Recently, an odd and perhaps unanswerable question popped into my brain, sparked by the Classic Hits we play on Z93.
Whatever happened to cool album titles???
The ‘90s hits we play get me reminiscing not only about the good ol’ days, but the actual records, cassettes, CDs, what have you, that the songs came from. I don’t have to wrack my brain to recall the title of these albums, even the One Hit Wonders, because the names were just so… well, memorable. Original. Clever. Unique.
So WTF happened???
I am skimming over some of the Top 10 albums of 2013, and the titles are just so boring, dull, and unimaginative. I don’t care how many millions of copies One Direction sells. Can’t they (or their publicity team) think up a better album title than Take Me Home? I mean, it sounds like a blatant pickup line from 1982! Miley Cyrus just put out a record called Bangerz. Not that I’d expect any less, but really… sounds like an appetizer on the Tilted Kilt menu. Maroon 5 had the balls to call their latest effort Overexposed. John Mayer has had some pretty cool album titles in the past, like Room For Squares and Continuum. This year, he released Paradise Valley. Sounds more like an offering from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Country-Pop crossover acts Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum both turned to color for inspiration: Red and Golden, respectfully, both of which are about as exciting as Beige.
Rewind to the 1990s. A whole ‘nother world. Maybe we used up all the words in the world, and their possible combinations. Here are some of my favorite album titles from a coupla decades back, whether I liked the actual album or not. In no particular order. Okay, in alphabetical order.
August and Everything After Counting Crows
Bigger, Better, Faster, More! 4 Non Blondes
4 Non Blondes
Bloodletting Concrete Blonde
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? The Cranberries
Grave Dancers Union Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum
Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette
New Miserable Experience Gin Blossoms
Pet Your Friends Dishwalla
Tragic Kingdom No Doubt
Under the Table and Dreaming Dave Matthews Band
Yourself or Someone Like You Matchbox 20
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