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(parenthetical portions of song titles annoy me)

tongue-tied

By tongue-tied,
in Someone Else's Song

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tongue-tied

tongue-tied

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I think it's more when the song title could easily lose them. For example: why can't a title like "I love you (so much)" be "I love you so much", or "(One of these days) I'm going to Denny's" do the same thing or just shorten it to "I'm going to Denny's". It can also be annoying when it seems like an alternate title, or something that looks tagged on for mystique.

 

Wilco-specific: I give Spiders (kidsmoke) a pass because I have an idea about its context, it's a song that went through revisions and without thinking too hard about meaning here, it looks like the song "kidsmoke" was put into the small creature motif of AGIB.

 

Leave Me (Like You Found Me) - No!

Outta Mind (Outta Site)/Outta Site (Outta Mind) - Okay!

I Got You (at the end of the Century) - No!

 

 

Does anyone else share this pet peeve? Anyone else think too much about trivial stuff?

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GtrPlyr

GtrPlyr

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I was in a band with a guy that had that pet peeve. It doesn't bother me that much, but on an aesthetic level I don't like it which is why I've never used parenthesis in any of my own song titles.

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PopTodd

PopTodd

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I generally dislike the practice, as well.

However, I admit to have written one song with a parenthetical:

 

"Say You Will (A Reluctant Soldier's Plea)"

 

The reasoning:

I felt that the phase "Say you will" was the obvious, and correct title for the song. But, the "Reluctant Soldier..." part was, I felt, necessary to clarify the setting; and, IMO, it also adds emotional resonance. I considered "A Reluctant Soldier's Plea" as the original, standalone, title. But, for obvious reasons (none of those words appear anywhere in the lyric of the song), I dismissed it, so I used the refrain as the title.

 

Still, that initial phrase seemed to really sum up what the song was all about, so I kept them both.

 

Just one writer's take on just one instance of the whole thing.

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nodep5

nodep5

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Does anyone else share this pet peeve? Anyone else think too much about trivial stuff?

 

 

My wife has always hated this. I have about a half dozen of my own songs that use this and I think it makes the title cooler on some level. It ticks my wife off, but I think it does add some mystique. It also adds meaning that would not be understood (maybe). :stunned For example I have a song called "My Love (May Have To Do)". If it was just "My Love" it could be taken for a straight forward love song, which with the parenthetical it obviously is not. Since only 5 people will ever hear the song, it doesn't really matter. :ohwell

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PopTodd

PopTodd

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My wife has always hated this. I have about a half dozen of my own songs that use this and I think it makes the title cooler on some level. It ticks my wife off, but I think it does add some mystique. It also adds meaning that would not be understood (maybe). :stunned For example I have a song called "My Love (May Have To Do)". If it was just "My Love" it could be taken for a straight forward love song, which with the parenthetical it obviously is not. Since only 5 people will ever hear the song, it doesn't really matter. :ohwell

 

But you could also just remove the parens. and call it "My Love May Have To Do".

It's your song, but that's a thought.

:shrug:

 

Also... send me a link and I'll give 'er a listen.

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cryptique

cryptique

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(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding?

 

(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea.

I love those songs, but both could lose their parentheses and be just fine:

 

What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?

 

I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea

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MattZ

MattZ

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I love those songs, but both could lose their parentheses and be just fine:

 

What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?

 

I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea

 

Nah, I disagree. I think the parentheses are great.

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Sir Stewart

Sir Stewart

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This reminds me of a time John Mellencamp was on Howard Stern to play his new single 'I Saw You First (Key West Intermezzo)'. After Stern fumbled over the title, Mellencamp explained that he battled with his record company over it, that he just wanted the one part to be the title, and "guess which part the record company made me add..." Stern replied "oh, that...intermizzo whatever?" Mellencamp: "Uh, no."

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nodep5

nodep5

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But you could also just remove the parens. and call it "My Love May Have To Do".

It's your song, but that's a thought.

:shrug:

 

Also... send me a link and I'll give 'er a listen.

 

You are right, it could go either way, but I like it.

Also I would love to send a link, but I don't have the first clue on how to post a link to an mp3 (sorry if that is really stupid of me).

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PopTodd

PopTodd

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You are right, it could go either way, but I like it.

Also I would love to send a link, but I don't have the first clue on how to post a link to an mp3 (sorry if that is really stupid of me).

 

You like it. You are the song's papa. That's all that matters.

 

Do you have the song posted anywhere on the internet? Just copy the link to a stream. If you don't... PM forthcoming.

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nodep5

nodep5

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Not only do they not bother me, but it seems silly to even think about it. Does a song title make or break the quality of the song?

 

IMHO it can be as important as album art and album titles (which are important to me). I'm on a Hayden kick lately so I'll use this example. When his second album came out "The Closer I Get", the first single released was titled "The Hazards of Sitting Beneath Palm Trees". Now my image of Hayden was this gruff Canadian writing folk songs in the wilderness (or his bedroom). That album title alone perplexed me beyond no end. I of course loved the song, but the mental image from the title was hard to shake. I don't know, how about "The Hazards of Freezing Your Butt Off (Because I Live In Canada)" See that would make more sense. :dontgetit

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bleedorange

bleedorange

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IMHO it can be as important as album art and album titles (which are important to me). I'm on a Hayden kick lately so I'll use this example. When his second album came out "The Closer I Get", the first single released was titled "The Hazards of Sitting Beneath Palm Trees". Now my image of Hayden was this gruff Canadian writing folk songs in the wilderness (or his bedroom). That album title alone perplexed me beyond no end. I of course loved the song, but the mental image from the title was hard to shake. I don't know, how about "The Hazards of Freezing Your Butt Off (Because I Live In Canada)" See that would make more sense. :dontgetit

 

I agree somewhat on album art and album titles (although it still doesn't make or break an album for me). But I rarely look at song titles before listening. Plus, I put my trust in the artist as far as what he or she wants to title the song. Who am I to second guess?

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nodep5

nodep5

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Putting naked ladies on your album cover is annoying, especially when nodep5 is scrolling through the now listening in Oct thread at work and there pops up naked lady on album cover. Thanks guys! I appreciate that flash of anxiety wondering if I'm going to get in trouble because of this.

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Dude

Dude

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  • Beatles - You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
  • U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love)
  • Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
  • Rolling Stones - Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
  • Simon and Garfunkel - The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
  • Simon and Garfunkel - El Condor Pasa (If I Could)

 

The Flaming Lips take it to the extreme:

 


     
  • The Spark That Bled (The Softest Bullet Ever Shot)
  • Waitin' for a Superman (Is It Gettin' Heavy?)
  • What Is the Light? (An Untested Hypothesis Suggesting That the Chemical (In Our Brains) by Which We Are Able to Experience the Sensation of Being in Love Is the Same Chemical That Caused the "Big Bang" That Was the Birth of the Accelerating Universe)
  • Suddenly Everything Has Changed (Death Anxiety Caused by Moments of Boredom) – 3:54
  • The Gash (Battle Hymn for the Wounded Mathematician)
  • Sleeping on the Roof (excerpt from "Should We Keep the Severed Head Awake??")
  • Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)

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