I've been corresponding with an aspiring novelist whose story partly revolves around a rock band that's been together for over twenty years. I suggested, as a way to better understand her characters and their backstory, to consider what they called their band before they came up with the current name -- back when they were 20, playing for 10 or 15 people in a dive bar on a Wednesday night. How many names did they go through and how many fights did it cause? Because I can't imagine most bands came up with a winning name first time out of the box, and that's part of the story. By whatever process, these bands came up with winners:
Anhedonist
I like this because it can be taken a couple of ways: one who is not a hedonist -- not anti, just . . . not. Or (because some people like to use the article "an" with words that begin with "h") it could be the article and the noun run together -- one who is an hedonist. I expect it's up to the listener to decide.
Insect Surfers
Insects on surfboards: cute. People using giant insects as surfboards: trippy. People surfing waves of bugs: ew.
Magic Bus
I'm an old Who fan, and I've always loved this song, so I couldn't pass this one by.
Write This Down
The irony is that at a live performance, you can't understand most of the words.
YO! Majesty
This is exactly the right attitude toward monarchy.
Naming a band is an act of concentrated creative expression. Square Pig in a Round Hole exists to reward five favorite band names each week. Winners are listed alphabetically. Selection is wholly unscientific and subject to whim, with a bias toward wordplay, humor, and local flavor. In most cases, I won't know anything about the bands at the time of selection. Thanks to the Seattle Times club listings for abundant source material!
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