I wanted to explore this, it seems like it mostly happens in classic rock. I like it because it’s like the group delivering a thesis statement for the content of their music or their intended commercial trajectory.
I think it works even better when it’s done by a band later into their career, like they’re reflecting on the culmination of their work. Can people link me examples? I’d love to see if this has happened more outside of the rock genre
Off the top of my head:
Bad Company (debut album)
Black Sabbath (debut album)
Damn Yankees (debut album)
Blue Öyster Cult (11th album)
Dimmu Borgir (8th album, black metal)
Run the Jewels (debut album, rap)
Eyes of Noctom (debut album, black metal, fun fact: this is Nicholas Cage’s son)
Highwaymen (debut album, country)
“Iron Maiden” by Iron Maiden off their debut album called “Iron Maiden”.
Ooh, that should have been obvious. Iron Maiden was always a bit of a blind spot for me but that song inspired something:
Living in a Box, by Living in a Box from their debut album Living in a Box.
Holy HELL i loved that. New fixation unlocked.
It is a catchy one.
Iron Maiden playing the song “Iron Maiden” from yheir album called “Iron Maiden”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufp75XlTp-Q
Then there’s the band Flowers that released an album called Icehouse, and halfway through the release changed their name to Icehouse - to not be confused with a Scottish band called Flowers - so the early albums are called “Icehouse by Flowers” and the later ones “Flowers by Icehouse”.
You missed the fact the last track on the Icehouse album is also called Icehouse.
The international release is icehouse by icehouse containing the track icehouse
They Might Be Giants have a self titled track (but not album) included in their third album Flood
Their first album is self titled, always bothered me that the eponymous song wasn’t on the eponymous album.
You’re right. I had the collection of their first two albums with bonus tracks. I forgot it was actually self titled originally.
You mean Then: The Early Years? There are some solid bonus tracks. The Joshua Fried remix of The World’s Address is great
Lol what genre is this? I love the utterances of BOY
TMBG defies genres, but they can’t be silenced.
They are a little bird house in my soul.
Not to put too fine a point on it
BOY
I saw them play and record a song backwards and then play the tape backwards for us to hear the song forward. Does that make sense? Too much musicality for my brain…
Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love played backwards, seemed like a COVID project, considering the timing. Not the first time either, On Earth My Nina was the then (officially) unreleased Thunderbird backwards.
Electric Wizard by Electric Wizard is easily one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. I especially love when the wizard speaks in this song
ABBA maddeningly released an album called ABBA and an album called ABBA: The Album
Slave to the System by Slave to the System on their album Slave to the System.
I thought this was the tackiest shit ever when I was younger, but looking it up now I guess they were a super group so the very on-the-nose-ness of it feels a little bit less bad. I have no idea how I came across the album but I listened to loads of random music.
listened to loads of random music
The best way to find new music.
I love this though! Tackiness in music is great, it’s what we have headphones for.
This one always makes me laugh. Living in a Box on the album “Living in a Box” by the band “Living in a Box”
Ramones covered R.A.M.O.N.E.S. by Motörhead on their final album, Adios Amigos.
Wilco (the song) appears on Wilco (the album), which is the seventh studio album of Wilco (the band).
This one is the other way around: Planet X. When Derek Sherinian was kicked out of Dream Theater, he wanted to create something that would be better, so he released an album titled Planet X together with Tony Macalpine and Virgil Dontai. It was so good and built up a fanbase that they then formed a new band called Planet X and released 3 albums in the next couple of years.
Seethed has one. It’s a b-side that was eventually released on the album “Curiosities, Rarities, and Paraiahs.”
Big Country - In A Big Country
I like this vibe. Shoutout to music videos that are just the band members goofing around doing stuff that they construct to give a short narrative.
Belle and Sebastian had a song called Belle and Sebastian
Big in Japan were not from Japan but they were big in Japan after they released their single “Big in Japan”.
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Wow search engines kind of hate them. Interesting case of normative determinism though and it looks like they all went on to be in other more famous acts.
