You can't really dust for vomit

October 14, 2014 1:04 PM

A brief history of the umlaut in band names.
posted by Chrysostom (24 comments total)

Nah, you got to use Säwdüst for that situation.
posted by boo_radley at 1:15 PM on October 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

This is also the subject of what I think is one of the best-written Wikipedia articles of all time.
posted by capricorn at 1:16 PM on October 14, 2014 [10 favorites]

Warning: auto-playing audio :(
posted by bleep at 1:18 PM on October 14, 2014

one of the best-written Wikipedia articles of all time.

Now that's what I call schölarship!
posted by sobarel at 1:21 PM on October 14, 2014 [4 favorites]

Not as metal but I remember a now defünct national video rental chain that used to have signs for :

"Föreign Fïlms"
posted by Cosine at 1:22 PM on October 14, 2014

The video doesn't work in my region, but I don't think they mention my favorite: The UK metal band Trojan. By adding an umlaut to their name, they inadvertently made their band t-shirts a fun gift for Swedes, as "Tröjan" is Swedish for "The Sweater".
posted by martinrebas at 1:25 PM on October 14, 2014 [5 favorites]

Fückïn' Ä!
posted by jonmc at 1:28 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

Î'm stìll mäd thát Î håvé ñø wáÿ tø pùt díäçrìtìçs øñtø ñøñsëñsîçàl lëttérs.
posted by Navelgazer at 1:28 PM on October 14, 2014 [4 favorites]

capricorn: "This is also the subject of what I think is one of the best-written Wikipedia articles of all time."

in the mockumentary film This Is Spın̈al Tap, fictional rocker David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) says, "It's like a pair of eyes. You're looking at the umlaut, and it's looking at you".[citation needed]

Come the fuck on, wikipedia.
posted by boo_radley at 1:29 PM on October 14, 2014 [7 favorites]

Wow, it's almost 10 years since I put the umlauts on the ns in Spin̈al Tap in that Wikipedia article. One of my proudest achievements, maybe.
posted by ambrosen at 1:33 PM on October 14, 2014 [26 favorites]

My favorite term for this particular piece of punctuation:

39. The funlaut - makes existing words more exciting than they actually are (see: Mötley Crüe)
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:58 AM on October 11, 2012

posted by orthicon halo at 1:38 PM on October 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

"It's like a pair of eyes. You're looking at the umlaut, and it's looking at you".[citation needed]

I don't remember this line in Spinal Tap. Somebody may be having a läugh.
posted by Flashman at 1:48 PM on October 14, 2014 [3 favorites]

Sadly missing Deathtöngue.
posted by mykescipark at 1:52 PM on October 14, 2014 [11 favorites]

I don't remember this line in Spinal Tap. Somebody may be having a läugh.

I don't remember it either, and I pretty much have the whole movie memorized. I'm thinking it might be in one of the commentary tracks?

Sorry, I meant cömmentäry träcks
posted by Crane Shot at 2:02 PM on October 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

The comments on the VH1 article point out that there was a circa 1966-1967 Detroit garage band called Früt of the Loom that predates the Krautrockers, Amon Düül I and Amon Düül II.
posted by jonp72 at 2:05 PM on October 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

mykescipark: "Sadly missing Deathtöngue."

Bah, they aren't metal. Folded like a cheap suit to PMRC pressure with that name change.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:32 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

A Møøse once bit my sister
posted by Devonian at 4:46 PM on October 14, 2014 [5 favorites]

Î'm stìll mäd thát Î håvé ñø wáÿ tø pùt díäçrìtìçs øñtø ñøñsëñsîçàl lëttérs.

TYL: combining characters.
posted by The Tensor at 5:18 PM on October 14, 2014

Let us not forget the first winner of the Grammy for heavy metal -- Jethrö Tüll.
posted by jclarkin at 7:07 PM on October 14, 2014

Came here for a Monty Python reference, was not disappointed.

The Lärčh.
posted by arcticseal at 7:52 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

I will always be grateful for the Xbox's diacritic support so I could name my Rock Band hair metal group Ünnëcëssärÿ Ümläüt.
posted by Spatch at 8:56 PM on October 14, 2014 [3 favorites]

People often confuse umlauts with diereses. Which is weird, since umlauts are totally metal, and diereses are like the least metal diacritic possible.
posted by aubilenon at 12:21 AM on October 15, 2014 [3 favorites]

A mööse? Not bloody likely.

It's moose shooting season in Sweden. Stäy out of the wüüds, it's dängerös.
posted by Namlit at 5:46 AM on October 15, 2014

I think people who get the microphone during the audience Q&A section of a talk and then spend whole blithering minutes fumbling their way through a question they didn't bother to figure out how to express while they were waiting for their turn should be called "um louts".
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:36 AM on October 15, 2014 [7 favorites]