It's too nice a day to sit inside blogging, so I'll make this quick. Here's what's in my basket this Easter weekend:
Crushingcrayons
Crayons evoke childhood innocence, but what's happening to them here seems more adult -- intentional creative violence. A broken crayon is frustrating. But crush them up and remelt them, and you have something new, colorful, unpredictable.
The Deadrones
Simply sharing the middle D makes this stand out as something special. It also sounds like what it is: D is a thuddy consonant that just stops -- a dead sound -- but the long O lets the second syllable draw out, dronelike.
Front Country
You don't need a special permit, you'll probably meet other people, and the facilities have plumbing.
Mitochondrion
Down at the cellular level, this is where matter gets converted to energy -- the life force -- so I love the irony that this is a death metal band. I'm also a fan of nerdy science allusions.
My Brothers and I
There's nothing quite like a family band, said someone who makes music with her brother.
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, March 26, 2016
Saturday, March 19, 2016
March 19, 2016
Too many band names! What a happy problem to have, though it's hard to choose who gets cut. With luck, they will show up again soon. These five made it through the rigorous selection process:
The Dead Tongues
Ancient languages or Novocaine? I lean toward the latter because in my novel The Gospel According to St. Rage (coming in June 2016), the protagonist considers and discards many band names before settling on St. Rage. One of the rejects, arrived at while she's high on laughing gas and numb from oral surgery, is Dead Tongue. I'm glad someone else is using it.
Fast Nasties
This one has a no-nonsense rhyme and snappy sibilance that perfectly suits their brisk soulful stylings.
One Step from Everywhere
I imagine a teleportation node that solves all our commuting woes.
SayWeCanFly
It's a complete sentence run together without punctuation, which allows multiple interpretations: a demand for permission to take off, mild surprise at the discovery of a new superpower, or the name of a supremely confident insect.
Sleeping Planet
Here's an idea for our climate problems: just leave Mother Earth alone for a while so she can have a nice nap.
The Dead Tongues
Ancient languages or Novocaine? I lean toward the latter because in my novel The Gospel According to St. Rage (coming in June 2016), the protagonist considers and discards many band names before settling on St. Rage. One of the rejects, arrived at while she's high on laughing gas and numb from oral surgery, is Dead Tongue. I'm glad someone else is using it.
Fast Nasties
This one has a no-nonsense rhyme and snappy sibilance that perfectly suits their brisk soulful stylings.
One Step from Everywhere
I imagine a teleportation node that solves all our commuting woes.
SayWeCanFly
It's a complete sentence run together without punctuation, which allows multiple interpretations: a demand for permission to take off, mild surprise at the discovery of a new superpower, or the name of a supremely confident insect.
Sleeping Planet
Here's an idea for our climate problems: just leave Mother Earth alone for a while so she can have a nice nap.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
March 12, 2016
If like me you're going to be out late tonight and have to do things tomorrow, and your alarm clock isn't connected to the internet, then I have bad news: this is that awful night when we lose an hour of sleep. Remember to "spring ahead," or resign yourself to showing up late, whichever. Band names like these relieve the sting of this lame form of time travel:
Always Only Sometimes
An absolute with an immediate qualifier.
Last to See the Sun
I like how this could be a reference to end times, or to space travel, or to the last holdout when the sun sets on an early-season backyard barbecue.
Psyclon Nine
A real mindstorm! I have an abiding fondness for homophones that look nothing alike and evoke a poetic hybrid meaning.
The Forgotten 45s
Reminds me of a true story: I work upstairs from a non-profit preschool. Several years ago, a used record store donated a box of random 45s to be used as decorations for their fundraising auction, which had a '50s sock-hop theme that year. Late last year, the preschool director got tired of tripping over them in her office and asked if I wanted them. I took a chance and brought them home. They were dirty and scratched and we weren't sure they'd even play, but my spouse has been methodically cleaning them up and converting them to digital. So far, only one or two have completely failed. A few are nothing special, but many are lost treasures, forgotten no more.
The Sweeplings
I love saying this word, and how the addition of that L transforms debris in the a dustpan into adorable sentient beings.
Always Only Sometimes
An absolute with an immediate qualifier.
Last to See the Sun
I like how this could be a reference to end times, or to space travel, or to the last holdout when the sun sets on an early-season backyard barbecue.
Psyclon Nine
A real mindstorm! I have an abiding fondness for homophones that look nothing alike and evoke a poetic hybrid meaning.
The Forgotten 45s
Reminds me of a true story: I work upstairs from a non-profit preschool. Several years ago, a used record store donated a box of random 45s to be used as decorations for their fundraising auction, which had a '50s sock-hop theme that year. Late last year, the preschool director got tired of tripping over them in her office and asked if I wanted them. I took a chance and brought them home. They were dirty and scratched and we weren't sure they'd even play, but my spouse has been methodically cleaning them up and converting them to digital. So far, only one or two have completely failed. A few are nothing special, but many are lost treasures, forgotten no more.
The Sweeplings
I love saying this word, and how the addition of that L transforms debris in the a dustpan into adorable sentient beings.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
March 5, 2016
Can anything compare to that feeling when you've been sick but now you're not? Wow, I can do things again! Maybe I'll finally be able to record that vocal track. Meanwhile, the band names continue to do most of the work for me here:
American Wrecking Company
AKA party politics as usual. When the revolution comes, they will have brought it on themselves.
Chase N Skwerells
Not only is this a great cartoon character name, but I can't help thinking this is how dogs would spell it, if dogs could spell.
Compass & Knife
What we should all know how to use if we're to survive the coming dystopia and find our way home.
Ted Cruz and the Trumps
Points for topicality joined to classic X and the Y structure. I would love to wake up and have this be the only reason we know these names; the rest was only a dream.
The Rainy Day Splish Splosh Band
The localest flavor, with tasty onomatopoeia. This one cheered me up and made my week.
American Wrecking Company
AKA party politics as usual. When the revolution comes, they will have brought it on themselves.
Chase N Skwerells
Not only is this a great cartoon character name, but I can't help thinking this is how dogs would spell it, if dogs could spell.
Compass & Knife
What we should all know how to use if we're to survive the coming dystopia and find our way home.
Ted Cruz and the Trumps
Points for topicality joined to classic X and the Y structure. I would love to wake up and have this be the only reason we know these names; the rest was only a dream.
The Rainy Day Splish Splosh Band
The localest flavor, with tasty onomatopoeia. This one cheered me up and made my week.
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