I know that Dave Matthews Band's new #1 album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, is a tribute to their late saxophonist LeRoi Moore, so I feel weird making fun of it. I applaud the band's devotion to the guy, and his death is genuinely tragic. But seriously: Is that title not the biggest "WTF?" in the history of top-of-the-chart records?
I was curious, so I did a little digging. As it happens, there are a number of other titles that looked a little weird, or were hard to say, or otherwise just seemed ridiculous representing the most-bought album in this country. Before I get to the list, I want to make two points. First of all, it's really interesting going back in time to look at the chart-topping albums through the years. This is especially true when you get into the '80s and early '90s, where single albums would rule for months at a time (Prince's Purple Rain stood on top of the charts for over 20 consecutive weeks). Because of the dominance of so few albums, it made it difficult for zany names to sneak into the mix. (It should also be noted that the #1 albums started turning over a lot more once SoundScan started tracking accurate sales, which is telling.) Secondly, the titles that are overly wordy tended to draw most of my focus. Though there are plenty of single-word titles that still don't feel easy to say (U2's Zooropa, for example), it's the eight-, 10- and 12-syllable titles that cross over into truly ridiculous territory.
Anyway, here's the list. Did I leave any off?
10: Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (2009)
Turns out plenty of stuff is wackier.
9: Toby Keith, Shock'n Y'all (2003)
Though it's sort of a clever reference to the Iraq War, the word "Y'all" always looks a little weird in print, doesn't it?
8: Maroon 5, It Won't Be Soon Before Too Long (2007)
But when will then be now?
7: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium (2006)
Though it's not a bad album, Stadium Arcadium appears to be little more than rhyming gibberish.
6: Live, Secret Samhadi (1997)
The grunge era was ripe with oddities like this one. Honestly, it's mostly strange to think there was a time when a band like Live would sell more records than anybody else in the country.
5: Bush, Razorblade Suitcase (1996)
See #6.
4: Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
I guess the logic is that if the album is twice as long, then the title must be twice as long as well? In an unrelated story, this record angered my seventh-grade English teacher, who couldn't figure out why her students couldn't spell "melancholy."
3: Bruce Springsteen, Working on a Dream (2009)
I love you Bruce, but how exactly do you work on a dream?
2: Garth Brooks, Ropin' the Wind (1992)
I've never attempted to rope the wind, but I have to assume it's difficult.
1: Limp Bizkit, Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water (2000)
But that's only because Joni Mitchell's The Hissing of Summer Lawns was never the top album in the country.
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