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đŸ˜€ LET’S ARGUE! đŸ˜€ (July 2021 Thread) | TOPIC: Best/Worst Song & Album Titles

Thanks for all your support this month; hope you're all doing well! Now's that magical time when you hit us with your HOT TAKES, UNPOPULAR OPINIONS, and--HOLD UP

To keep things fresh we're going to try doing a topical episode here, as we've been doing with the main series. Hopefully the topic of good & bad song/album titles (s/o Drake Parker for the suggestion) is universal enough for all of you to get behind, but we can change course for an unfocused episode if y'all aren't into it.

For now, drop your favorite or most disliked title in the comments below along with some reasoning and ideally we'll look through them over the weekend. Let's go!

In case you missed last month's episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/lets-argue-52970307

Comments

Best song title: arctic monkeys- the world’s first ever monster truck frontflip or Pink Guy- Hot Nickel Ball on a Pussy

John Tatara

The Locust gave us such memorable song titles as "Twenty-Three Lubed Up Schizophrenics with Delusions of Grandeur", "Anything Jesus Does I Can Do Better", and my personal favorite, "Gluing Carpet to Your Genitals Does Not Make You a Cantaloupe". Easy pick for best song titles.

EdibleMessiah

The idler wheel is my fav even though being over a sentence long

Ryan The Great

Lmao i loved this opinion

Ryan The Great

Many hip-hop fans place too much value on lyrical complexity, while I would never deny that these artists are great lyricists in fact they are some of the most skilled and intelligent writers in HH but a lot of times, less is more and a simple but clever or poetic bar or set of bars can be much more profound and engaging than an ultra complicated and almost saturated level of wordplay and metaphors

buckfastbjork

I love Xiu Xiu but 20,000 Deaths for Eidelyn Gonzales, 20,000 Deaths for Jamie Peterson by Xiu Xiu -- not because it's a particularly bad title, but because those are two real people's names he used without permission and they were upset with him :(

Adam Washington

also Everlast's Love, War, & the Ghost of Whitey Ford -- why he thought to call himself "Whitey Ford" is beyond me

Adam Washington

I'm surprised nobody has said Angelic 2 The Core. it's just straight corny. like you read "angelic 2 the core by corey feldman" and you already feel like you've been punked

Adam Washington

It’s themed this time

Jackson Moeller

One of the worst album titles and album cover but father of all mother fuckers sadly by Green Day

Jackson Moeller

Daft Punk is Playing at My House by LCD Soundsystem is a great song title if only for its casual absurdity, it just sticks with you so easily

Alexandre Martins

Easy, Butter Milk Jesus Type Beat best song title of all time.

Fluorescents

Mixed up, that cure album, you know the one where they mixed up their songs. The name is perfect for the album, and I like all the mixes on it anyway

Was looking for this comment 👍

The Smiths are, hands down, the best band when it comes to naming songs. Titles like The Headmaster’s Ritual and Pretty Girls Make Graves are iconic and intriguing. And I don’t even like the smiths

Pontus Hruska

Immigrant Song and The Wanton Song are the same song

Josh

The worst is every Slauson Malone track (or you could argue the best)

The best is surely Songs for the Deaf. It just sounds so great and absurd but at the same time you can find some deeper meaning. Also a great play, though I don't know if intentional, on Soundtracks for the Blind

Is there a Spellling reaction?

Omar

Say what you will about the band's music, but Linkin Park dropped some badass album names back in the day. "Hybrid Theory" & "Meteora" Bro I don't know what those mean but they sound fucking i n t e n s e

Trevor Young

Absolutely, without a doubt, Anal Cunt. The name alone makes me feel ill to the point where I’d rather just induce vomiting, and the music itself? Don’t even get me started

Andy

I always liked System Of A Down’s Steal This Album. I think it is kinda crazy good marketing. At the same time I think it did the album dirty because for a long time I thought the album wasn’t worth anything.

Jack Bayley

One bad one that comes to mind is blink-182's record named "blink-182" or "untitled" (depending on who you ask) . For more context, the band members always refer to it as the "untitled" record but officially, going off of streaming services and the bands wiki page, its name is "blink-182". It just seems kind of weird that the official name is one thing but the band refers to it as another. I have also seen some fans argue about what they should refer to it as and it's just kinda annoying.

its a themed lets argue.

Sid Mullendore

Really want to know why is it that you don’t smoke weed? No judgement, but is it a health reason? Perhaps you’re scared you’re gonna LOVE IT???? Please notice me Melon

Andy

WORST: “)))____◎◎◎◎█████” aka “Uneven Compromise” by Lil Ugly Mane. This kinda goes for all the unpronounceable and indecipherable song titles in general as well.

Chris Hickson

I wouldn’t have thought of Yoshimi, but I really do love that title. It gives you the impression it’s the soundtrack to a 90’s anime or something, and it’s a pleasant surprise when it’s jubilant indie rock. Plus, as you said, it’s whimsical with heavier undertones.

“Old Boots, New Dirt” made my eyes roll so hard I might need to visit an ophthalmologist

Who would leave their son out in the sun? Just sounds like a cheap attempt at trying to write a deep title but I don’t even understand what it’s supposed to mean. I mean my parents leave me out in the sun all the time and for the most part, it doesn’t really feel like how the song sounds.

A lot of modern country albums just have the most bland unoriginal album titles. Chris Young - I'm Comin' Over. Jason Aldean - They Don't Know or Old Boots, New Dirt. Not even trying to hate on country but the boring album titles and covers indicate how boring most of the music is.

Ben Sparks

Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age, what a great album title

The Queen is Dead by The Smiths. Such a striking album title at a time where royal popularity was high in the UK.

I think albums named after colors are lame as fuck. Example: most of Weezers discography.

Dylan Davis

Not necessarily the worst be just a pet peeve I have: when artists self-title any album after their first. So many artists just make their first album their self-titled, so when artists like MGMT make their third or fourth album their self-titled and it falls flat, it just feels disappointing. Self titling your first album just makes sense because you’re introducing your sound to the world.

tryhard

Worst song title is for me is Bang Bang by Green Day, like the song automatically admits that it is stupid and senseless

Lauch1337

Best: The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Turner of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do. Despite being grammatically incorrect and long-winded, it's fun to say and it rhymes!

Sean L Byrne

Best: Earl - Earl - Earl Sweatshirt At the time, if you wanted to know what Earl was about, he made it easy to find out.

Best: Something like Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots or Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone. Whimsical and fun to say. The title draws you in and gives you a strong idea of the tone of the albums. You're in for a zany fun time, but there are some heavier undertones. They really feel more like children's book titles than albums and that's not a bad thing. Bonus: people give you strange looks when you recommend them.

beammeupjosi

Any album where the tracks are numbered rather than given unique names. Floating points' new album, Kendrick's untitled unmastered, etc. With floating points, I kinda get it because each song flows really well together & it honestly feels like one really long song rather than individual songs. On Kendrick's album, I can remember songs I really enjoyed, but am never able to just quickly put them on because I can't remember what the songs were called because they don't have distinct names.

clowncore's "i ate a luna bar and my dick fell off" is a rare gem of a song title

Every Cannibal Corpse song title is entertaining as hell

Regardless of the content of the album (and I personally thought it was just ok) “music to be murdered by” is a fucking stupid name

MeowmiXX

Flume’s mixtape, great as it is, has some annoying song titles, especially that one track

Gray Taylor

Bon Iver's 22 A Million, or any other artist that makes their track list look like someone had a stroke with wingdings on while writing it. For me it doesn't seem like it adds anything to the project and just comes off as someone trying way too hard to be different.

Sealidarity

A WHOLE LOT of post rock, honestly. The feelings the music can evoke can be pretty powerful but the titles are a little try-hard sometimes. That's mostly the crescendo-core stuff though.

Bryan D Courtney

The full titles to songs on Sufjan Stevens' Illinois are great, here are my favourites: "A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential Crisis in the Great Godfrey Maze", "To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament, and It Involves an Inner Tube, Bath Mats, and 21 Able-bodied Men" (sounds kinky), "Go! Chicago! Go! Yeah!", and of course "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!"

Naming an intro song “Intro” is lazy and overdone

Drake Parker

BEST ALBUM TITLE: Country Teasers-Science Hat Artistic Cube Moral Nosebleed Empire Doesn't it say a lot about the human situation? WORST: Tyler-Call Me If You Get Lost Its not even short like all the other ones and it does not even reflect the vibe of the actual music. great album tho.

Sid Mullendore

Best: To Pimp a Butterfly. As much as many people don't like at first, it often makes people ask the question "why is it called that?" which encourages diving deeper or gives you a chance to explain the themes of the album, as well as the way it ties into the Tupac ending. It's deep, gets people thinking about it and it's memorable, what more could you ask for?

Ice Nine Kills "The Silver Scream" is a great album to listen to & discuss in my opinion. Each track title ties in with the movie/story the song is about, in a clever way I'd say. The entire albums aesthetic & thematic direction fits perfectly for what INK was going for. INK did a great job of making a horror album, albeit, the genre they play might not be up everyone's alley.

Adrian Vargas

What songs are on your “On Repeat” playlist on Spotify?? Seriously curious what you’ve been privately jamming to!!

Andy

Worst is any self-titled album that isn't the band's first. Put some effort into it, folks.

Owen W

3.15.20 by Childish Gambino, all the track names. Just makes it a pain to find or share the song you're looking for, Kendrick is also guilty of this on untitled,unmastered, arguably worse because those songs are actually worth sharing.

Judy is a Punk by the Ramones has to be one of the greatest song titles ever, especially considering the lyrics contradict it entirely (Judy is actually a runt, while Jackie is the one that is a punk).

As much as I love the album, I don't really understand the name Drunk Tank Pink. I understand the backstory/where the name comes from, but I don't see how it relates to the album as a whole. For good album titles, I really like most of King Gizz's album titles, but I think I like Infest the Rats' Nest the most. It sounds cool, and it ties into the concept very well.

anextlomara

My favorite album titles tend to be very short, often poetic ones that capture your attention and convey some sort of message or aesthetic in a short amount of time. Among my favorites include 'The Nylon Curtain', 'Cosmic Messenger', 'I am a Bird Now', 'Midnight Marauders', 'I'm New Here', 'YOU'RE DEAD!' and 'Closing Time' along with countless others. My least favorites tend to fall into one of two camps: A). Overly long 10+ word album and song titles you would find on an early FOB or Gerogiragegege album. They're often annoying, clunky, and just trying to show how quirky or """funny""" they are. It doesn't work. B.) Titles that are just gory phrases made of edgy words that seem to be picked out of a hat. Think of stuff you'd usually find on a Cannibal Corpse or Mindless Self Indulgence album. We get it. You're trying to be shocking. It's not clever or cool, it's just pathetic.

Herbieguy

Get Up by clipping. bc the song is called Get Up and it samples an Alarm clock throughout the whole thing, I don't expect this to get picked but if it does hi Anthony how are you?

SAMIR

Anderson Paak naming albums after cities in California is a nice touch. In particular, Oxnard, his hometown, best showcases his influences and growth as an artist.

Paul Prete

I beg to disagree. Whenever I hear the lyric “My Pal’s name is Foot foot he always likes to roam”, it brings a tear to my eye.

Franco del Rosario

worst album title: 21st Century Breakdown. It's completely vague and meaningless, much like the lyrics throughout the album best album title: Philosophy of the World. It's the exact opposite - a title that has many meanings and possible connotations, unlike the album's lyrics which are complete gibberish.

bressig

Bitches Brew is such an iconic album title for a landmark jazz fusion record.

Stefan Lal

Can we stop doing songs called “untitled” now? In general they all kinda suck now and the novelty has been lost for sometime. As for good album titles, I’ve always loved summerteeth by Wilco.

The worst is Chocolate starfish and the hotdog flavoured water duh, there aren't other contenders. Worst album name for worst music with worst artist name its the worst worst worst

Best title for any album has to be Public Castration Is A Good Idea by Swans, just no contest

Lauch1337

Making a Door Less Open - how do you even come up with that? What does it have to do with the album? It just sounds silly. I feel like he tried to do one like Modest Mouse’s Good News... but failed.

Stefan Lal

Sidenote: Great album, but The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory is also a pretty rough name.

Uncle Jam

I don't know if they're a known entity outside of DC or not, but there was a group called Capitol Steps. They were basically a theatre troupe that did exceptionally toothless political satire, primarily consisting of songs and skits based on contemporary political scandals and politicians. Just painfully unfunny boomer aunt humor. Anyway, in 2004, they put out an album called Papa's Got a Brand New Baghdad. I'd like to nominate that for worst album name. (Really, you could nominate any of their album names, all of which are listed on their Wikipedia.)

Uncle Jam

For song names I think the ones I dislike the most are the ones that have such generic titles and don’t stand out
 I was listening to Fiumani’s solo discography yesterday and there was this song called “Nostalgia”, good song, but such a generic title that when I listened back to album and saw the tracklist I didn’t remember what song that was. While for the best song title I have to say "depressione capsica" (caspian depression) because it' such a clever play of words in a song that talk about the singer's sadness at seeing all the former URSS states around the caspian sea leave the union.

Roland Webster

I dislike album titles that are so hard to remember. Can’t count how many times I wanted to suggest to someone “searching for the young soul rebels” and misspoke. But ultimately the most annoying names for me are the ones that are so hard to search for on Spotify, like “Narko’$”

Roland Webster

Self titles should represent the artist's themes and sounds in the best light possible Like slipknot with their nuance of nu metal yet harmonize percussion that still slaps till this day Unlike blur who have developed a much more iconic sound way past its own self title album

lo_scoop

The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me has always been my fav. Any emo kid raised in a religious home know how that title hits deep down. It is an undisputed masterpiece with just as memorable song titles. I mean Degausser.... that's a fun word to say.

membertatooine

"I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" by Bright Eyes stands out as one of the best. It perfectly embodies this quality of having stayed up all night into the next day that so many of the tracks seem to be a perfect soundtrack for. "Road to Joy" may be the perfect song to watch a sunrise to.

Funk Master T-rag

I’ve always thought The Hurting from Tears For Fears is the most emo title in the best possible way. Especially with the original cover photo of them sitting next to a pond with swans swimming by.

Ian X

Random Access Memories... it's so obvious but perfectly encapsulates the albums throwback concept. like the album feels like running back through memories, and lyrics on some of the songs like Fragments of Time support that theme. and it works with some of the other topics the album touches on too!

Best: Halfway to a Threeway, Public Castration Is a Good Idea Worst: Some Rap Songs, Ys (what does it mean?? how do you pronounce it??)

Untitled (How Does it Feel?) Is a great song with a maddening title. Come on D'Angelo, just title it How Does it Feel!

Dan Ford

Best: Atmosphere's When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold because it makes me laugh. Yo La Tengo's I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass both because you don't forget it and the story behind its origin.

Nick DeCicco

Jeff Buckleys - Grace its a beaitful melancholy dark song and the title grace just prooves it

Ryan The Great

The Promise Ring - Nothing Feels Good is probably the most Emo album title in the entire genre and at the same time is instantly sticky and memorable on top of coming from a classic record.

vvvvvomen

The “naming” schemes on both untitled unmastered and 3.15.20 are terrible, it’s completely off-putting to me when artists do this kind of thing with song/album titles. How hard can it be to pick a word or phrase to represent a track? Even being lazy and just using something from the lyrics would be better than ooOOooh nUmBeRs.

Callahan Hirrel

C.R.E.A.M. has to be one of the best song titles. It's heavily ironic, as the title and hook sound like a celebratory anthem. However, the way the verses describe how demoralizing failing to make money and success makes the meaning of the title and hook incredibly depressing. Also, it's just a great use of an acronym!

Matthew Wisniewski

“20 Jazz Funk Greats” has to be one of the best album titles ever. As for worst, well, it’s hard to beat Mariah Carey’s “Me. I Am Mariah
 The Elusive Chanteuse” as if we all needed a reminder of how vain and narcissistic she was

Gray Taylor

"Building Steam with a Grain of Salt" off of Endtroducing... has always been an evocative song title to me and it reads as a sort of mission statement for the album. Building something wholly unique and transcendent beyond the source(s) it originates from.

Christian Tom

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a little corny but also a perfect title for that record and what Kanye was aiming for. As for songs, Smells Like Teen Spirit is a perfect title

Señor C

Fantastic Damage, this title embodies EL-Ps production and emceeing on this record

I’ve personally always appreciated the “IDGAF I’m a schmoop” swagger of the title I Love You, Honeybear. Cant name that many more love songs that just bare it like that, damn all tact.

Low by David Bowie - Unlike the rest of his work, the whole name of the game here is Bowie saying more about his state of mind by saying less. The lyrics in the first half are short and scattershot, and the other half is wordless with the production taking center stage. Fittingly, it just took one short word to sum it all up.

James Carlisle

OK Computer by Radiohead - One of the most musically and socially predictive albums of all time with an eerily predictive title. We literally say “OK Google” to our phones. It’s basically a copypasta of the title. That’s scary.

James Carlisle

Fiona Apple poems that inevitably get shortened

Gun n’ Roses’ “The Spaghetti Incident?” has to be up there when it comes to awful album titles. Also the album is hot trash.

BlueZones

The extremely long song titles in a lot of old pop punk consistently make me giggle. I understand why people probably don't like it tho.

Worst: You Might Think He Loves You for Your Money but I Know What He Really Loves You for It’s Your Brand New Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat by Death Grips. It is the only song I often return to on Government Plates and I find it incredibly annoying that I have to shorten it to “You Might Think
” or Pillbox Hat. It feels wrong. I know having a bulky name like that is not outside the box for DG, but the song is such a banger and I feel like it doesn’t fit the song at all.

austin

Vacation Wasteland by Slime Girls. Absolutely love the imagery it conjures up of a desolate or defunct spring break beach. It creates feelings of warmth and nostalgia, but also emptiness and impermanence. album cover+music also slaps.

plainLain

“Big Willie Style” is Will Smith sounding just like Will Smith

"A Touch Of The Beat Gets You Up On Your Feet Gets You Out And Then Into The Sun" is Aly & AJs new album and it reads like what a 7th grader would name an essay to try and make it sound smarter

TheBaseballFur

Worst album titles will almost always be “self titled,” like how does this one body of work define you any more than any other album in your discography?

TraJay

What songs are on your “On Repeat” playlist on Spotify?? Seriously curious what you’ve been privately jamming to!!

Andy

One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest As You March Towards Your Death by Bring Me The Horizon Great song, but the title couldn’t have just been “Butterflies” or “One Day” or something?

Who will cut our hair when we're gone - just sounds silly and is very tedious to say or type out

While I enjoy the record, I have to say Chocolate and Cheese by Ween. It makes me gag every time I hear the title. The album cover is one of the best though cause boobs.

Christian Lourenco

(SEE TRACK 6 OF PATRI SMITH’S “EASTER”) I love Patti smith and I love her album Easter. And when it comes to the lyrical concept of track 6, it’s really cool but has aged terribly. It’s such a great song but I can’t even listen to it anymore. I have the vinyl and I’m always near void when people look at its track listening.

Nick Denhalter

Kid A. A fantastically silly title for an album that people hold in such high regard. I'm personally not really a fan of Radiohead in general, but I have to give them credit for how fantastic of a title OK Computer is. People have literally named albums OK "Blank" in relation to that album title. This has nothing to do with the music of any of these albums BTW.

The25centman

I’ll pick a recent one. Harmony House by Dayglow. It perfectly represents the classic synth/dance-poppy harmonious and wholesome nature of the album, and the fact that Dayglow produced it entirely by himself in his house is the icing on the cake. Great album title and album in general.

Noah Jay

There’s too many god damn songs called “Intro”

Andrew Shaktah


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