDissTrack diss track]], after being mistreated by and then dropped by [[Creator/{{EMI}} the eponymous label]] despite being one of the hottest properties of the period. Twenty-odd years later, cult oddballs and one-time Creator/JohnPeel show darlings Music/TheCubanBoys produced a cover version of the same, after suffering a similar level of disrespect from one of the industry's biggest names - that first exercised a massive degree of {{Executive Meddling}} then failed to promote their album, thus ruining any chance of actual commercial success. Though one suspects that, ''unlike'' the Pistols, they kinda ''preferred'' it that way, given that the B-side was called "Wilfully Obscure"...
27	* Music/MikeOldfield's song "Make Make" from the album ''Heaven's Open'' is a jab at his then-publisher Creator/VirginRecords. It even calls them on the name, in case someone would have missed the reference.
28	--> Mona Lisa, you can stop searching
29	--> Don't you know, we're not Virgin.
30	* The Australian punk band [[Music/XAustralia X]]'s biggest hit "Degenerate Boy" is about an unemployed heroin addict, and, according to the band "described about 75% of our early male audience".
31	* After Music/CrowdedHouse's first two albums were somewhat successful in the US, they released "Chocolate Cake" as the lead single for their third album ''Woodface''. The song, which also opens the album, is a satire of American excess. ''Woodface'' remained the band's least popular album there until 2021's ''Dreamers Are Waiting'', while being at least as successful as their first two albums everywhere else.
32	* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' tie-in album ''Chef Aid'', unsurprisingly, has more than one example. The very first track on the album opens with Music/{{DMX}} giving an indignant, profanity-laden rant [[TakeThatUs in response to being asked to give a shout out to South Park]]. Later, the Music/MousseT song ''Horny'' is played in the background of an argument between somebody from the record company and Matt and Trey about how they both hate the song and don't want it on the album.
33	* Music/{{Eminem}} was extensively supported by Creator/{{MTV}} in his TeenIdol days (to SurprisinglyLenientCensor levels) and spent a lot of time in his songs and TV appearances telling them he couldn't stand them.
34	** "The Real Slim Shady" is one long TakeThat at MTV culture of [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece the year 2000]], with disses to Creator/TomGreen, Music/BritneySpears and Music/ChristinaAguilera, and "you little girl and boy groups". Of course, Eminem's fame came from his domination of ''TRL'' (even [[HostileShowTakeover doing an "Em-TV" takeover]] to promote ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP''), and he performed "The Real Slim Shady" live at the 2000 [=VMAs=].
35	** In "Marshall Mathers", after complaining about the state of hip-hop, Slim goes on to rant about the emptiness of the pop music world:
36	--->An anti-[[Music/BackstreetBoys Backstreet]] and Music/RickyMartin\
37	whose instinct's to kill Music/{{NSYNC}}, don't get me started.\
38	These fuckin' brats can't sing and [[Music/BritneySpears Britney's]] garbage!\
39	What's this bitch, retarded? Give me back my sixteen dollars!\
40	All I see is [[GoodIsBoring sissies in magazines smilin']].\
41	Whatever happened to wilin' out and being violent?
42	** In multiple songs ("I'm Back", "White America") Slim points out that MTV's favourable treatment of him was because of racism:
43	--->Became a commodity 'cause I'm W-H-I-T-E, ‘cause MTV was so friendly to me
44	** Eminem [[https://twitter.com/DoseOfShady/status/1428380866263257090 also called MTV Europe out on their racism]] for giving him the award for "Best Hip-Hop" for the fifth consecutive year, eating [[StealthPun crackers]] throughout the TV spot and pointing out "I don't need you to keep reminding me that I'm white".
45	** In "Without Me", he crows, "''they tried to shut me down on MTV!''" The music video also contains multiple swipes at MTV's NetworkDecay, such as Slim Shady being a ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' contestant on a log in the middle of the sea, which [[ToiletHumor turns out to be a shit floating in Elvis Presley's toilet]]. Slim also briefly appears as a housemate on ''The Real World''.
46	** "We Made You" has a similar video mocking MTV's NetworkDecay, which by that time was total. It presents Slim Shady as the protagonist of a ''Series/RockOfLove''-like dating show called ''Rockstar'', dating various inappropriate celebrity women and fighting them. (He eventually ends up with Music/AmyWinehouse - also a virtuosic AddledAddict.)
47	* The music video for Music/OrdenOgan's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNOgBVF17HA "Inferno"]] depicts flying saucers conducting an OrbitalBombardment of Earth. The first place they target is the corporate HQ of the band's record label, AFM Records.
48	* In 1974, Music/ProcolHarum was signed to Creator/ChrysalisRecords, a prosperous label run by their managers Terry Ellis and Chris Wright, whose logo prominently featured a butterfly. However, the band wasn't always happy with their employers, leading singer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid to write the song "Butterfly Boys". While Brooker [[https://procolharum.com/99/bbc_strange_liner99.htm once said]] that "This song could apply to any situation where someone's doing well and the others are getting the shit", he elaborated further in the liner notes of a CD reissue.
49	-->'''Gary Brooker:''' It's definitively about Terry and Chris swanning it up, doing very well and running a multimillion pound record label. Procol Harum is the "sinking ship" here, and the label owners, who were also our managers, are the ones that "get the cake". We weren't exactly ripped off, not like in the past, but Reid had spotted an imbalance! They were very upset about the song, and wanted us to change the words and title to "Government Boys". We said "Bollocks".

Context BitingTheHandHumor / Music