Best Don Caballero Song Title (note: SONG TITLE ONL
― na (NA), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 17:27 (four years ago) link
Before all that there was Zappa, Beefheart, Soft Machine et al.
Ha yeah the first example that sprang to mind of a band who were really bad for this was Hatfield and the North.
― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:01 (four years ago) link
The specific tone of Don Cab titles sounds like snippets of overheard conversations at Pittsburgh bars and houseparties to me.
Pink Floyd's Ummagumma song titles should be noted. Careful with that Axe, Eugene seems very pro-Don Cab in particular, with the implication of menace.
This is probably a feature of instrumental music because of the practical need for vivid ways to distiguish between all your ropey jams - it was also a feature of 90s surf bands like Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet and Man or Astroman.
― file of unknown origin (bendy), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:20 (four years ago) link
geezer lake, 'freshly spilt innards reaped from the gut of a critic'
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:23 (four years ago) link
could argue that it goes all the way back to dada e,g. ‘the bride stripped bare by her batchelors, even’ could’ve been a truman’s water song
― Wee Bloabby (NickB), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:34 (four years ago) link
For a similar strain of ill-advised song titlesmithery, see also: These extremely metal song titles: which is the most metal?
― I'm scared my but won't fit in it. (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:43 (four years ago) link
I told you already, Erik Satie.
― Michael Oliver of Penge Wins £5 (Tom D.), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:46 (four years ago) link
(xp)
― Michael Oliver of Penge Wins £5 (Tom D.), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:47 (four years ago) link
indeed!
― Wee Bloabby (NickB), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:47 (four years ago) link
"Bride Stripped Bare" eventually mutated into a Bonzos song
― Joe Kulak 😎 (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:48 (four years ago) link
The best Bonzos song tbrr
― Joe Kulak 😎 (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:49 (four years ago) link
name of a brian ferry album too!
― Wee Bloabby (NickB), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:51 (four years ago) link
oops, bryan
― Wee Bloabby (NickB), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:52 (four years ago) link
approximately when did this trend crosspollinate with emo
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:52 (four years ago) link
Don't know Brian Bryan's stuff tbh
― Joe Kulak 😎 (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:53 (four years ago) link
Bryan Emo?
― Michael Oliver of Penge Wins £5 (Tom D.), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:54 (four years ago) link
for a recent example of this on a math-emo album with singing: https://tinyengines.bandcamp.com/album/uniola
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:55 (four years ago) link
I feel like in Emo it's a slightly different thing, a lot of the titles I think are about overdetermined specifity, trying to nail down an emotional mood but also slightly ironically undercut themselves, not goofs as such?
― Joe Kulak 😎 (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:57 (four years ago) link
1. Ride Or Die, Remember?2. Well, Kansas Ain't What It Used To Be.3. You're Lucky You Didn't Lose Your Arm4. I Even Got This Scar To Match5. Next Time, Send A Limo 6. We Are Groot.7. Ice? Yeah, You Could Chisel Some Off Your Heart, If You Could Find It.8. Ok, Ok, I'll Turn Down The Music9. My Superman Seat-Grab Barrel Roll? I'm Still Working On It.10. I Was Raised With A Different Kind Of Loyalty, You Know What I Mean. I Vote No. (Remember The Second You Go Through That Door, Everything Changes. Our Old Life Is Done.)11. That Was The Flame Thrower. Use The Rockets.
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:57 (four years ago) link
Wow OK that Look Mexico album. Still there's tons of self-aware angst/bravura in there tho
― Joe Kulak 😎 (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 19:59 (four years ago) link
Anyway does this come via Connor Oberst at some point?
― Joe Kulak 😎 (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:00 (four years ago) link
Aside from the song titles I already knew, people could be totally making this shit up on the fly itt and I'd be none the wiser.
― I'm scared my but won't fit in it. (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:01 (four years ago) link
...is the title of a Tortoise Japanese bonus track.
― I'm scared my but won't fit in it. (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:02 (four years ago) link
There was a touch of this on the first Telefon Tel Aviv album, maybe because they were really into the Chicago post-rock scene
What's the Use of Feet If You Haven't Got Legs?Your Face Reminds Me of When I Was OldJohn Thomas on the Inside Is Nothing but Foam
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:06 (four years ago) link
i guess you're right noodle, the look mexico titles are a little less outrageous and a little more self-conscious than "An Address That Was To Skip Ahead Of The Gallop Of Its Own Sperm And Eggs And Wait For Itself In The Future: Letter To 2096"
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:07 (four years ago) link
i always took it as a song that is meant to convey a very specific emotion or social instance. it's what i do in my own music. a title like 'alright boys let's go to lunch' has a very specific meaning and is about something that most anyone who has lived for longer than five years can relate to. but naming it just 'giving up' or 'i gave up' is boring, despite that it may send the message more clearly.
or maybe it's all just an attempt at attention-grabbing bs.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:07 (four years ago) link
It's shite is what it is.
― Michael Oliver of Penge Wins £5 (Tom D.), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:11 (four years ago) link
Back in highschool, it's year we would write a school play, and the students would write a bunch of songs for that, and the script would say things like 'lovesong' or 'fight song' or 'I am evil song' and most people would just name the songs that. And second year, me and my friends wrote the 'party song', and while the chorus was about sex, the bridge just went 'this is the paaaarty song!'. So when they wrote the program notes for the play, they asked us 'so is this called 'party song'?', and I said 'no, it's called 'The Green Volkswagen''. And that's why I had no friends in high school.
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:15 (four years ago) link
and yet, if you had just been like, "ya, 'party song'" someone would inevitably have sarcastically remarked, "wow, what an original title!"
you did a good thing, fred.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:25 (four years ago) link
The earliest emo example I can think of is that ridiculously long Cap'n Jazz album title.
― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:27 (four years ago) link
You guys get to write your own school plays over there? We have to license ours from Disney®.
― ☮ (peace, man), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:30 (four years ago) link
Always dug The Fucking Champs track titles -- "Andres Segovia Interests Me," "These Glyphs Are Dusty," "Hats Off to Music," etc.
― jeanie bueller energy (morrisp), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:37 (four years ago) link
I went to a music school. I think most other Danish schools just do Grease as well. I volunteered for script duty as well two years, first time we decided on my idea to adapt Emir Kosturica's 'Underground'. It was a pretty incoherent script, none of us bothered to watch the film. It was a pretty pretentious school.
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:41 (four years ago) link
i feel like so many posts in this thread are like the equivalent of "why are computer files put in things called 'folders' - where does this come from?"
― sarahell, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:47 (four years ago) link
These bands' set lists must take up multiple sheets on multiple monitors
― Cornelius Fondue (Matt #2), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 20:55 (four years ago) link
XP - to Tom D, it's funny because the ridiculous instrumental math-metal band I was in nearly 20 years ago had an album called 'Arm Yourself With Clairvoyance', taken from a quote by Satie. And yeah we did have some stupid song titles too, natch.
― Maresn3st, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 21:14 (four years ago) link
approximately when did this trend crosspollinate with emo― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, November 6, 2019 7:52 PM (fifty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, November 6, 2019 7:52 PM (fifty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
Was literally going to post this exact thing! Many of these are uncomfortably close to Fall Out Boy song titles.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 21:23 (four years ago) link
1. Dick Cheney Bleeding to Death on the Streets of Detroit2. Paul Wolfowitz Boiled Alive in His Own Urine3. William Kristol Raped in Prison4. A Menstruating Condolezza Rice Dropped in the Amazon River, Eaten by Pirahna in 60 Seconds5. Ari Fleischer Split Right Down in the Middle6. Colin Powell Uncle Tom7. Michael Powell Choking to Death on the Shattered Glass of My TV Screen8. Donald Rumsfeld Buried Up to His Neck in Dogshit With Lawnmower on Top9. Richard Perle Torn Apart by Jackals10. Fuck John Cage11. William Rehnquist Torn Apart by Six-Foot Bull Sharks12. Bill Frist Kept Alive in a Persistent Vegetative State and Broadcast 24 Hours a Day on His Own Cable Network, Part 113. Bill Frist Kept Alive in a Persistent Vegetative State and Broadcast 24 Hours a Day on His Own Cable Network, Part 214. Clarence Thomas on the Wrong End of a Gay Porno15. Bill O'Reilly's Face Sanded Off, Pureed, Injected Into an Enema Bag and Administered to a Willing Rick Santorum16. John Ashcroft Flattened Under the Weight of a 5,200 Pound Replica of the Ten Commandments17. Rush Limbaugh Sodomized by a 30-Pound Cuban Cigar18. Trent Lott Asking for Directions in Brooklyn (aka Fuckin' Cracker)19. Pat Robertson Plagued by Locusts20. Tom DeLay Shoved in a Roach Motel, Poisoned, and Eaten From the Inside Out by Tarantulas21. Jack Abramoff Scalped22. Judith Miller Cut in Two by an Improvised Explosive Device23. Michael Brown in the Superdome on September 4, 200524. Tony Blair Trampled by French Poodles25. Jerry Falwell Meets the Children of the Corn26. Anthony Scalia has a Hunting Accident in the Middle of the Wilderness, Gets Savaged by Wolves27. Peggy Noonan Forcefed the Rotting Corpse of Ronald Reagan28. Karl Rove Forced to Roam the Earth Forever as One of the Living Dead Feeding on Raw Sewage29. Scott McLellan Wrapped in a Barbed Wire and Thrown Into a Press Room of Broken Glass, Part 130. Scott McLellan Wrapped in a Barbed Wire and Thrown Into a Press Room of Broken Glass, Part 231. Alberto Gonzales Wearing a Black Hooded Mask, Standing on a Crate With Electric Wires Taped to His Outstretched Hands32. Paul Bremer at the End of Lynndie England's Leash33. Brit Hume Scattered, Smothered, Tarred and Feathered34. George W. Bush Go Straight to Fucking Hell35. Silence Is Golden
― Mr. Snrub, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 21:32 (four years ago) link
"Fuck John Cage" seems to be a thematic outlier?
― jeanie bueller energy (morrisp), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 21:40 (four years ago) link
has anyone ever used an iphone's predictive text feature to churn out song titles?
― horsegrenades, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 22:52 (four years ago) link
these remind me of the spaceship names in the culture novels
― gbx, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 22:57 (four years ago) link
Best Use of Parantheses (In a Song Title)
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 6 November 2019 23:14 (four years ago) link
Nation of Ulysses - A Kid Who Tells On Another Kid Is A Dead Kid
this is a quote from the film "Over the Edge" FYI
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 23:21 (four years ago) link
or are we not distinguishing between things that are direct references/quotes of other works (I see "The Bride Stripped Bare" was also referenced upthread)? Cuz quotes/references don't seem very random to me.
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 23:22 (four years ago) link
From Japan’s post-rock-tuned reunion album (which contains more similarly titled instrumentals):
https://youtu.be/BKoTJ56ij4c
― Max Florian, Thursday, 7 November 2019 10:31 (four years ago) link
If we are talking origins, Soft Machine Volume Two from 1969 has
"Hibou, Anemone and Bear""Thank You Pierrot Lunaire""Have You Ever Bean Green?""Fire Engine Passing with Bells Clanging" "Orange Skin Food""10:30 Returns to the Bedroom"
(the best titles, "As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still" and "Dedicated to You But You Weren't Listening" don't count as they are not instrumentals)
Think the root of this stuff was perhaps in psychedelia, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's 1968 LP "Volume 3: A Child's Guide to Good and Evil" has
"Eighteen Is Over the Hill""Our Drummer Always Plays in the Nude""A Child of a Few Hours Is Burning to Death""Anniversary of World War III"
(although I don't think these are instrumentals)
Think there are probably some goofy jazz titles from the early 60s, but really not an expert on those.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 7 November 2019 10:45 (four years ago) link
those WCPAEB songs aren't instrumentals e.g. "A Child of a Few Hours Is Burning to Death" is an anti-war song about napalm being dropped on civilians, albeit a somewhat surreal one ('we should have called suzy and bobby - they love to watch fires!')
― Wee Bloabby (NickB), Thursday, 7 November 2019 10:58 (four years ago) link