I'm not asking what the best or coolest album is. I just want to focus on title of album--Disregard quality for the time being, if possible. What is the best album title? Liking the title doesn't necessarily mean you like the album. Here are some of the best album titles of all time:
Disraeli Gears by Cream
Eponymous by REM (Clever, no?)
Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin
Icky Thump by The White Stripes
Viva Hate by Morrissey
And here is the dumbest album title of all time:
Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Stadium Arcadium is also very dumb. I would say the Chili Peppers have the most disparity between album title quality and quality of album.
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is a very memorable title by The Who. Back in Black is also cool in the context of AC/DC. Tigerlilly is an extremely apt title for Natalie Merchant's album, but not a stand out in terms of being cool.
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I always liked Counting Crows "Films About Ghosts" because it comes from a line in a song on one of their previous albums that says "Memories are films about ghosts" and it is a Best-Of album.
ReplyDeleteYou have unleashed my inner-album hunter!
ReplyDeleteEmerson Lake Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
Guns 'n Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Ween - Chocolate and Cheese
John Mayer - Continuum
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Bright Eyes - Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Cake - Fashion Nugget
Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
David Bowie - Space Oddity
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Methadrone
Robert Plant - Mighty Rearranger
Muse - Origin of Symmetry
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
South Culture on the Skids - Plastic Seat Sweat
U2 - Rattle and Hum
Ween - Shinola
The Crystal Method - Tweekend
Dance Fever.
ReplyDeleteBecause there is DANCE, and there is also FEVER.
UNSTOPPABLE.
Here are some album titles I've liked:
ReplyDeleteYo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Evan and Jaron - We've Never Heard of You, Either
Spirit - Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
Barney Kessel - Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By
Harry Chapin - Verities and Balderdash
Hall & Oates - Abandoned Luncheonette
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
Terence Trent D'Arby - Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby
Elton John - Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Secret Machines - Now Here is Nowhere
Peter Gabriel - So
King's X - Gretchen Goes to Nebraska
Son Volt - Okemah and the Melody of Riot
Tripping Daisy - I Am an Elastic Firecracker
Tears For Fears - Songs From the Big Chair
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
The Kinks - Lola vs. the Powerman & the Money-Go-Round, Pt. 1
Midnight Oil - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
INXS - Shabooh Shoobah
The Rain Parade - Emergency Third Rail Power Trip
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
John Cougar Mellencamp - Uh-Huh
Kansas - Leftoverture
Joe Walsh - The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get
Tom Tom Club - Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom
Yaz - Upstairs at Eric's
The Offspring - Ixnay on the Hombre
Neil Diamond - Tap Root Manuscript
Visible Wind - Barb-a-Baal-a-Loo
The Woodentops - Wooden Foot Cops on the Highway
The Aliens - Astronomy For Dogs
You figure if the title can be that imaginative, the songs must have some originality to them too.
"smell the glove"- Spinal Tap
ReplyDelete"fumbling towards ecstasy"- Sarah McLachlan
"kamakiriad"- Donald Fagen
"so"- Peter Gabriel
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
ReplyDeleteOf Montreal.
Maybe people would respect Raffi more if he had more kick a** album titles.
ReplyDeleteI like Shins titles--Oh, Inverted World, Chutes Too Narrow, Wincing the Night Away.
ReplyDeleteThat's all I got.
I am totally agreeing with these suggestions. Especially So, Shaboo Shoobah, and Uh-huh. Perhaps my taste leans toward the concise album title?
ReplyDeleteThe Shins always have intriguing and cool titles.
There should probably be a separate category for quirky and/or clever album titles.
It is really hard to discuss without talking about album quality. For example, I really want to suggest Nevermind by Nirvana. But is Nevermind really that great of a title or is it just a great album?
What about the debut album of James? You know...."Laid"? That title is sort of embarrassing and so apt for puns and jokes. Not that I would ever stoop so low.
ReplyDeleteI love Kings of Convenience album title Quiet is the New Loud.
ReplyDeleteHow about "Good News for People Who Like Bad News" by Modest Mouse. Another good one is "Naked Baby Photos" by Ben Folds Five. "Exile in Guyville" Liz Phair, also a classic title.
ReplyDeleteLong time ago, I went to an REM concert. (around the time of Green). Michael Stipe said that they wanted to name their first album "Cat Butt" but were pretty sure that would have nixed their cred. I think it would have been awesome!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, "Stereopathetic Soulmanure" by Beck.
ReplyDeleteBrushfire Fairytales - Jack Johnson
ReplyDeleteMudslide Slim and the Blue Horizon - James Taylor
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Court and Spark - Joni Mitchell
After the Gold Rush - Neal Young
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. - Jason Mraz
Bookends - Simon and Garfunkel
Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain
ReplyDeleteDepeche Mode - Playing the Angel
eels - Beautiful Freak
Oasis - What's the Story, Morning Glory
The Nudes - Velvet Sofa
The Ocean Blue - Cerulean (brilliant!)
Barenaked Ladies - All Their Greatest Hits (it couldn't be anything else!)
Sort of on the same topic, but Blender Magazine just came out with the worst band names of all time. They had The Beatles on there. Now, it's not secret I don't like The Beatles, but the worst band name? I can at least admit it is creative and unique.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many of them! I'm particulary fond of "universal" album titles, like the "( )" album by Sigur Ros or what's commonly referred to as the "White Album" by The Beatles. But here's a list of pretty interesting ones:
ReplyDeleteSongs from a Room - Leonard Cohen
Songs of Love and Hate - Leonard Cohen
Silence Is Sexy - Einstürzende Neubauten
Blood On The Tracks - Bob Dylan
Voyage Sans Retour - Malice Mizer
Les Chants Magnétiques - Jean-Michel Jarre
Music for Films - Brian Eno
Liebe ist für alle da - Rammstein
Three Imaginary Boys - The Cure
Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder
...And then we were three... - Genesis
Heaven or Las Vegas - Cocteau Twins
The Moon and the Melodies - Cocteau Twins
Music of my Mind - Stevie Wonder
Ultraviolence Über Alles - CNK
In the Wee Small Hours - Frank Sinatra
The list could go on and on forever.
I've always thought "Presence" by Led Zeppelin was an amazing, single word name for an album. I've always liked single, iconic album names, and that's a suitably vague one.
ReplyDeleteOther notables:
OK Computer (Radiohead)
Welcome to the Machine (Pink Floyd)
Michael Nesmith - Infinite Rider On the Big Dogma
ReplyDeletePeter Case - The Man With the Blue Post Modern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar
ReplyDeleteDirk Hamilton - Yep!
Badfinger - Ass
Kinky Friedman - Under the Double Ego
Swamp Dogg - Gag a Maggott
Tonio K - Ole
Ian Hunter - You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic
Todd Rundgren - The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect
Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby
Sexy Sadie - It's Beautiful, It's Love
Marshall Chapman - Mellowicious!
Jo Jo Gunne - So...Where's the Show?
Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti
Hirth Martinez - Hirth From Earth
Eric Matthews - It's Heavy in Here
Alice Cooper - Zipper Catches Skin
Dirk Hamilton - SEXSpringEVERYTHING
Jimmie Spheeris - The Dragon is Dancing
Wendy Waldman - Which Way to Main Street
Swamp Dogg - I Called for a Rope and They Threw Me a Rock
Lowell George - Thanks, I'll Eat it Here
George Duke - I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry
Marah - Let's Cut the Crap and Hook Up Later on Tonight
REO Speedwagon -- "You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish"
ReplyDelete