origins of band names

[tribal girl]

OK, so first off I was thinkin' it'd be cool to mention some bands who named themselves after songs by other bands etc. But as that's kinda limited, I thought there might also be some interesting stories behind why or how certain bands came about their final decision.

Heres a few of my favourites.

Blonde Redhead

DNA - Blonde Red Head

Pretty Girls Make Graves

The Smiths - Pretty Girls Make Graves

Life without buildings

Japan - Life Without Buildings

 

[Myshkin]

Ha! Did you know (or care) that Felt took their name from the way Tom Verlaine pronounced the word 'felt' in Venus by Television?

The past tense of 'feel', not the fabric. Which makes them all the more precious to me.

 

[oneswtwld]

Radiohead

 

[tribal girl]

^Taken from the Talking Heads song of course.

Don't be afraid to elaborate people.

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

Death Cab for Cutie

named after the song in The Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour.

The song was originally written by Vivian Stanshall and Neil Innes and performed by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. (from wikipedia, I already knew that it was a song in Magical Mystery Tour, but I didn't know it wasn't written by The Beatles originally.

 

[Wordswords]

The band Eric's Trip named themselves after a Sonic Youth song.

This band is so good. Check out albums Love Tara, Forever Again

Eric's Trip ~ Stove

Eric's Trip ~ Girlfriend

 

[Wordswords]

also, before settling on The Grateful Dead the group were going to call themselves The Mythical Ithical Icycle Tricycle

 

[oneswtwld]

^Taken from the Talking Heads song of course.

Don't be afraid to elaborate people.

did not have a lot of time.... originally, Radiohead was named, "On a Friday," because..... guess why?

The only time they could rehearse was...... yeah

so anyway, they did not want to stick with that so... they came up with Radiohead because they are fucking cool.... seriously... that has to be the reason...


anyhoo....


Dave Matthews Band was titled that because of a mistake that stayed due to lazyness....
When booking their first gig, they did not have a name, so they just called as "Dave MAtthews" to have a slot..... they were announced as "Dave Matthews Band," and it stuck

 

[Asclepius]

also, before settling on The Grateful Dead the group were going to call themselves The Mythical Ithical Icycle Tricycle

Awesome



Steely Dan: Named after a Metal Dildo; in Burrough's Novel, Naked Lunch

The Pogues: Comes from the Phoneticised Pogue Mahone or Póg mo Thón in Gaelic Irish, meaning 'kiss my arse!'.

The Buzzcocks: A term meaning, the erection ensuing from a 'buzz' off of a diesel Engine in a big Vehicle!

Steppenwolf: The name of the fab book by Herman Hesse of course.

 

[tribal girl]

Sleater-Kinney

The group's name is derived from Sleater Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces.

I would rip that fuckin' sign clean off.

 

[tribal girl]

Le Tigre

Named themselves after a cheaper alternative to Lacoste.

Le Tigre is an American brand of apparel designed to rival Lacoste in styling. First offered in 1977, Le Tigre polos sported a leaping tiger in lieu of Lacoste's signature crocodile and Retro Fox's leaping fox. The brand made a comeback in 2003, after being out of production through the 1990s. Le Tigre had become popular during the later 1980s; celebrities from Chamberland, LL Cool J, and even Ronald Reagan were seen wearing the tiger. The company is based in New York City. Le Tigre has been a subsidiary of Kenneth Cole Productions since 2007.