It feels so right that I'm doing my last blog post of 2012 on what would have been my mom's 80th birthday. A lot of people have influenced me to celebrate creative expression, but she would have been the first. Later this evening, we will lift a glass to her memory. Meanwhile, some band names to celebrate as we close out one year and begin another:
Best Band From Earth
I love that it's "from," not "on." This implies that there could be an interplanetary battle of the bands. That's the only kind of interplanetary battle I want to see.
Bright White Lightning
This has a nice rhythm, with the repeated long i and percussive t sounds, as well as being a concise description of a discharge of energy. It snaps.
Burn All the Liars
Oh, no! No writer is safe!
Hatters For Hire
This has an old-fashioned air, like a sepia-toned photograph of men in vests, bowlers, and waxed mustaches. It also evokes "Caps for Sale," a children's story first read to me by Captain Kangaroo when I was a preschooler. You find nostalgia in the oddest places.
Ohm Wrecker
Love those science puns.
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!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, December 22, 2012
December 22, 2012
Once again, the world did not end. Now the days grow longer and time rocks on.
Astronauts in Airballoons
Hard for me to pass up any band name with a space reference. Now, you can't quite get to space in a balloon -- maybe this the landing system.
Chin Up Rocky
Hokey-smoke! A Bullwinkle reference!
Contraband Countryband
A clever pun, and an implication of mischief afoot. This should be a good party.
Das Booty
Not just a play on the familiar, but a bilingual play that goes off in an entirely new direction.
Vocal Few
Cliches are a reliable source of fun band names, and this is no exception. I sure hope this is a harmony group.
Astronauts in Airballoons
Hard for me to pass up any band name with a space reference. Now, you can't quite get to space in a balloon -- maybe this the landing system.
Chin Up Rocky
Hokey-smoke! A Bullwinkle reference!
Contraband Countryband
A clever pun, and an implication of mischief afoot. This should be a good party.
Das Booty
Not just a play on the familiar, but a bilingual play that goes off in an entirely new direction.
Vocal Few
Cliches are a reliable source of fun band names, and this is no exception. I sure hope this is a harmony group.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
December 15, 2012
It's hard to focus today on something so apparently trivial as band names. Yet bands and band names represent creativity and music and friendship -- light in a dark, dark world.
An Amiable Medley
This is just so mild and comforting. I like it when bands have opposite day.
The Cockadoodle Spaniels
I like the goofy nonsense of it. The two words don't have anything obvious to do with each other, except that they end with the same sound.
San Benedicto Rock Wren
OK, it has rock in it, and wrens are amazing singers, so it works in goofy, nerdy kind of way.
Whiskey Syndicate
I literally met these guys on the street as they were packing their gear for a show in Winthrop. They are celebrating their first anniversary as a band, so congratulations! I've noticed there are a lot of bands in town with whiskey in their name. I like this one because it sounds like a formal organization (though the band seems really laid back).
Wildcat! Wildcat!
I am delighted by the urgency or enthusiasm denoted by the exclamation points. There are lots of double-word bands, but not many so energetically punctuated.
An Amiable Medley
This is just so mild and comforting. I like it when bands have opposite day.
The Cockadoodle Spaniels
I like the goofy nonsense of it. The two words don't have anything obvious to do with each other, except that they end with the same sound.
San Benedicto Rock Wren
OK, it has rock in it, and wrens are amazing singers, so it works in goofy, nerdy kind of way.
Whiskey Syndicate
I literally met these guys on the street as they were packing their gear for a show in Winthrop. They are celebrating their first anniversary as a band, so congratulations! I've noticed there are a lot of bands in town with whiskey in their name. I like this one because it sounds like a formal organization (though the band seems really laid back).
Wildcat! Wildcat!
I am delighted by the urgency or enthusiasm denoted by the exclamation points. There are lots of double-word bands, but not many so energetically punctuated.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
December 8, 2012
One of the fun parts of doing this blog is seeing how many of the bands I blogged about early on are still out there playing, as much as two years later. (Because now I know how hard it can be to keep a band together, especially if your rehearsal spaces keep getting bulldozed like happened to Pouch -- twice!) This week alone, I recognize Man Without Wax, Peace Mercutio, Astronautilus, I The Mighty, A Lot Like Birds, Spinning Whips, We Say Bang, Huckle, Really Big Beard, Belmont Whips, DJ Leopold Bloom, Afraid of Figs, Campfire OK, Pocket Panda, and Snaketopus. I would still pick any one of these today. Good job, everyone! And yet I still find new ones every week:
How to Dress Well
I really want to see the fashion advice book by a Seattle rock band. Jeans, t-shirt, flannel, and sensible shoes . . .
Indecisive Rhythm
It hasn't got a good beat and you can't dance to it? Either they're terrible but painfully honest, or so awesome that they not only don't have to brag about it but can get away with the opposite.
Kaleidosaur
Turtlesaur
I would have picked either of these on its own -- I like turtles and kaleidoscopes, and adding "-saur" to practically anything makes it stand out -- but seeing two in one week seemed like fate.
Prehumanity
This must be some serious roots music.
How to Dress Well
I really want to see the fashion advice book by a Seattle rock band. Jeans, t-shirt, flannel, and sensible shoes . . .
Indecisive Rhythm
It hasn't got a good beat and you can't dance to it? Either they're terrible but painfully honest, or so awesome that they not only don't have to brag about it but can get away with the opposite.
Kaleidosaur
Turtlesaur
I would have picked either of these on its own -- I like turtles and kaleidoscopes, and adding "-saur" to practically anything makes it stand out -- but seeing two in one week seemed like fate.
Prehumanity
This must be some serious roots music.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
December 1, 2012
Your Mother Should Know is recording a new song this afternoon, so I have to keep this brief -- only four bands instead of five. Let's get to it:
Buffalo Jones
Johnny Unicorn
I was delighted to find these two on the same bill. They use the same format -- name + animal -- but in reverse of each other, so there's balance.
The Cocktail Revisionists
This sounds serious and academic, except -- cocktails.
Swingset Showdown
I don't know how I've gone this long without mentioning this band. I know they've made the short list in the past, but somehow never got into the top 5. I love the childish aggression of it. Tickled to learn that the drummer works at my neighborhood video store, so there's a micro-local connection, too. And they sound like the goofy kid brothers of Curtains for You!
Buffalo Jones
Johnny Unicorn
I was delighted to find these two on the same bill. They use the same format -- name + animal -- but in reverse of each other, so there's balance.
The Cocktail Revisionists
This sounds serious and academic, except -- cocktails.
Swingset Showdown
I don't know how I've gone this long without mentioning this band. I know they've made the short list in the past, but somehow never got into the top 5. I love the childish aggression of it. Tickled to learn that the drummer works at my neighborhood video store, so there's a micro-local connection, too. And they sound like the goofy kid brothers of Curtains for You!
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