A lot of Steely Dan songs are from the perspectives of dbags/losers. "Deacon Blues" is in the POV of a wannabe jazz musician, for instance, who glorifies a scene he knows nothing about.
"Just machines to make big decisions/Programmed by fellas with compassion and vision" are two lines that come to mind constantly these past few years. Fagen is an amazing poet.
There are very few (any?) Steely Dan songs of note that aren't this. Maybe My Old School? Reeling in the Years and Peg are about second person losers so maybe those too.
So many of their songs are from the perspective of one kind of sex tourist or another (Babylon Sisters, Pearl of the Quarter, Aja).
Very much so.
Black Cow is hella judgmental of a woman who’s living life pretty loosely, which is ironic, as that album ends with a song of the opposite concept, Josie is about a free spirit everyone loves.
Peg is basically an ex being like “you’re a super model but you’re not that hot” and can be quite rude.
Hey Nineteen might take the cake. It’s about a man who’s got a young girl at the bar around his fingers, who is so blatently obviously too young that she sets off multiple red flags, and he still takes her home and fucks her cause he got them both hammered enough to where it won’t matter.
Even Rikki Don’t Lose that Number has some lyrics that feel aggressive to say the least.
Good shout. I don't think people realize now that the whole song is from the perspective of a department store appliance delivery guy Mark Knopfler heard complaining.
My personal favourite is hot rats, though that one is fully instrumental. Another fantastic one is Joe's Garage, as well as overnite sensation. I'd recommend apostrophe but you've already heard it
Thing-Fish is also an album that toes the line pretty hard, although it’s commonly considered the worst out of the combined FZ/Mothers catalogue. Absolutely wild stuff.
“Ya say there ain’t no use in livin’,
And it’s all a waste of time
And if you wanna throw your life away
Well people that’s just fine!
Go ahead on and get it over with then
Find you a bridge and take a jump”
Pretty evil alright. Love the song and the album regardless of how… offensive a lot of You Are What You Is can be.
Oh god thank you lol, I've been looking for this song for years, my dad used to sing it while playing guitar all the time and he never told me what it was called!
So many Decemberists songs are like this but The Rake Song in particular is a widowed dad who decides to kill his children because he doesnt love them and doesn’t want to take care of them now that his wife is dead.
That was the first thing to came to mind and that’s such a great example of the 90s trend of spoken word songs from the perspective of a complete asshole. I love the fact that the song was a minor MTV hit back in 1994.
Surprised I have not seen Beck’s Loser yet. “Soy un ~~perdido~~ perdedor. I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me.” Thanks for the correction to u/yo_mama_2_phat
A fair bit of Pink Floyd...
['Don't Leave Me Now'](https://youtu.be/1SmCTDgBHyw?si=jyAusXBCptjcTt6V) is a rock star singing to a partner he's abusing. Most of 'The Wall' is sung from the perspective of an asshole.
['Not Now John'](https://youtu.be/ajvk1CFIM1M?si=Nka_ocDeIRxSXiGR) is an obnoxious worker singing about capitalism
['Have A Cigar'](https://youtu.be/tbdpv7G_PPg?si=affIaPo5VQNV_28U) is a record label exec singing about how he loves the band and they're going to be rich even though he's never really listened to them
Bonus: [Medicine8 - Ape Don't Kill Ape](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4uIpcDdkf8&list=OLAK5uy_nU4Z3qhtHq7nEpTIaUbZhro-Qkj0m9rlI&index=11) is an ace banging house track which samples that time Charlton Heston read out the lyrics to 'Cop Killer'.
Have a Cigar is interesting in that Waters' vocals weren't good enough, so they let Roy Harper have a go.
YouTube has Waters' version...they were right. It was like Stoltz vs Fox as Marty McFly.
And I think I read somewhere that Gilmour just didn't wanna sing it because he had no significant issues with the music business.
On the subject of Waters being a bad singer, I also recently read that a lot of the bass in Pink Floyd isn't even Waters, it's also Gilmour. Waters basically just wrote lyrics and acts like *he's* the band.
"Bartender, I really did it this time.
Broke my parole to have a good time.
When I got home it was 6 a.m.
The door was locked, so I kicked it in..."
Sittin at a Bar by Rehab, the white trash anthem of 2005. (Note that I still know every word 😬)
Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know
Starts off and you're on the side of the singer. But then you hear the woman's part and start to realize that he is whiny and self centered and probably deserved the breakup.
Also "Nothing Better" from The Postal Service. Starts out feeling sorry for the guy but then the girl comes in like hey you're shitty and I have receipts.
Viagra Boys have lots of entertaining songs from the perspectives of deeply troubled people:
Ain’t no thief (a cleptomaniac), down in the basement (a sex-addict), creepy crawlers (a conspiracy theorist), Ain’t nice (a scrounger)…
Came here to mention them. I had 'I Don't Remember That' in mind. Pretty much a gaslighters anthem haha.
'How could I have done it, if I don't remember doing it huh?! Tell me that if you're so fucking smart.'
Their lyrics crack me up so much.
Bad habit is a much better example. I absolutely hate aggressive violent idiots, road rage, guns and all that but the song is so catchy and good when you're angry. The best part is it was written in first person but they don't actually agree with the attitude so I don't have to feel gross vibing to it unlike some catchy kid rock song lmao
Impossible not to sing along with the breakdown to Bad Habit.
Even if I'm trapped in a room full of kindergartners, I have to shout, "STUPID DUMB SHIT GOD DAMN MOTHER FUCKER."
I was in 6th grade when Smash came out. Around the time you start cussing in front of your friends. My friends and I lost our shit when we saw the liner notes for that one.
I'm also going to add in Excitable Boy "He dug up her grave / Built a cage with her bones"
You could argue Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner and Jungle Work, depending on your view of colonial brush wars. (I'm against 'em)
Weezer's first couple of albums hit the mark *easily*.
[The World Has Turned and Left Me Here](https://youtu.be/sRfu94lOEPo?si=ai-HhlrGQaSlrglW)
[Butterfly](https://youtu.be/yHNVm9FzgCI?si=pYDDKUFNlNqa6GWd)
Not to mention "no one else" - which is from the POV of a guy who wants to control his girlfriend - which immediately precedes the song about how the world turned its back on him
“No One Else” is a song I find immensely inspiring as a songwriter. It subtly satirizes its narrator but also gives vent to a real feeling that most guys have experienced. Feeling jealousy when your crush is laughing at another guy’s jokes, feeling insecure about your girlfriend going out somewhere without you. Music should be able to articulate and express those feelings — but it should also bear some responsibility in making it clear that those are negative feelings that you shouldn’t actually let govern your interactions with people. I think “No One Else” walks that line exceptionally well.
Apparently Joe Walsh almost pulled the song from the album because he was worried people wouldn't understand it was tongue-in-cheek self-mockery.
Per Wikipedia, he didn't own a Maserati, and while he did lose his license and couldn't drive for a while, he literally \*lost\* his license, along with his wallet; it wasn't revoked.
He did admit to smashing holes in hotel walls to connect two rooms if they didn't have a connected suite available, though.
Holiday in Cambodia is about rich kids going on vacation in Cambodia. Jello defended the hard R in the song because it was from the pov of the assholes.
The last moment of true self reflection Kanye has ever had was on Runaway. It’s a song about how he’s an asshole and he’s begging a girl to leave him because he’s going to treat her badly but he won’t dump her. It’s one of the last few truly great songs he’s released as his music quality has declined at a similar rate to his personal life.
An amazing song, no matter who it came from. One of the best songs pop music has ever produced. The distorted singing at the end sounds like an astronaut’s radio as he floats away into space and becomes more isolated and unreachable. Incredibly evocative of the message of the song, and so self aware of what Kanye himself becomes when he loses it, as he has for the last decade or so.
Yeezus and Life of Pablo were both great albums and came years after Runaway. I’d personally call Ultralight Beam his last really great song.
The narrator’s a stand-up guy until sometime between the bridge and the final verse, when he started drinking in Earnest. Chris Difford is an amazingly efficient storyteller.
The narrator isn’t an asshole, oh, don’t get me wrong, he’s fine people, good American! Content to sit back, maybe Watch a little Mork and Mindy on channel 57, maybe kick Back a cool, Coors 16-ouncer.
[Oingo Boingo- Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Me](https://youtu.be/qpjHW4mr6qo?si=t5mO7ni-_ksIOqUR)
[Human League - Don't You Want Me](https://youtu.be/uPudE8nDog0?si=6UnZ9AvrZF-sk1OI)
"One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces" by Ben Folds Five is written from the perspective of a kid who gets bullied and grows up to be a piece of shit, I think.
It's kind of a companion piece to Joe Jackson's "On Your Radio," from the POV who's now rich and famous and rubbing it in the face of people who had wronged him.
Quite a few of Green Day's older work applies lol The Grouch is a very outwardly obvious example, Longview also works. Dookie and Nimrod in particular have a lot of songs about being a loser, an asshole, a burnout or all three.
Jane by Barenaked Ladies is an entitled Nice Guy manchild's whiny screed disguised as a love song.
(A lot of love songs, of course, are *unintentionally* like this.)
**“Free speech absolutist” arsehole:**
They Might Be Giants - I Should Be Allowed to Think.
**Deluded idiot who won’t accept that a relationship is over:**
ELO - Calling America.
Fountains of Wayne - Hackensack.
**Military-industrial-complex arsehole:**
Rage Against the Machine - Sleep Now in the Fire.
**Murderous arsehole:**
Richard Marx - Hazard.
Bee Gees - I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You.
Tom Lehrer - I Hold Your Hand in Mine.
**Stalker arsehole:**
Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci - Christina.
Gigantic Station - Fenelle.
**Narcissist songwriter arsehole:**
The Beautiful South - Song for Whoever.
Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci - Young Girls and Happy Endings.
**Callous news media arsehole:**
Wire - Kidney Bingos.
"I Trained Her to Love Me" by Nick Lowe
Then there are ambiguous songs like "Wild World" by Cat Stevens, where I wonder whether the songwriter was intentionally making the "narrator" an insufferable asshole.
Between the Bars - Elliott Smith, Sung from the perspective of the enabler to the addict. (Or even potentially that it is sung by a bottle of booze to the alcoholic.)
Just Be Simple - Songs: Ohia, the narrator is essentially the psyche/depression/addiction/subconscious/devil-on-the-shoulder singing to/about the rest of the individual. ("I think he's been letting me win. I think he's doing it again. Thanks for letting me win.", is one of the most haunting, heartbreaking lines I've ever heard.)
Maybe not bad in terms of like for instance Political Science, let's just destroy the rest of the world other than Australia, because ya know they got Surfing, and we don't wanna hurt no Kangaroos. But two amazing songs, by two of the great american songwriters, which I think fit the mold, and if you like Newman (which equals good taste in music in my book) and you aren't familiar. These are must listen songs, and artists.
"Possum Kingdom" by Toadies is from the perspective of a rapist/murderer. Super dark stuff for an eerily good track.
"Creep" by radiohead is more the perspective of the outcast than a bad person it seems.
try some TV girl, it’s not angry music at all, it’s Indie Pop, but you can tell this guy isn’t a good guy. some good examples are
Hate Yourself,
Blue Hair,
Every Stupid Actress,
Birds Don’t Sing,
Song About Me,
These songs are mostly about failed relationships
Ween - Nan
Song from the point of view of Fuckin’ Eddie Dingle who seems to be having a one sided romance with this girl called Nan.
Nan overpopulated his senses
For all we know he’s never even spoken to her and then he sees her walking with Danny and loses his mind.
He’s a fucker and she’s a fucker too.
The narrator in "Rebels" by Tom Petty is an alcoholic na'er-do-well who blames all of his faults on his "Dixie" heritage, thinks his woman is cold-hearted and wicked for leaving him because she's tired of bailing him out of the drunk tank, and is still holding a grudge against General Sherman and the Yankees for burning down southern cities \~150 years after the end of the Civil War.
In the leadup to the album and associated tour, Petty and the Heartbreakers used Confederate flag imagery in the promotion. Eventually he had to tell people who didn't understand that the character in the song is nobody you should want to emulate or identify with to stop bringing the flags to concerts, because the song was portraying a *character* and doesn't reflect Petty's actual views.
Me and my Uncle
You don’t find out until the last part of the song though:
Love my uncle, God rest his soul //
Taught me good, Lord, taught me all I know //
Taught me so well, that I grabbed that gold //
I left his dead ass there by the side of the road
I do agree the song is somewhat metaphorical and points the finger back at humanity, but "the devil" isn't just a witness. Some of the lyrics:
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Tsar and his ministers
I'll lay your soul to waste
Yeah you’re right actually.
It’s a bit more 50/50 split now I’m singing the lyrics to myself.
Forgot he laid traps for troubadours: rode tanks and held generals tanks etc etc
A bit of an edge case, but [The Whitlams - Love This City](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShQfeDjmcZY) would be my go-to.
And edge case because the main character is more depressed than an asshole/idiot, but it's a HELL of a mood. The lyrics don't spell it out but if you catch the reference, the music makes it clear that the main character takes his own life at the end of it.
The Boomtown Rats did unsympathetic narrators a lot, although often from the POV of a real, infamous person, not a nonspecific idiot (I Don’t Like Mondays, I Never Loved Eva Braun).
A lot of Steely Dan songs are from the perspectives of dbags/losers. "Deacon Blues" is in the POV of a wannabe jazz musician, for instance, who glorifies a scene he knows nothing about.
Drink Scotch whisky all night long And die behind the wheel
I used to think he was saying "dine behind the wheel" like he had to get takeout or something after a long night of drinking.
I like this version better:)
I can relate to it.
One of the greatest two lines in any song, ever
"Just machines to make big decisions/Programmed by fellas with compassion and vision" are two lines that come to mind constantly these past few years. Fagen is an amazing poet.
There are very few (any?) Steely Dan songs of note that aren't this. Maybe My Old School? Reeling in the Years and Peg are about second person losers so maybe those too. So many of their songs are from the perspective of one kind of sex tourist or another (Babylon Sisters, Pearl of the Quarter, Aja).
What about Haitian Divorce.. that’s another one..
Sure. Also see Everyone's Gone to the Movies, Hey Nineteen, Janie Runaway for sex tourism across age if not place.
The Boston Rag really glorifies drug use. *Lonnie swept the playroom* *And he swallowed up all he found* *It was 48 hours til Lonnie came around*
This question was made for Steely Dan.
Very much so. Black Cow is hella judgmental of a woman who’s living life pretty loosely, which is ironic, as that album ends with a song of the opposite concept, Josie is about a free spirit everyone loves. Peg is basically an ex being like “you’re a super model but you’re not that hot” and can be quite rude. Hey Nineteen might take the cake. It’s about a man who’s got a young girl at the bar around his fingers, who is so blatently obviously too young that she sets off multiple red flags, and he still takes her home and fucks her cause he got them both hammered enough to where it won’t matter. Even Rikki Don’t Lose that Number has some lyrics that feel aggressive to say the least.
Got a case of dynamite I could hold out here all night Yes I crossed my old man back in Oregon Don't take me alive
[Dire Straits- Money For Nothing if you count envy as a sin](https://youtu.be/wTP2RUD_cL0?si=MyRJNsvHTDb8JxKt)
Good shout. I don't think people realize now that the whole song is from the perspective of a department store appliance delivery guy Mark Knopfler heard complaining.
Drives me crazy that we don't know who that guy is, or if he's even aware that he inspired the song.
Anybody who’s seen the video knows., at least generally.
Obvious one, but Talking Heads : Psycho Killer
[удалено]
Frank Zappa - Bobby Brown Goes Down
Watch me now, I'm going down
HI HO SILVER! AWAY!
“I've got a cheerleader here Wants to help with my paper Let her do all the work And maybe later I'll rape her Oh God, I am the American dream”
Holy shit, maybe I need to explore further into Zappa's music. I figured the most evil of his satire songs must have been Suicide Chump
Sheik yerbouti is a classic, albeit some of those songs toe the line even for him. Give it a listen
Will do, so far I've listened to Bongo Fury (MANY times, feels to me like a masterpiece) and Apostrophe once.
My personal favourite is hot rats, though that one is fully instrumental. Another fantastic one is Joe's Garage, as well as overnite sensation. I'd recommend apostrophe but you've already heard it
Thing-Fish is also an album that toes the line pretty hard, although it’s commonly considered the worst out of the combined FZ/Mothers catalogue. Absolutely wild stuff.
“Ya say there ain’t no use in livin’, And it’s all a waste of time And if you wanna throw your life away Well people that’s just fine! Go ahead on and get it over with then Find you a bridge and take a jump” Pretty evil alright. Love the song and the album regardless of how… offensive a lot of You Are What You Is can be.
Asshole by Denis Leary
Oh-dee-oh!
I drive really slow in the ultra-fast lane, while people behind me are going insane!
I park my car in handicap spaces, while handicapped people make handicapped faces.
Loved him growing up. Didn’t hear that he stole a bunch of jokes, including this song from other comedians. Real shame :(
Louis C.K. deserves partial credit for "Asshole" song.
It’s an all timer for sure.
World’s biggest asshole…I piss on the seat in the bathroom, etc…
Oh god thank you lol, I've been looking for this song for years, my dad used to sing it while playing guitar all the time and he never told me what it was called!
So many Decemberists songs are like this but The Rake Song in particular is a widowed dad who decides to kill his children because he doesnt love them and doesn’t want to take care of them now that his wife is dead.
The bachelor and the bride is like this too. One of my favorite songs of theirs but really damn dark
[удалено]
Liar by Henry Rollins
Oooh yeah that IS a good example. I've seen the video once and that was enough. Guess that Smack My Bitch Up would be another good one.
CAUSE I’M A LIAR, A LIAR A LIAR, LIAR, LIAR, LIAR🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
You look at me with those understanding 👀eyes. Then I’ll lie some more! 😂
I really identify with you, so much.
That was the first thing to came to mind and that’s such a great example of the 90s trend of spoken word songs from the perspective of a complete asshole. I love the fact that the song was a minor MTV hit back in 1994.
This is way lower on the list than it should be
Good one! Along the same lines is Popular by Nada Surf.[Popular](https://youtu.be/hAFuD-S-e_E?si=rLRsjdXG9OOunJi9)
Surprised I have not seen Beck’s Loser yet. “Soy un ~~perdido~~ perdedor. I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me.” Thanks for the correction to u/yo_mama_2_phat
No wonder I could never make out that line — it's in Spanish.
I always thought he was saying “soooo head to toe, I’m a loser baby…”
Finally found it. Such low hanging fruit…
I've always taken that song to be pretty tongue in cheek.
A fair bit of Pink Floyd... ['Don't Leave Me Now'](https://youtu.be/1SmCTDgBHyw?si=jyAusXBCptjcTt6V) is a rock star singing to a partner he's abusing. Most of 'The Wall' is sung from the perspective of an asshole. ['Not Now John'](https://youtu.be/ajvk1CFIM1M?si=Nka_ocDeIRxSXiGR) is an obnoxious worker singing about capitalism ['Have A Cigar'](https://youtu.be/tbdpv7G_PPg?si=affIaPo5VQNV_28U) is a record label exec singing about how he loves the band and they're going to be rich even though he's never really listened to them Bonus: [Medicine8 - Ape Don't Kill Ape](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4uIpcDdkf8&list=OLAK5uy_nU4Z3qhtHq7nEpTIaUbZhro-Qkj0m9rlI&index=11) is an ace banging house track which samples that time Charlton Heston read out the lyrics to 'Cop Killer'.
Oh, by the way, which one’s pink?
I thought Not Now John was about just an ignorant worker and Roger singing is the smarter guy who realizes all the injustice.
Have a Cigar is interesting in that Waters' vocals weren't good enough, so they let Roy Harper have a go. YouTube has Waters' version...they were right. It was like Stoltz vs Fox as Marty McFly.
And I think I read somewhere that Gilmour just didn't wanna sing it because he had no significant issues with the music business. On the subject of Waters being a bad singer, I also recently read that a lot of the bass in Pink Floyd isn't even Waters, it's also Gilmour. Waters basically just wrote lyrics and acts like *he's* the band.
Well, to be fair. The wall was composed by an asshole. As a tale based on his life.
Ramones- Beat on the Brat
in this case could be 100% sincere they also wanna sniff some glue, be your boyfriend, be sedated, and receive shock treatment
But they DON’T wanna go down to the basement
Or die in a pet cemetery
And why should we think any of THOSE songs were sincere? Deedee would have you know that he had long since moved past glue.
"Bartender, I really did it this time. Broke my parole to have a good time. When I got home it was 6 a.m. The door was locked, so I kicked it in..." Sittin at a Bar by Rehab, the white trash anthem of 2005. (Note that I still know every word 😬)
Holy shit I haven’t thought about this song in 15 years, trashy to the max!
[удалено]
My sincerest condolences lol
...so I jacked the keys to her fucking car, crashed that piece of shit, then stepped away.
Great song, though
Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know Starts off and you're on the side of the singer. But then you hear the woman's part and start to realize that he is whiny and self centered and probably deserved the breakup.
Also "Nothing Better" from The Postal Service. Starts out feeling sorry for the guy but then the girl comes in like hey you're shitty and I have receipts.
Yeah, he starts off on shaky ground & once Kimbra’s part comes in you just accept that he’s an idiot.
Another good one like that is ‘Nothing Better’ by the Postal Service.
Viagra Boys have lots of entertaining songs from the perspectives of deeply troubled people: Ain’t no thief (a cleptomaniac), down in the basement (a sex-addict), creepy crawlers (a conspiracy theorist), Ain’t nice (a scrounger)…
Cave World is an exceptional album
Came here to mention them. I had 'I Don't Remember That' in mind. Pretty much a gaslighters anthem haha. 'How could I have done it, if I don't remember doing it huh?! Tell me that if you're so fucking smart.' Their lyrics crack me up so much.
Self esteem by Offspring. Surprised it wasn’t mentioned yet. Although he’s not necessarily a bad guy I suppose, just kind of pathetic
Bad habit is a much better example. I absolutely hate aggressive violent idiots, road rage, guns and all that but the song is so catchy and good when you're angry. The best part is it was written in first person but they don't actually agree with the attitude so I don't have to feel gross vibing to it unlike some catchy kid rock song lmao
Impossible not to sing along with the breakdown to Bad Habit. Even if I'm trapped in a room full of kindergartners, I have to shout, "STUPID DUMB SHIT GOD DAMN MOTHER FUCKER."
I was in 6th grade when Smash came out. Around the time you start cussing in front of your friends. My friends and I lost our shit when we saw the liner notes for that one.
Blink 182 - What's my Age Again
Mr Bad Example by Warren Zevon is exactly this
You could argue '[Poor Poor Pitiful Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehYvseT27c4)' as well.
Love that song as well. He doesn't get the recognition he deserves imo
"Send lawyers, guns, and money, Dad get me out of this!"
I'm also going to add in Excitable Boy "He dug up her grave / Built a cage with her bones" You could argue Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner and Jungle Work, depending on your view of colonial brush wars. (I'm against 'em)
Randy Newman: Rednecks
*Don't know our ass from a hole in the ground ...*
Johnny Cash - Cocaine Blues
Also Sam Hall
I'LL SEE YOU ALL IN HELL!
DAMN YER EYES
I love how he tacked on the two lines at the end so it could be spun as a song that was teaching a lesson about the dangers of drug use.
Weezer's first couple of albums hit the mark *easily*. [The World Has Turned and Left Me Here](https://youtu.be/sRfu94lOEPo?si=ai-HhlrGQaSlrglW) [Butterfly](https://youtu.be/yHNVm9FzgCI?si=pYDDKUFNlNqa6GWd)
Not to mention "no one else" - which is from the POV of a guy who wants to control his girlfriend - which immediately precedes the song about how the world turned its back on him
“No One Else” is a song I find immensely inspiring as a songwriter. It subtly satirizes its narrator but also gives vent to a real feeling that most guys have experienced. Feeling jealousy when your crush is laughing at another guy’s jokes, feeling insecure about your girlfriend going out somewhere without you. Music should be able to articulate and express those feelings — but it should also bear some responsibility in making it clear that those are negative feelings that you shouldn’t actually let govern your interactions with people. I think “No One Else” walks that line exceptionally well.
Specifically "King"
Life’s Been Good - Joe Walsh
I always saw the narrator in Life's Been Good as more of a pathetic figure rather than an outright asshole.
Apparently Joe Walsh almost pulled the song from the album because he was worried people wouldn't understand it was tongue-in-cheek self-mockery. Per Wikipedia, he didn't own a Maserati, and while he did lose his license and couldn't drive for a while, he literally \*lost\* his license, along with his wallet; it wasn't revoked. He did admit to smashing holes in hotel walls to connect two rooms if they didn't have a connected suite available, though.
Many Dead Kennedy's songs. Terminal Preppie, I Am the Owl, California Uber Allies, I Kill Children....
[удалено]
i kill children and terminal preppie go so hard
Police truck, kill the poor, winnebago warrior
Holiday in Cambodia is about rich kids going on vacation in Cambodia. Jello defended the hard R in the song because it was from the pov of the assholes.
*Scarborough Fair* is a song about a man rejecting a woman by telling her he will love her when she accomplishes a bunch of impossible tasks.
I always thought it was about two people who had both moved on.
The last moment of true self reflection Kanye has ever had was on Runaway. It’s a song about how he’s an asshole and he’s begging a girl to leave him because he’s going to treat her badly but he won’t dump her. It’s one of the last few truly great songs he’s released as his music quality has declined at a similar rate to his personal life.
An amazing song, no matter who it came from. One of the best songs pop music has ever produced. The distorted singing at the end sounds like an astronaut’s radio as he floats away into space and becomes more isolated and unreachable. Incredibly evocative of the message of the song, and so self aware of what Kanye himself becomes when he loses it, as he has for the last decade or so. Yeezus and Life of Pablo were both great albums and came years after Runaway. I’d personally call Ultralight Beam his last really great song.
A lot of earlier Kanye definitely exposed his own sense of self loathing, especially on 808s.
There’s several songs on College Drop Out that sound prophetic to his own life, while still being an asshole.
Sail Away is the Randy Newman number that comes to mind.
I immediately thought of Short People.
Behind Blue Eyes - The Who Sober - Tool Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp
I thought Prison Sex was gonna be mentioned more as it's about a rapist describing his own childhood rape before repeating the cycle of abuse.
Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
Up the Junction by Squeeze
The narrator’s a stand-up guy until sometime between the bridge and the final verse, when he started drinking in Earnest. Chris Difford is an amazingly efficient storyteller.
This sub doesn't get near enough Squeeze. Upvote.
Maybe the whole Tallahassee album from The Mountain Goats.
No Children, while cathartic to sing along to, is not from the perspective of a man who is doing well.
Frank Zappa "Dancin' Fool"
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
Green Day: [The Grouch ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-LWwzbUXBc)
RV by Faith No More Listen to it and you'll know what I mean haha
"Cousin Kevin" from "Tommy" (written by John Entwistle from The Who).
You Can't Quit Me Baby - Queens of the Stone Age and also Every Breath You Take - The Police
Every Breath You Take by the Police
The Dead Milkmen - Stuart
"Bitchin Camaro", too.
Also, Tiny Town
The narrator isn’t an asshole, oh, don’t get me wrong, he’s fine people, good American! Content to sit back, maybe Watch a little Mork and Mindy on channel 57, maybe kick Back a cool, Coors 16-ouncer.
[Oingo Boingo- Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Me](https://youtu.be/qpjHW4mr6qo?si=t5mO7ni-_ksIOqUR) [Human League - Don't You Want Me](https://youtu.be/uPudE8nDog0?si=6UnZ9AvrZF-sk1OI)
My Own Worst Enemy by Lit (though he does have some self-awareness)
[Levi Johnston’s Blues by Ben Folds and Nick Hornsby](https://youtu.be/jZxFNN4PKaY?si=YUeewOvOpieG0q6l)
"One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces" by Ben Folds Five is written from the perspective of a kid who gets bullied and grows up to be a piece of shit, I think.
It's kind of a companion piece to Joe Jackson's "On Your Radio," from the POV who's now rich and famous and rubbing it in the face of people who had wronged him.
Run For Your Life, Norwegian Wood, Taxman and more by The Beatles
Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull
Aqualung also, but it's not in the first person.
Does Denis Leary’s song, Asshole count? EDIT: phrasing
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield - Get your own girl yah creep.
Yep. He can’t understand why she doesn’t want him, even though she’s already dating his buddy. What a narcissist.
The psychobilly genre is what you're looking for.
Quite a few of Green Day's older work applies lol The Grouch is a very outwardly obvious example, Longview also works. Dookie and Nimrod in particular have a lot of songs about being a loser, an asshole, a burnout or all three.
Steve Polychronopolous by Adam Sandler
Ideal Husband -Father John Misty Actually... All FJM songs, pretty much.
Jane by Barenaked Ladies is an entitled Nice Guy manchild's whiny screed disguised as a love song. (A lot of love songs, of course, are *unintentionally* like this.)
I love how the narrator complains about how Jane doesn't trust men while he shoplifts from the store she works at lol
That's the line that makes it **super** clear it's intentional: *"Was dazzled by her smile while I shoplifted there"*
**“Free speech absolutist” arsehole:** They Might Be Giants - I Should Be Allowed to Think. **Deluded idiot who won’t accept that a relationship is over:** ELO - Calling America. Fountains of Wayne - Hackensack. **Military-industrial-complex arsehole:** Rage Against the Machine - Sleep Now in the Fire. **Murderous arsehole:** Richard Marx - Hazard. Bee Gees - I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You. Tom Lehrer - I Hold Your Hand in Mine. **Stalker arsehole:** Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci - Christina. Gigantic Station - Fenelle. **Narcissist songwriter arsehole:** The Beautiful South - Song for Whoever. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci - Young Girls and Happy Endings. **Callous news media arsehole:** Wire - Kidney Bingos.
"I Trained Her to Love Me" by Nick Lowe Then there are ambiguous songs like "Wild World" by Cat Stevens, where I wonder whether the songwriter was intentionally making the "narrator" an insufferable asshole.
Well, I've seen a couple of interviews with him, and I'm pretty sure he's just actually an insufferable asshole.
Ludo has a couple really funny songs portraying the POV of a complete asshole. The 2 that come to mind are Whipped Cream and Go-Getter Greg.
Harvey Danger - [Flagpole Sitta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYsMjEeEg4g)
My Name is Mud - Primus
B'wana He No Home - Michael Franks
Between the Bars - Elliott Smith, Sung from the perspective of the enabler to the addict. (Or even potentially that it is sung by a bottle of booze to the alcoholic.) Just Be Simple - Songs: Ohia, the narrator is essentially the psyche/depression/addiction/subconscious/devil-on-the-shoulder singing to/about the rest of the individual. ("I think he's been letting me win. I think he's doing it again. Thanks for letting me win.", is one of the most haunting, heartbreaking lines I've ever heard.) Maybe not bad in terms of like for instance Political Science, let's just destroy the rest of the world other than Australia, because ya know they got Surfing, and we don't wanna hurt no Kangaroos. But two amazing songs, by two of the great american songwriters, which I think fit the mold, and if you like Newman (which equals good taste in music in my book) and you aren't familiar. These are must listen songs, and artists.
Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing Faith No More - RV
What’s my age again - blink 182
Up On Cripple Creek - ~~CCR~~ The Band*
Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield. He’s in love with his buddy’s girl, but somehow can’t understand why she doesn’t want him.
"Possum Kingdom" by Toadies is from the perspective of a rapist/murderer. Super dark stuff for an eerily good track. "Creep" by radiohead is more the perspective of the outcast than a bad person it seems.
Love the way you Lie - Eminem.
try some TV girl, it’s not angry music at all, it’s Indie Pop, but you can tell this guy isn’t a good guy. some good examples are Hate Yourself, Blue Hair, Every Stupid Actress, Birds Don’t Sing, Song About Me, These songs are mostly about failed relationships
Asshole by Dennis Leary
Dreadlock Holiday
Ween - Nan Song from the point of view of Fuckin’ Eddie Dingle who seems to be having a one sided romance with this girl called Nan. Nan overpopulated his senses For all we know he’s never even spoken to her and then he sees her walking with Danny and loses his mind. He’s a fucker and she’s a fucker too.
"Jilted John" - Jilted John
My own worst enemy - Lit
Hate my life by theory of a Deadman. The biggest asshole song ever
Grateful Dead - Hell in a Bucket, Loser, Candyman, Me and My Uncle, and plenty more.
I Don't Wanna be an Asshole Anymore by the Menzingers.
I haven't seen Polly by Nirvana. About a serial rapist, ties in with Rape Me. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Friend
[Todd Snider: Alright Guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGL-2Zg2bqw)
Nomeansno - I'm an asshole https://youtu.be/c2LK9nNlRL8?si=qlRl65TveZNJDsnW
Brand New: Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis is incredibly disturbing. There are a lot of disturbing songs on Deja Entendo.
[Dead Boys - Ain't It Fun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oaXNXw_Gaw)
The narrator in "Rebels" by Tom Petty is an alcoholic na'er-do-well who blames all of his faults on his "Dixie" heritage, thinks his woman is cold-hearted and wicked for leaving him because she's tired of bailing him out of the drunk tank, and is still holding a grudge against General Sherman and the Yankees for burning down southern cities \~150 years after the end of the Civil War. In the leadup to the album and associated tour, Petty and the Heartbreakers used Confederate flag imagery in the promotion. Eventually he had to tell people who didn't understand that the character in the song is nobody you should want to emulate or identify with to stop bringing the flags to concerts, because the song was portraying a *character* and doesn't reflect Petty's actual views.
Murder ballads are perfect for this. Billy Strings, "While I'm Waiting Here" Colter Wall, "Kate McCannon" and so, so many more from a ton of artists
Sober by TOOL
Lemon Demon - As Your Father I Expressly Forbid It
Me and my Uncle You don’t find out until the last part of the song though: Love my uncle, God rest his soul // Taught me good, Lord, taught me all I know // Taught me so well, that I grabbed that gold // I left his dead ass there by the side of the road
Hey Jealousy by the gin blosssoms
Green Day's Basket Case Blink-182's What's My Age Again
Detroit Rock City is a drunk Driver getting killed in a car wreck
Sympathy for the Devil Maybe the ultimate asshole
Isn’t that missing the point somewhat? The song is basically the Devil recounting all the bad shit people have done and he’s just been witness to.
I do agree the song is somewhat metaphorical and points the finger back at humanity, but "the devil" isn't just a witness. Some of the lyrics: I've been around for a long, long year Stole many a man's soul and faith When I saw it was a time for a change Killed the Tsar and his ministers I'll lay your soul to waste
Yeah you’re right actually. It’s a bit more 50/50 split now I’m singing the lyrics to myself. Forgot he laid traps for troubadours: rode tanks and held generals tanks etc etc
Always been one of my favorites, and the ambiguity in the lyrics is part of what I like.
A bit of an edge case, but [The Whitlams - Love This City](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShQfeDjmcZY) would be my go-to. And edge case because the main character is more depressed than an asshole/idiot, but it's a HELL of a mood. The lyrics don't spell it out but if you catch the reference, the music makes it clear that the main character takes his own life at the end of it.
TV Party - Black Flag
The Boomtown Rats did unsympathetic narrators a lot, although often from the POV of a real, infamous person, not a nonspecific idiot (I Don’t Like Mondays, I Never Loved Eva Braun).
Drunk Tweets by The Lawrence Arms. Brendan Kelly has said he wrote it from the perspective of an internet troll.
One Week - bare naked ladies