anadramous techbros
August 2, 2016 8:39 AM Subscribe
I wonder whether one could use word vector representation to synthesise quintessential band names for any given genre, or any given mixture of N genres.
posted by acb at 8:48 AM on August 2, 2016
posted by acb at 8:48 AM on August 2, 2016
"Sea of dads" is my friend's IG name 🤔
posted by gucci mane at 8:50 AM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 8:50 AM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
Probably too early for this, but some friends and I have a running gag in which we try to think up the most disgusting band names. For the ideas that don't quite suit band names, we make up album titles. To this date, Bed Gravy holds fast at #1.
posted by Chuffy at 9:00 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Chuffy at 9:00 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
I was hoping for a Wittgenstein name-drop* when she started talking about classes of names, but I learned the term "onomastics" so I'm happy either way.
*makes both a great band name and a great drum break!
posted by psoas at 9:04 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
*makes both a great band name and a great drum break!
posted by psoas at 9:04 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
That tumblr belongs to MetaFilter's own jscalzi
posted by chavenet at 9:11 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by chavenet at 9:11 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Looking forward to the follow-up on witch house band names which veer into idiographs with unrelated pronunciations.
posted by griphus at 9:15 AM on August 2, 2016
posted by griphus at 9:15 AM on August 2, 2016
A-and then there's the conflation of the two (witch house / album names)
posted by chavenet at 9:22 AM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 9:22 AM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
This is awesome and kind of gets at a tiny pebble that's been in my shoe for a while in that in general, "That would make a good band name" jokes make for terribly corny phrases that no band I would actually hand eight bucks to a doorman to go see would self-apply. Like, yeah yeah, I know they're jokes, but also they are too often bad jokes. But I'm not here (entirely) to be a bummer.
The alternative I've switched to is to identify good heist or con job names. "The Spanish Trickster," "The Taft Bathtub," "Bouncer's Chagrin," et. al. They don't appear in the wild as often, but those are fun to come up with, if you're into stupid parlor games.
posted by Maaik at 9:22 AM on August 2, 2016 [6 favorites]
The alternative I've switched to is to identify good heist or con job names. "The Spanish Trickster," "The Taft Bathtub," "Bouncer's Chagrin," et. al. They don't appear in the wild as often, but those are fun to come up with, if you're into stupid parlor games.
posted by Maaik at 9:22 AM on August 2, 2016 [6 favorites]
Totally agree. Most of the "this would be a really great band name" candidates would, in fact, be terrible band names. Although all band names are bad the more you think about them. The Beatles? oooh, I see what you did there. Eagles of Death Metal! Dude, that's intense!
posted by thelonius at 9:35 AM on August 2, 2016
posted by thelonius at 9:35 AM on August 2, 2016
A wiseguy once said:
1957 Johnny and His Silver Beatles
1960 The Beatles
1967 The Amazing Psychedelic Beetles of Love
1970 Beatle
1973 Lennon, McCartney, Harrison & Starr
1977 The Beaten
1980 Beater
1984 The Beat
1988 Beat Me!
1993 Beetlejuice
2000 J-P Rhymes and & DJ Beetz, feat. Silent George
2010 A Flaming Pie He Said
2016 ??
posted by Herodios at 9:40 AM on August 2, 2016 [7 favorites]
1957 Johnny and His Silver Beatles
1960 The Beatles
1967 The Amazing Psychedelic Beetles of Love
1970 Beatle
1973 Lennon, McCartney, Harrison & Starr
1977 The Beaten
1980 Beater
1984 The Beat
1988 Beat Me!
1993 Beetlejuice
2000 J-P Rhymes and & DJ Beetz, feat. Silent George
2010 A Flaming Pie He Said
2016 ??
posted by Herodios at 9:40 AM on August 2, 2016 [7 favorites]
1995 Beat 183
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:43 AM on August 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:43 AM on August 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
Chi Luu is a peripatetic linguist
Incidentally...
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:45 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Incidentally...
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:45 AM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Chi Luu is a peripatetic linguist
Best way to avoid getting tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail, I've found.
posted by Herodios at 9:46 AM on August 2, 2016
Best way to avoid getting tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail, I've found.
posted by Herodios at 9:46 AM on August 2, 2016
The real-life band name I've always been most curious about is Grab Grab The Haddock, a post-punk English outfit from the 1980s. They were formed by two of Tracey Thorn's old bandmates from Marine Girls when that band split. Thorn went on to enjoy a good deal of success with Everything But The Girl, while GGTH imploded after just a couple of 12" EPs. I used to rather like 'em, but where did they find that name?
posted by Paul Slade at 9:57 AM on August 2, 2016
posted by Paul Slade at 9:57 AM on August 2, 2016
There's also the meta level of band names, like Toad the Wet Sprocket, which come from comedy sketches for which the jokes are mostly about coming up with bizarre band names.. Jello Biafra's "Names for Bands" spoken word piece is another resource, but I don't know whether anybody's ever used names on his list for more than one-off gigs. (The Dentists came to mind, but they predate the routine by years).
posted by ardgedee at 10:24 AM on August 2, 2016
posted by ardgedee at 10:24 AM on August 2, 2016
Grab Grab The Haddock
I used to have a button (back in the 80s) for a band called Dik Dik Dimorphic. I don't know where I got the button, and I never had any of their music, but the rhythm and sound of the name still really pleases me all these years later.
I'd love to read more in-depth stuff on this. It would be applicable to things like naming conventions in sci-fi and fantasy, for instance, as well as this nebulous band name thing, car naming, baby naming in various communities, and so on.
posted by not that girl at 11:06 AM on August 2, 2016
I used to have a button (back in the 80s) for a band called Dik Dik Dimorphic. I don't know where I got the button, and I never had any of their music, but the rhythm and sound of the name still really pleases me all these years later.
I'd love to read more in-depth stuff on this. It would be applicable to things like naming conventions in sci-fi and fantasy, for instance, as well as this nebulous band name thing, car naming, baby naming in various communities, and so on.
posted by not that girl at 11:06 AM on August 2, 2016
"Sea of dads" is my friend's IG name
I assume they were inspired by their job working security at Styx concerts.
posted by officer_fred at 11:07 AM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
I assume they were inspired by their job working security at Styx concerts.
posted by officer_fred at 11:07 AM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
Looking forward to the follow-up on witch house band names which veer into idiographs with unrelated pronunciations.
forget coming up with band names, coming up with underground music genre names is the new hotness
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:09 AM on August 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
forget coming up with band names, coming up with underground music genre names is the new hotness
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:09 AM on August 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
I saw A Blow to the Waxed-String-Industrial Complex open for Eureka! Mycorrhiza before they became famous, man.
posted by ardgedee at 11:28 AM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ardgedee at 11:28 AM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
2016: BTLE
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:32 PM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:32 PM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
not sure what year, but you have to include Beatsters
Let's not even start getting into the overlap between band names and MetaFilter user names. Because who WOULDN'T go to a concert featuring Filthy Light Thief, Secret Life of Gravy, Existential Dread and It's Raining Florence Henderson?
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:15 PM on August 2, 2016 [6 favorites]
Let's not even start getting into the overlap between band names and MetaFilter user names. Because who WOULDN'T go to a concert featuring Filthy Light Thief, Secret Life of Gravy, Existential Dread and It's Raining Florence Henderson?
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:15 PM on August 2, 2016 [6 favorites]
Coincidentally they're all playing next year's Swellfoopalooza.
posted by a halcyon day at 1:58 PM on August 2, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by a halcyon day at 1:58 PM on August 2, 2016 [6 favorites]
I'll only go if prize bull octoROCK is going to show up.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:59 PM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:59 PM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
199x: Beatless (witty high school kids who slapped a Beatles label on their drumkit and added that second "s")
And it's "filthy light thief" (all lower case), who perform Peruvian drone most of the time, except for their hyper J-Pop influenced encores.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:02 PM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
And it's "filthy light thief" (all lower case), who perform Peruvian drone most of the time, except for their hyper J-Pop influenced encores.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:02 PM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
shitty band name
posted by Joseph Gurl at 3:08 PM on August 2, 2016
posted by Joseph Gurl at 3:08 PM on August 2, 2016
Do peripatetic linguists engage in wandering conversations?
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:37 PM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:37 PM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
When I was in university I had some friends who briefly formed a band. I happened to be hanging about when they were trying to choose a name and, this being the mid-'90s I said "It's too bad Massive Attack is taken. That's a cool name." They thought I said Pass The Cat and came very close to going with that.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:10 PM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:10 PM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
In high school some friends started a black metal band that was briefly called BAKLAVA until one of the members showed up to practice and explained what baklava was.
posted by griphus at 5:39 PM on August 2, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by griphus at 5:39 PM on August 2, 2016 [9 favorites]
The Card Cheat: "They thought I said Pass The Cat and came very close to going with that."
The band "The Sea and Cake" was named after the mishearing of the name of a Gastr del Sol song, "The C in Cake."
posted by Bugbread at 9:18 PM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
The band "The Sea and Cake" was named after the mishearing of the name of a Gastr del Sol song, "The C in Cake."
posted by Bugbread at 9:18 PM on August 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Puget Sound Machine.
posted by crotchety old git at 12:16 AM on August 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by crotchety old git at 12:16 AM on August 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Meat Beatle Manifesto
Motherlovebeatle
posted by riverlife at 12:48 AM on August 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Motherlovebeatle
posted by riverlife at 12:48 AM on August 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
I liked "The unlikely event of landing on water". Until I found it was already a song :(
posted by ramonaflowers at 1:46 AM on August 3, 2016
posted by ramonaflowers at 1:46 AM on August 3, 2016
I once thought that The Majestic Mist-Covered Fountains would be a good band/project name, if only because the break in the pattern, and the internal cognitive tension of the person hearing it thinking “mountains! surely that should be mountains!”, would make it irritatingly memorable.
posted by acb at 7:40 AM on August 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by acb at 7:40 AM on August 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
In high school some friends started a black metal band that was briefly called BAKLAVA until one of the members showed up to practice and explained what baklava was.
And then did they change the name to BALACLAVA? Less tasty, but possibly more metally. (metallic)?
posted by WizardOfDocs at 9:36 AM on August 3, 2016
And then did they change the name to BALACLAVA? Less tasty, but possibly more metally. (metallic)?
posted by WizardOfDocs at 9:36 AM on August 3, 2016
Do people ever name bands after songs? Like it just struck me that the Song Sung Blues would be a great doo-wop Neil Diamond cover band. And I bet Elton John has sued at least one band named Bennie and the Jets.
posted by WizardOfDocs at 9:37 AM on August 3, 2016
posted by WizardOfDocs at 9:37 AM on August 3, 2016
And then did they change the name to BALACLAVA? Less tasty, but possibly more metally. (metallic)?
no they ended up being OPPROBRIUM for a while
at roughly the same time, a band named INCUBUS had to change their name to OPPROBRIUM because of the other, more popular, Incubus
posted by griphus at 9:39 AM on August 3, 2016
no they ended up being OPPROBRIUM for a while
at roughly the same time, a band named INCUBUS had to change their name to OPPROBRIUM because of the other, more popular, Incubus
posted by griphus at 9:39 AM on August 3, 2016
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posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:41 AM on August 2, 2016