How Much Can You Get From Song Titles, Anyway?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

That's what Nickalicious just asked on the Blur thread and it's a good qn.

Examples please of where you've seen a song title and thought "That will be ace!" or "Uh-oh" and were you right or wrong?

And how important are titles, generally?

― Tom (Groke), Friday, 21 February 2003 15:56 (twenty-two years ago)

"The Action Packed Mentalist Brings You The Fucking Jams" sounds like the title to the best record ever. I have never wanted to ruin this by actually listening to it.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 21 February 2003 16:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not really a fan of one-word titles, though. Especially albums with nothing but one-word titles with as few connotations as possible, like, oooh, the first Sleeper one.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 21 February 2003 16:13 (twenty-two years ago)

The Atomic 7's new album, Gowns By Edith Head, has the best song titles. It's all surfy instro's, so the brains behind the A7 are free to roam.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 21 February 2003 16:14 (twenty-two years ago)

i mean you download
'he's simple he's dumb he's the pilot'
and ' my brother makes the noises for the talkies'
just to hear if they matched up to the brilliance
of the title, but i never did so i dont know what
i'm talking about.

my own point not proven, suddenly
as it occured to me, mid writing sentence.

― piscesboy, Friday, 21 February 2003 17:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Atomic 7 - Gowns By Edith Head (available on Mint Records, if you're wondering, featuring Brian Connelly of Shadowy Men & Phono-Comb)

"Chock Full O' Notes"
"Sexyactioncool"
"Your Ironic T-Shirt"
"She's Got Haggar Party Slacks"
"Day Of The Deadbeats"
"Man With The Golden Card"
"Her Sassy Kiss"
"Theme From Atomic 7"
"Swinger's Ear"
"Cold Black Dead Heart Polka" (number two favourite)
"Save Your Fork There's Pie" (number one favourite)
"Artistry In Nachos"
"Hairbone"
"Seven Stranded Castanets"
"You Ain't Havin Fun Till You're Dialling 911"
"Guitar For Sale"
"Mimi, Queen Of Bathurst"
"Loving Not Gouging"
"Phantom 101"

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 21 February 2003 18:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Born Against, "Well Fed Fuck" = Awesome song

Fat Day, "Ogre Battle 2" = Boring song

― Ian Johnson, Friday, 21 February 2003 19:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm rather fond of Out Hud song titles.

"Emperor Selassie's Morning Wood"
"Hair Dude, You're Stepping on My Mystique"

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 21 February 2003 19:05 (twenty-two years ago)

"Moscow Disco" would have just lain there in the $1 record pile if it hadn't had a cool title -- attract who you want to attract with your title - in this age of filesharing it's the only "packaging" you've got

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 21 February 2003 20:06 (twenty-two years ago)

More than once, I've bought albums based solely on song titles. I just picked up the Ancient Greeks' record used (featuring smash hits like "Freezing Has Made You Hard" and "The Wolverine, Who Has No Friends"). Partly fearing that those titles are the best thing about it, though, I haven't unwrapped it yet.

― Paul Eater (eater), Friday, 21 February 2003 20:40 (twenty-two years ago)

don caballero ownz0rz this thread:

My Ten Year Old Lady Is Giving It Away
If You've Read Dr. Adder Then You Know What I Want
Trey Dog's Acid
Delivering the Groceries at 138 Beats Per Minute
Dick Suffers Is Furious With You
Please Tokio, Please This Is Tokio
Rollerblade Success Story
No One Gives a Hoot About Faux-Ass Nonsense
P, P, P, Antless

and ALL of their last LP:
1. Fire Back About Your New Baby's Sex
2. Peter Criss Jazz
3. Haven't Lived Afro Pop
4. You Drink a Lot of Coffee for a Teenager
5. Ones All over the Place
6. I Never Liked You
7. Details on How to Get Iceman on Your License Plate
8. Lot of People Tell Me I Have a Fake British Accent
9. Let's Face It Pal, You Didn't Need That Eye Surgery

http://smilies.networkessence.net/s/contrib/blackeye/2gunsfiring_v1.gif

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 21 February 2003 20:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Well the first one is so scary I nearly didn't read the rest... but 'No One Gives a Hoot About Faux-Ass Nonsense' is a classy title.

― Zora (Zora), Saturday, 22 February 2003 12:39 (twenty-two years ago)

And how important are titles, generally?

Tremendously important when it comes to my enjoyment of instrumentals (hahaha, I care more about the lyrics even when they're not there! I Am The Anti-Ned)

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Saturday, 22 February 2003 12:58 (twenty-two years ago)

...don't know... but what about NOSEX:
http://www.punk.nu/nosex/ladyfest/jaeslifa2.jpg

― pork grinder, Saturday, 22 February 2003 15:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Will Oldham's "You Have C*m in Your Hair and Your Dick is Hanging Out" is a great title b/c it's like half the content of the song. It completely colors how you hear it, I think. So you get something there, but only after you hear the song.

I've gotten so terrible with titles -- I basically ignore them unless I'm writing about the record. I have songs that I love so much & I have no clue what they're called.

― Mark (MarkR), Saturday, 22 February 2003 15:28 (twenty-two years ago)

I Am The Anti-Ned

Aw man. That means I can never visit Portugal and meet you, because the world would explode. Though Jess has claimed the same thing about me. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 22 February 2003 15:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I've always held it against the last Yume Bitsu record that they make such a big fucking deal about not naming the tracks:

"There are no song titles for this record. Each composition was created as improvised or barely structured music throughout their development as recordings and it feels wrong and contrived to think of words to fit them now. We have chosen to let them stand nude as sonic experiences without, and beyond, the boundaries of the written word. We suggest that you address the songs as you would if you never knew the title. The first song, therefore would be 'Song One', the second 'Song Two' and so on."

― Matt B., Saturday, 22 February 2003 17:15 (twenty-two years ago)

the best thing about Anal Cunt songs are the titles

― A Nairn (moretap), Saturday, 22 February 2003 17:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Mrs. Gillespie's Refridgerator turned out to be boring. :-(

― kate, Saturday, 22 February 2003 17:38 (twenty-two years ago)

one month passes...

Track listings like this make me w4n+ and ph34r simultaneously.

SIDE 1
-- The cheeping of the robot bees
-- Dream string
-- God and The Dave Clark 5
-- The overseer on the indigo farm
-- The hygrometer song
-- And your dog can sing
-- Raymond Chandler
-- (They must have made it with their) Hats
SIDE 2
-- I am a hen (Lucinda Lambton)
-- Irreversible syntax errors
-- The deathbed song
-- Light transforms the Peugeot dealers
-- Pigs and eagles
-- Double 'O' gauge dogs
-- The burning fascia
-- The hapless criminal
-- Love is for the astronauts
SIDE 3
-- Josephine and Tchaikovsky
-- He's had his bears
-- The last great dogfight
-- Totally unacceptable (full of holes)
-- Spew forth frogs
-- Er
-- Life's not like that really (Yukio's dream #3)
SIDE 4
-- Oh dear, what shall we do about the Christians (Harold Melvin II: the heretic)
-- Climb aboard the groove tractor (pencils)
-- The fading memory of Mr Rose
-- Vulture culture
-- A big dog
-- The handkerchief man's last bonfire
-- Life's not like that really (Yukio's dream #3)

― OleM (OleM), Wednesday, 9 April 2003 17:17 (twenty-two years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.