Out past 10 two weeknights in a row -- Banned Rehearsal performance last night and Your Mother Should Know practice the night before that. I don't know about this life in the fast lane. I'm feeling sleep-deprived, so I'll keep this short. Fortunately, the band names fell readily into a theme. See if you can guess it.
Excuse You
I know this line as an alternative momism to "What do you say?" When adults say it to each other, it gains a layer of sarcasm while still sounding polite.
Go Radio
It's been a long time since I did much music listening on the radio, but I love those moments when I'm switching the CD in the car and a fragment of another world comes over the airwaves. Long live radio.
Lagwagon
I think I had this car.
Sweet Talkin' Jones and the Muscletones
I try not to play favorites, but this is my favorite. It has the classic X and the Y structure, and it takes the "-tones" trope in a punning direction. And it rhymes. (Broad hint).
Town Hall Brawl
I think I'll stay away from the contentious meeting, but I'll be happy to read a detailed account the next day!
And of course, the theme is names with rhymes in them. I found Excuse You and Town Hall Brawl on the same bill early in the listings, and the rest chose themselves.
Coming Soon: Your Mother Should Know with Canals of Venice, Dead Bars, and Red Ribbon! Tuesday, March 5 at Comet Tavern, doors open at 8 pm, $6 cover.
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!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
February 16, 2013
After yesterday's meteor and asteroid events, may I just say: Space rocks. Sorry. On with the band names . . .
Aaron Daniel's One Man Banned
It's almost too easy, but the pun of "banned" for "band" continues to work. I'm also sensitive to the usage because I'm part of a longstanding musical improv outfit called Banned Rehearsal, which has been not-rehearsing since 1984. Shameless plug: we'll be playing the Chapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center on Friday, February 22 -- our first public outing since 1997.
Chaotic Noise Marching Corps
This actually seems to describe the Banned Rehearsal aesthetic, though we do not generally march. I like the apparent oxymoron of chaos and noise combined with the implied order of a marching corps. Also, one of the guys lives on my block and went through elementary and middle school with one of my kids, so there's some neighborly pride here.
Feed Me with Teeth
Well, obviously, but on the other hand, what? A short sentence that twists all over the place. I also appreciate the assonance of the repeated double e.
Mouse on Mars
My instant reaction was memory of the Fun Forest, which I consider a good thing. In my mind, this name melds the roller coaster Mad Mouse with another ride called Flight to Mars. So, Seattle nostalgia plus my usual Mars-mania -- an easy pick.
Robot Uprise
I don't think I've ever seen "uprise" used this way, or maybe at all. Is it a verb -- something a robot is being ordered to do? Or is it a noun, a shortened version of uprising? What do our robot overlords say?
Aaron Daniel's One Man Banned
It's almost too easy, but the pun of "banned" for "band" continues to work. I'm also sensitive to the usage because I'm part of a longstanding musical improv outfit called Banned Rehearsal, which has been not-rehearsing since 1984. Shameless plug: we'll be playing the Chapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center on Friday, February 22 -- our first public outing since 1997.
Chaotic Noise Marching Corps
This actually seems to describe the Banned Rehearsal aesthetic, though we do not generally march. I like the apparent oxymoron of chaos and noise combined with the implied order of a marching corps. Also, one of the guys lives on my block and went through elementary and middle school with one of my kids, so there's some neighborly pride here.
Feed Me with Teeth
Well, obviously, but on the other hand, what? A short sentence that twists all over the place. I also appreciate the assonance of the repeated double e.
Mouse on Mars
My instant reaction was memory of the Fun Forest, which I consider a good thing. In my mind, this name melds the roller coaster Mad Mouse with another ride called Flight to Mars. So, Seattle nostalgia plus my usual Mars-mania -- an easy pick.
Robot Uprise
I don't think I've ever seen "uprise" used this way, or maybe at all. Is it a verb -- something a robot is being ordered to do? Or is it a noun, a shortened version of uprising? What do our robot overlords say?
Saturday, February 9, 2013
February 9, 2013
What a privilege to live in a region that produced both The Sonics and Mudhoney, and continues to incubate a lively and creative music scene that really doesn't care what the rest of the world thinks. Let them come to us.
This week's picks ended up having a food-and-martian theme. I don't plan these things, folks; just lucky, I guess.
Boss Martians
Men Martians and Machines
I love it when my R&R and SF interests come together. I don't suppose I'll ever get over my Mars kick.
Fruit and Vegetable
Sour Scream and Salsa
These two really should have been on the same bill. Not just food and allusions to food, but the classic Noun and Noun band name structure. Yet they are also opposites: while both chose foods that are commonly spoken of together, one pairs staples of a balanced diet; the other, yelling condiments . . . into which the healthful foods could be dipped! I also like that Fruit and Vegetable are singular, as if this is a duo of (interchangeable) Veggie Tales characters. Sour Scream and Salsa provides abundant sibilance, and I gotta say, mariachi metal is an intriguing new genre.
Hellbelly
Too much sour scream and salsa? I love that something as simple as changing the vowel sometimes works magic.
This week's picks ended up having a food-and-martian theme. I don't plan these things, folks; just lucky, I guess.
Boss Martians
Men Martians and Machines
I love it when my R&R and SF interests come together. I don't suppose I'll ever get over my Mars kick.
Fruit and Vegetable
Sour Scream and Salsa
These two really should have been on the same bill. Not just food and allusions to food, but the classic Noun and Noun band name structure. Yet they are also opposites: while both chose foods that are commonly spoken of together, one pairs staples of a balanced diet; the other, yelling condiments . . . into which the healthful foods could be dipped! I also like that Fruit and Vegetable are singular, as if this is a duo of (interchangeable) Veggie Tales characters. Sour Scream and Salsa provides abundant sibilance, and I gotta say, mariachi metal is an intriguing new genre.
Hellbelly
Too much sour scream and salsa? I love that something as simple as changing the vowel sometimes works magic.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
February 2, 2013
Happy Groundhog Day! I'm very excited to go hear The Sonics and Mudhoney tonight! Musically, I missed the '60s because I was a child, and the '90s because I had children. Most kind of these two bands to do a show together for my convenience! They are among the few I've blogged about after hearing their music. Here are some I've yet to hear:
Acapulco Lips
I was sorry to miss Red Ribbon's show at the Rendezvous last week, moreso when I learned the name of the opening act. On the page, it looks like silly nonsense, but has to be read aloud to really sink in. On top of the wordplay (for me, at least), it brings to mind Walt Kelly's Pogo strip, in which "Octawocktapockers done got Albert!"
Impossible Bird
Come to think of it, everything birds do seems impossible. They fly, soar, swoop, and flock without even thinking about it; snag mosquitoes out of the air; perch on branches and power lines without losing their balance; see colors that are invisible to us; migrate incredible distances. I'll stop there. Birds are awesome.
Rose Windows
Do they transform the venue into a cathedral? This would also make a good stage name.
The Shivering Denizens
I can't believe I haven't included this one before. I'm always happy to find the word "denizens" in use, and "shivering" seems like just the right adjective.
Train Wreck
Can't look away! A spectacle even when all goes wrong. Also, I tend to notice train references, due both to my lifelong fondness for trains, and to my folk-music project, Train Case.
Acapulco Lips
I was sorry to miss Red Ribbon's show at the Rendezvous last week, moreso when I learned the name of the opening act. On the page, it looks like silly nonsense, but has to be read aloud to really sink in. On top of the wordplay (for me, at least), it brings to mind Walt Kelly's Pogo strip, in which "Octawocktapockers done got Albert!"
Impossible Bird
Come to think of it, everything birds do seems impossible. They fly, soar, swoop, and flock without even thinking about it; snag mosquitoes out of the air; perch on branches and power lines without losing their balance; see colors that are invisible to us; migrate incredible distances. I'll stop there. Birds are awesome.
Rose Windows
Do they transform the venue into a cathedral? This would also make a good stage name.
The Shivering Denizens
I can't believe I haven't included this one before. I'm always happy to find the word "denizens" in use, and "shivering" seems like just the right adjective.
Train Wreck
Can't look away! A spectacle even when all goes wrong. Also, I tend to notice train references, due both to my lifelong fondness for trains, and to my folk-music project, Train Case.
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