Wednesday, February 21, 2007

The Mod Cons

This just goes to show that yes, all the good band names are taken. I've been happy to find that two band names I'd thought were great actually exist. The Mod Cons are a band from the UK that look pretty firmly entrenched on the Wigan-Liverpool circuit.

The first thing I like about this band name is that Mod and Con are such delightfully ambiguous words. Of course, we know it's short for "modern conveniences," but couldn't it be Mod like '60s mod, and Con like convict?

Second, the idea of modern conveniences is strongly nostalgic for me. What are mod cons? Like, a dishwasher and an electric dryer (as opposed to a rubber tub and a clothesline)? It reminds me of a car mechanic's sign in Worcester, MA, where I went to grad school. The sign said "Computerized service" and it had one of those little atom symbols. Wow--computers!

The Mod Cons: 9.0

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Arguably, The Jam's greatest record was titled "All Mod Cons." I haven't heard this band, but I hope they aren't a Jam ripoff band, undeserving of such a high mark. Then again, The Jam seems intent to rip off The Jam by re-forming without Weller so i guess it's ok. Let the 9.0 stand!

Amy said...

There was a band named All Mod Cons, but I like The Mod Cons better.

Unknown said...

I was suprised to see that some kids have salvaged the name of the punkish band that I played in over in the Ipswitch England area back in the mid 70's called the Mod Cons. I wonder how they found out about us so many years later :)