Lady Gaga's ARTPOP: A History Of Album Title Oddities

From unpronounceable symbols to parentheses, Gaga's ALL-CAPS album title joins the ranks of the all-time weirdest.
By James Montgomery

<P>Over the weekend, Lady Gaga struck a blow against copy editors everywhere when she announced that the title of her new album, ARTPOP, must <i>always</i> be written in ALL CAPS, because "it's all in the details."</P><P>And while we're not trying to downplay said details, we'd be like to point out that Gaga isn't exactly the <i>first</i> artist to demand orthographical satisfaction. Shoot, she's not even the first to go ALL CAPS: Earlier this year, Linkin Park did the same thing with their LIVING THINGS album, only they one-upped Gaga by also requesting that all <i>songs</i> on the album also be written in all caps, bravely eschewing the lowercase for reasons apparent only to them.</P><P>In fact, the history of popular music is packed with affronts to punctuation &#8212; from early pioneers like the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and James Brown's "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine" to more recent torchbearers like Panic! at the Disco and Godspeed You! Black Emperor &#8212; though rarely have artists had the audacity to extend that mistreatment to the album title itself.</P><P>Of course, there are those who have bravely dared to throw logic (and roughly 300 years of letter-case tradition) out the window when it came time to name their new albums. So in honor of Gaga's <i>ARTPOP</i> demands, here's a look back at some of the greatest &#8212; and by that, we mean most nonsensical &#8212; album titles in history.</P><P><b>Led Zeppelin's <i>IV</i></b>: At the peak of their powers &#8212; both artistically and, it would seem, <i>mystically</i> &#8212; Zeppelin decided they didn't need to title their fourth album. Instead, they printed four hand-drawn symbols (each representing a band member) on its inner sleeve. The move has subsequently enthralled generations of bong-glazed dorm inhabitants and only added to the album's mystique. In the 40 years since it was released, the record has come to be known as <i>IV,</i> <i>Runes,</i> <i>Zoso</i> (after Jimmy Page's symbol) and "the one with 'Stairway to Heaven' on it."</P><P><b>Prince's <i>Love Symbol</i> album</b>: Released in the lead-up to the Purple One's "symbol" phase &#8212; when he changed his stage name to an unpronounceable hieroglyph that incorporated the symbols for both male and female &#8212; it understandably infuriated his label, Warner Bros., which was precisely what Prince intended. (Note to labels: Do not release greatest-hits packages without Prince's approval.) After the album didn't sell (he blamed this on Warner), Prince would eventually begin appearing in public with the phrase "Slave" written on his face. Shocking, to be sure, but at least you could <i>pronounce</i> it.</P><P><b>Ministry's <i>Psalm 69</i></b>: Its actual title is a collection of Greek symbols (that translate to "head") and the number "69" in Greek numerals. Not only that, but Ministry named their 1992 album in honor of occultist Aleister Crowley's "The Book of Lies," which was first published as "Which is also Falsely Called BREAKS. The Wanderings or Falsifications of the One Thought of Frater Perduarbo, which Thought is itself Untrue. Liber CCCXXXIII [Book 333]." And <i>that</i> would have been a ridiculous name for an album.</P><P><b>Sigur Ros' <i>( )</i></b>: The Icelandic art-rockers really outdid themselves on their third album, and we're not just talking about the decision to sing all the songs in a made-up language called "Hopelandic." Technically, <i>( )</i> has no actual title. Rather, the brackets are meant to represent its two halves or give the listener the opportunity to determine the title themselves. Oh, and officially, all of the tracks on the album are untitled too. Your move, Gaga.</P><P><b>Coldplay's <i>X&Y</i></b>: Sure, it's got a traditional title. But ever the <i>artistes,</i> Coldplay decided to print the name of their 2005 album in the Baudot code, an early forerunner of the Morse code that relied on a series of 1's and 0's to convey messages. Needless to say, the logic behind the decision was about as difficult to crack as the code itself.</P><P><b>M.I.A. <i>/\/\ /\ Y /\</i></b>: Yes, we know that technically, M.I.A.'s 2010 album is called Maya (she named it after herself, following in the tradition of her first two albums, which were named in honor of her mother and father), but let the record state that when she officially unveiled the title, she did so in tricky typographical fashion. No wonder Diplo hated it so much.</P><P><b>Liars' <i>WIXIW</i></b>: It's pronounced "Wish You," FYI. And for a band like Liars, who have spent their career giving albums titles like <i>They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top</i> and <i>They Were Wrong, So We Drowned,</i> we'd like to think it's actually an improvement.</P><P><i>Sound off on the latest album title trend in the comments, and FEEL FREE TO DO IT IN ALL-CAPS!</i></P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Lady Gaga Has The Title And Concept For Her Next Album" id="vid:717202" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P>

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New 'Arrested Development' Episodes Are 'Out of Control Fun'

Any day is a good day for some "Arrested Development" news, particularly when it comes from Buster Bluth himself (aka Tony Hale). When MTV News caught up with him at HBO's star-studded Emmy bash recently, we had to ask him for an update on filming the series and all the fun the cast has been [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/09/27/arrested-development-tony-hale/

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VIDEO: Tami Roman Talks ?Basketball Wives? Controversy

?Basketball Wives? star Tami Roman address the controversy surrounding her reality show. Plus, find out what Tami?s daughters and boyfriend think about her behavior on the show.

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Ke$ha Drops Lil Wayne, T.I., Wiz Khalifa 'Sleazy' Remix

Remix also features Andre 3000 and is a bit racier than the original track.
By Jocelyn Vena

<P>As promised, Ke$ha and her boys Lil Wayne, T.I., Wiz Khalifa and Andre 3000 dropped a new remix of "Sleazy" on Tuesday (December 13).</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="MTV News Extended Play: Ke$ha" id="id:1661961" width="240" height="211"></div><p></P><P>The Bangladesh-produced song originally appeared on K-Dollar's 2010 Cannibal album before a remix featuring Andre popped up earlier this year. The latest version of the song is available for purchase and is all over blogs like Rap-Up.com. The song gets a bit dirtier and introspective thanks to verses from the guys that play up the track's bumping beat.</P><P>Wiz kicks it off, rapping about designer clothes and his lady love, Amber Rose. "OK, I'm young and I'm tatted/ I get them bucks like an addict/ Rocking this Christian Dior/ I spend so much on my fabric/ I got a wifey at home/ And what she wants she can have it," he spits before going on about chilling on the beach, being rich and his prowess in the bedroom.</P><P>Sitting in between Wiz and Tip is Andre's recycled verse, before T.I. gets his shot and gets sexy, asking Ke$ha, "Do you know what to do with me?" before he launches into a verse all about how good he is to the ladies. "Bad bitches know me/ So don't bother introducing me/ They want me more than diamonds," he brags before explaining that it has a lot to do with his impressive anatomy.</P><P>Wayne closes it out, adding his own signature flair. "We be on that sh-- that no one be on/ That's what we on/ Smoke that neon, Kings of Leon/ Dynamite, Napoleon/ Got some skinnies and a tee on/ And some Vans," he rhymes about his famous sense of Weezy-fied style before the song circles back to the funky chorus, where Ke$ha declares that she doesn't "need you or your brand-new Benz/ Or your bougie friends/ I don't need love lookin' like diamonds/ Lookin' like diamonds."</P><P>If any of K's fans or critics were wondering if she has the swagger to chill with the guys, she displayed some of her sass when she tweeted about the remix. "Question ANIMALS ... who can say they got with Lil Wayne, T.I., Andre 3000 and Wiz Khalifa on a f---ing hot track??" she asked. "ill give u one clue ... Its $."</P><P><i>What do you think of the "Sleazy" remix? Tell us in the comments!</i></P>

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Gabby Douglas Gets Olympics Love From Beyonce, Lil Wayne, More

Gold-medal-winning gymnast sets the Internet on fire after landmark victory in London.
By Jocelyn Vena, with additional reporting by Cory Midgarden

<P>It's been an impressive run for Team U.S.A. over in London. As the Summer Olympics continue to captivate the world, event after event, it was a girl who has been nicknamed "The Flying Squirrel" who won not only the gold in the women's gymnastics all-around final competition on Thursday, but also the <i>hearts</i> of some of the biggest stars in entertainment.</P><P>What makes Gabby Douglas' win even more impressive is that the 16-year-old is the first African-American woman to take home the honor, a feat that has earned her major kudos from some major players in the music world and beyond. Kelly Rowland spoke to MTV News earlier this week, and she showed love to the soon-to-be gold medalist, proudly exclaiming, "Gymnastics! Gabby Douglas! She's awesome!"</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Kelly Rowland Is A Fan Of Gabby Douglas" id="vid:822664" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>But Kelly's not the only member of Destiny's Child enamored with the headline-making teen. Beyonce blogged about Douglas' win, sharing that she feels inspired by the teen's impressive Olympics run. "A huge congratulations to 16 year old Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas - WOW - what a thrill to watch you take this Gold! - enjoy this moment, its yours. Thank you for inspiring all of us! Love, B."</P><P>They're hardly the only A-listers showing the tiny teen adoration. Lil Wayne tweeted, "Glad i lived to see what Gabby Douglas did in the Olympics. Icon." His Young Money pal Nicki Minaj also sent her some viral love. "Kisses to Gabby what an amazing little firecracker. #USA #Olympics," she wrote.</P><P>In fact, after Gabby responded to Weezy's tweet with "WOW!!!! Im speechless Thank you SOO MUCH!!," Minaj teased back, "Oh wow, I tweeted about #Gabby earlier but she responds to@LilTunechi and not me? U know what? Ima fight u. I've had it!!!"</P><P>Other Twitter love came from a myriad of entertainers, including Oprah Winfrey, Estelle, Ian Somerhalder, Ciara, Gabrielle Union, Timbaland, Elizabeth Banks and athletes like fellow gold-medal winner Michael Phelps and Kristi Yamaguchi.</P><P>Shortly after the historic victory, it was announced that she would appear on the front of the Kellogg's Corn Flakes box; a mock-up was released in the wake of the win.</P><P>"People have asked if I felt like I was on fire here in London, but I just feel normal, the same as I do every day in practice. The difference has been that I was ready to seize the moment, to focus and to trust in what I can do," Douglas wrote on her ESPN blog about her landmark victory.</P><P>"You say you want to do it and you dream about it every day, but then when it happens, it's hard to believe it really has. Tonight, when the U.S. flag was raised and the national anthem played, there were so many camera flashes going off I felt like I was at a concert. And the crazy thing was, they were all taking pictures of me."</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Celebs: What Sport Would You Play In The Olympics?" id="vid:821567" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P><i>Share your thoughts on your fave Summer Olympics stars in the comments below!</i></P>

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Sofia Vergara Says ?Good Morning America?

In light of ?Modern Family?s? season four debut, the lovely Sofia Vergara graced ?Good Morning America? with her beauty today (September 27).

The 40-year-old actress showed off her goods in a leopard print top with blue skinnies as she tweeted, ?Thank u for watching with me!!! I'll be on @gma in the morning!?

In regards to her Emmy-winning ABC hit, Miss Vergara is sporting some extra weight this season.

During Wednesday night?s (September 26) premiere, Gloria (Sofia?s character) told the hilarious clan that she was pregnant. The announcement boasted a heartwarming response from all and boosted ratings nationwide.


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Watch: No Doubt Releases A Music Video For ?Push And Shove?


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