Sonic attacks: 10 top diss tracks that waste no words

As a child in the 1970s, I was at the mercy of my parents’ musical whims. Luckily, both of them were (and still are) fans of music, but their tastes, as well as those of the various music programmers at Phoenix radio during my formative days, left a lasting impact on my musical soul. 

I have a soft spot for certain songs and performers that don’t make any sense to me, other than, “I listened to this as a kid.”

Case in point, I have always loved the song “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon. So much so, in fact, that I have the 45 RPM 7” in my collection, as well as a weird K-Tel-style compilation that I bought because of the song, as well. It’s a great song.

It’s also a somewhat legendary example of what is cleverly known as a “diss track.” Thanks to a friend telling me how great the new Lily Allen record is, I decided to check it out after hearing about it at a show a few weeks ago. Apparently, it’s basically her tearing apart her ex, “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour.

It started me thinking about this idea of musicians ripping into the people in their lives who have fucked them over in some way. 

Here is a non-linear look at the diss track and how music, and sometimes other forms of art, have been used as a weapon:

‘You’re So Vain’ by Carly Simon (1972)

Not the first track by far and not the last. It’s just the first one I knew about. Over the years, it has been revealed that Simon was writing, at least partially, about a relationship she had with the actor Warren Beatty; however, the singer has also maintained that the song is about two other men. Mick Jagger has been speculated as being one of the other subjects, since he sings backing vocals on the track, but Simon denied this. 

In fact, Simon has had a ton of fun toying with people about just who the song is about and that, in itself, is super fun. It’s also a great song, and those timeless lyrics: “You probably think this song is about you, don’t you, don’t you” still resonate emphatically. Either way, the words are pointed, like sharp sticks, and whoever the subject of the song really was probably winced more than once before turning it off (or maybe up) when it came on their radio.

‘West End Girl’ by Lily Allen (2025)

Now, whether or not Allen’s record, “West End Girl,” will swim in the same musical ocean as Simon’s “You’re So Vain” is neither here nor there. Both are examples of the type of pop music that was (and currently is) successful in their time, so they could probably share a cabana. The timing of Allen’s release is pretty fantastic considering Harbour is involved with promoting the eagerly awaited final season of his previously mentioned hit streaming show.

Songs like “Sleepwalking,” “Madeline,” and “P***y Palace” are both great and excellent examples of talking serious shit via song. I don’t know if I’ve enjoyed a straight-up “Fuck you” song as much as “Pussy Palace” (there, I said it) since 1995’s “Yes, I’m Starting Shit!” by The Fleshies. Kudos to Allen, though, really. “West End Girl” is not my usual cup of tea, but it’s pretty damn good. 

“Pussy Palace” got me thinking, though, about songs like “You’re So Vain,” and I was wondering how long this has been going on. What I found out was that people have been talking shit through art forever. Somewhere, there is a piece of art in a cave somewhere dissing someone for cheating on them. 

2 Corinthians — Apostle Paul — The New Testament (55 CE)

You need not look further than the Bible, for example, for an early example of a diss track. People love (no pun intended) the Apostle Paul’s beautiful words about love in 1 Corinthians, but when he goes off on “Super Apostles” in 2 Corinthians 11-12, it’s easy to see where people might have gotten off on the idea that it’s okay to drop a little truth bomb via verse on someone you don’t dig. 

“5 I do not think I am in the least inferior to those super-apostles. 6 I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. 7 Was it a sin for me to lower myself to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you.“

(Okay, two things: I guess this makes diss tracks okay for anyone to do, and secondly, I have now quoted the Bible for the first time in the New Times.)

L.H.O.O.Q (1919) by Marcel Duchamp

The art world has seen its fair share of diss tracks, and like “You’re So Vain,” they aren’t all directed at just one individual. Marcel Duchamp drew a cool moustache on a postcard of the Mona Lisa and called it “L.H.O.O.Q.,” which, when you say that phonetically in French, makes it sound like you are saying, “She has a hot ass.” He wasn’t necessarily talking shit to Leonardo da Vinci (or maybe he was), but he was certainly thumbing his nose at the art establishment in his time. Diss in French is also diss, by the way. 

‘How Do You Sleep?’ by John Lennon (1971) 

John Lennon took aim at his famous writing partner and former bandmate, Paul McCartney, with “How Do You Sleep?” while the two were engaged in a contentious court battle after The Beatles decided to disband. The second verse is particularly caustic:

“You live with straights who tell you, you was king/Jump when your momma tell you anything/The only thing you done was yesterday/And since you’ve gone you’re just another day.”

The double entendre of using the word “Yesterday” was particularly rich. At the time of the release, McCartney was reportedly hurt by it, even though some fans might feel like he fired the first shots in his album, “Ram,” which came out in May 1971, three months before “Imagine.” I’d like to imagine a world where these two talented songwriters got into a lengthy diss track battle, especially once punk rock came around; sadly, it never came to be. 

‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols’ by  Sex Pistols (1977)

Most of the tracks on the Sex Pistols genre-influencing debut record, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols,” are diss tracks. Whether they were poking fun at the New York Dolls on “New York” or their one-time record label, EMI, on “EMI,” Johnny Rotten (aka John Lydon) was taking the piss out of anyone he could and setting the tone for not only the first wave of punk, but wave after wave to come. Talk about a person’s tone of voice conveying disdain, Lydon set the standard for rolling “Fuck you” into his intonations like Antonio Banderas rolls his R’s. 

‘No Vaseline’ by Ice Cube (1991)

This may be the motherfuckin’ grandaddy of all diss tracks. There is literally no holding back here. Ice Cube goes after his former N.W.A. bandmates Easy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella and their manager, Jerry Heller. Kinda like Allen’s “P***YPalace,” one of the best things about “No Vaseline” is that the song absolutely makes you bop your head, too. It’s ugly and crass, racist and homophobic. Still, it is a masterclass in telling people exactly what you think with zero apologies and definitely a track that will never be a hit single. 

It’s also a situation where it was one of those two-hit fights people used to joke about in high school. Ice Cube hit his former bandmates, and they hit the floor. Unlike numerous other diss battles in the hip hop world, there was never any real response to Cube’s savage attack. 

Multiple songs by Drake and Kendrick Lamar (2024 and earlier)

Switch a few words around, and you could be talking about MAGA vs. the Democrats when it comes to the long-standing feud between rappers Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) and Kendrick Lamar (Kendrick Lamar Duckworth). Accusations of pedophilia, sex trafficking, and domestic abuse are at the heart of a decade-plus battle of “wits” between the two rap titans. From an outsider’s view, it seems like Lamar is getting the best of his fellow Grammy winners, but it also feels like this battle is still just getting going. Drake, who is from Canada, may have the last laugh in the border crossing battle with his American counterpart.

Check out Drake’s “Push Ups” and Lamar’s “Not Like Us” to get a taste. Admittedly, neither of these songs is going to ever crack my personal rotation, but I had to throw in some more current disses. 

‘Hiss’ by Megan Thee Stallion and ‘Big Foot’ by Nicki Minaj (2024) 

There is part of me, while listening to “Hiss” by Megan Thee Stallion that makes me long for the bad girl/good girl dissing of Loretta Lynn on “Fist City” and Dolly Parton on “Jolene” when the country legends talked mad shit to people trying to steal their men, it wasn’t a battle, but at least these were good songs. The war between Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj is wrapped in a blanket of narcissistic posturing and shock tactics. 

I know a lot of people like “Hiss,” but there isn’t a lot to work with in terms of a beat. At least “Big Foot” has a bit more of a beat, but that’s not staying much. As a non-fan, I would say that Minaj’s diss leaves a bigger and more interesting mark, but when you look at how the music world reacted, “Hiss” is a much more popular song. Call it a draw? Honestly, who cares? People love talking shit, don’t they? 

Bonus: A local storm is brewing between Playboy Manbaby and Bright Sunshine. Will diss tracks ensue?

Recently, local favorites Playboy Manbaby announced they were going to stop being Playboy Manbaby the band and become the Playboy Manbaby Corporation. It’s a clever tactic, for sure, but for the last several years, the East Valley band, Bright Sunshine, has been doing their own clever and rockin’ as hell brand of corporate rock. I feel a diss war coming.

Earlier this year, Bright Sunshine released a powerhouse record, “Executive Power Supreme,” with pithy lyrics and pummeling beats. If you’re a fan of heavy music, you need to hear it. On January 6, no less, Playboy Manbaby Corporation will release “Violence.” Talk about timing. With clever guys barking, the two business-minded bands should be ready to battle. 

How awesome would it be for these two bands to go head-to-head in a corporate cage match to see who is the most professional of them all?

Bright Sunshine could write something like, “Cease and desist, Playbabies!” and Playboy Manbaby could come back with “What’s so bright about sunshine?” Get to work, boys. Bring the diss war to the local scene and march those metaphors into battle.