January 30, 2016

Although I don't go out often (too old, too tired, too busy, too employed), I love living in a place where it's theoretically possible to leave the house and find an interesting music event any night of the week. Here are just a few of this week's participants:

80 Proof Logic
You probably don't want to send that text.

the dead see squirrels
This one makes me absurdly happy. Read aloud, it's a goofy pun that reveals a previously unrecognized similarity of "scrolls" and "squirrels." Seen in print, it's a startling but harmless sentence about the view from the afterlife.

Grey Waves
On maps, the ocean is blue. I remember being disappointed the first time I discovered this wasn't true, at least at our latitude. Now I celebrate our cold, gray, merciless sea; not for the casual tourist.

Project Wonder Bread
Perhaps restoring some of the wonder to the epitome of soft and bland.

Waking Things
I love when two simple words can go in so many directions. Is this a description of the things when their alarm goes off, an action performed by them, or perhaps upon them? And should we be glad or chilled that they're waking?

January 23, 2016

Three musical practices at our house I'm thankful we instituted:
1. Record every show I play in;
2. Collect at least one recording of every band we hear live;
3. Put our entire collection (including the live stuff) on a hard drive and play it on shuffle.
This means that on top of the stuff everyone our age has, we have a large and diverse mix of mostly recent, mostly local sounds that we can't always identify without looking. "What a great song! Who is that?" It is not yet any of these, but that doesn't mean it won't be:

California Redemption Value
Shines a spotlight on mundane commercial or legal language and transforms the meaning. Does California have value, and can it be redeemed?

Death Muffins
The perfect balance of inevitability and comfort; or, an endearment for your goth sweetheart.

Flamingosis
Now we know what to call it when you find your yard has been invaded by lawn flamingos.

Kaos n Kunfusion
There are never enough K words, so I approve these chaotic and confused spellings. This also gets my vote for the title for the next installment of Get Smart, the great spy comedy of my childhood, in which the nemesis organization was KAOS.

Never Shout Never 
An idiomatic expression with the volume turned up!

January 16, 2016

Imagine a world where banks and insurance companies could have as much fun with their names as pot stores and game studios. Until that day, we'll always have rock bands such as these:

Anti You
It's personal.

The Janitors of Chaos
Glad to know somebody's on the job; I hope they get overtime.

Monsterwatch
Either some serious sentry duty or a very unusual tourist activity. Googling this name also turns up lots of places to buy oversized timepieces.

Tales from the Birdbath
It may seem trivial, but if you pay any attention to birds, you know they're full of drama and trash talk.

Weapons of Minor Disruption
Not destructive, merely spiteful. A bomb that knocks out the cable for an hour just as the game gets exciting, or makes the guitar amp buzz during an intricate solo.

January 9, 2016

Mid-blog, some program decided it needed to restart my computer. I didn't lose much, but I think I'll cut things short just to be safe. On with the list:

Haunted Summer
Unexpected and poetic. It takes quite a spook to haunt anything as bright and shiny as summer.

The Pro & the Con
So many meanings in so few letters/syllables! I'm also happy when I get to promote a guitar-drums duo, since that's where I live.

Prom Queen
In a rare occurrence, I heard this band before picking them for the blog. The name perfectly fits what the group is about: they have a wonderful retro look to go with their vintage sound and instruments. If you like to slow-dance in the living room, this is what you need.

Secret Cat
I'm picturing a cat going undercover in a dog household to steal the plans for a canine takeover of the world, blowing that plot wide open and then taking a nap. (And hey, they're on a bill with Square Pig faves Power Skeleton!)

Tan Sedan 
The least flashy conveyance out there. Belongs in the same category as Car Seat Headrest for celebration of mundanity and evocation of '70s cars.

January 2, 2016

Happy 2016! As long as bands keep coming up with creative names, I will be here every week to blather about them. For example:

Clarke & the Himselfs
Takes the classic X and the Y structure and makes it as awkward as possible while still being perfect for a one-man band.

The Cosmic Shuffle
Perfect start to the new year: once more around the sun!

Powerbleeder
Perhaps the most hardcore name to be inspired by an automotive tool. Or else it's that Bloodworks donor who's done in 5 minutes.

Some Other Guys
I celebrate the ordinary non-specificity going on here. This one very nearly eluded my internet search, the downside of such a supremely generic name.

Wooky 
In this winter of a new Star Wars movie, this old Star Wars nerd salutes the furry guy. Let the Wooky win.