Jelly-Town! - Five for Friday, Still Sound As Sweet? edition

Jelly-Town!

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Five for Friday, Still Sound As Sweet? edition

14th-Mar-2008 07:59 am

Last night I started in on a new book I got from a pal o' mine. Today's topic presented itself almost immediately.

As always please play along...

Five Great Band Names

1. The Replacements. From the tome that brought us here today: "Because their name was one of the greatest rock band names ever, fraught with the duality of pushing the dinosaurs out of the way, and the suggestion that they were merely warm bodies filling a slot." Well put, Mr. Jim Walsh.

2. Public Enemy. In all of musicdom, has there ever been a better match between a band's name and its persona? Next time you spend some shameful hours watching VH1, remember that there was a time when the clock-adorned gentleman was part of the most dangerous group in America.

3. The Smithereens. As in "smashed to."

4. Choosy Mothers. For a brief spell in the mid-90's, I was a fairly devoted reader of The Village Voice. An odd choice considering that my residence in central Wisconsin address was about as far removed (in geography, temperament, sophistication, you name it) from from New York City as you can get. Of course, that was a major part of the appeal. I used to pour through the club listings, imagining what it would be like to have all those options for live music instead of my paltry choice of attending or avoiding the next Burnt Toast and Jam show. I saw this band name once and it immediately made me laugh in recognition. I liked the name enough that it stuck with me all these years, even though I had no idea whatsoever what they sounded like. Until this morning.

5. The Band. Sometimes it's just that simple.

Tags:five for friday
Mood:chilly

Comments

14th-Mar-2008 01:12 pm (UTC)

Lurker

1. Can. It's a noun, it's a verb. It's a way of life.

2. Clipse. Malice and Pusha-T are kind of like a VA version of Mobb Deep, but they chose a more threatening name, which in the context of their Neptunian beats doesn't as much sense. It's all good. Pow-pow-pow.

3. Massive Attack. Again, another context thing. Blue Lines was smooth as Silk (freak me) and Protection wasn't that much harsher. Mezzanine had it's distorted moments, but for the most part, this is one soothing band.

4. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers. More like Heat-seekers, if you know what I mean (yes, you do know what I mean).

5. Unwound. One of the most abrasive bands to come out of the northwest during the 90's has a slightly unsettling, yet pleasing name. They finally fit their name by the time of Leaves Turn Inside You, but those early records are da bomb.

Bonus: Butthole Surfers, but only when Todd Flanders is wearing their shirt.

-- Phil (which is a horrible band name, btw)

14th-Mar-2008 01:18 pm (UTC)

coffeefortwo

Look daddy I'm a surfer!

14th-Mar-2008 01:12 pm (UTC) - Just 5?

woodburninphone

1. Jesus Chrysler Supercar

2. Don Knotts Overdrive

3. Arsonists Get All The Girls

4. Send More Paramedics

5. Narcissistic Fibrosis

14th-Mar-2008 01:29 pm (UTC) - Choosy Mothers...

willy_whale

Sound as bad as Burnt Toast and Jam.

So how do you handle the hippy music down there in freedom-rockville? Have your hacky-sack skills improved?

14th-Mar-2008 02:46 pm (UTC) - Re: Choosy Mothers...

coffeefortwo

Just because I listened to Choosy Mothers for the first time today doesn't mean I listened to them for very long.

I go home early on the nights we book hippie-hippie jam bands.

14th-Mar-2008 04:21 pm (UTC) - Re: Choosy Mothers...

caker_66

Is it OK to yell Banjo in a crowded Bingo Hall?

14th-Mar-2008 01:46 pm (UTC)

caker_66

1. Pound, WI.

2. Left Wing Fascists. Wow they have a cd. I saw these guys in high school.

3. The Woggles.

4. The Mistreaters.

5. Jimmy and the Teasers. Saw these folks at Sleazefest. After their set, Jimmy freaked out on a guy who thought he was talking to one of his Teasers... which I think is his wife. He attacked him, stopped and then emphatically apologized in the span of 7 seconds. I almost choked on my meat and threes after that.

14th-Mar-2008 04:58 pm (UTC)

whiskeyson

1. Joy Division...contriversal, misleading, and maybe a play on words...

2. New Order...more nazi button pushing...this is cheating, this is cheating, this is cheating

3. The 4 Skins...appealing not only the the early 80's Oi! fans but also to the hormonal adolescent males that made up most of that fan base.

4. Anthony and the Johnsons...more penis jokes more penis jokes...from a crossdressing genderfucking cabaret singer this is kinda clever

5. John Prine...cause it wouldn't be 54Fiday if I didn't force him in there some where

(actual #5. The Jesus and Mary Chain...why? cause it sounds FUCKING cool)

14th-Mar-2008 05:10 pm (UTC)

Lurker

So tell me what the controversy surrounding the Jesus & Mary Chain name, because I never understood (ha... never understand). I'm kind of slow. Like I was 14 by the time I understood the rubber buns and liquor joke, when i should have gotten it by 8 (btw, it's not a funny joke).

-- Phil

14th-Mar-2008 07:19 pm (UTC)

whiskeyson

using Jesus AND Mary in yr band name is ALWAYS gonna be a bit controversial(the only other act I can think of is Teenage Jesus and the Jerks)...but for a group of noisy drugaddled lads making NOISE to appropriate those names...HORROR!!! at the time of their debut the Anglican church had much more of an influence on the general populace of the UK making things a bit more puritanical...colloquially a Jesus and Mary Chain is a rosary consisting of all 15 decades covering all three groupings of the mysteries of Jesus' life (sorrowful, joyful, glorious(the luminous is an addition made by Pope John Paul 2 that I find superfluous(not withstanding the idea that the whole thing is superfluous)))... I have also heard it referenced as the chain that connects a pair of nipple clamp although that source is a bit dubious

14th-Mar-2008 07:21 pm (UTC)

whiskeyson

oh and Jesus Jones...but I had hoped I had forgoten them

14th-Mar-2008 07:24 pm (UTC)

whiskeyson

as I Prattle on and on...a bit more than you wanted to know I'm sure...but you know me...hit the right topic and off I go

14th-Mar-2008 07:46 pm (UTC)

starving_cynic

i found this to be incredibly informative. thank you sir.

14th-Mar-2008 11:52 pm (UTC)

silent_spring

Oh okay, cool. I thought it was like... a chain gang of Jesus & Mary fanatics. Either that or a close second choice to Jesus & Mary Jane.

14th-Mar-2008 05:17 pm (UTC) - i turn to my show......

maggie226

1. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

2. Atom and His Package

3. The Groovie Ghoulies

4. The Mr. T Experience

5. Less Than Jake

14th-Mar-2008 06:15 pm (UTC) - Re: i turn to my show......

caker_66

Your no. 1 is a great one.

14th-Mar-2008 09:01 pm (UTC) - Re: i turn to my show......

maggie226

yes they are!

14th-Mar-2008 05:21 pm (UTC)

starving_cynic

i love you but i've chosen darkness
while their music is pretty good, i've always been fond of the name of this band since holly put their first ep out back in 2003. their name was also once used as a line on one tree hill, which makes it extra ridiculous, but fabulous in my book. they also write songs with titles like "we're still the weaker sex" (it's an all male band) and "i want to die in the hot summer."

add n to (x)
any band that can turn their name into a mathematical equation is top notch in my book. and i'm pretty sure barry 7 is part robot.

joy division
a group of gentlemen from the crumbling city of manchester decide to name their band after the group of young jewish girls who were kept in concentration camps and used for the sexual pleasure of nazi soldiers. it's oddly appropriate and sadly beautiful, just like the music they would produce.

the velvet underground
who doesn't love a band that named themselves after a book about sadomasochism and deviant sexual behavior? particularly when their music is just as deviant and twisted as the subjects being written about.

fugazi
it's an acronym from the vietnam war that ian found in a book one day.
fucked
up
got
ambushed
zipped
in

14th-Mar-2008 05:49 pm (UTC)

casino_queen

Ben Folds Five

14th-Mar-2008 07:53 pm (UTC)

starving_cynic

i saw him at langerado. it wasn't the first time i've seen him, but he played an amazing and really beautiful version of "narcolepsy." he also played "rockin' the suburbs," which was really poignant considering that most of the crowd was gross white frat boys.

14th-Mar-2008 09:46 pm (UTC)

casino_queen

I've stalked him :)

14th-Mar-2008 10:56 pm (UTC)

starving_cynic

he seems very charming and friendly and like he would appreciate and good-natured stalking.

15th-Mar-2008 12:56 am (UTC)

coffeefortwo

He might marry you for it.

15th-Mar-2008 05:34 am (UTC) - sometimes its ok to respond late

point_cowtown

one of the benefits to responding to this weekly post LATE is I can look at my music at home first...and this all came together not the way it was written. I initially started in the C's. Weird.

1. Talking Heads. Who would have thought that in 1977 a band came up with a way to describe the majority of the idiots on ESPN?
2. TV on the Radio. soooooo good.
3. Trash Can Sinatras. How can a band diss the Chairman of the board and still rock?
4. Tragically Hip. That is SO cool. and they are pretty damn good.
5. Too Much Joy. Excuse me? How much joy is that? Hello?

15th-Mar-2008 01:30 pm (UTC) - Re: sometimes its ok to respond late

satch_paige

Damn you, PC man! Taking TMJ...guess I have to go back to a different letter!

15th-Mar-2008 01:39 pm (UTC) - I've got it. 'Everyone Gets Laid'.

satch_paige

Oddly enough, I also started in the C's.

1. Camper Van Beethoven. Still not sure what inspired this.

2. Chickasaw Mudd Puppies. Evidently still around, even though they were a shooting star on that 90FM scene.

3. Circle Jerks. Try getting that name out there now. Surprised wood burnin' phone didn't use it. Of course, surprised WBP didn't get more graphic, considering the arsenal of great band names at his disposal.

4. Clumsy Lovers. Just thinking about this band name makes me laugh each time.

5. Hoodoo Gurus. Have to love this name. Short, sweet, conjures imagery, has internal rhyming structure in each name, and between both. A band where their exquisite pop/rock songs seemed a perfect reflection of the name.

Oh, wait, should they be 'Choodoo Gurus'?

15th-Mar-2008 08:43 pm (UTC)

firthofforth

so very, very late on this...

1. Hüsker Dü - don't think I like 'em, but I played the game as a kid was tickled the first time I heard the name as a band.

2. I am the World Trade Center - well, this was great pre 9/11, then i think it hurt them a bit.

3. Three Dog Night - i just like the explanation [... When you travel Alaska by dogsled, and you bed down for the night, you put a sled dog on either side of you for warmth. If it's especially cold, you put a third dog on top of you. So, a particularly cold night in Alaska is a "three-dog night".]

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

5. INTERPOL - 'cause it sounds cool.

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