Which 1980's Band Named Itself After a French Fashion Magazine of the Same Name
Picking a ring name has got to be a pretty hard thing to do. Once set, it will label you and all your actions for the rest of your career. If you get tired of information technology y'all won't be able to just toss it out the window on a dusty desert highway--at least not without repercussions. Music critics agree that this is one manner in which a band proper noun is a lot like a sack of kittens.
Today, in laurels of our commodity'southward sponsor 311 (whose name came from a naked meet with Omaha police) nosotros examine how some of the virtually famous bands in the world got their names. We'd have opened information technology up to less famous bands, only it turns out near of those are named after semen (and subsequently nigh five hours of wading through that, the research department got kind of prickly).
Pearl Jam
The boys in Pearl Jam have floated a couple suggestions for the origination of their ring name. Information technology was either based on the famous peyote jam made by Eddie Vedder'southward dandy grandmother, Pearl. Alternately, it may have derived from the nickname of NBA star Mookie Blaylock. Or they picked Pearl because it sounded absurd, and added Jam on the end, similar musicians practise when they're playing around musically.
Some other version, as explained by Vedder himself, stems from how pearls are created. "The name is in reference to the pearl itself ... and the natural process from which a pearl comes from. Basically, taking excrement or waste matter and turning it into something beautiful." Aside from probably being a retcon, this represents a pretty central misunderstanding of how pearl's are fabricated, in that they don't shit in their mouths. Still, nice attempt Eddie.
Notable past its absence in whatever of these official explanations is how Pearl Jam is a euphemism for human being marmalade, which is itself a euphemism for something else. We tend to believe Vedder's repeated denials of this explanation for the name'due south origins, if only because we call up it's hilarious to think he accidentally named his band later spunk.
Depeche Way
Depeche Fashion is an English language electronic band formed in the 1980s. Hugely popular around the earth, they've had only modest success in united states, primarily because American's have generally been resistant to electronic genres, preferring simpler songs almost existence hot for teacher.
The name Depeche Mode translates to "Fashion Dispatch" in French, which is unsurprising, seeing as the ring stole the proper noun from a French fashion magazine. That sounds like another pretty good way to limit your entreatment to the American audience, given how despised the French, fashion and reading are over here. Withal, subsequently researching this a chip and examining what the French mag industry actually has to offering, we've changed our mind: French magazines are awesome.
Crawly
KISS
If y'all're not familiar with Kiss, they are the rock band with the painted faces--sort of similar a loud and unsettling circus.
Famously, rumors have circulated that Kiss stands for "Knights In Satan's Service." The ring has consistently denied this yet, rightly pointing out that the band isn't comprised of agents of evil so much as ridiculous, ridiculous men. The truthful story, according to Paul Stanley, is that they chose the name Buss because it "only sounded dangerous and sexy at the same time." Kissing is more often than not considered one of the least unsafe activities ever invented (it'southward correct later mitt washing) then nosotros're going to question Paul Stanley's caption hither. Kissing people own't dangerous dude. Unless they're unwilling and either a cop or a karate teacher.
Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba are a post-punk anarcho-chipotle-barely-legal-electro-something-or-other ring who've been around for decades. Merely they never bothered anyone until 1997 when they were responsible for a song that was incredibly popular but no one anywhere will acknowledge to liking. Statisticians are notwithstanding trying to effigy it out.
The official explanation for the band name is that it's a meaningless give-and-take, a combination of syllables that sort of rhyme. However, in an early on interview, band member Danbert Nobacon outlined a slightly more specific origination. In a dream, while needing to have a piss, Nobacon didn't know which door to utilise in a public toilet because the signs said "Chumba" and "Wamba" instead of "Men" and "Women."
Huh. Gender defoliation is kind of an odd matter to base your band name on, or even acknowledge to publicly. This is basically the band proper name equivalent of i of those noisy conversations at a bar where you're drunkenly confiding something to a friend when the music suddenly stops playing, and the room goes repose, and you're at that place yelling "I Sit DOWN WHEN I PEE." And then the stares commencement.
Savage Garden
An Australian pop band, Savage Garden had a brief spell of success in the belatedly 90s when the world'south appetite for "weeny, gutless music" was reaching its zenith. While researching this we were surprised to read they managed to sell 25 million records in their fourth dimension. Really? 20-v one thousand thousand Savage Garden albums? You people know they're reusable right?
The name itself is a quote from an Anne Rice novel--Anne Rice existence famous for her novels virtually vampires that were popular with guys that listen to Savage Garden. Taking a name from a literary work is a fine tradition (wait till you encounter our winner) but an Anne Rice novel? That's a piffling less stone and roll than calling yourself Goosebumps or The Babysitters Society.
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English rock ring who've made a billion songs in the last 25 years, none more important than the title song to View to a Impale, the most hilarious James Bond ever (it'due south the one with Christopher Walken attacking things in a blimp).
Duran Duran accept acknowledged that they're named after a grapheme in the Jane Fonda pic, Barbarella. For those of yous that aren't huge perverts, Barbarella is an erotic science fiction gamble from the 1960s, assuming you'll permit u.s. to use pretty loose definitions of "erotic" and "take a chance."
However, if the band had dug a little deeper into the picture, they would take found a character eight billion times better to name themselves after: Dildano.
"Helllllllllllllo"
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners were that ring with the dungarees and the catchy hitting "Come on Eilleen," which yous'll recall is just almost the 80siest song imaginable.
The guys had admitted to naming their ring after the drug Dexedrine, the prescription stimulant which is too a semi-popular way to go out of your head for a spell. The "midnight runners" comes from the ability of Dexedrine users to dance all night. Interestingly, the ring itself was completely clean and even banned alcohol from concerts. Why a completely clean band would name themselves after the positive effects of a drug is beyond united states. If you were anti-drug wouldn't y'all play up the downsides of drug use? Dexys Freaking Out In The Toilets. Dexys Giving Backrubs to Strange Dudes Again. Dexys Just Barfed All Over my Members-Only Jacket. Etc.
Motörhead
Motörhead is a British rock band whose success in the 70s and 80s helped redefine heavy metal. They have a scrap of a reputation, too--Motörhead's founder, Lemmy, has stated that his aim was for the group to exist "the dirtiest rock northward' roll ring in the world." "If Motörhead moved in side by side to y'all, your lawn would die."
While information technology sounds like a pretty straightforward ring proper noun, motor-caput is actually the equivalent to the American term "speed freak," a slang term for an amphetamine user. Rumors near whether this unsaid members of Motörhead participated in drug use take indomitable the band to this 24-hour interval.
Cheap Trick
Anybody hither at Cracked recognized the proper noun, simply we actually had to wait upwardly just why exactly we'd heard of Cheap Flim-flam before. Oh that's right. They sang "The Dream Constabulary."
Heh. Their drummer looks like a vacuum salesman.
And how did they come up up with the name? Supposedly they were visiting a psychic's house and asked a Ouija board what they should call their band. Another, better band, Alice Cooper, has a like story, which makes us wonder how often bands consult the spirits for such a critical decision. And spirits, if yous're reading this, have yous ever tried fucking with these bands earlier? Like spell out "Dink Fidgeters" or something?
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin was a British rock ring who in the 70s repeatedly and flagrantly rocked the world so fucking hard that scientists tin can still discover residual vibrations in the World's drape to this mean solar day.
The phrase "pb airship" has normally been used to depict an ill-conceived idea, or one whose failure is both predictable and inevitable. The proper name then allegedly arose when Keith Moon, afterwards being invited to pulsate for the band, thought the idea would go over like a "atomic number 82 zeppelin"--Moon evidently modifying the common phrase after observing that zeppelin'south were quite big. Reportedly Jimmy Paige liked the phrase so much, he took it for the ring's proper noun. The determination to misspell it was made because they idea Americans would exist stupid enough to mispronounce the discussion "lead." Running a Website with a functioning comments department as we do, Cracked.com officially has a hard time disagreeing with this theory.
Velvet Underground
More than influential than successful, The Velvet Surreptitious are often called one of the most important and influential groups of their era past whoever last updated their Wikipedia page.
The proper noun stems from the title of an Southward&Yard book a ring member found on a sidewalk in New York. The volume itself describes the clandestine sexual scene in 1960s America. Nosotros're non sure what the sexual underground of the 60s looked like, but we're guessing the book was primarily comprised of mustache grooming tips and maps to funky smelling basements.
"Information technology's me over again."
Steely Dan
Steely Dan were a jazz rock duo pop in the tardily 70s with people who are probably pretty old by now. When asked to name a single Steely Dan song, the closest any Cracked staffer could come up was "the one with the notes."
Despite their nether appreciation by snot-nosed punks like the states, nosotros can still appreciate the story of how they got their name, because it is solid fucking gold. The phrase is taken from a passage in the William Burrough'southward book Naked Lunch. Steely Dan is the nickname given to a giant steam-powered dildo. It gets crazier: equally explained in the volume, there's actually been an entire series of Steely Dans. Notably, the beginning i was crushed by an evil German bulldyke prostitute using her hoo-ha.
And so, until a ring becomes famous while calling themselves the Deep Fisting Shit Fiends, or perhaps Elvis Costello's Deep Fisting Shit Fiends, Steely Dan volition remain the craziest band name out in that location. We congratulate the band on their success. If a representative wants to drop by our offices, they can collect their prize: a printscreen of this Webpage folded into a letter of the alphabet-sized envelope.
For more musical trivia (likely stemming from a combination of cocaine and hookers' asses), check out The six Virtually (Certifiably) Insane Tales of Rock Star Behavior and 5 Massive Hit Songs That Almost Didn't Go Released.
And visit Cracked.com's Peak Picks to see how nosotros got our proper noun that had absolutely nada to do with scissure-cocaine until Jack took over.
Enter To Win Art from Comics Legends Alex Ross and Frank Miller
Celebrate Cracked's Batman week with a chance to win a bundle of art, courtesy of our friends at The Haul.
0 Response to "Which 1980's Band Named Itself After a French Fashion Magazine of the Same Name"
Post a Comment