- Glass Onion: One of the features of Miles Bron's island house is a "dong" noise that goes off every hour, which Bron claims he got Philip Glass to write for him, to which Birdie asks, "Who's Philip Glass?"
- Will from If I Fall, If I Die makes organ compositions that involve repeating the same three-note motif for as long as his fingers can manage, which he compares to Philip Glass.
- P.D.Q. Bach's piece "Prelude to Einstein on the Fritz" parodies Philip Glass's style with the string section playing five-finger exercises, the piano playing Johann Sebastian Bach's "Prelude in C major" from The Well-Tempered Klavier at double speed, and a bass voice (presumably Peter Schickele) chanting "Koy-hotsy-totsy". This got Approval of God, as Philip Glass was classmates at Juilliard with Peter Schickele, although Glass's wry response to being asked was "Et Tu, Brute?"
- Emo Phillips, during his Live at Hasty Pudding days, performed a parody of Einstein on the Beach called Einstein at the Beach.note In it, Einstein makes a fool of himself trying to woo a sunbathing woman, and then ninjas show up. Glass gave Emo permission to perform the parody.
- Canadian figure skater Matthew Markell performed to Étude No. 2 for his short program
during the 2018-2019 competitive season.
- Glass appears as a character in David Ives's short play Philip Glass Buys A Loaf of Bread, which spoofs Glass's repetitive musical style.
Other
- A popular "Knock Knock" Joke among music nerds:Knock knock!
Who's there?
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Philip Glass.
