Album titles that are already admissions of defeat

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.. you know, like "Whatever Happened to Slade" by, umm.... Slade.

Prompted by the realisation that calling your album "Word Of Mouth" is more a kiss of death than calling it "Kiss Of Death"

― Mark G, Monday, 16 December 2013 11:40 (eleven years ago)

http://eil.com/images/main/Les+McKeown+-+All+Washed+Up+%2B+Poster+-+LP+RECORD-496341.jpg

― Mark G, Monday, 16 December 2013 11:42 (eleven years ago)

Tar - "Over and Out"

― earlnash, Monday, 16 December 2013 11:46 (eleven years ago)

I've always thought the message on the cover of The Howlin' Wolf Album was a bit desperate. To basically say, "He thinks this album is shit, but, uh, he thought the electric guitar was shit at first too!" is a pretty terrible way of promoting the record.

― president of the people's republic of antarctica (Arctic Mindbath), Monday, 16 December 2013 11:47 (eleven years ago)

Not that it's an album title, mind...

― president of the people's republic of antarctica (Arctic Mindbath), Monday, 16 December 2013 11:48 (eleven years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/FamousIntheLastCentury_StatusQuo.jpg

― bleak strategies (Matt #2), Monday, 16 December 2013 12:28 (eleven years ago)

The Beach Boys - Surf's Up

― a beef supreme (dog latin), Monday, 16 December 2013 12:29 (eleven years ago)

Daft Punk - Human After All

― zanarkand bozo (abanana), Monday, 16 December 2013 12:46 (eleven years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Who%27s_Last.jpg/220px-Who%27s_Last.jpg

― All that self-sacrifice, judgement, self-pity! I’d say it’s (snoball), Monday, 16 December 2013 12:51 (eleven years ago)

Also "It's Hard", with the cover featuring the band looking confused at a kid of the time

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41K69M9BJ0L._SL500_.jpg

― zanarkand bozo (abanana), Monday, 16 December 2013 12:54 (eleven years ago)

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

― All that self-sacrifice, judgement, self-pity! I’d say it’s (snoball), Monday, 16 December 2013 12:57 (eleven years ago)

http://merlin.pl/Good-To-Go-Dystrybucja-Bmg_Terrorvision,images_big,23,CDMASS0850.jpg

― PaulTMA, Monday, 16 December 2013 13:13 (eleven years ago)

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/albums/667/homepage_large.c430f92a.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/Split_(Lush_album)_cover_art.jpg

― PaulTMA, Monday, 16 December 2013 13:15 (eleven years ago)

that Lush cover would work so much better if the album was called 'spit'

― VENIET IMBER (imago), Monday, 16 December 2013 13:44 (eleven years ago)

Michael Nesmith, "And the Hits Just Keep on Comin'"
Sly Stone, "Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back" AND "Back on the Right Track" AND "I'm Back! Family & Friends"

― Saturated with working class intelligence and not afraid to show it (Tom D.), Monday, 16 December 2013 13:46 (eleven years ago)

or "snit" xpost.

― Mark G, Monday, 16 December 2013 13:48 (eleven years ago)

Noel Gallagher's original (serious) title for 'Shoulder' was 'Where Did It All Go Wrong'

― PaulTMA, Monday, 16 December 2013 13:51 (eleven years ago)

http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/little_soul_cafe/imgs/6/a/6a33579d.jpg

But they were.

― Tuomas, Monday, 16 December 2013 14:09 (eleven years ago)

I always loved this

http://lossless-galaxy.ru/uploads/posts/2010-11/1290559080_folder.jpeg

― tuostprophets (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 16 December 2013 14:32 (eleven years ago)

Noel Gallagher's original (serious) title for 'Shoulder' was 'Where Did It All Go Wrong'

― PaulTMA, Monday, December 16, 2013 1:51 PM (41 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

would imagine there's at least a 50/50 chance that's a George Best reference tho?

― wantaway strikers make money working from home (DJ Mencap), Monday, 16 December 2013 14:34 (eleven years ago)

After every New Jersey comes a What About Now

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/What_About_Now%2C_Bon_Jovi_album_artwork%2C_2013.png

― tuostprophets (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 16 December 2013 14:34 (eleven years ago)

http://www.recordsale.de/cdpix/j/jack_wagner-dont_give_up_your_day_job.jpg

Pretty clever title actually - guy's main gig was as a daytime soap star

― Sir Lord Baltimora (Myonga Vön Bontee), Monday, 16 December 2013 15:10 (eleven years ago)

Great record, but it fits…

http://www.bet.com/music/photos/2011/07/heavy-rotation/_jcr_content/leftcol/flipbook/flipbookimage_1.flipfeature.dimg/072611-music-album-heavy-marvin-gaye-here-my-dear.jpg

― kornrulez6969, Monday, 16 December 2013 15:44 (eleven years ago)

omg lolololol @ jack wagner! my husband has the cassette with "sneak attack" on it and it always cracks me up.

― mambo jumbo (La Lechera), Monday, 16 December 2013 15:46 (eleven years ago)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V93Y1YdGL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

― zanarkand bozo (abanana), Monday, 16 December 2013 15:51 (eleven years ago)

I had no idea The Lonely Island was a comedy outfit when I saw the cover for 'Incredibad' on Pitchfork. I thought they might have been some uber-hip new combo who had the balls to call title their album as such, which to me would have been amazing

― PaulTMA, Monday, 16 December 2013 16:02 (eleven years ago)

The Beach Boys - Surf's Up

uh "surf's up" means "the waves are coming in, time to go surfing!"

fyi

― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 16 December 2013 16:40 (eleven years ago)

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/72208392/The+Who+by+Numbers+The+Who.png

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 16 December 2013 16:48 (eleven years ago)

The Beatles - Let It Be

― nostormo, Monday, 16 December 2013 16:50 (eleven years ago)

The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
uh "surf's up" means "the waves are coming in, time to go surfing!"
fyi
― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 16 December 2013 16:40 (10 minutes ago) Permalink

I hear it as a double-meaning. Yes there's the obvious 'Great day to go surfing dudes' meaning, but given the defeated native American on the front cover, the paranoiac environmentalism of songs like 'Don't Go Near The Water' and the utter lack of surfing songs, I definitely understand the meaning to be 'Surf's up, it's finished, it's done with' in this case.

― a beef supreme (dog latin), Monday, 16 December 2013 16:54 (eleven years ago)

rolling stones - dirty work

― nostormo, Monday, 16 December 2013 16:54 (eleven years ago)

pink floyd - a momentary lapse of reason

― nostormo, Monday, 16 December 2013 16:55 (eleven years ago)

The Tired Sounds of... Stars Of The Lid

― a beef supreme (dog latin), Monday, 16 December 2013 16:56 (eleven years ago)

I actually like this album, but.... Bad Religion - No Substance

― skip, Monday, 16 December 2013 16:59 (eleven years ago)

The title of "Surf's Up" was a double entendre suggesting that The Beach Boys' earlier, simpler surfing-related material was now "finished".

― fit and working again, Monday, 16 December 2013 19:34 (eleven years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/The_Replacements_-_All_Shook_Down_cover.jpg

― i play too fast (which is the sign of an amateur) (fact checking cuz), Monday, 16 December 2013 19:40 (eleven years ago)

I don't think he looks defeated at all.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5d/Surf

― signed, J.P. Morgan CEO (Hurting 2), Monday, 16 December 2013 19:42 (eleven years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a6/Mad_Not_Madoriginal.jpg

― going out dancing with the girls, her cat. (soref), Monday, 16 December 2013 19:42 (eleven years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Warren_Zevon_-_My_Ride%27s_Here.jpg

― i play too fast (which is the sign of an amateur) (fact checking cuz), Monday, 16 December 2013 19:43 (eleven years ago)

http://www.lukehaines.co.uk/images/worst_of.jpg

― going out dancing with the girls, her cat. (soref), Monday, 16 December 2013 19:49 (eleven years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/HelpUSalbumcover.jpg

― i play too fast (which is the sign of an amateur) (fact checking cuz), Monday, 16 December 2013 19:50 (eleven years ago)

lol. save our drowning career, amirite?

― signed, J.P. Morgan CEO (Hurting 2), Monday, 16 December 2013 19:54 (eleven years ago)

well, their film career would never be the same!

― i play too fast (which is the sign of an amateur) (fact checking cuz), Monday, 16 December 2013 19:59 (eleven years ago)

http://therisingstorm.net/audio/trex_tanx.jpg

― PaulTMA, Monday, 16 December 2013 20:02 (eleven years ago)

Two in a row from the Kinks (and pretty much the same cover):
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/KinksGivethePeopleWhatTheyWant.jpg/220px-KinksGivethePeopleWhatTheyWant.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/KinksStateofConfusion.jpg/220px-KinksStateofConfusion.jpg

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 16 December 2013 20:12 (eleven years ago)

http://cdn.macado.com/assets/post/2013/04/fob.jpg

― i also enjoy in line skateing (spazzmatazz), Monday, 16 December 2013 20:14 (eleven years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/A5yRHEB.jpg

― skip, Monday, 16 December 2013 20:27 (eleven years ago)

those Kinks ones definitely seem pretty self-aware, especially given the musical/lyrical content of some of it!

― frogbs, Monday, 16 December 2013 20:30 (eleven years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/0znVsBH.jpg

― when skrillex just stood there (unregistered), Monday, 16 December 2013 20:38 (eleven years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/zsisEgH.jpg

― when skrillex just stood there (unregistered), Monday, 16 December 2013 20:43 (eleven years ago)

Skipping 12 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Modesty is one thing..

This is more "whatever I say I am, that's what I'm not really" attempted irony, sort of thing...

― Mark G, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 09:37 (eleven years ago)

Yeah, there's a wink involved.

― brimstead, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 09:43 (eleven years ago)

I keep thinking of stuff like jethrotull.com which is just depressing in its inept attempt at "fresh-ness" or something.. like "welp wtf are we doing, whats all this rap music, whats this internet, lets call it jethrotull.com, that's what's hip these days."

― brimstead, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 09:50 (eleven years ago)

more of an inadvertent admission of defeat, i suppose.

― brimstead, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 09:50 (eleven years ago)

Destroyer - Kaputt: but the album is not a failure

― nostormo, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 11:07 (eleven years ago)

quasi - when the going gets dark

― nostormo, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 11:09 (eleven years ago)

I keep thinking of stuff like jethrotull.com which is just depressing in its inept attempt at "fresh-ness" or something.. like "welp wtf are we doing, whats all this rap music, whats this internet, lets call it jethrotull.com, that's what's hip these days."

show some respect please, it's j-tull Dot Com and it broke down several doors in sleeve design that year

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f1/JethroTull-albums-jtulldotcom.jpg

― combination hair (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 13:14 (eleven years ago)

Admission of defeat dressed up as irony:

http://therisingstorm.net/audio/greatesthits1.jpg

The Fall did something similar:

http://www.warpedrealitymagazine.com/images/Andrea/50,000%20fall%20fans%20big.jpg

― clemenza, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 13:46 (eleven years ago)

All one-hit-wonders with a comp called "Greatest Hit". Rick Dees, Dream Theater, Pachelbel, etc.

― zanarkand bozo (abanana), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 13:54 (eleven years ago)

This might be a better Phil one:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_G4-FdTsWpD8/TR5eca_mJrI/AAAAAAAABsA/94o5-NsgI7U/s1600/Rehearsals%2Bfor%2BRetirement.jpg

― karajan up the khyber (NickB), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 13:55 (eleven years ago)

John Otway has a lot of these:
'Deep & Meaningless'
'Where Did I Go Right'
'Gone with the Bin - The Best of Otway and Barrett'
'All Balls and No Willy'
'Premature Adulation'
'Scraps'

― All that self-sacrifice, judgement, self-pity! I’d say it’s (snoball), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 13:58 (eleven years ago)

Ah, but:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jJAG_tiB6jQ/TGriE7kV-YI/AAAAAAAAD_I/P3CbTlrLLf4/s1600/Greatest+Hits.jpg

.. when his "Bunsen Burner" made number nine

― Mark G, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 14:11 (eleven years ago)

Of which he said something like "It's taken me 30 years to get the 's' on the right side of 'hit'."

― All that self-sacrifice, judgement, self-pity! I’d say it’s (snoball), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 14:20 (eleven years ago)

is that goat-man dick and balls i can see on that j-tull album cover? predicting the spread of furries is p good going tbf.

― Merdeyeux, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 14:20 (eleven years ago)

zz top's post-eliminator 1-2 punch is a funny example of this-kind-of-thing, maybe

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/63/ZZ_Top_-_Afterburner.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/ZZ_Top_-_Recycler.jpg

― Merdeyeux, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 14:23 (eleven years ago)

http://jerrygarcia.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/OAITW1.jpg

― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 15:56 (eleven years ago)

http://funkyimg.com/u2/217/854/sonofsisyphus.jpg
(although he went on to make seven more albums)

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 16:03 (eleven years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/Q0Fsfba.jpg

― Poliopolice, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 18:18 (eleven years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/jwmp18B.jpg

― when skrillex just stood there (unregistered), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 23:32 (eleven years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8b/DuranDuran-PopTrash.jpg

― mr.raffles, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 01:02 (eleven years ago)

John Otway has a lot of these:
'Deep & Meaningless'
'Where Did I Go Right'
'Gone with the Bin - The Best of Otway and Barrett'
'All Balls and No Willy'
'Premature Adulation'
'Scraps'

Where Did I Go Right is more in the category of terrible puns as album title / cover combination :

http://www.bonzodog.org/other/image/otway_.jpg

― bleak strategies (Matt #2), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 01:34 (eleven years ago)

The Minutemen - 3-Way Tie (for Last)
Nick Lowe - 16 All-Time Lowes
Nick Lowe - The Abominable Showman
Elvis Costello - All This Useless Beauty

― Hideous Lump, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 03:31 (eleven years ago)

http://exclaim.ca/images/up-1jawbreaker.jpg

― goodoldneon, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 06:45 (eleven years ago)

O, of course..

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/SonicYouth-ExpermentalJetSetTrashAndNoStar.jpg

― Mark G, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 10:48 (eleven years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Beastie_Boys_-_Some_Old_Bullshit.jpg

― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 10:50 (eleven years ago)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Led_Zeppelin_-_The_Song_Remains_the_Same.jpg

― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 10:54 (eleven years ago)

David Byrne - Uh Oh
Devo - Oh No! It's Devo

― a beef supreme (dog latin), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 11:45 (eleven years ago)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bxx3fUeaoAQ/UJuQpjgnnfI/AAAAAAAACew/ISNiitoOLFY/s1600/wonderstuff.jpg

― PaulTMA, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 13:05 (eleven years ago)

^ very apt

― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 13:06 (eleven years ago)

On the more histrionic side, Mutiilation had an album called Remains of a Ruined, Dead, Cursed Soul.

― alan watts, he made me hot (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 13:38 (eleven years ago)

xp not so much an admission of defeat, more a fair warning.

― All that self-sacrifice, judgement, self-pity! I’d say it’s (snoball), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 13:57 (eleven years ago)

http://missskind.no.sapo.pt/dbimg/TheHousemartins-NowThats5588_f.jpg

― painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture (DavidM), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 14:23 (eleven years ago)

How is that an admission of defeat?

― Tuomas, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 14:24 (eleven years ago)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hbqf2LImoxc/SAPs3n9kKJI/AAAAAAAAFIY/CFJMD63LPHs/s400/Cheap%2BTrick%2B-%2B1983%2B-%2BNext%2BPosition%2BPlease.jpg

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 14:28 (eleven years ago)

(xp) Because they're admitting they're merely quite good, duh

― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 14:42 (eleven years ago)

Being "quite good" seems like a win to me! Most bands never reach "quite good".

― Tuomas, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 14:43 (eleven years ago)

Bless your heart, Tuomas.

http://cdn.7static.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/001/107/0000110723_350.jpg

― painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture (DavidM), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 14:51 (eleven years ago)

Here's the rarer form: a band name that's already an admission of failure: Abysmal
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/6/9/1/3/6913.jpg

― Siegbran, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 16:18 (eleven years ago)

http://i.imgur.com/eyJNd.png

― sleepingsignal, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 17:19 (eleven years ago)

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091101152922/lyricwiki/images/c/cf/The_Clash_-_Cut_The_Crap.jpg

― Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 17:25 (eleven years ago)

Bottom right panel says it all,

http://www.nuclearblast.de/static/articles/152/152194-0.jpg/1000x1000.jpg

― Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 17:28 (eleven years ago)

This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get by PIL

― piscesx, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 18:20 (eleven years ago)

Heavenly - The Decline and Fall of Heavenly

― o. nate, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 20:53 (eleven years ago)

Nuthin' Fancy - Lynyrd Skynyrd

― Vast Halo, Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:31 (eleven years ago)

http://cdn4.pitchfork.com/albums/15928/homepage_large.cc78e117.jpg

― Ornate Coleman (Moodles), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:37 (eleven years ago)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KJQKT68KL._SY300_.jpg

― zanarkand bozo (abanana), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 21:51 (eleven years ago)

Not an album title but: the third song on They Might Be Giants' debut album is "(There's Just Two Songs In Me, And This Is) Number Three"

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 19 December 2013 23:08 (eleven years ago)

Not exactly defeatist but definitely kind of defensive:

http://www.recordsale.de/cdpix/t/the_knack-but_the_little_girls_understand.jpg

― goodoldneon, Thursday, 19 December 2013 23:36 (eleven years ago)

csny - déjà vu

― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:26 (eleven years ago)

Not an album title but: the third song on They Might Be Giants' debut album is "(There's Just Two Songs In Me, And This Is) Number Three"

"Rhythm Section Want Ad" is also clever in that way. Especially since it's the last song so after the last like "and here's the reason why...", it loops to the start of the disc. I hope that was intentional!

― frogbs, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:41 (eleven years ago)

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