1. Free Man in Paris, Joni Mitchell
2. Welcome to the Machine, Pink Floyd
3. Into the Great Wide Open, Tom Petty
4. Creque Alley, The Mamas and Papas
5. Smoke on the Water, Deep Purple
Joni gets the # 1 spot for her “stoking the star-making machinery behind the popular song” line. The song is about David Geffen, early in his career.
"Into the Great Wide Open" by Tom Petty, and of course, "There's No Business Like Show Business".
Posted by: David Menard | July 13, 2009 at 07:11 PM
"Working for MCA" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Also, while I love all references to Mott the Hoople and/or Ian Hunter's ever-present shades, I believe that "All the Young Dudes" is decidedly not about the music industry, even tangentially. The songs mentions three bands (T. Rex, The Beatles, and The Stones), but never alludes to the music industry, business interests, or even rock-stardom. Certainly, Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter have released many great songs about the music industry and the absurdity of rock-stardom ("The Ballad of Mott the Hoople," "Standing in My Light," "Marionette," etc.), but ATYD is not one of them. Rather, ATYD is an anthem for alienated youth; a touching song about the misfits that rejected flower-power (those who “never got it off on that revolution stuff”) and were looking for alternatives; a thematic precursor to the punk movement that would follow (and borrow from) Mott's early 70s reign.
Posted by: MG | July 14, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Neil Young's "Don't Be Denied" -- "There we were on the Sunset Strip/Playing our songs for the highest bid."
Posted by: Michael Boggs | July 14, 2009 at 01:50 PM
Sugarloaf's "Don't Call Us."
Posted by: Chris Mayberry | May 18, 2010 at 01:55 PM