What's up with this band name? It's completely lame.
Does it work better as a blog name? Good. Because it's the name of my new blog. Never fear, the Band Name Blog will continue to rock you.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Snow Patrol
This name came to mind as I was watching heavy wet snow fall this morning and into this afternoon, causing cancellation of my plan to attend Kate's fabulous Oscar party tonight in Richmond. Boo to snow.
There is some nice assonance going on in this name. It's a fun name to say, especially if you say it really slow. Then it sounds like a 78 rpm record played at 45 rpm (did I just lose everyone under 30?).
My first thought was that this band's name is a fairly lame drug reference. (See also "ski instructor seeks snow bunny" personal ads on Craigslist.) I imagined they were frat boys who used lots of drugs in college, to later become suburban dads who disdain drug use but who go through half a bottle of vodka every weekend. Let the record show that I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong. They earned this name the hard way. As Wikipedia says,
"Bass player Paul Wilson said the reason for the name stemmed from an encounter with police in Telluride, Colorado. The band members apparently were caught trying to cut down a Christmas tree from the skiing hotspot. The band successfully eluded the police when they hid a cave for over five hours. Drummer Jonny Quinn suffered from pneumonia after the ordeal."
This behavior is so stupid I'm actually impressed. They thought it would be better to get pneumonia and risk freezing to death than to get a slap on the wrist and a small fine. I guess natural selection worked out OK for them in this case.
Snow Patrol: 5.7
There is some nice assonance going on in this name. It's a fun name to say, especially if you say it really slow. Then it sounds like a 78 rpm record played at 45 rpm (did I just lose everyone under 30?).
My first thought was that this band's name is a fairly lame drug reference. (See also "ski instructor seeks snow bunny" personal ads on Craigslist.) I imagined they were frat boys who used lots of drugs in college, to later become suburban dads who disdain drug use but who go through half a bottle of vodka every weekend. Let the record show that I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong. They earned this name the hard way. As Wikipedia says,
"Bass player Paul Wilson said the reason for the name stemmed from an encounter with police in Telluride, Colorado. The band members apparently were caught trying to cut down a Christmas tree from the skiing hotspot. The band successfully eluded the police when they hid a cave for over five hours. Drummer Jonny Quinn suffered from pneumonia after the ordeal."
This behavior is so stupid I'm actually impressed. They thought it would be better to get pneumonia and risk freezing to death than to get a slap on the wrist and a small fine. I guess natural selection worked out OK for them in this case.
Snow Patrol: 5.7
Loney, Dear
As one magazine put it, this name is the bane of spellcheckers everywhere. Also, it makes no sense. There are many good nonsensical band names, but I don't think this is one of them. I can't find an explanation of the name's origins, but I have learned the guy who comprises 100% of Loney, Dear is Swedish. As someone with Swedish heritage (and because English is clearly his second language), I award him a pity point.
The title of his next album is Loney, Noir. Couldn't he have come up with a straightforward title to balance out the confusing name?
Loney, Dear: 2.5 (includes pity point)
The title of his next album is Loney, Noir. Couldn't he have come up with a straightforward title to balance out the confusing name?
Loney, Dear: 2.5 (includes pity point)
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
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
Green Milk from the Planet Orange
Sarah keeps the good ideas rollin'. I'll give this band props for a nicely-designed website. This band name wants to be part of the gross-out genre, but the web site tries to put it in the minimal graphics cool-school instead. The best example of a gross-out band name I have found is Orgasm-Induced Diarrhea. Sorry if anyone is reading this over dinner.
You won't forget this band name, but it's also pretty unwieldy. The acronym, used frequently on the web site, is GMFTPO. Now, I work for the Federal gov't, and even I think that's a bad acronym. How about GrMiPO instead?
Green Milk from the Planet Orange: 3.7
You won't forget this band name, but it's also pretty unwieldy. The acronym, used frequently on the web site, is GMFTPO. Now, I work for the Federal gov't, and even I think that's a bad acronym. How about GrMiPO instead?
Green Milk from the Planet Orange: 3.7
Vincent van Go Go
Alert reader Sarah provided some inspiration to get my ass bloggin' again. First, did you know that van Gogh is correctly pronounced like "fun hoff?" The "hoff" is very phlegmy. Things aren't looking too good for Van go go already. This name is undoubtedly funny, at least to me, but it's a little long. Sarah, does the singer perform with a bandaged ear?
Vincent van Go Go: 4.5
Vincent van Go Go: 4.5
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
The Knack
Thanks to someone who shall remain nameless, "My Sharona" has been stuck in my head all day. The instigator has redeemed himself to a degree by discovering that the titular Sharona is now a real estate agent who says inscrutable things like "My Sharona has had an impact on my ability to understand the entertainers [sic] mind, there's something simpatico." All right, honey, you need to stop smoking the funny cigarettes Doug Fieger gave you when you were 17. (For further reading check out this excellent appreciation of the Knack's late drummer, Bruce Gary.)
Anyway, The Knack is similar to The Rentals. The band names are middling on their own, but they made for some great artist/title combos. The Knack released Get the Knack, and the Rentals have Return of the Rentals. Not the most sophisticated humor technique, but it works for me.
The Knack: 7.4
Anyway, The Knack is similar to The Rentals. The band names are middling on their own, but they made for some great artist/title combos. The Knack released Get the Knack, and the Rentals have Return of the Rentals. Not the most sophisticated humor technique, but it works for me.
The Knack: 7.4
Friday, January 26, 2007
Noble Rot
I'm back from my business trip out west, where Budget car rental conspired to stick me in a Hummer H3. Hilarity did not ensue. I feel like I should spend the weekend planting trees in penitence.
I thought Noble Rot would be a great band name, so I was pleased to find that this band does indeed exist. This web page about them is hilarious and profound all at once. Their song titles include "Detox Bitch" and "Big Bottle of Love." The page also opines that the lead singer's basement is "a hot spot of sorts for underground rock shows." In short, I see this band as the sons of Spinal Tap.
The singer comments that “In the end, you make the name, the name doesn’t make you.” I tend to disagree (that's kind of the point of my blog, after all), but there is a kernel of truth here. The most outlandish band name can gain respectability if the music is good enough.
Noble Rot: 9.2
I thought Noble Rot would be a great band name, so I was pleased to find that this band does indeed exist. This web page about them is hilarious and profound all at once. Their song titles include "Detox Bitch" and "Big Bottle of Love." The page also opines that the lead singer's basement is "a hot spot of sorts for underground rock shows." In short, I see this band as the sons of Spinal Tap.
The singer comments that “In the end, you make the name, the name doesn’t make you.” I tend to disagree (that's kind of the point of my blog, after all), but there is a kernel of truth here. The most outlandish band name can gain respectability if the music is good enough.
Noble Rot: 9.2
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Autechre
I thought this name was French at first, but it turns out it's no language known to (wo)man. The band explains:
"The first two letters were intentional, because there was an 'au' sound in the track, and the rest of the letters were bashed randomly on the keyboard. We had this track title for ages, and we had written it on a cassette, with some graphics. It looked good, and we began using it as our name."
Let's hope these guys aren't air traffic controllers in their day jobs. My next question concerns the pronunciation of Autechre. Wikipedia says it's usually pronounced "awe-teh-ker." I wonder how many people say it with a French inflection? It's pretty advanced French too, with the phlegmy "hre" sound.
In sum, we have a keyboard-bashed name that is prone to be hilariously mispronounced by wanna-be Francophones. Brilliant or bollocks? For once, I'm not sure.
Autechre: 5.0?
"The first two letters were intentional, because there was an 'au' sound in the track, and the rest of the letters were bashed randomly on the keyboard. We had this track title for ages, and we had written it on a cassette, with some graphics. It looked good, and we began using it as our name."
Let's hope these guys aren't air traffic controllers in their day jobs. My next question concerns the pronunciation of Autechre. Wikipedia says it's usually pronounced "awe-teh-ker." I wonder how many people say it with a French inflection? It's pretty advanced French too, with the phlegmy "hre" sound.
In sum, we have a keyboard-bashed name that is prone to be hilariously mispronounced by wanna-be Francophones. Brilliant or bollocks? For once, I'm not sure.
Autechre: 5.0?
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Apostle of Hustle
Alert reader Kate introduced me to Apostle of Hustle. The name can be a little bit of a tongue-twister, but I like the internal rhyme. As I want to evaluate this name objectively, I have not yet listened to their music, but I imagine it to be fun-kay.
HS and I agree that Ian Svenonius should take over this band name, by force if necessary. Ian Sven is truly the Apostle of Hustle. Not to name drop (ha, you know I love it), but last weekend, I found myself being the (soy) meat in an Ian sandwich. However, it was all G-rated. We were at a very small show at an art gallery and I was next to Ian Sven. HS asked me to pass his copy of Ian's new book (The Psychic Soviet) over for him to sign. Ian looked rather surprised. Ian MacKaye had been standing behind me for a while and interjected, "My name's Ian too...I can sign it!" Momentarily overcome, HS and I just laughed. The next time this happens (yeah, right), HS is going to respond with "Your name is Ian?" Yes, our curse is to always think of good come-backs too late.
But I digress...
Apostle of Hustle: 8.6
HS and I agree that Ian Svenonius should take over this band name, by force if necessary. Ian Sven is truly the Apostle of Hustle. Not to name drop (ha, you know I love it), but last weekend, I found myself being the (soy) meat in an Ian sandwich. However, it was all G-rated. We were at a very small show at an art gallery and I was next to Ian Sven. HS asked me to pass his copy of Ian's new book (The Psychic Soviet) over for him to sign. Ian looked rather surprised. Ian MacKaye had been standing behind me for a while and interjected, "My name's Ian too...I can sign it!" Momentarily overcome, HS and I just laughed. The next time this happens (yeah, right), HS is going to respond with "Your name is Ian?" Yes, our curse is to always think of good come-backs too late.
But I digress...
Apostle of Hustle: 8.6
Friday, January 05, 2007
Pink Floyd and The Psychedelic Furs
These band names belong to the nonsense/ nonsequitur band name genre. They seem to make no sense. Don't even try to think rationally about what a psychedelic fur is; it's not meant to be logically understood (but maybe it has something to do with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat).
I admire the Dada element in these names. Turns out that Pink Floyd does have a logical explanation: it's named after two blues musicians. More interesting is that Pink Floyd started out as Tea Set. Wow, is that ever a wussy name. It might be appropriate for Belle and Sebastian (and hey, I like B&S), but not for space/stoner rock.
Pink Floyd: 7.9
The Psychedelic Furs: 7.0
I admire the Dada element in these names. Turns out that Pink Floyd does have a logical explanation: it's named after two blues musicians. More interesting is that Pink Floyd started out as Tea Set. Wow, is that ever a wussy name. It might be appropriate for Belle and Sebastian (and hey, I like B&S), but not for space/stoner rock.
Pink Floyd: 7.9
The Psychedelic Furs: 7.0
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Def Leppard
Why not Deaf Leopard? Well, the band originally was called Deaf Leopard, but they thought it made them sound too punk or something. The whole thing is a little unclear to me. Why use a deaf leopard as your emblem? The leopard cannot enjoy your music. Perhaps, like the umlaut, the "leppard" lends an air of menace. It would be great if a heavy metal tribute band called itself Def Leper. However, it seems that name is already taken, and by a man of the cloth to boot.
Def Leppard definitely looks more rockin' than Deaf Leopard. It reminds me of a line in American Movie where the film director keeps pronouncing the title of his movie, Coven, as if it rhymes with "woven." He does that because it sounds more rockin' that way. An actor in the film remarks that to be pronounced that way, an umlaut should be added.
Def Leppard: 6.8
Def Leppard definitely looks more rockin' than Deaf Leopard. It reminds me of a line in American Movie where the film director keeps pronouncing the title of his movie, Coven, as if it rhymes with "woven." He does that because it sounds more rockin' that way. An actor in the film remarks that to be pronounced that way, an umlaut should be added.
Def Leppard: 6.8
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
The J. Geils Band
I dislike bands named after actual band members even more than bland band names like The Beat. These bands should use a smidgen more imagination, even if one band member is the main draw. Look at Joan Jett, people. Instead of The Joan Jett Band, she chose Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, which is much better. Ian Drury performed with the Blockheads. Couldn't J. Geils have been performing with the Naked J-birds, for example?
On a side note, I don't have the heart to rate The Pete Best Band. You may or may not know that Pete Best is known as "the fifth Beatle." Did you know that he still performs? Yeah--at Jammin' Java, a venue near me that holds maybe 200 people. Man, he must be kicking himself.
The J. Geils Band: 2.0 (I would have ranked it lower, but I want to leave some room for band names with hideous puns or tasteless/disgusting connotations.)
On a side note, I don't have the heart to rate The Pete Best Band. You may or may not know that Pete Best is known as "the fifth Beatle." Did you know that he still performs? Yeah--at Jammin' Java, a venue near me that holds maybe 200 people. Man, he must be kicking himself.
The J. Geils Band: 2.0 (I would have ranked it lower, but I want to leave some room for band names with hideous puns or tasteless/disgusting connotations.)
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs/ Hot Hot Heat
Let's talk about repetition in band names. Sometimes it is just tedious, as with The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Try having a conversation or writing an email where you use their name more than once; if you're like me, you'll be tempted to call them "The Yeahs" or "The YYYs." It is an amusing name on paper, though.
Hot Hot Heat rolls off the tongue more easily. But what's really great about the name Hot Hot Heat can only be appreciated at one of their concerts. In the time between the end of the set and the encore, the audience started chanting "Hot Hot Heat!" It makes a really excellent chant, especially when synchronized with foot stomping. I haven't been to a YYY concert, so I don't know if the same thing happens there. If it does, it could redeem the YYY's name to an extent.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs: 4.6
Hot Hot Heat: 7.0
Hot Hot Heat rolls off the tongue more easily. But what's really great about the name Hot Hot Heat can only be appreciated at one of their concerts. In the time between the end of the set and the encore, the audience started chanting "Hot Hot Heat!" It makes a really excellent chant, especially when synchronized with foot stomping. I haven't been to a YYY concert, so I don't know if the same thing happens there. If it does, it could redeem the YYY's name to an extent.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs: 4.6
Hot Hot Heat: 7.0
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Soccer Team
This band opened for a show I was at on Friday; however, we arrived too late to see them. There is a lot to be said for an easily google-able name, and Soccer Team is not one of them. They join the ranks of talented but unfortunately named bands like The Sounds, James, and Pulp. Looking for Pulp-related items on Ebay is a real chore.
Searching for "Soccer team band" brings up their home page, but many links to Soccer Team are probably buried deep within Google. Also, Soccer Team is a pretty generic, boring name to me. Badminton Team would have been better. It reminds me of my sister's story about the excruciatingly hip badminton team at her college. They had shirts printed up which said "Bad" on the front and "Minton" on the back. A band named Badminton Team could have similar shirts produced.
Soccer Team: 2.3
Searching for "Soccer team band" brings up their home page, but many links to Soccer Team are probably buried deep within Google. Also, Soccer Team is a pretty generic, boring name to me. Badminton Team would have been better. It reminds me of my sister's story about the excruciatingly hip badminton team at her college. They had shirts printed up which said "Bad" on the front and "Minton" on the back. A band named Badminton Team could have similar shirts produced.
Soccer Team: 2.3
Monday, December 11, 2006
Gogol Bordello
I was researching this band name, and guess what: The singer's name has an umlaut! It all goes back to the umlaut, kids. This band plays hard-to-categorize music that I would describe as "klezmer punk." Someone else called them "a bit like The Clash having a fight with The Pogues in Eastern Europe."
The name has some great sounds that English-speakers don't get to make that often. Saying "Gogol" strengthens your gargling muscles. The momentum of the guttural "o" sound continues with "Bordello."
A few different things are going on with the name's connotations. "Gogol" comes (the band claims) from Nikolai Gogol, a Russian writer who lived during the 1800s. Picturing a bordello during that time makes me think of a lot of velvet and Lapsang Souchong (smokey) tea. A gogol is also a number: ten to the power of ten, to the power of 100. Google takes its name from gogol.
This is a band name that's rich in sound and meaning. And it would look so nice with a few umlauts.
Gogol Bordello: 9.1
The name has some great sounds that English-speakers don't get to make that often. Saying "Gogol" strengthens your gargling muscles. The momentum of the guttural "o" sound continues with "Bordello."
A few different things are going on with the name's connotations. "Gogol" comes (the band claims) from Nikolai Gogol, a Russian writer who lived during the 1800s. Picturing a bordello during that time makes me think of a lot of velvet and Lapsang Souchong (smokey) tea. A gogol is also a number: ten to the power of ten, to the power of 100. Google takes its name from gogol.
This is a band name that's rich in sound and meaning. And it would look so nice with a few umlauts.
Gogol Bordello: 9.1
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Umlaut, part 2
Which band (or musician) names would be improved by adding an umlaut?
Aghäst
Fugazï
Prïnce
Gnärls Bärkley
Mözart
Sönic Yöuth
Morrïssey
Düran Düran
Prïmal Screäm
Incübus
Care to add your own?
Aghäst
Fugazï
Prïnce
Gnärls Bärkley
Mözart
Sönic Yöuth
Morrïssey
Düran Düran
Prïmal Screäm
Incübus
Care to add your own?
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