Band Names
When Shakespeare said, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,"I don't think he was thinking about rock and roll...
By Celia Hirschman • • 4m ListenThis is Celia Hirschman with On the Beat for KCRW.
When Shakespeare said, A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, I don't think he was thinking about rock and roll.
Band names have often followed a trend of style, subject and hipness, but it's rather surprising to recognize their commonality.
For instance, take animal names. In the Bear family, there are bands named:
Fozzie The Bear
And
Bears are not the only animals represented in rock & roll. There are a few birds as well:
Flock of Seagulls
And
The feline family is well represented as well with bands like
Loose Fur
The Multiple Cat
Beyond the animal family, there are a number of other categories that bands gravitate towards. Colors are big favorites, and leading that pack, of course is the color black, with:
Black Flag
and my personal favorite, Godspeed You Black Emperor
Then of course, there's:
and the
It's particularly interesting to note the macabre side of rock and roll. There's:
The Dead Boys
and the often quoted band,
Then there's The Gun Club
Ninja Gun
and The Killers
Cities are popular too. From Miami Sound Machine to LA Guns. From Of Montreal to The Watery Graves of Portland. Of course, there's Boston, Chicago, Kansas and What Made Milwaukee Famous. Interestingly, there are no bands named Santa Monica.
There are those bands that have taken on other people's names, such as:
Young Einstein
Hitler SS
and Marilyn Manson
And what Rock & Roll Royalty isn't complete with out a name befitting of its greatness?
Ask Prince
Some bands prefer to keep count of things:
From Zero 7
and Remy Zero
to Two Gallants
Then there is Fun Boy Three,
and 3 Doors Down
and Four Freshman
plus Ben Folds Five
And finally, my number one favorite band name of all time
This is Celia Hirschman with On the Beat for KCRW.