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So last week I was embroiled in a discussion about self-titled albums that are released by bands well after they’ve established their spot in the music scene. ie: not their debut album.

My stance is that it’s lame. You have three chances to release an eponymous album, and I’ll tell you what they are:

a) your debut album
b) your tenth album or later - for example, after you’ve released SO MUCH music and so many albums that you’ve run out of album name ideas.
c) you’re R.E.M., and you call the album Eponymous (brilliant!)

It grates on my nerves so much when bands that have two or three albums come out with a self-titled. It confuses new fans, who will always assume that a self-titled album is the debut. Simple Plan’s third album came out yesterday, and guess what it’s called? Simple Plan. Run dry for ideas already, boys? I look forward to seeing if the content of said album is a little more original than the title.
That being said, what about bands that release more than one self-titled album?? This morning I was listening to Duran Duran’s highly underrated album Duran Duran, which is commonly referred to as The Wedding Album, because the guys already have a self-titled album (their 1981 debut). Wikipedia has a list of bands with multiple self-titled albums - among them, Seal, Kylie Minogue and David Bowie. And technically, Weezer.

Is naming any album other than your first weak? Or a statement that you just don’t give a toss what anyone else thinks?

Posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 2:02 pm by Sarah Taylor and is filed under Music & Videos.

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