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3 Hit Rock Songs Written out of Spite to Satisfy a Record Label’s Lust for Radio Singles

Sometimes you can tell when a hit rock song was written as an obligation to a record label because the frustration usually comes through.

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Occasionally, you can hear a hit song and just tell it was written out of spite because a record label wanted a mainstream single. Here are three examples of hit rock songs where that’s precisely what happened.

“pork and Beans” by Weezer

Weezer released “Pork and Beans” on their 2008 self-titled album, known as The Red Album. It would go on to become a hugely popular hit, despite the fact that it was presented to the band’s label out of spite. The execs at Geffen Records wanted a more commercial single, which didn’t go over well with Rivers Cuomo. “I came out of [the meeting] pretty angry,” he told Rolling Stone at the time. “But ironically, it inspired me to write another song.”

The main riff of “Pork and Beans” came from something Cuomo had written a decade prior. Upon its release,........

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