The redoubtable Paste magazine’s Rachel Maddux has an article about the top 10 trends in names of bands playing the upcoming SXSW music convention.
For instance, by Maddux’s count there are 11 “exclamatory” bands — bands with an exclamation mark in their name (although the king of them all, !!!, is sitting it out this year.) Coming in at #4, #3, and #2, there are 15 “youthful” bands (Cold War Kids, Baby Robots), 18 “blingy” bands (Golden Boots, Indian Jewelry), and 21 “religious” bands (the Wailing Wall, Magic Christian).
But the winner is “dude-y” bands (Diesel Boy, Early Man) with 23 entries, by which Maddux concludes that once again, men have pissed up the territory. But I have a different take: If you add all the “boy” bands and “girl” bands (Vivian Girls, When Girls Collide, etc.) to the “youthful” bands, then the kids win it by a landslide. Which means that — surprise — pop music still belongs to the young.
However, I have identified yet another SXSW band name trend, and it would easily make Paste‘s top 10: band names with famous people’s names in them. Check it.
Abe Vigoda
Dananananaykroyd
Gringo Star
Hesta Prynn in Civil Shepherd
The Jonbenet
Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head
Nid & Sancy
Ringo Deathstarr
The River Phoenix
Edie Sedgwick
Kurt Vile
Yes, my friends, another damning commentary on our celebrity-obsessed culture.
