Fucked Up, Stereolab Japandroids Moving Mountains

MUSIC COMMENTARY by The Mong

NEW

The Refreshments – “Let it Rock: Chuck Berry Tribute” = 0.0
If you like oldies but hate listening to them then you’ll love The Refreshment’s “Let it Rock: Chuck Berry Tribute!” Guaranteed to sound almost exactly like the source without any of that pesky originality or pointless authenticity! Buy yours now, while supplies last!

Holly Williams – “The Highway” = 2.0
Decent yet forgettable Adult Contemporary Americana.

OLD

Marillion – “Clutching at Straws” = 1.0
1) It’s Marillion and Marillion makes Yes look tough. 2) Any album that’s opening track starts with xylophone arpeggios is doomed from the onset. 3) I’m honestly beginning to suspect that Greg selects music for this group that he knows we’ll hate.

The Sugarplastic – “Bang, the Earth is Round” = 3.5
XTC meets '80’s Genesis in all the right ways.

G’HITS

Mother Hips – G’hits
Some phenomenal standouts (“Mission in Vain,” “Third Floor Story”) but a bit less would have been more.

TOPIC

This month’s topic kind of came to me when I was deciding on who was going to get the GHits nod. So, what's in a name? Naming your rock band, I'm sure, is an exercise unto itself. A good band name can be clever; weird; descriptive; unusual; or just plain cool. Part 1. Do you think having a great name adds anything to the success of the band? Or, is it strictly about the music? Part 2. List some of your favorite band names and, if you know it, the origin of the name.

Part 1.
Yes, a great band name can definitely impact a band’s success but not if the music is weak. Case in point, when I’m looking at any one of the sources for new music I see every week, I start my sampling with bands I’ve heard of, then bands on labels I’ve heard of, then bands with great reviews, and then I pick a few bands whose names I like.

Part 2.
Favorite band names and origins (if known):
Alt-J
(“The name...is an allusion to the Greek uppercase letter delta (∆) which can be typed on Apple Mac OS X by the key sequence alt + J.” I knew this but just cut & pasted that perfect encapsulation from Wikipedia.)
Blonde Redhead
(No idea where they got their name.)
Daft Punk
(No idea where they got their name but according to the link below: “The name Daft Punk was inspired by a review in the British music magazine Melody Maker, which called their first band Darlin' ‘a bunch of daft punk.’”)
Eagles of Death Metal
(The origin is self-explanatory.)
Fucked Up
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Japandroids
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Moving Mountains
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Quiet Riot
(Not sure of its origin but, damn, it’s tops for great alliteration!)
Red Five
(Named after the X-wing squadron in the first and only worthwhile “Star Wars.”)
Stereolab
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Television
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
Three Dog Night
(Apparently this is a colloquialism expressing that it is so cold that you’d let three dogs sleep in your bed for warmth.)
The Unband
(Also seems self-explanatory.)
The Who
(No idea where they got their name but according to the link below: Their original name was 'The High Numbers'.  After they were announced, the audience reaction was typically, "The who?")

A great source for this: http://rateyourmusic.com/list/ByteMe/the_origins_of_band_names/1/