May 14, 2011

Friday the 13th fell on a Friday this month, but I came through it unscathed even without hiding under the bed. Who are the lucky bands this week?

French Horn Rebellion
Although the French horn has made a few appearances in rock & roll songs, it is not the first instrument that comes to mind when I think "rock band." In an orchestra, the horn section is kept separate from the brass section, as if to ward off the influence of that stereotypical seat of rebellion, or anyway, goofing off. Maybe there's something we don't know . . .


Gazebo of Destruction
This one belongs to the opposing images school of band names. "Gazebo" is refined, elegant, civilized. "Destruction" is everything but. It doesn't hurt that "gazebo" figures in a couple of running family jokes.

Keep of Kalessin
Do these guys know me? I am a fantasy writer because of Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea series, and Kalessin is my favorite dragon in all of literature. I will probably never write a dragon story because it couldn't possibly measure up. This was the easiest pick this week (and also a perfect badass name for a metal band).
 
Morton and the Saltines
This one takes the classic "X and the Ys" formula and draws humor from both the play on a brand name and the inclusion of ubiquitous, basic food products. It hints that saltines aren't as bland as we'd been led to believe.

Tom Baker Quartet
The name's not particularly creative, but the musicians are. I plan to catch this show, if only to solve the mystery of what TBQ is doing under "Rock and Pop." Always worth a listen, wherever they turn up.

May 7, 2011

Four previous honorees -- Eighteen Individual Eyes, Ancient Warlocks, Ravenna Woods and Dog Shredder -- all had gigs last night, and I missed them all due to a previous engagement! I hope everybody had a rockin' night.

Less Than Equals
This one plays on words and numbers! It could describe a relationship, either personal or mathematical. And you could spell it <=. (No website, but Kurt Bloch is in it, so you know they're awesome). The mathiness makes it fit on a bill with:
 
Ocean of Algebra and Social Studies, which aren't on the same bill but should be. I hope they are more fun than 9th grade.

Rubblebucket
This one is just a joy to say. It is at once funny and heavy and gritty.

Wet Nightmare 
Speaking of 9th grade . . . This name conveys in two words all the wonder and horror of puberty.

April 30, 2011

The blooming maple tree outside my windows is full of chickadees and bush-tits, so I am distracted by birds. Distracted by Birds would make a good name for a band, if anyone wants to use it. On with the list!

Arpeggiator
I like new words coined from existing words. I suppose this means someone or something that plays arpeggios, but prefer to imagine a crocodilian previously unknown to science. The female of the species is the arpeggiatrix. 


Boy Eats Drum Machine 
Tabloid headline or superhero origin story?


Catatone
See above re: new words. This one has the nice twist on the root "tone" as a musical or medical concept.

Everyone Dies in Utah
And everywhere else. Or do we have to go there first? If I never go to Utah, will I live forever? If I ever set foot in Utah, will I immediately expire? Now I'm afraid to find out.

You Are Plural
I am? I mean, yes, we are. I knew that. Modern English is funny that way -- no way to differentiate 2nd person plural from 2nd person singular, except by context. And sometimes even that is no help.

April 23, 2011

It's finally a beautiful spring day and I want to get outside, so I'll try to keep things brief. Quiz question: If Man Without Wax and Wax played on the same bill, would they cancel each other out?

Church for Sinners
To which I have to say, is there any other kind? They're playing Easter night at the Skylark -- I can't think of anything more fitting.

Endeverance
I just watched a movie featuring a British man-of-war called Endeavour (also the name of a space shuttle) and I'm writing a book featuring a spaceship called Endurance (from Shackleton's famous lost ship), so this one jumped out at me. The neologism evokes an admirable but peculiarly square kind of ethic for a rock band.

Mannequin BBQ
People Eating People
These two were on the same bill, a match made in horror-movie heaven.

Western Hymn
Another appropriate-for-Holy-Week offering. "Western Hymn" is a beautiful old tune that I only recently learned, when my resident composer used it in a piece. We found it in The Old School Hymnal #9 as the tune for the -- ahem -- uncomfortable hymn that begins, "There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins," which does not get much play in the progressive churches I frequent, but has something kind of punk about it. (I think I would be willing to sing the outdated words, just to have a chance at the tune.)

April 16, 2011

Today the Square Pig celebrates 22 years as a Seattle homeowner! Back then, Seattle was just starting to get on the pop music map. Trends come and go, but creative band names go on forever.

Agent 86
Would you believe . . . ? The "Get Smart" reference won my heart. This name reveals a sense of humor and pop-culture savvy. If I had one, my shoe phone would be off to this group.

Defenestrator
One of the local young people took a language arts class a few years ago in which students created superheroes. A hero requires a nemesis, of course, so our young hero created a super villain with the power to throw people through the nearest window. His name: The Defenestrator. Obviously, we're not the only ones who love this word.

Garage a Trois
The perfect relationship in the garage-band capital. Way to pull off a foreign-language pun! (I'm also amused that the band is a four-piece).

Poke the Squid
You're gonna get inked.

Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship?
A delightfully overlong name, and a question, at that. This name hints at a narrative that could go in all kinds of directions. Is it an ark? A spaceship? A space ark? Why, indeed?

April 9, 2011

So many terrific nominees this week! A few of them fall into natural themes, so I'm going with those:

Bucket of Honey
Buckets of Rain
Downpour
I have to talk about these as a group. Considering our recent weather, Downpour and Buckets of Rain obviously go together as well as fulfilling the local flavor criterion. Bucket of Honey gets in because I was amused to see the word "bucket" twice is quick succession. I'm kind of glad it wasn't a downpour of honey.

Flight to Mars
A Rocket to the Moon
These two have their own obvious connection, but for me it's personal: my current literary effort concerns a space expedition that begins on the Moon and flies to Mars and beyond. Once again, we demonstrate the close relationship between science fiction and rock & roll.

April 2, 2011

I'm glad I'm doing this today and not yesterday, because I'm no good at April Fool's pranks. Before I begin this week's list, a shout-out to Operation ID, playing at the Tractor tonight. These guys are a jazzy rock combo, or a rockin' jazz combo, with chops and energy to burn!

DJ Leopold Bloom
This is so beautiful, I can't believe I'm seeing it for the first time. I love it when literature insinuates itself into pop culture. I hope he has a gig on June 16.

Dodos
Funny and tragic at the same time, the goofy-looking extinct bird with the comic name. Because of the pet dodo in Jasper Fforde's wonderful Thursday Next series, I'd like to see this band in the same lineup with previous winner Pickwick.


The Horse She Rode in On
This one's nice because it sounds like the end of an insult or joke, and you missed the part that makes it make sense. I'm also a sucker for band names that are a little too long, though with it being all monosyllables, it's shorter than it looks.

The Slags
I like the word slag. It just sounds punk. I hope they are.

William Shatner Mouth
You know by the name, they don't take themselves seriously. Of course I feel compelled to support the indirect sci-fi reference. (I can't find a website or myspace for this one, so no link. Sorry!)