Random Music Talk XXXII: Celebrating Your Favorite Swooncore Album

[PhilsFan]

I've lost any semblance of control over what people call me. I wash my hands of this nickname deliberation.

 

[bollox]

Those Gathering of the Juggalos infomercials have gotten progressively longer, more convoluted and further away from the simply entertaining energy that made the first one such a delightful surprise. Really the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' of annual horrorcore rap festival infomercials.

 

[powerhour24]

Chk Chk Chk.

No, I knew what it was, I just don't see how !!! should translate into that.

 

[corianderstem]

Isn't it supposed to be an African language, where !!! is actually that tongue clicking sound? Hence chk chk chk?

I thought that was the story.

 

[powerhour24]

Yeah... cuz exclamation points are of an African origin.

 

[corianderstem]

I'm not crazy.

The band's name was inspired by the subtitles of the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy, in which the clicking sounds of the Bushmens' Khoisan language were represented as "!".



But also,

However, as the bandmembers themselves say, !!! is pronounced by repeating thrice any monosyllabic sound. Chk Chk Chk is the most common pronunciation, but they could just as easily be called Pow Pow Pow, Bam Bam Bam, Uh Uh Uh, etc.[1] The URL of their official website and the title of their MySpace page, however, suggests that "Chk Chk Chk" is the preferred pronunciation

Which is dumb. Pick a band name, don't just pick three symbols and say "pronounce it however you want."

 

[powerhour24]

Where will the pretension cease? First they pick a name from how words in an old movie are subtitled, and then they give the fans the gift of making their own pronunciation! Oh joy of joys. That's creativity.

 

[corianderstem]

I knew I'd read that somewhere about African language, but had forgotten that it was a subtitle thing.

 

[powerhour24]

The fact that their music sucks doesn't help their case either.

 

[LemonMelon]

Where will the pretension cease?

Their sincerest apologies, but Rock Band was already taken.

 

[iron yuppie]

For me, the genre with the worst band names has got to be progressive / post-rock. It seems as though they are all reaching for some type of phenomenological mind expansion. "Explosions in the Sky" is one that really grates on me.

 

[powerhour24]

While I agree that by and large post rock is filled with awful names (65daysofstatic, I'm looking at you), I love Explosions in the Sky's name along with their music.

 

[powerhour24]

Is meh meh meh an acceptable pronunciation of !!!?

 

[LemonMelon]

Godspeed You! Black Emperor has the worst post-rock band name, if only because the exclamation point seems so arbitrarily placed. Then again, any band name with an exclamation in it blows, making !!! blow thrice. Lance's mom invented that hat trick.

 

[powerhour24]

Although, my favorite post rock name is God is an Astronaut.

 

[cobl04]

Los Campesinos!' exclamation mark seems justified when you listen to their music.

 

[LMP]

For me, the genre with the worst band names has got to be progressive / post-rock. It seems as though they are all reaching for some type of phenomenological mind expansion. "Explosions in the Sky" is one that really grates on me.

Black Metal's got it beat, though there are a few crossovers between that and Post-Rock.

Goblin Cock is a pantheon pick.

 

[LemonMelon]

Paracletus by Deathspell Omega : Reviews and Ratings - Rate Your Music

Never, ever gets old. Most incomprehensible band/album name combo ever.

That first review is a classic too.

 

[powerhour24]

Hey now, Deathspell Omega is a name that really speaks to me on an emotional level. Stop being so negative.

 

[LemonMelon]

We all have those ragey days, yeah.

 

[powerhour24]

When my friends and I were naming our band we had a good laugh spending hours thinking up the worst names we could think of, and then we ended up sticking with a name that was kind of a joke originally.

My favorite pretentious idea was to make fun of the obsession with having names that follow the 'The (insert plural noun here) forumla', and just calling it The.

 

[LemonMelon]

The The is a really cool band, actually. Well, the one album of theirs that I've heard was pretty great.

YouTube - ‪The The-Uncertain Smile‬‏

I heard the singer is kind of a tool, which serves to reason for a guy who named his band The The.

 

[powerhour24]

I just cracked up at the idea of people asking what our band was called and just saying "The" and have them waiting there to hear the obligatory plural noun and thinking I'd trailed off or zoned out.

 

[LemonMelon]

Momentarily, this seems like the worst band name ever. Doesn't so much scream "we play death metal" (see: Deathspell Omega) as it screams "we are total dickheads."

Albums by Blindead - Rate Your Music

 

[powerhour24]

I love purposely misspelled or pun-oriented band names. In a I like to laugh at them way. I should go to bed, but now I'm kind of tempted to cruise Bandcamp to laugh at some names, there's always a treasure trove on there.

I'm also trying to think of the worst band name for a band that I'm actually a big fan of.

 

[powerhour24]

Well, My Morning Jacket is a pretty fucking stupid name off the top of my head.

 

[LemonMelon]

I'm also trying to think of the worst band name for a band that I'm actually a big fan of.

The XX, Spoon, Elbow for me.

Best: The Dismemberment Plan.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

The International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

 

[powerhour24]

I knew someone would mention Elbow, and I thought of it, but for some reason I actually like that name. I also have no problem with The xx. And Spoon just always makes me laugh.

 

[lazarus]

Well, My Morning Jacket is a pretty fucking stupid name off the top of my head.

I love that name. It's a bit enigmatic but not nerdy or poseury.


My favorite band name ever? Guided By Voices. And it's also fun to say "GBV".