25 obscure album names and the stories behind them

The band's renowned second studio album remains, perhaps, the defining release within its legacy. This amazing psychedelic musical journey features two of Jefferson Airplane's most recognizable top-10 hits, "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love," not to mention the brilliant instrumental "Embryonic Journey." So, what about the name? It should be noted it's the Airplane to the hilt and symbolic of the late 1960s rock culture. According to legend, as chronicled in the Observer, a locally popular San Francisco guitarist by the name of Jerry Garcia described one of the tracks on the album to be "surrealistic as a pillow."

Goofy and mysterious album names are nothing new, especially during the 1960s and '70s. As we'll continue to see on this list, there are interesting backstories to some of the more strange ones. Then there are others like the Grateful Dead's third studio record, Aoxomoxoa, a title which drummer Bill Kreutzmann noted in his book Deal: My Three Decades of Drumming, Dreams, and Drugs with the Grateful Dead, is a meaningless palindrome. Legend has it that the title was created by Rick Griffin, who designed the album's cover art, and famed Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. From band manager Rock Scully's memoir Living with the Dead, it's pronounced: "ox-oh-mox-oh-ah." The record features live favorite St. Stephen. 

With countless unusual album names out there, plenty of meanings are unworthy or too raunchy for detail. To no surprise, many are about sex. Take the title of Pink Floyd's fourth studio release, a double album that featured live performances of the band's early classics "Astronomy Domine," "A Saucerful of Secrets," and "Careful With That Axe, Eugene." Plus, studio solo recordings from the four band members – Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Rick Wright, and Nick Mason. While stories vary regarding who exactly should get credit for the name's inspiration, the phrase "ummagumma" is English for sexual intercourse, notably from the city of Cambridge. 

Strange album and song titles were a staple of the late Frank Zappa's legendary career. How about Weasels Ripped My Flesh or Uncle Meat? Yet, we believe this release, as a member of The Mothers of Invention, takes the cake when talking about the most creative. In reality, the story behind the title is rather simplistic. In various interviews regarding the record's title, Zappa noted that he liked to take a well-cooked hot dog and place it between two pieces of bread for a snack. Perhaps we expected a more intriguing tale, but maybe Zappa was a simple man. 

Released a little more than three months following Duane Allman's death in a motorcycle accident, the famed guitarist left his mark on the record. As the story goes, it was Allman who inspired the title of the album. The working title was The Kind We Grow in Dixie, but then-drummer and founding member Butch Trucks didn't like it. Though, he fancied the cover art of an oversized peach on a truck boasting the band's name. And Trucks was also reminded of a quote Duane gave about the Vietnam War-era "revolution: “Every time I’m in Georgia, I eat a peach for peace," which was actually from T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

Behind the epic opus known as "Karn Evil 9," Brain Salad Surgery has long been considered a progressive rock masterpiece, courtesy of this English supergroup. So, what's up with the name of the album? Over the years, there's been nothing officially confirmed from those in the know about the true meaning. One of the most popular theories and/or rumors is the title is slang for a sexual act tied to the lyrics from the Dr. John hit "Right Place Wrong Time."

The making of Goats Head Soup was truly an international effort. The Stones' 13th release in America, which featured classics like "Angie" and "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)," was recorded in the United States, United Kingdom, and Jamaica. It was also partially mixed in the Netherlands. However, the project was notable for its undisputed inspiration from the band's first-hand experience of Jamaican culture. That included the title, which according to experience.rollingstones.com, was "meant to evoke the atmosphere of Jamaican Obeah Voodoo."

In his own way, Cat Stevens had a very philosophical mind and was quite spiritual. A good example of this is the title of his eighth studio album. According to catstevens.com, while on an airplane, he held a statue of Buddha in one hand and a box of chocolate candies in the other. So, in case the plane crashed and he did not survive, there'd be a chance his body would be between something spiritual (the statue) and material (candy). Thus, in Stevens' mind, the symbolism of how to balance what's important in life. Oh yeah, the record was pretty good, too. Reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. and featuring classics "Ready" and "Oh Very Young."

Even without knowing the backstory, fans of Elton John might have had a good idea about the meaning of the title of his ninth studio release. A concept album, Captain Fantastic represents the flamboyant Elton, while the Brown Dirt Cowboy is John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin. The album musically chronicles their often rough and rigid journey to stardom in a fantastical, entertaining way that only these two legends could bring forth. The record, which featured the impactful "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has long been considered one of John's most ambitious yet underrated projects.

The brief history of the Sex Pistols was all about shock and controversy. Who could they tick off? And how much? Raunchy, edgy, and profane, including the title of the band's only studio release. According to the book England's Dreaming, written by John Savage, detailing the punk movement, and notably the Sex Pistols, band member Steve Jones came up with a new title, After shunning the original, God Save Sex Pistols, from fans who would consistently say "Never mind the bollöcks."

REO Speedwagon was a rocking outfit during most of the 1970s, then singer/songwriter Kevin Cronin came in touch with his softer side. However, there was always a sense of mild schlock to the group. Perhaps REO is the dad joke of classic rock bands, with some harmlessly goofy album tiles like this one, which featured classics "Roll With the Changes" and "Time for Me to Fly." The phrase is a play on the word tune and relates the sound in saying it to a tuna fish. In a clever but somewhat inappropriate move, the album cover featured a fish with a tuning fork in its mouth. 

With hits like "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," Zenyatta Mondatta put The Police on the map critically and commercially. The album won a pair of Grammy Awards for the band. But the title has also been confusing to fans. Drummer Stewart Copeland explained the name to Musicians Only as: "It means everything...It doesn’t have a specific meaning (…) or anything predictable like that. Being vague, it says a lot more. You can interpret it in a lot of different ways." 

The meaning of the title of both this popular single and the album from Genesis is pretty basic. According to band legend, as told by Songfacts, the original structure of the song was A = verse, B = chorus, and C = bridge. When it came time to name the album, the band felt that concept was abstract and meaningless enough to work as the title. Interestingly, the actual recorded version of the tune, a top-10 hit in the United Kingdom that cracked the Top 40 in the U.S., did not follow that original pattern. 

George Clinton and Co. were in their own innovative, creative, and groundbreaking musical world. There was also a message, more times than not, to Clinton's interesting, often double-entendre-fueled lyrics. While those words and titles tended to follow a sexual nature, The Electric Spanking of War Babies was aimed at the United States government. Tearing down the establishment is nothing new for musical artists. According to allmusic.com, the album title "referred to what the funk innovator saw as the U.S. government using the media to promote imperialistic wars." Specifically, during wartime, the media is an arm of propaganda for pro-war thinking to benefit their own bottom line.

Shabooh Shoobah was the third studio release from INXS and essentially the band's international breakthrough moment. Thanks, mostly to "The One Thing" and wonderfully new wave gem "Don't Change." However, a deeper cut from the record, "Spy of Love," led to the record's title. According to Music and Meaning: The RBHS Jukebox, guitarist Tim Farriss was mumbling some lyrical gibberish while in the studio. Amid those nonsensical lines, apparently, was the phrase "shabooh shoobah." It stuck in band members' heads and became the album's title. Meanwhile, the melody Farriss was singing became "Spy of Love."

Following a brief breakup, Squeeze returned to release Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti. Though not the best moment in Squeeze's legacy, the record received decent reviews. However, it might be more well-known for its quirky title. According to legend, it combines the title of a Mozart opera, Cosi fan tutte, with the Italian sweet treat tutti-frutti. Does it make sense? Well, probably not. But, then again, most of these strange titles don't. The album's artwork also offers a unique visual take on the title. 

From the Van Hagar era of the band, OU812 was another No. 1 album for the rock legends and featured four Top 40 hits, notably "When It's Love" and "Finish What Ya Started." According to iHeartRadio, the album was intended to be titled Bone. During the process, Hagar saw a delivery truck with the serial number "ou812," which sounded like, "Oh, you ate one, too," out loud. Hagar and the rest of the band thought it was clever — and likely raunchy — enough to use as the new name of Van Halen's eighth studio album. 

Following the epic double play of the Use Your Illusion albums, the band put out a record of punk, hard, and classic rock tunes. The cover played to the title by showing a batch of spaghetti. So why the strange title? Well, as Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan told author Gavin Edwards, original drummer Steven Adler referred to his drug stash as "spaghetti" while the band was writing and recording songs in Chicago during the late 1980s. Shortly after, Adler was fired from the band, primarily due to his spiraling drug use, and eventually filed a lawsuit. In court, a lawyer questioned McKagan, called as a witness, about "the spaghetti incident." Humorous to McKagan and those remaining in the band, the phrase proved worthy enough for an album title. 

The album that turned Radiohead into global stars, the history behind the name of the record is rather interesting. As detailed by Radio X, the phrase "OK Computer" had been part of the band's lexicon for some time. One story tells of the band visiting a record shop in Japan and a kid shouting, "OK, COMPUTER!" Then others followed in on the chant, which captivated singer Thom Yorke. That has become the accepted inspiration for the title. The phrase is part of the original radio series from The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, which was later adapted to television in the early 1980s.

The actual title of Apple's record is as follows: When the pawn hits the conflicts he thinks like a king / What he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight / And he'll win the whole thing 'fore he enters the ring / There's nobody to batter when your mind is your might / So when you go solo you hold your own hand / And remember that depth is the greatest of heights / And if you know where you stand then you know where to land / And if you fall it won't matter 'cause you'll know that you're right. At the time, the 444-character title was the longest in music history. It's a poem Apple wrote in response to what she felt was a rather negative feature story about her in SPIN magazine from last 1997. 

Always innovators and never dull, The Flaming Lips don't usually disappoint, yet they still haven't got the consistent praise they deserved for their contributions to the alternative and experimental rock worlds. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots' closing track, "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)," won the Grammy Best Rock Instrumental Performance. As far as the name goes, it's been reported that "Yoshimi" was based on Yoshimi P-We, a member of Boredoms/ODIOO, who also played on this record. The band thought her powerful voice sounded like she was fighting robots.

Collectively, the Avetts have always had an old soul lyrically. The group's eighth studio album describes the thinking behind the title for Magpie and the Dandelion in an August 2013 letter announcing the project: "If you think about a Magpie, it’s a bird from the crow family. You can see them everywhere, and they’ve got this strange grace. And we all know what a dandelion is. It reminds you of being a kid and watching a flower come apart on a summer day. There’s a youthful wonder in that. Those kinds of feelings live and breathe inside this album." The record reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

According to Billboard, the title of Halsey's sophomore album has a personal backstory. The pop star claims the record's name comes from an actual water fountain created by an ex-boyfriend and located in Brooklyn. When talking about the actual meaning of the phrase, Halsey, known for not divulging much about her deep thoughts, has not provided much detail. As far as the album itself, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom went two-times platinum in the United States and topped the Billboard 200 chart, thanks to top-20 singles "Bad at Love" and "Now or Never."

No stranger to obscure and head-scratching album titles (Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool, Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser), Rob Zombie did not disappoint with this 2021 project. Though it might seem like he's throwing a bunch of random words together to form a title, Rob Zombie has said he puts a lot of thought into naming his albums. 

This one is Zombie's first studio work in four years and filled with plenty of rampant rage and power that just might be his heaviest record yet. He told MetalSucks: "When you’re done listening to the record, what may sound like nonsense before you hear the music, after you’ve heard all the music, you can think to yourself, ‘Well, of course. The only thing this album could have been called is The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy.'"

Kendrick Lamar has delivered some remarkable material over the years, along with some interesting album titles. There's Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, and To Pimp a Butterfly. His most recent offering was a conceptual project that tales Lamar's post-therapy soul-searching. There are various theories as to the meaning of the title. According to Esquire, the Mr. Morale portion of the album represents "the moral clarity of the Conscience" of a Black man at this point in time in the U.S. Lamar's new persona in the wake of some personal growth. Meanwhile, the Big Steppers are "the moral corruption of the Culture." Together, the back-and-forth makes for another fantastic record from Lamar.