How is it that songs written to satirize mainstream success or criticize the music industry always seem to become so successful? The irony is painful, but the songs are just so good. Here are three songs meant as disses of mainstream music that ended up finding mainstream popularity.
“In Bloom” by Nirvana
“In Bloom” was released on Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind, re-recorded from an older song around the time Nirvana was first gaining traction in the underground grunge scene. The lyrics are critical of fans who don’t really listen to lyrics, which made its mainstream success so painfully ironic.
The chorus makes this abundantly clear. “He’s the one who likes all out pretty songs, and he / Likes to sing along and he likes to shoot his gun, but he / Knows not what it means / Knows not what it means and I say ‘Yeah’”. Its derisiveness is all right there, and yet “In Bloom” still became a huge hit.
“(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” by the Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys released “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” on their 1986 debut album. They wrote it as a parody of the 80s rock and roll lifestyle, nothing deeper than that. But instead of getting the tongue-in-cheek references to mainstream rock, fans saw it as an endorsement of the party boy persona. It’s possible that this made it much more difficult for fans to grapple with the experimental Paul’s Boutique.
As the lead single from Licensed to Ill, “Fight For Your Right” introduced everyone to the Beastie Boys. But, as MCA said in 2006, “we were just kind of making this dumb song that had to sit somewhere on the album.” If he had to choose a different debut single to represent them, he named “Slow and Low”, “Posse in Effect”, or “Hold It Now”. Undoubtedly three of the stronger tracks on that album.
“Hook” by Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler released “Hook” on their 1994 album Four, and the mainstream success of this single is probably the most painful of all. “Hook” does nothing to hide its derision for people who don’t listen to lyrics. “It doesn’t matter what I say / So long as I sing with inflection” are the opening lines of the song. It doesn’t get any clearer than that.
The chorus lays out the titular hook that brings you back. “Because the hook brings you back / I ain’t tellin’ you no lie / The hook brings you back / On that you can rely”. Sometimes, listening to and enjoying “Hook” feels a little strange, knowing exactly what it’s about. Because the hook does bring you back. That’s what made this song such a success. The lyrics may be a tear-down of mindless enjoyment with no substance, but “Hook” does exactly what it’s supposed to. It’s nothing short of utter genius.
Photo by Steve Eichner/Getty Images
The post 3 Satirical Songs Dissing Mainstream Success That Ironically Became Mainstream Successes appeared first on VICE.
