5 Album Titles That Explain The Band Name: Talking Heads, Lynyrd Skynyrd, And More

One of the most important things to consider when choosing a band name is how catchy, distinctive, and memorable it is, even if it doesn't necessarily make any sense. These five bands, however, chose names that needed a bit more clarification, and offered some explanations in some of their album titles.

1. Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) (1973)

Southern rock pioneers Lynyrd Skynyrd named themselves after their high school gym teacher Leonard Skinner, which they changed the spelling of to make it more distinctive and memorable, though this also made it more difficult to say. Just in case any fans were confused about how to pronounce "Lynyrd Skynyrd," the band helpfully titled its 1973 debut album (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd).

2. The dB's - Stands For Decibels (1981)

As the title of their debut album implies, New York power pop band the dB's named themselves after the abbreviation for "decibels," a unit of measurement for volume. However, according to the band's website, "dB" is also meant to stand for "drum and bass."

3. Talking Heads - The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (1982)

Far too often you'll hear people referring to legendary new wave band Talking Heads as "The Talking Heads" (even the film This Must Be The Place, which is named after a Talking Heads song and features a cameo by singer David Byrne, is guilty of this). In an effort to clarify their true name, Talking Heads titled their 1982 live album The Name of This Band is Talking Heads, which notably leaves out "the" at the beginning of their name.

4. AFI - A Fire Inside EP (1998)

When California punk band AFI first formed back in the early '90s, "AFI" stood for both "Asking For It" and "Anthems for Insubordinates." However, the official meaning of "AFI" today is "A Fire Inside," which they declared in the title of their 1998 EP A Fire Inside.

5. P.O.D. - Payable On Death (2003)

Unlike AFI, Christian metal band P.O.D. named themselves after a commonly known abbreviation, which stands for "payable on death," a term used in reference to legal wills. However, if there were any P.O.D. fans that already weren't aware of this, the band made the origins of their name very clear in the title to their 2003 album Payable On Death.

What are some other album titles that explain the band name? Let us know down in the comments section!

Tags

Lynyrd skynyrd, AFI, Talking Heads