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Best and worst album titlesThe U.K. website Digital Spy recently put together a list of what they consider to be the top 10 worst album titles of our times. Much as I like Alanis Morissette, I'm not really inclined to disagree with their choice of her Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie at No. 4. But some of their other selections seem a bit baffling: Michael Jackson's HIStory: Past, Present and Future – Book I may have been a disappointment as a collection, but I don't really see much wrong with the title. And I doubt many people would have made the connection that Digital Spy makes between Beyoncé's B-Day and the French word bidet (for non-Europeans: the meaning of that word is too gross to explain here). Somehow I feel that the fact that they made that connection says more about Digital Spy than it does about Beyoncé. Their list got me thinking, though, and I've come up with some of my own worst (as well as best) album titles. To start with the worst: Christina Aguilera, Stripped (2002)
Ironically this is actually one of my favorite albums that I own, and the strength and range of the tracks gave me serious respect for Aguilera. But the title makes me groan. (As does the cover artwork with the crotch lacing on her jeans made to look like pubic hair.) It makes me want to say: "Christina. You're young, beautiful, and have a killer voice. You don't actually need to try so desperately hard to make people think you're sexy." George Michael, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael (1998)
Since Americans usually refer to their lavatories as "restrooms" rather than by the British euphemisms "Ladies" and "Gents," they may have missed the oh-so-hilarious title reference to Michael's tabloid-friendly 1998 arrest in a Los Angeles men's lavatory. To which I can only say: lucky them. Dusty Springfield, Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty (1965)
Maybe it's a sign of my obsessive cleaning propensities, but this title — along with The White Stripes' Icky Thump (2007) and the Sugababes' Angels With Dirty Faces (2002) — doesn't really do it for me. Look, I like things clean, OK? Not dusty, icky or dirty. Westlife, Allow Us To Be Frank (2004)
It seems to me that this title just begs you to reply, "No." And when what this cheesy Irish boy band is asking for is permission to rip off one of my favorite singers, Frank Sinatra, then "no" is actually what I'm inclined to reply. Robbie Williams, Rudebox (2006)
I cannot think of any conceivable situation in which a 32-year-old man referring to his pelvic area as a "rudebox" would be endearing. Now, to some of my favorites: t.A.T.u., 200km/h in the Wrong Lane (2002)
In a brilliant review of the album written back in 2003, the Village Voice's Dennis Lim referred to this title as "a clumsily poetic evocation of apocalyptic teenage confusion," and I'm inclined to agree. (He also referred to Julia and Lena as "the lezzies from the Bloc," which — even if it shouldn't — still makes me giggle). Fiona Apple, When The Pawn hits the conflicts he thinks like a king, what he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight, and he'll win the whole thing before he enters the ring, there's no body to batter when your mind is your might, so when you go solo, you hold your own hand, and remember that depth is the greatest of heights, and if you know where you stand, then you know where to land, and if you fall it won't matter, cuz you know that you're right (1999)
Digital Spy actually lists this as one of their worst titles, but I think they're insane. I mean, yes, it's sort of one of those things that sounds incredibly profound when you're 12 and maybe seems not quite as impressive later on. But still … "there's no body to batter when your mind is your might." I'll take that as my inspiring thought for the day, thanks. Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982)
In an excellent BBC audio documentary made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album's release, Thriller songwriter Rod Temperton revealed that the album almost wound up being called Midnight Man. I think we all can agree that the final title was better. And, wow, did the songs live up to that title. ABC, The Lexicon of Love (1982)
Maybe it's the English student in me, but I can't resist a pop album title with the word "lexicon" in it. Natalie Imbruglia, White Lilies Island (2001)
I haven't actually listened to a single song on the album, but the title takes me to a happy, floaty place. As, of course, does looking at Natalie Imbruglia. Simon and Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
I can't be the only person in the world with the recurring feeling that my life is full of troubled water, and that I would just love for someone to come and put a bridge over it. (And if that person should happen to be Scarlett Johansson, well then … so much the better). Bruce Springsteen, Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)
In the album's title track, Bruce tells the woman who's dumped him that if she wants him, he's easily found: "Tell her there's a spot out 'neath Abram's Bridge,/And tell her, there's a darkness on the edge of town." If a girl dumps me, I'm more likely to be found in a sulk on the edge of my bed, but Bruce's way sounds much sexier. What are your favorite and least favorite album titles? Submitted by on April 7, 2008 - 4:00pm. |
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Stripped
I actually don't have much of a problem with Christina's 'Stripped', but that may be because I had heard the title and knew the content of the songs before I saw the actual cover.
If you take away the cover of the album then the title makes perfect sense.
Christina's 'Stripped' is by far one of my favorite albums ever.
The Way The Cookie Crumbles
No Borders AllowedStripped
I have to agree, the title is less Aquilera trying to be sexy and more a comment on the content of the album, which is a fairly profound criticism on her history - her laying it bare - 'stripped'. I agree that combined with the album cover it suggests something else, but I would but that down more to her agents marketing her as a sexual object (sadly), but the title itself is perfect.
The end of the intro:
'so here it is, No hype, no gloss, no pretense, Just me
Stripped'
(presumably where the title came from) is actually written in the front of my journal.
Oh and it is a great album!
Stripped
Yeah my thoughts exactly, I've never thought of it in sexual terms in relation to this album, I actually think it's a really accurate, appropriate title, always have.
As for Beyonce and B-Day, I agree with Digital Spy on that one, I heard the title on the radio before I saw it written and had a total WTF moment before I realised it was B-Day not Bidet. Oh, and I'm not in Europe either.
I strongly disagree with a lot of your picks for best titles but I don't have the time to argue those right now besides opinions are a personal thing, I guess we all have our reasons. I will just say that White Lilies Island as a title always annoyed me no end, it would probably go on my worst titles list if I had one.
Off topic, but where did you
permission to giggle
maybe it's because i am a child of the 80's who never could choose one of the new kids to crush upon (guess we all know why now.) maybe i just like a good pun.
no matter the reason -- "lezzies from the bloc" is fucking hilarious.
the road less traveled
I really like "Greatest hits: the road less traveled" by melissa etheridge, I guess because I'm literal like that. I also like "songs about jane" by maroon 5. I agree with you on thriller, that was the perfect name for the album. I can't think of any other good or bad titles right now... I'm not sure wheter "escapology" by robbie williams is really good or just boring. at first, I didn't know what it meant, which is a minus point to me because I think a title should be international to some extent.
"Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from." ~ Jodie Foster
Okay, I must admid you are right..
Chocolate-covered Starfish in Hotdog Flavored Water.
I don't know anything at all about the album, but the title was STRANGE.
'Yes, I Am' couldn't have been more appropriate or timely!
Honourable mention
For pompousness for Terence Trent D'Arby's first three opuses (opi?):
Let's see...
Best:
Soviet Kitch - Regina Spektor
The Repulsion Box - Sons and Daughters
Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike - Gogol Bordello
Super Melodrama - DeVotchka
If You're Feeling Sinister - Belle and Sebastion
Dig, Lazarus, Dig - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (actually most of his albums - Henry's Dream, Abbatoir Blues, Murder Ballads- have pretty good titles.)
Yes, Virginia... - The Dresden Dolls
Is This Desire? and Uh Huh Her and White Chalk - PJ Harvey
Worst:
Hang on Little Tomatoe - Pink Martini
Icky Thump - The White Stripes (I agree)
Tigermilk - Belle and Sebastion
What's the time Mr. Wolf? - The Noisettes
hmm...there are lots but my
hmm...there are lots but my favorites are
"LIFTED: or the story is in the soil, keep your ear to the ground" - Bright Eyes
"I'm wide awake it's morning" - Bright Eyes
"The Devil and God are Raging inside me" - Brand New
"Descended Like Vultures" -Rogue Wave
"In Our bedroom after the war" -Stars
those are my favorites i guess =D
favorites ...
I'm too happy to concentrate on the numerous album titles I've scoffed at over the years ... but here are some of my favorite titles ...
Stones in the Road - Mary Chapin Carpenter
Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen (seeing him in concert tonight!)
Lawyers in Love - Jackson Browne
In Violet Light - The Tragically Hip
Private Dancer - Tina Turner
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case
Boys for Pele - Tori Amos
Californication - The Red Hot Chili Peppers
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always our self we find in the sea
Good choices
Let me add two more for the worst album titles. Also, these are listed among the worst album covers and I completely agree.
I don't even know who this is... But yes, the title is Back to the Sh*t
Nasty.
_________
LOL @ the second one
All Relationships Are Doomed to Fail
Van Halen
OU812
and
I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head for Making Me Live in this Dump by Shivaree
My favorites...
Some of my favorite albums titles are :
Dusk & Summer-Dashbaord Confessional
One Cell in the Sea-A Fine Frenzy
Strange and Beautiful-Aqualung
Jagged Little Pill-Alanis Moresstte.
The one I dislike is Peaches' Album F**********r.
I believe all Americans who believe in freedom, tolerance and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation. "-Coretta Scott King
I like all these albums,
I like all these albums, the titles however...
Best:
Logic Will Break Your Heart - The Stills
Fur and Gold - Bat for Lashes
Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan
Human After All - Daft Punk
Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock - Harry and the Potters
Hissing Fauna, are you the Destroyer? - Of Montreal
Hail to the Thief - Radiohead
Worst :
Whatever people say I am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys
Crackers International - Erasure
Dookie - Green Day
FutureSex/Lovesounds - Justin Timberlake
Good News for People who Love Bad News, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Saddness - Smashing Pumpkins
love your taste :D
love your taste :D last.fm?
I definitely agree with
I definitely agree with "Stripped." I didn't like the title and I didn't like any of the music videos that came from that album. The girl's got a voice and serious vocal style - I don't know why she seems so compelled to cheapen herself like that.
I loved the album "Dizzy Up The Girl" by the Goo Goo Dolls when it first came out, but I always hated the title.
I love Stereolab's "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" - but wtf kind of title is that?
Titles I like:
Kaki King - ". . . Until We Felt Red." Probably because ever since I learned what synaesthesia was, I've wished I had it.
Metric - "Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?"
PJ Harvey - "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea"
Beth Orton - "Daybreaker"
Rilo Kiley - "The Execution of All Things." Because I like the double entendre.
Stars - "In Our Bedroom After the War"
YES to Kaki King and YES
YES to Kaki King and YES to synesthesia - how absolutely amazing would that be?
People have great taste in music here.
Some of my favourites:
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Bell Orchestre - Recording a Tape the Colour of Light
Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost
Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Harder
Metric - Grow Up and Blow Away
Veruca Salt - Eight Arms to Hold You
Tori Amos' "Boys For Pele,"
Tori Amos' "Boys For Pele," I think has always been an amazing title. Sure, you have to actually know who Pele is (volcanic goddess, by the way), but if you do, it's pretty reflective of the album. The whole thing is a war between the genders. There's tension in the first few tracks, but by Blood Roses, you know the war's begun. Boys For Pele suggests sacrificing boys (not men, difference) to this goddess. Quite empowering, for m, at least.
x Rage More x
Lacuna Coil
BEST:
Lacuna Coil - Karmacode
Missy Higgins - The Sound Of White
Guns N Roses - Appetite for Distruction
John Lennon - Imagine (only one word but it says it all)
Oh i could go on and on.......but i wont
There is no right or wrong....... only popular opinion
Totally agree...
Covers
favorite titles
based solely on title (though they are also good content wise):
dashboard confessional- swiss army romance
fall out boy-infinity on high
jimmy eat world-static prevails
maroon 5- it won't be soon before long
nada surf- the weight is a gift
scanners- violence is golden
she wants revenge
the veils- nux vomica
album titles!
based on a quick scan of my itunes library, these ones i feel are really well titled: i can't explain why.
blonde on blonde - bob dylan
dear catastrophe waitress, if you're feeling sinister, tigermilk, the boy with the arab strap - belle & sebastian
isolation drills, do the collapse - guided by voices
bitches brew, kind of blue - miles davis
music has the right to children - boards of canada
the teaches of peaches, fatherf*cker - peaches
zen arcade - husker du
the hissing of summer lawns - joni mitchell
sticky fingers - the rolling stones
live: from here to eternity - the clash (i've loved the clash's obsession with montgomery clift)
don't like:
brushfire fairytales - jack johnson
dancing in the dragon's jaws - bruce cockburn (oh god, seriously?)
feminist sweepstakes - le tigre (makes me sad, but i've never liked this title and i don't know why)
in rainbows - radiohead
who will cut our hair when we're gone? - the unicorns
geogaddi - boards of canada
i share the general hate for the title icky thump by the white stripes.
special mention:
all of of montreal's albums walk a fine line between quirky and unique and just WAY TOO MUCH QUIRK. i could do a breakdown of each studio album, compilation and EP but they have so many... i'll briefly just say i love the titles for sunlandic twins; hissing fauna, are you the destroyer?; adhil's arboretum; and cocquelicot asleep in the poppies. plus the gay parade. but these ones are just wayyyy too much or are otherwise really annoying: satanic panic in the attic; the bedside drama: a petite tragedy; horse and elephants eatery (no elephants allowed):the singles and songles album; deflated chime, foals slightly flower sibylline responses; the bird who ate the rabbit's flower; the bird who continued to eat the rabbit's flower. ugh.
bad album covers
For a little thrill, check out this museum of bad album covers:
http://www.zonicweb.net/badalbmcvrs/hallofsh13.htm
Have a nice day everyone!
Woohoo
Thanks for that link!! Now I want to find this one and frame it: http://www.zonicweb.net/badalbmcvrs/lesbian.jpg
Although this one is worth it too: http://www.zonicweb.net/badalbmcvrs/queen.jpg
And that one: http://www.zonicweb.net/badalbmcvrs/livingwithlesbians.jpg
album titles
i like:
All We Know Is Falling - Paramore
Beautiful, Angelic, Parasite - 16 Stitch
Fashion Nugget - Cake
Take this to your Grave - Fall Out Boy
Escape Artists Never Die - Funeral For A Friend
Don't Like:
Chuck - Sum41
Hotel Paper - Michelle Branch
Tommyland - Tommy Lee
Good titles
Belle & Sebastian are always interesting. Tigermilk, If You're Feeling Sinister, The Boy With The Arab Strap, Fold Your Hands Child/You Walk Like A Peasant, Dear Catastrophe Waitress.
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country, Underachievers Please Try Harder
The Blow - Paper Television
Bikini Kill - Pussy Whipped
Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls
The Kills - Keep On Your Mean Side
The Knife - Silent Shout
The Spells - The Age Of Backwards
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
The Ramones - Rocket To Russia
Good ones
that spring to my mind:
Nico - All tomorrow's parties
Lee Hazlewood - Cowboy in Sweden
Kettcar - Von Spatzen und Tauben, Dächern und Händen
Lucinda Williams - Car wheels on a gravel road
Pulp - Different class
Funny van Dannen - Herzscheiße
Leonard Cohen - Ten new songs
The Magnetic fields - 69 love songs
Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
2raumwohnung - Kommt zusammen
icky thump
The title is derived from "ecky-thump", a Lancashire colloquial response of surprise, popularized by an episode of the 1970s UK comedy series The Goodies.
taken from wikipedia
It's still a sh*t title though..
And All Because The Lady
And All Because The Lady Loves (check out their MySpace profile) was a band form Newcastle, England and they released an album called "Anything but a soft centre". I kind of like the image that conjures up of a boiled sweet with a hard centre. It also relates to the songs that may have sounded all friendly and acoustic but were in fact quite poignant in their social commentary. They were compared to the Indigo Girls but I suppose ANY dou of two women and acoustic instruments gets that millstone around their neck.
http://www.bunnyfactor10.com
Origin of Symmetry
Some of my faves:
Minutes to Midnight - Linkin Park
Yours Truly, Angry Mob - Kaiser Chiefs
Stand Still, Look Pretty - The Wreckers
Black Holes & Revelations - Muse
and my favourite:
Origin of Symmetry
I love Fiona Apple's 'When
I love Fiona Apple's 'When the Pawn...'. Also, 'Extraordinary Machine' is pretty cute, I think.
I also like Alice Smith - For Lovers, Dreamers & Me (makes me think of Kermit The Frog).
My personal favorite has to be Sarah McLachlan's 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy'. All her album titles are amazing, but that one's just the best.
Sketches for my sweetheart, the drunk..
all time favourite:
Sketches for my sweetheart, the drunk - Jeff Buckley
and some classics:
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band - the beatles
Never Mind The Bollocks: Here's The Sex Pistols
"Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups"
I completely agree with
I completely agree with anything that slags off Westlife! Woo! I bloody hate them!
Best album titles I own:
The Spirit Room - Michelle Branch
Pet Your Friends - Dishwalla
...And You Think You Know What Life's About - Dishwalla
Thrown To The Wolves - Four Star Mary
Healthy in Paranoid Times - Our Lady Peace
Worst titles I own:
The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet - Guided By Voices
Employment - Kaiser Chiefs
Take Off Your Pants and Jacket - Blink-182
scream if you wanna go faster
by
Mrs. BatmanGeri Halliwell is both the best and the worst title.I know the worst Band name is Jack Off Jill