Awful puns/neologisms as album titles

Seeing the Fran Healy title - Wreckorder - in the worst album covers thread reminded me how much I hate that kind of title: Eargasm, Amorica, Californication. They reveal something deathly about the artist, both pretentious and dim. Which are the worst?

Gah. Please move to ILM.

Hey! Can't you see I'm squatting here?

not quite the same as your examples, but Shit Robot just put out an album called From the Cradle to the Rave, which I think is an excellent pun

Public Enemy: Revolverlution, bad enough, was followed by New Whirl Odor.

Revolverlution's the kind of thing I had in mind - so much misguided thinking squashed into a single word.

I find the longer ones easier to forgive, like Phats and Small's legendary Now Phats What I Small Music. There's a certain knowing goofiness to extended puns whereas the one-word ones tend to think they're making a point.

Public Enemy: Revolverlution, bad enough, was followed by New Whirl Odor.

Don't forget these for both preceded by Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age, which is even worse.

This should be on the REO Speedwagon C/D page. See also: Megadeth.

The worst album covers thread also has Telephantasm (Soundgarden) and, ick, Wonderlustre (Skunk Anansie).

Melon Collie etc.

just now saw this thread for the first time -- moved to ILM

Thanks WmC

http://blog.kexp.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/beatles_whitealbum.jpg

wow, i only just got californication.

Blink 182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket

that one is kind of hilarious because it fits the blink aesthetic -- also it was an album for 15 year old boys

REO Speedwagon - You Can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tuna Fish

Also:

http://static.stuff.co.nz/1277879723/169/3871169.jpg

See also:

Justin Timberlake - Justified

Ozzy Osbourne - Ozzmosis

etc.

Ministry has a few "lol joek" titles:

The Land of Rape and Honey
Dark Side of the Spoon
SphincTour
The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste
Houses of the Molé

justified is awful

Butthole Surfers - Hairway to Steven

what are those public enemy albums even like? Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age is an awesome title imo. nb: i haven't heard any public enemy.

Genesis - From Genesis to Revelation

well maybe not awesome but i appreciate the effort, and there's so much of it xp

what are those public enemy albums even like?

Muse Sick = excellent

Revolverlution = ehhh it's okay

New Whirl Odor = flush it

Butthole Surfers - Hairway to Steven

― more than ever convinced ilxor is a sock (ilxor), Thursday, October 14, 2010 3:51 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

this is pretty hilarious

George Strait - Strait to/from the Heart (which is it? I forget...)

OH GOD

Deep Purple - Purpendicular

Talking Heads - No Talking Just Head

No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom

also every ska record ever (or should I say, every ska SKAcord SKAver)

I didn't even get "Tragic Kingdom" was a play on words 'til last year. I was 13, I thought it was a cool & evocative title that said "everyone feels as sad and shitty as you, even pretty blonde girls."

Nelly Furtado - Whoa Nelly!

HIStory would probably be the top-selling example, if it counts (can the emphasis of certain letters in a word by capitalization constitute a pun?)

Gary Glitter - Touch Me

(lolz in retrospect)

Miss E... So Addictive

(off topic, and there's probably already a thread on it, but what about stuff like Fresh Cream or Who's Next, do those count? seems like those kind of titles were fairly prevalent in classic rock)

Snopp Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle

Half Man Half Biscuit are good/ awful for this kind of thing (delete according to taste):

Trouble Over Bridgewater
Back in the DHSS
Achtung Bono

FWIW, I think they're national treasures and hope they keep on punning.

Tony Banks - Bankstatement

Further minus points for also having a terrible literal album cover.

Snopp Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle

don't forget Tha Doggfather!

Hour of the Bewilderbeast: everything annoyingly twee and kooky about Badly Drawn Boy, in one album title.

Incesticide (always hated this title)

An Australian singer-songwriter Fergus Brown, named his album Burgers Frown, which was more awesome than awful. Still, depends on your patience for that kind of humour.

NoFX - The War on Errorism
Carter USM - 101 Damnations

Jello Biafra - The Audacity of Hype (although I have to admit a sneaking admiration for that one)

I didn't notice Take Off Your Pants and Jacket was a pun until seeing it on this thread and saying it out loud five times.

I still don't get Tragic Kingdom.

They're from California, home of Disney's "Magic Kingdom." It's a stretch.

A Salt with a Dealy Pepa

Tongue in Chic

Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins

There's A Whole Lalo Schifrin Goin' On (we have a winner!)

Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins

This one's great ^^

Music criticism edition:
"White Blood Sells: Race and the White Stripes' Moment in the Sun"
"The Revolution Will Be Harmonized"
"Appropriate for Destruction"
"Remains of the Day-O"
"Imperfect Sound Forever"
"The Syncher, Not the Song: The Irresistible Rise of the Numa Numa Dance"
"Joy Division: An Ideal for Listening"

I still don't get "Tragic Kingdom" either.

Or is it supposed to be a play on "Magic Kingdom"?

Nick Lowe - Bowi

!!! - myth takes

Nick Lowe - Bowi
wrong thread, i suppose

Nick Lowe - Bowi

.....and The Rumour -Max

Or is it supposed to be a play on "Magic Kingdom"?

― MarkoP, Thursday, October 14, 2010 5:49 PM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark

believe so

well, they're from Anaheim too, so there's that

feel like I'm talking into the wind here

one supposes that if they were from Valencia they might've called the album Six Flags Tragic Mountain

The Presets - Apocalypso
Van Halen - OU812

still don't understand how 'take off your pants and jacket' is a pun

Take Off Your Pants and Masturbate

oh ok that doesnt cross the channel very well

Looks like somebody needs a chunnel!

Anniemal
Intensities in Ten Cities
Chef Boy-R-U-Dumb
Art Official Intelligence
Edutainment
The Ecleftic (2 Sides 2 A Book)
Tormato
Hi Infidelity
Hail to the Thief
The Ego Has Landed
Supersadomasochisticexpialidocious
Infrared Riding Hood
Electric Landlady
Older... Budweiser

snoop's first album title is classic, wtf

Take Off Your Pants and Masturbate

This should be the real album title ^^

Would be A+++

Especially if it were a Radiohead album.

One I genuinely like is The 25th of May - Lenin & McCarthy. No better title for a group of scouse Marxists.

http://culturapoliticademocratica.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/supergrassalbumart1.jpg

lovely album.
crap title.

PREGNANT PAUSE
A beautiful selection of New Age harp music by Cheryl Gallagher especially created for relaxation, enjoyment, and stress relief during pregnancy, child-birth, lactation, and as an aid in parenting and child development. Pregnant Pause is an excellent childrens' product, a perfect baby gift, and an excellent calming influence for both mothers and children during high-stress times such as car rides, bed time, and the pre-dinner blues.

Nick Lowe - Bowi

This one is a little too clever for its own good. If you recall David Bowie had an album come out in '77 called Low, so this is was response to that. Just for reference, his greatest hits collection was called something like 16 All-Time Lowes. He does have an album called The Abominable Showman, which was pretty true to its title.

Some of my favorites:
Let's Wrestle - In the Court of the Wrestling Let's: Definitely one of the most awkward puns (?) of all time
The Orb - too many to count: U.F. Orb, Orbsessions, Orbus Terrarum, Orblivian, etc. etc.
Deathray Davies - just the name of the band is a pretty neat/awful pun
Kinks - All their early albums - Kinkdom, Kinda Kinks, Kink-Size, the Kink Kontroversy, huh huh huh

Nick Lowe - Bowi

This one is a little too clever for its own good. If you recall David Bowie had an album come out in '77 called Low, so this is was response to that.

...as the Rumour's Max was a response to the 'Macs Rumours

it took me like a year to get Take Off Your Pants And Jacket

Take off your pants and jack it??

http://www.plong.com/MusicCatalog%5CC%5CCandy%20Dulfer%20-%20Saxuality%5CCandy%20Dulfer%20-%20Saxuality.jpg

Neil Young: Le Noise

Produced by Daniel Lanois

How about Licensed To Ill?

Although I kinda like that one.

Don't forget the Boston band Green, who released an album called "R.E.M."

Yeah Take Off Your Pants and Jacket took a little bit for me too, I just remember seeing the video on MTV a lot and just one day thinking, "what an odd album title...oh"

drukQs

I don't get "drukQs"

Ads around glasgow at present for -

Red hot chilli pipers - Music for the kilted generation

http://www.redhotchillipipers.co.uk/MusicForTheKiltedGeneration/tabid/98/Default.aspx

Fun-Da-Mental had a couple of terrible ones:
With Intent to Pervert the Cause of Injustice
All Is War (The Benefits of G-Had)

I had Mercury Rev's "Yerself Is Steam" for years before the "I see what you did there" moment - not that awful given some of the examples here.

I don't get "drukQs"

"drug use"

Another one from a terribly-named band: Propagandhi - Supporting Caste

A brutally bad one from The Steppes. Love the band but ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8i6Cl2YNI6c/SUmjIoenfCI/AAAAAAAAATE/i7ce5II50-k/s320/03.jpg

Thanks. I tried saying "drukQs" aloud several times and never managed to hear it. Now I don't get "Yerself is Steam." (I *did* get the Blink 182 one right off the bat, though. I don't think that's actually their joke, FWIW).

The band name "The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy"

(who, accoring to their Wikipedia page, were associated by genre with others of the time, including House of Pain and Pop Will Eat Itself!

Now I don't get "Yerself is Steam."

"your self esteem"

never mind album titles, what about band names - King L being one i like to remember whenever i need a laugh.

Vapors - New Clear Days (refuse to pick up this lp despite hearing it's decent as I can't get past the name)
Snoop - Malice N Wonderland (*yaaawn*)
Will Smith - Willenium (....)

Vapors - New Clear Days (refuse to pick up this lp despite hearing it's decent as I can't get past the name)

See also AR Kane - New Clear Child

AR Kane - New Clear Child

Hah way to beat me by 9 seconds!

You snooze, you lose.

Don't forget the Boston band Green, who released an album called "R.E.M."

They're from Chicago!

(I used to work with the lead singer.)

Ministry - Dark Side of the Spoon

Which is actually quite funny, I think.

White Lion - Mane Attraction

My poor fingers! Gag reflex just typing that.

o_0 @ ppl not getting Take off Your Pants and Jacket. From the band whose previous album was called Enema of the State, ffs.

ugh, so many of these make me want to die or kill

even the ones that are great records, like Hairway to Steven

In the contemporary classical arena, composer Milton Babbitt is the unrivaled master of terrible punning titles. Among his worst:

Four Play (a title that, regrettably, has been used by numerous others too)
My Complements to Roger
Sheer Pluck (Composition for Guitar)
The Joy of More Sextets
Whirled Series
Beaten Paths for solo marimba
None But The Lonely Flute
Septet, But Equal

There's also a whole string of comparatively sober titles that are actually puns on mathematical concepts (Partitions, Ensembles, Reflections, Images, Canonical Form).

Talking Heads - No Talking Just Head

― more than ever convinced ilxor is a sock (ilxor), Thursday, October 14, 2010 8:56 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

not a talking heads album -- the pun is the whole thing here. david byrne kept them (i think it was credited to THE HEADS? anyway, it was weymouth/franz/harrison) from using the name. it's a little dumb, but it would have been dumber as a talking heads record title.

i think it was credited to THE HEADS?

yes. not a terrible album tho -- I like the track with Andy Partridge on it, anyway...

Most of Greg Kihn's albums:

Next of Kihn (1978)
Rockihnroll (1981)
Kihntinued (1982)
Kihnspiracy (1983)
Kihntagious (1984)
Citizen Kihn (1985)

Babylon And On

And the visual puns accompanying Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/17/3a/f21e228348a072a5e1f55110.L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

those stupid milton babbitt titles always irked

never mind album titles, what about band names - King L being one i like to remember whenever i need a laugh.

I don't get this one??

not gonna lie, i found most of the items itt to be hilarious.

King L = "fucking hell"

re King L : the band were on a major label as well (post Danny Wilson outfit for Gary Clarke, before he formed Garbage soundalike, Transister, another puntastic band)

The Presets - Apocalypso

Mental As Anything - Apocalypso

NOFX -- Punk In Drublic

Along the same lines, I'm quite sure there was a punk band with a song called "Punk and Disorderly", but I can't remember exactly.

Bola - KS
Bola - Soup
Bola - Mauver
Bola - Gnayse

don't forget a bowl of yew tea!

never mind album titles, what about band names - King L being one i like to remember whenever i need a laugh.

― mark e, Friday, October 15, 2010 4:23 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark

CunninLynguists

Paul, how could you forget All Set?:P This stuff just makes me love Babbitt even more.

There are a million jazz records that are puns on the musician's name.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss51/tr_fudge/9c8eac888d16f489c29dbb5cbdc.jpg

on top of the prodigious wordplay here i once used it to pun on "jazz canon" (someone mispelled it cannon iirc) ...lol!

Blink 182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket

― more than ever convinced ilxor is a sock (ilxor), Friday, October 15, 2010 4:45 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark

this is a classic classic album title fuiud

http://cdn.7static.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/004/191/0000419164_350.jpg

CunninLynguists

― thistle supporter (mcoll), Sunday, October 17, 2010

And Caravan's Cunning Stunts now that you mention it.

the fox - for fox sake

pretty racy title for 1970

xpost - Sundar, I forgot All Set -- not sure if I'd class it among the esoteric math puns and the regular-language puns.

and or

Virgin Fugs

is that a pun? or just a terrible album name. either way

Gucci Mane Jewelry Selection (presumably a pun on Jury Selection, and it's not a bad title)

another sax-related one, I'm afraid:

Sparks - Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins

Dodgy - Free Peace Sweet

Oh shit, just noticed that the Sparks one has been mentioned before on the thread. Sorry.

Have we had Ramsey Lewis' Tequila Mockingbird?

One I genuinely like is The 25th of May - Lenin & McCarthy. No better title for a group of scouse Marxists.

just dug out this album and gave it a spin expecting it to suck,
and yeah, it's easy to rip into their EMF/Jesus Jones groove,
however, there is a track, 'why?' that uses news snippets re hillsborough from the time that hits really hard.

two decades later it occurs to me that Digital Underground's Future Rhythm is a pun

It is?

Stevie Jackson - (I Can't Get No) Stevie Jackson

I can't decide if the band name Neil Young and the Restless is really a cheesy reference to the soap opera or just a coincidence.

Double pun going on here - trombone and bossa nova? Bill Watrous With the New Bill Watrous Quartet, "Coronary Trombossa!" Also good of the Bill Watrous Quartet to allow him to play with them.

https://img.discogs.com/oYw-kCMAeVUBL7S4pcoBNO9hoiI=/fit-in/600x596/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-3508393-1333226488.jpeg.jpg

shocking. hanging's too good.

xxxxp Future Rhythm = Futurism, with a lisp

two decades later it occurs to me that Digital Underground's Future Rhythm is a pun

― Οὖτις, Thursday, September 13, 2018 6:09 PM (one month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It is?

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Thursday, September 13, 2018 6:46 PM (one month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Like a lisping 'futurism'?

Like it? I love it! Thanks, I'm here all week.

Kid 606 - It’ll Take Millions in Plastic Surgery to Make Me Black

Skyclad – Oui Avant-Garde A Chance

Oof

Don't know if this counts because it's: (a) the name of the band, and (b) arguably actually pretty non-awful, but it was years before I realised that Hayseed Dixie was a play on AC/DC.

The name is non awful until you find out that it's a pun and then it becomes awful.

X - Hey Zeus!

Pitbull - Rebelution

Not only a bad pun, but a useless one - Rebel, Revolution, it's already the same thing dude.

Aren’t “b” and “v” sounds also kind of interchangeable in Spanish?

Yes

Scott B. Sympathy - Neil Yonge Street (1990)

Would've had Morrissey down as an offender here, but can only think of his video compliation Hulmerist.

John Robinson – Funkshui

fits adjacently but i always get a smile out of beaucoup fish's uk-centric working title: tonight matthew, i'm going to be underworld. a hyper online producer shrouded in "y2k aesthetics" may wish to revive that one.