Saturday, February 26, 2011

February 26, 2011

The big news is that the Square Pig got out of the hole last Sunday and saw a great show at the Comet. Four bands, all strong and with pretty good names, too! The Downstrokes, The Blue Ribbon Boys, and Hollywood 77 all paid homage to late-'70s New York punk, with spirited Ramones covers and other music that was loud, fast, and raw. It warms my heart that people who weren't even born in 1977 appreciate music that no one else in my high school dug. (The Downstrokes also won me over with a great Ramonesque take on Sam Cooke's "Having a Party," one of my favorite songs from before I was born.) Meanwhile, High Class Wreckage was pure Seattle Sound: a little louder, a little faster, a little heavier than anyone else. Draw a straight line from the Sonics through Mudhoney and you hit High Class Wreckage.

Now for this week's list! Continuing last week's theme, these are all plural nouns. They all refer to ordinary things and lack the definite article. The sheer generalness makes them quirky.

Baths
Is this the mundane weekly chore, or the soothing luxury -- Saturday-night or bubble?

Braids
The strands come together to form a neat unit. Or do they?


Hotels
Luxury and pampering, or standardized anonymity?

Ships
Cargo, cruise, or space?

Swans
The least ordinary of the bunch. Swans are elegant, with a long literary and artistic pedigree, but also big and aggressive if provoked.

Finally, the Bands Who Should Have Been on the Same Bill but Weren't Award goes to:
Just Like Vinyl and The Broken Records.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

February 19, 2011

Just for fun, this week's list has a theme. Every band name is a noun, singular. I like the idea of the band as a single unit, no matter how many members.

KITTEN
Seems cute and harmless, but oh! those little needle claws!
 
Llama
A young person of my acquaintance once wrote a short story for school in which the llama from Napoleon Dynamite (which I re-watched last night) runs away to Seattle and joins a gang of criminal llamas but is defeated during a chase in the bus tunnel when the side-mirror of a Metro bus takes the boss llama's head off. Maybe this is one of those llamas.


Mongo
"Mongo merely pawn in game of life." Thank you, Mel Brooks.

Princess
Sure, she's all sweet and pretty, but what's going on behind the throne? Royalty, like politicians, are not to be trusted.

Shim 
Yes, this band has appeared before. Sue me. They fit the theme, and take it to the next level by being a monosyllable! As I said in my previous post, the word is fun to say and sounds much funnier than its actual meaning.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

February 12, 2011

AK-747s
This is one of those cultural mashups that goes by so fast that you think you know what it is until you realize you don't. Of course, the Boeing reference makes it local.

Big Wheel Stunt Show
Another name that I had been chuckling at for months before I started this blog. An extreme sport for preschoolers? I can hear those hard plastic wheels rattling down the sidewalk now . . .


Lazer Kitty
So that's what the glowing green eyes are.

Murder By Death
What could be nerdier than a Woody Allen reference?

The Spinning Whips
Full disclosure: I know somebody who knows a member of this group. The name sounds like something dangerous and fascinating.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

February 5, 2011

All Bets on Death
Taxes are a close second.

Ancient Warlocks
This appeals to my fantasy-novel side. Music and fiction are the closest to magic we can get: something out of nothing. It also evokes Spinal Tap and their tiny Stonehenge, and that makes me smile.

Campfire OK
 Signs are great band-name fodder -- the fewer words, the better. This one has a nice positive vibe, but campfires can get out of hand -- exactly what you want with a rock show!

No Bunny
. . . till some bunny loves you. Sweet, sad, and existential all at once.

The Velveteen Lotharios
Hilariously cheap. (Knowing nothing at all, I guessed "lounge," and I was absolutely right!)