I don’t really care to get into the semantics of post-modernism, so although it may be used in this case by some writers, I’ll stay safe and say that it’s not the precisest terminology. Let’s instead stick to an idea of self-referential songwriting. That is, songs that have lyrics addressing their presence within a song. (E.g., “you’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you.”) Point is…I hate it. I really hate songs that have lyrics talking about the song being presently heard. It’s dumb. Don’t do it. You’ve been warned. Okay, done ranting now.
What I do think is pretty fun (and consider a clever approach to writing) is a song not directly referencing a single song, (as with the answer songs that I had previously written about), but rather addressing the sentiment presented in a wide body of common-knowledge songs. That is, songs that everyone should be familiar with. The only successful attempt that I have heard thus far is Built to Spill’s “You Were Right.” I just came across a lovely live version. Here you go:
Lyrics below. I leave, as an exercise, the task of recalling all of the referenced songs (it’s not necessarily a difficult task).
You were wrong when you said
Everything’s gonna be alright
You were wrong when you said
Everything’s gonna be alright
You were right when you said
All that glitters isn’t gold
You were right when you said
All we are is dust in the wind
You were right when you said
We are all just bricks in the wall
And when you said manic depression’s a frustrating mess
You were wrong when you said
Everything’s gonna be alright
You were wrong when you said
Everything’s gonna be alright
You were right when you said
You can’t always get what you want
You were right when you said
It’s a hard rain’s gonna fall
You were right when you said
We’re still running against the wind
And life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone
You were right when you said
This is the end
Do you ever think about it?