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Spoon — The Underdog
Album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Avg rating:
6.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1820









Released: 2007
Length: 3:40
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Picture yourself in the living room
your pipe and slippers set out for you
I know you think that it ain't too far

But I hear the call of a lifetime ring
felt the need to get up for it
oh you cut out the middleman
get free from the middleman

You got no time for the messenger,
got no regard for the thing that you don't understand,
you got no fear of the underdog,
that's why you will not survive!

I want to forget how conviction fits
but can I get out from under it?
Can I gut it out of me?
It can't all be wedding cake
It can't all be boiled away
I try but I can't let go of it
Can't let go of it,

Cause you don't talk to the water boy
and there's so much you could learn but you don't want to know,
You will not back up an inch ever,
that's why you will not survive,

The thing that I tell you now
It may not go over well
And it may not be photo-op
in the way that I spell it out

But you won't hear from the messenger,
don't wanna know bout something that you don't understand,
You got no fear of the underdog,
that's why you will not survive!
Comments (180)add comment
"It can't all be wedding cake
It can't all be boiled away"

Pretty much sums it up.  Great song off a great album.

 Proclivities wrote:

I guess that depends on how much one wants to be reminded of Billy Joel.  Generally, I seldom wish to be reminded of him, since during my high school years, his music was distressingly unavoidable.  This tune doesn't make me think of him, or any of his songs in particular, but we all hear (or choose to hear) different things.




I quit supporting him once I learned he fired all his band members, hired them back to tour then dropped them again so he could keep all the profits.  The drummer was painting house interiors in the off times to make ends meet (house painting is an honest profession btw). I turn his music off or skip when on RP.
See the doc on this, don't take my word for it.
 Proclivities wrote:

I guess that depends on how much one wants to be reminded of Billy Joel.  Generally, I seldom wish to be reminded of him, since during my high school years, his music was distressingly unavoidable.  This tune doesn't make me think of him, or any of his songs in particular, but we all hear (or choose to hear) different things.



Reminds me of this documentary about 'hired gun' supporting musicians. Worth watching for many reasons, not least because of the way it portrays the relationship between Billy Joel and his band members.  'Hired Gun' documentary, 2017

Hints of Van Morrison and Thin Lizzy
 sirdroseph wrote:

Actually never thought of it before, but this DOES sound like Billy Joel.  However I mean that as a compliment.  Haters.


I can hear the Billy Joel sound in the horns,  but Billy would have the piano in the front of his sound.  This song has no keyboards that I can discern.  A couple of the chord progressions also sound similar to a Joel tune, but that resemblance is insignificant.
 tm wrote:

Spoon is fucking magic…


Spoon or Spooning? Aw hell, it can be both!
Spoon is fucking magic…
I definitely hear the Billy Joel comparisons.
Nice segue from "When Shrimps Learn to Whistle"!  Hat's off to the master, Mr. G.!
soundfs like a Joel fan that is really a paul Simaon fan..,.
Billy Joel WISHES he could pull this off!  Spoon rules!!!
As lizardking wrote:I'm right there with you, Proc - this DOES NOT sound like BJ (lol) at all to my ears....I've had a 9 rating on this track since way back when.  Long Live RP!!
 

I grew up hearing waaay too much Billy Joel and I can't hear any BJ in Spoon. Thank  whoever...
 mobboss wrote:
I see all the comments about it sounding like Billy Joel and am baffled. Not to mention he couldn't write such an anarchistic, subversive song if his life depended on it. Solid 8 raised to 9 because of the haters.
 
maybe he is sounding like Phil Lynott, of Thin Lizzy, " boys are back in town" ?

love that tune, too.
 jayhamiljr wrote:
They can play, and write, and arrange. And they are good enough  to overcome what has to be the 2nd worse singer in rock (Bob Dylan proudly holds the trophy).  Sorry, Britt, you need a new front man... but I can't argue with your success. 
 
Nah....Dylan wouldn't accept a trophy so there's no way he's holding it ;-)

 Solanus wrote:
Image result for the tick spoon


 
That's hilarious. Not having seen this, I posted, I swear, the EXACT same Tick pic on a different Spoon song.
They can play, and write, and arrange. And they are good enough  to overcome what has to be the 2nd worse singer in rock (Bob Dylan proudly holds the trophy).  Sorry, Britt, you need a new front man... but I can't argue with your success. 
We all hate the top 40 from high school it aint their fault.
Actually never thought of it before, but this DOES sound like Billy Joel.  However I mean that as a compliment.  Haters.
I see all the comments about it sounding like Billy Joel and am baffled. Not to mention he couldn't write such an anarchistic, subversive song if his life depended on it. Solid 8 raised to 9 because of the haters.
Love Love Love This
horns just make rock songs better
 Proclivities wrote:

I guess that depends on how much one wants to be reminded of Billy Joel.  Generally, I seldom wish to be reminded of him, since during my high school years, his music was distressingly unavoidable.  This tune doesn't make me think of him, or any of his songs in particular, but we all hear (or choose to hear) different things.


 
I'm right there with you, Proc - this DOES NOT sound like BJ (lol) at all to my ears....I've had a 9 rating on this track since way back when.  Long Live RP!!
I love how my wife and I got our kids hooked on this song and then...it showed up in Spider-Man: Homecoming. 

We're geniuses. 
 Solanus wrote:
Image result for the tick spoon

 
{#High-five}
This is interesting.
Decent even. Good enough for occasional rotation on my list, but not too heavy.
Yep, just following along.  Thought it was Billy Joel, too.
Sounds more like the Waterboys that Billy (meh!) Joel. But Spoon is original.{#Music}
 number7 wrote:

I don't like it because it sounds like Billy Joel.
However I didn't give it the Zero.

 
Sounding like Billy Joel is what makes it good. 7, for being a bit of a rip-off, but an able one.
 jhorton wrote:
OMG. I always thought this was Billy Joel!

Doesn't change the zero rating I gave it on first listen! 

 
I don't like it because it sounds like Billy Joel.
However I didn't give it the Zero.
Image result for the tick spoon


 Lemonhead wrote:
{#Dancingbanana}

 
I want to be your friend...
{#Dancingbanana}
Sounds good....for two listens.
thank you {#Bounce}

and i love the lead singer {#Whipit}   
OMG. I always thought this was Billy Joel!

Doesn't change the zero rating I gave it on first listen! 
I like Spoon, but this song?....not so much. It's ok, but not as good as Spoon can be. I do hear the continual reference people are making with the Billy Joel sound. Yeah...it doesn't help this song in the least.
My favorite Billy Joel song.  Oh, wait...  what?
 moonsaura wrote:
is it me or does this tune remind anyone else of billy joel? (don't throw anything at me, k!)
 
Unfortunately, me too.
Really dislike Mr. Joel.
Ruins this song for me.
 moonsaura wrote:
is it me or does this tune remind anyone else of billy joel? (don't throw anything at me, k!)
 
I guess that depends on how much one wants to be reminded of Billy Joel.  Generally, I seldom wish to be reminded of him, since during my high school years, his music was distressingly unavoidable.  This tune doesn't make me think of him, or any of his songs in particular, but we all hear (or choose to hear) different things.


 dewhead wrote:
Just came on here to say this reminded me a lot of Billy Joel but I see that several people beat me to the punch. Not that sounding like Billy Joel is really a bad thing...
 


Yes, it really IS a bad thing.
I'm pretty sure the trumpet player is the same guy who performed with Poi Dog Pondering back in the day. Sounds exactly the same, and the timeframe fits.

Thanks Bill....you made my Monday....{#Bounce}


I swear I thought this was Thin Lizzy....not a bad influence to have for sure
..Thin Lizzy,only which one...{#Ask}

edit after scrolling; peeps thinking Billy J,well Okey but I still hear a Lizzy song....

Uggggh, not over soon enough..... I have a low tolerance for blaring horns.  {#No}
I really, really like Spoon and was really excited to hear them open for MMJ this summer.  However, they seemed, not sure how to say it, like a little band in a big place maybe?  I can't really explain it, they just didn't sound as awesome as I thought they would.  Maybe a big amphitheater is not a place to see them or maybe being the opening act doesn't allow them to put out the necessary equipment.  Still, dig them and will try to catch them in a smaller venue.
 sharkey wrote:
Who started this Joel s..t. WTFC's. Spoon is Spoon & they work for me. Why do u all have to compare everything. Can't u all judge every act on it's own merit. JFLGIU
 

Because those of us with a memory longer than a few weeks or months note similarities in songs.  And the older you get the more it happens.  It's not a judgment on Spoon to get worked up about, it's just a casual comment.
I like this band, but I heard that the lead singer is a bit of a diva.  I know someone that caught his KGSR appearance at Threadgill's on ACLFest weekend.  He showed up late, only played a few songs and that was it.

Spoon - The Underdog, Live

"There´s so much more beauty in thist than it seems superficially apparent at first glance. This song is summing up something very important. As far as I am concerned, that´s what popular music is all about. The fact that this group and this music has´nt been discovered yet on a broader scale, says a lot about the state of the music industry and so little about the talent we are exposed too here.!!! Beautiful! "  sertuerner

 

"I point these guys out to people that say beatles era rock is dead. "      2008Messenger




 tinamarie wrote:
have I heard this before? does it sound like some other song? or do I just like the horns?! Or was it used in SCRUBS??

 
It's over 3 years old and according to wikipedia "was used in the movies 17 Again, Cloverfield and I Love You, Man as well as the How I Met Your Mother episode "Spoiler Alert"."

So yeah, you prolly have heard it before.
LIKE!
 tinamarie wrote:
have I heard this before? does it sound like some other song? or do I just like the horns?! Or was it used in SCRUBS??
 
Maybe you read about it in Private Eye's Me and My Spoon column. "Has anything amusing ever happened to you in connection with spoons?" 

Mute
have I heard this before? does it sound like some other song? or do I just like the horns?! Or was it used in SCRUBS??

Spoon has got to be the funnest band out there now!{#Dancingbanana}
My local grocery store used to play this song all the time, keep me bopping through the aisles!{#Lol}
 lbaltz wrote:


Definitely hear the Billy Joel thing. But its a great song and they surely have their own unigue groove going...
 
Yep - "O-only the good die young..." {#Bananajam} (Why isn't there a horn-playing banana?)

 tdola2 wrote:
God I hate this song...
 
 
Seriously!
 moonsaura wrote:
is it me or does this tune remind anyone else of billy joel? (don't throw anything at me, k!)
 

Definitely hear the Billy Joel thing. But its a great song and they surely have their own unigue groove going...
At the beginning, I was liking it, but then I started doing something else and thought, what's that annoying sound in my ears. {#War}
 moonsaura wrote:
is it me or does this tune remind anyone else of billy joel? (don't throw anything at me, k!)
 
Totally Billy Joel.  You're not the only one.

Still quite groovy {#Dancingbanana}
is it me or does this tune remind anyone else of billy joel? (don't throw anything at me, k!)
God I hate this song...
 
Can't believe this only is rating at 6.8 - what a great song I gave it a 9
8 > 9... Spoon is just Awesome!
This guy always sound like he needs a good nose blow—but it REALLY works for him. Dig the Spoon!

YAY! What a feel good song this one is!{#Dancingbanana_2}


I like!{#Jump}
                                                       {#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananajam}{#Dancingbanana}{#Drummer}

and a hansom lead.......
 {#Bananapiano}

{#Sunny}

Makes me want to get up and dance around the room! 
{#Bananajumprope}{#Jump}{#Bananasplit}
i like the way this guy moves when he plays guitar

 sharkey wrote:

Why do u all have to compare everything. Can't u all judge every act on it's own merit. JFLGIU


 

Well said sharkey.

Monkeysdad wrote:
I'm sold, gonna get this one! Anyone else hear smacks of Nick "The Jesus of Cool" Lowe in their material?
YES! I completely thought this was Nick Lowe!
High gas prices always seem to bring us another Billy Joel
Who started this Joel s..t. WTFC's. Spoon is Spoon & they work for me. Why do u all have to compare everything. Can't u all judge every act on it's own merit. JFLGIU
Hey guys, it's okay to admit that you once liked Billy Joel..no need for the forced indignation and disgust.
Hey, anyone notice that this sounds a little like Billy Jo----
jhorton wrote:
Sounds like Billy Joel, minus his meager talent.
No kidding, I would be embarrassed Spoon, this no less than a total rip off. And please, let Billy stay in the 70's. Hum, I guess they're ga ga ga ga ga for Billy Joel
This song is getting overplayed this year everywhere. Tone it down please.
Wow, and here I was thinking that I was really clever in observing that Spoon was channeling Joel on this track.
Sounds like Billy Joel, minus his meager talent.
I'll refrain from saying what I think about this as I'm in a bad mood tonight and nothing sounds good. This might be better next time around.
Rothimus_Prime wrote:
1973.
:)
LIke this band, but this song does sound like that jackass Billy Hole. 1
thewiseking wrote:
exactly when did it become cool to sound like Billy Joel?
1973.
Good song..a bit over played though
exactly when did it become cool to sound like Billy Joel?
ERERER wrote:
Too overplayed. Agreed. Time to park this one for a while.
Totally. Agree. Oh wait, that whole thread started with me! Wow, I've lapped myself. :) This one gets turned down when I hear it.
Too overplayed. Agreed. Time to park this one for a while.
Maybe we should call this "The Overplayed" vs the underdog...
Good song, but I agree. Let's give it a rest for a while.
Ahnyer_Keester wrote:
Good song, getting a little worn out on it though. Can we give it a break for a while?
I second that. I'm tickled these guys are getting airplay, but they're SOO much deeper than this song... I'm torn about the local 'alternative' station playing this one to death...
Yes it sound Billy Joel, but still a make you feel god song i believe
Billy Joel should be suing these morons, like yesterday.
To Billy Joelish for my taste Mostly like the rest of the album, though.
Good song, getting a little worn out on it though. Can we give it a break for a while?
figsout wrote:
for a CD that was this hyped up before and after release, I didn't think it was that good. It was OK
Its good, but not as good as Gimme Fiction, I don't think....
for a CD that was this hyped up before and after release, I didn't think it was that good. It was OK
Candela wrote:
Hadde aldri hÞrt om Spoon fÞr RP, den er bare pang! Ja ;)
Tack vare RP, har jag hört musik jag aldrig skulle ha hört annars. Hej till Norge, som alltid slår oss i skidor!
Wait a minute....we just heard another song off this album exactly three hours ago. I like Spoon, and I like both songs, but that's a little too close together IMO.
I guess everyone else thought the same thing as I did. Total Billy Joel. Alert the easy listening stations.
linden wrote:
Yes! And for that reason, I'd like to hear Spoon cover "Captain Jack." They should just come out of the Billy closet.
I'd certainly listen to that cover.
Marr wrote:
Don't forget that Billy was young and rebellious long before he turned into...... whatever it is he is now. And that young Billy was pretty cool.
Yes! And for that reason, I'd like to hear Spoon cover "Captain Jack." They should just come out of the Billy closet.
mandolin wrote:
...my brain says billy joel - eww!..
Don't forget that Billy was young and rebellious long before he turned into...... whatever it is he is now. And that young Billy was pretty cool.
...my brain says billy joel - eww!..
Kind of tired of this one.
Glockman45 wrote:
I hear an earlier Billy as well.
Ditto!
This always puts me in mind of the Private Eye Spoons column. "Has anything amusing ever happened to you in connection with spoons?" "No!" (Apologies to non-Eye readers :))
Darkmatter wrote:
I love songs that end with a bang!
Hadde aldri hÞrt om Spoon fÞr RP, den er bare pang! Ja ;)
I love songs that end with a bang!
8! :P)
:D :)
I will admit to being on a particularly ugly bender, but in my addled view, this tune has no karma. 3.
Glockman45 wrote:
I hear an earlier Billy as well.
It has that "only the good die young" feel to it.
This band has been consistently good throughout the years. This CD is no different. Their first CD, Telephono (1996), is a must have.
Marr wrote:
I've gotta disagree. The voice may not be identical, but it's close enough to make me think of Billy every time this song comes on. But then perhaps my ears are different.
I hear an earlier Billy as well.
I love this song. Thanks RP for introducing this band to my ears.
xkolibuul wrote:
Wizz, the only thing that is not Billy Joel about this song is the vocals.
I've gotta disagree. The voice may not be identical, but it's close enough to make me think of Billy every time this song comes on. But then perhaps my ears are different.
I was thinking of this song today.. and here it is! Yeeeeay!!