[x] The Self-Titled Album

Suppose we have a band called, say, "The Band To Band" who release their first, self-titled, album. Suppose on their next album they call themselves simply "Band To Band". Under the "The the" rule the word "The" is dropped in all references to the name of this band. Is the first album still considered to be self-titled, or is it now "The Band To Band" by "Band To Band"? I personally think the latter.

... one of my releases currently on the q (I forget which) is of this form. I used the latter technique.

Seems pretty clear to me it should be the former...

I agree with PK

Note that in the case of Fun Boy Three, the cover art is slightly ambiguous, as the "FB3" in the lower left may serve as a band logo and thus indicate that the album really is "The Fun Boy Three" by "Fun Boy Three". The definitive take would be what's on the spine; if it just says "The Fun Boy Three" then I think this is "s/t".

For self-titled releases, it seems more critical and more correct to note that the album is self-titled than to simply note the album title, because self-titled albums don't really HAVE an album title. They just have a band name. If an album clearly showed an artist name and a title, and they were the same, I would argue that the album is not self-titled, it's titled the same thing as the artist name, which is (to me) a subtle but important difference. If the album is truly self-titled, then calling it "The Fun Boy Three" by "Fun Boy Three" draws a distinction that doesn't exist and creates a title out of thin air.

It is the former.


Kevin