Animals. Colors. Numbers.

Original Post: http://queencitycommotion.blogspot.com/2012/04/animals-colors-numbers.html

Sociologists observe society, psychologists study patients, and marketers (in a sense) study trends that relate to both. I'm not a marketer by any means, but I do pay special attention to trends in band names. I work at Pure Pop Records in downtown Burlington, and on an average day I thoughtfully and purposefully read at least a hundred+ band names - my boss likes to have me categorize vinyl by quality, and it's usually by the truckload. By the end of my shift, my hands are covered in dirt, dust, and grime, but it's worth it of course, because I am then able to report back to all of the QCC followers out there with what's ^ and what's neu in the world of music.



It feels like there are as many bands out there as there are ridiculous band names. In fact, I slandered a few of them in one of last weeks posts. But to be fair, my goal is not to trash talk these bands for jumping on the trendy-name-band-wagon, because really, who am I to judge? Instead, I'd simply like to take the time to point out some trends I've noticed over the years as a music-fiend with a keen eye for band names. These trends include the following: Animals. Colors. & Numbers.

Deerhoof + Lionhead = ?

Animals: 

Deer, in particular. There's Deerhoof, Deerhunter, and Deer Tick. None of these bands have anything to do with deer, nor does the image of a deer appear on any of their album covers (this has always perplexed me). What's with the infatuation? A strange deer fetish mayhaps? Is it their four legs and bushy little white tail that gets them going? I'm not sure, and frankly, I'm not all too concerned with finding out the answer, but there's got to be something to it. Either way, the correlation is not strong. Another woodland creature who has become popular as of late is the deer's close ancestor, the wolf. Wolf Parade, Sea Wolf, Patrick Wolf, and Peter Wolf Crier to name a few. What's next?

Colors: 

Hi-ho silver.

Pink Floyd. Green Day. White Stripes. Deep Purple. Black Flag. Yellowcard (remember them?).Orange Juice. There are a billion more, I'm sure. Perhaps with this one the bands employed the choose-a-Crayola method by shoving their hands in a box of crayons and praying they didn't pull out a brown. Either way, what's the rationale? The psychologist might argue that they are trying to make up for a lost childhood, and the sociologist could argue that their attachment to color stems from their vivid upbringing. I (the marketer) will argue that having a band name with a color in it is economical - it usually accounts for 50% or more of the band name, and it serves as a jump-off point for promotional materials and logos that would otherwise have little direction.

I did some research on one of the more controversial/confusing band names out there so you don't have to. Here at Queen City, we're all about providing the information you need to seem cooler/smarter than your friends/strangers you meet. According to "The Strange Dope" (a weird website of questionable quality that I happened to stumble upon), "The name [Pink Floyd] given by Syd Barrett to his new group was taken from two obscure names out of his own record collection, both Georgia blues players. The first was Pink Anderson; the second was Floyd "Dipper Boy" Council." I also read something about pink floyd being another term for an erect whale penis which is much more exciting, obviously.

So mysterious.

Numbers: 

Blink 182. B'52s. Four Year Strong. L7. Three Doors Down. Sum 41. Maroon 5. 30 Seconds to Mars (Jared Leto, oh my goodness). 2pac. U2. Matchbox 20 (diggin' these throwbacks). 9 inch nails. Honestly, the combinations of band names and numbers is infinite. It truly goes on and on and on, forever and ever (like how it feels when you listen to the beginning of "Teenage Wasteland") and maybe that's why band names with numbers are so popular. Numbers also add a little flare of controversy to an otherwise boring band name. People can get into pretty heated debates about what a band name "means" or "stands for" or "symbolizes," and often times, that stems as a result of bands with numbers in their names - the potential for discussion is exponential. I used to be a HUGE Blink 182 fan (still am, deep down in the depths of inner-soul), and I remember getting into intense debates in 6th grade about what the '182' stood for – number of blinks in a minute? The number of times Al Pacino drops the F-bomb in Scarface? Nothing at all (I hope not)? No one knows for sure, and Tom, Mark and Travis don't plan on letting anyone in on the secret any time soon.