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QotD: 2003.03.10


bradm

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What are some of your favourite song titles? Being a wordsmith, I tend to go for titles that have puns / wordplay, or that just seem so off-the-wall as to be perfect. For example:

  • Bela Fleck & the Flecktones / "Bonnie & Slyde"
  • Bela Fleck & the Flecktones / "Jekyll and Hyde (and Ted and Alice)"
  • Frank Zappa / just about anything from the "Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar" or "Guitar" albums
  • nero / "Chocolate Monkey Machine" or "Lemondust"

Aloha,

Brad

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I think my fave song name of all time is still "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict" by Pink Floyd. I love things that make you go "what the f@#k?!?"

I also like puns, so ELP's "Karn Evil" suite I alway thought was cool, and Sly's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" is also cool 'cus of the way it's written out. Oh, and Genesis "ABACAB" and Phish "AC/DC BAG" 'cus I love musical puns as well - the former being the letters spell the song structure (verse-chorus-verse-verse-bridge-verse-chorus) and the later of course being the chords of the chorus of the song. Those last two are a bit music-geeky, but hey I'm a music geek so what do you want! [Wink]

Peace,

Mr. M.

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quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Musicface:

Oh, and Genesis "ABACAB" and Phish "AC/DC BAG" 'cus I love musical puns as well - the former being the letters spell the song structure (verse-chorus-verse-verse-bridge-verse-chorus) and the later of course being the chords of the chorus of the song. Those last two are a bit music-geeky, but hey I'm a music geek so what do you want!
[Wink]

Peace,

Mr. M.

A lot of Zappa's titles aren't so much musical puns, but are named after the structure of the song:

  • Five Five FIVE (which is in 25/8 time, counted as a bar of 5/4, another bar of 5/4, and a bar of 5/8)
  • Thirteen (which is in 13/8 time, counted as a bar of 5/8 [counted as a bar of 2/8 followed by a bar of 3/8], followed by a bar of 8/8 [counted as a bar of 4/4]; it's a live track with L. Shankar on violin, and he actually instructs the audience in how to count it)
  • Variations on the Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression
  • That Ol' G Minor Thing Again
  • That's Not Really Reggae
  • That's Not Really A Shuffle

I also like ferriswheeler's "Auto-Wah", named that way both because dave-O uses an auto-wah effect, and because it's a homonym with "Ottawa".

Aloha,

Brad

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ohhh man i love wordplay-I have a little notebook with every interesting one i've thought up and actually remembered in there...that's where the names for my mixes keep coming from.

Anyways, with instrumental music/electronica/ jams having no lyrics or words to tie them down to a theme-not that this applies all the time, but-it's much easier to assign an arbitrary name to something instrumental.

That said, I have a bunch of faves-2 bands seem to be able to fuel my quest for the well-named/smart/absurb titles more often than not: Zappa and Butthole Surfers(itself a great name)

Zappa:

Pygmy Twylyte, Latex Solar Beef, Duke of Prunes, Big Leg Emma, Broken Hearts are for Assholes, Camarillo Brillo, Father O'Blivion, Eat that Question

Butthole Surfers:

Bong Song, Some Dispute over T-Shirt Sales*,

Chewin' George Lucas' Chocolate, U.S.S.A., Sweat Loaf, X-Ray of a Girl Passing Gas

Also, a few of the Surfers albums have friggin hilarious names:

Locust Abortion Technician

Independant Worm Saloon

Rembrandt Pussyhorse/ Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis

and my fave: Hairway to Steven

*ok this one is just too good-it's the same basic lyrics and voice as Ministry's 'Jesus Built my Hotrod' since BS lead singer Gibby Haynes guested on that track...

uhh, ok i gotta get some work done...hehehe here's some others i can think of-

Fila Brazillia - Airlock Holmes, Snakeskin Bib

Primus - Pork Soda

David Holmes - Gritty Shaker

Mercury Rev - Chasing A Bee in A Jar

and for album titles:

Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul

Tortoise - Millions now Living Will Never Die

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