| artist's name |
named after... |
10 CC
 |
10cc got their name from Jonathan King who released their first records.
King had had a dream about a successful band called "10cc". However,
popular belief is that they adopted the name because the average male
ejaculation is 9cc and the band was above average with 1cc more than
that!
Kindly submitted by Richard |
1000 Homo DJs
 |
This industrial side project of Trent Reznor, Al Jorgensen, and Jello Biafra was named like that, because Al commented on their release that he thought only 1000 homo DJs would ever hear it.
a big thank you to Mark!
|
Agent Orange
 |
... name given to a number of compounds utilized by the U.S. military in chemical warfare
again, a big thank you to Mark!
|
Alpinestars
 |
... a brand of motocycles boots. Alpinestars makes some of the best motorcycle boots in the world, worn by many professional racers and serious street enthusiasts.
thanks to Rob! |
Anthrax
 |
bacteria, used as a biological weapon |
Arab Strap
 |
... after
a sexual device that caught singer Aidan Moffat's interest in the gentlemen’s
magazines he read as a boy... "The classic male potency enhancer. The ring goes round the penis, the strap round and under the balls."
There is also a Belle and Sebastian album by the same name.
|
The Ataris
 |
... the video game console.
|
Audioslave
 |
... In October 2002, Audioslave have settled with a U.K. band that shares its name to the tune of $30,000. Tom Morello told LAUNCH that his band didn't purposely take the Liverpool outfit's name. "That was Chris's [Cornell] suggestion that sort of came to him in a vision. We're all on the two-way pagers, and Chris one night said, 'I got it. It's Audioslave.' We were all, like, 'All right, fantastic.' I think that it adds a kind of three-dimensional depth to the rest of the package." |
Die Ärzte
 |
... because of the first letter; the German "Umlaut A". Bela B.: "Im Plattenladen hatten sie im Fach mit "Ä" nie etas drinnstehen. Das hat mir Anfang der 80er so leid getan, daß ich zu Farin sagte: Komm, laß uns einen Namen mit Ä finden!
Es sind uns nur 3 eingefallen: Ätztussis, Ärsche und Ärzte...den blödesten haben wir dann genommen." (Die Ärzte is German for "the doctors")
|
Blink 182
 |
original band name was Blink...just blink. An irish
techno band wanted to sue blink, claiming they got that same name before them. So tom added 182 at the end of blink, this number having no peculiar, or maybe countless meanings. It was told that 182 was the number of time Pacino says "shit" in the movie "scarface". |
Caffery, John and The Beaver Brown Band
 |
..."beaver brown" came from the name/color on a paint can in the room when the band had to come up with the name really quick.
thanks to Sherry |
Cortizone
 |
...a synthetic steroid that is used as a replacement therapy in adrenocortical deficiency states. The powerful steroid is also useful for its potent anti-inflammatory effects in disorders of many organ systems. Cortisone therapy suppresses the output of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the pituitary gland and this in turn suppresses the adrenal cortex. This allows a control of excessive androgen secretion. Corticosteroids are marketed under about 200 trade names. Side effects include increased appetite, indigestion, nervousness, restlessness, and trouble in sleeping. |
Dilated Peoples
 |
means nothing
at all. It is merely a play on words: the correct phrase is
"dilated pupils" and refers to a certain condition of the black
centre of the eye, called pupil. Dilated pupils are widened
so as to let more light in. This state can either occur
naturally when it is very dark, or be achieved artificially by
"administering eyedrops to the eyes or ingesting certain
pills". |
Dogs Die in Hot Cars
 |
From an interview:
Q: Dogs Die In Hot Cars - possibly the greatest band name ever. Where did that one come from?
Lee: Basically we were just messing about with helium balloons one day and it just sort of
slipped out. And then we saw it in print it looks amazing...we even got in the Bizarre column in
The Sun which was always a personal dream of mine. You really don't want to hear the suggestions
we came up with before that but the one that sticks out is Robert Plant in Poo Poo Land.
Craig: People are kind of abbreviating it to The Dogs just now and that's kind of acceptable,
but to actually call you name The something. Nobody's indifferent about and they think it's bad
or really good and it's the same with the music as well. |
Don
 |
Der Name DON rührt aus dem Jahre 2000. Der österreichische Elektronikmusiker Dr. Nachtstrom sah den damals noch unbekannten Silvio Thonhofer während eines Auftritts im Grazer Arcadium. Die Auffälligkeit daran war ein Mantel, den Herr Thonhofer trotz extremer Hitze trug. Dieses Ereigniss wiederholte sich einige Male und Doktor Nachtstrom titulierte den Mantel als Don-Mantel und somit auch den Inhalt. |
Echobelly
 |
chose the name because it conveys the feeling of being hungry for something. |
Eskobar
 |
from Energy Records, Sweden:
Eskobar are not named after the unfortunate - and dead - Colombian drug
supremo, Pablo. Nor are they named after the unfortunate - and dead -
Colombian footballer who was assassinated after scoring an own goal against
the USA in World Cup '94. Nor are they named after the pub in Uppsala,
northern Sweden. They just liked the way it sounded. Easy. |
Everclear
 |
At 190 proof or 95-percent pure alcohol, Everclear is 95% pure grain alcohol,
odorless, tasteless, and very potent. |
Flaming Lips
 |
... a brand of candy lips (i'm not sure about this... ?!?)
pls mail for corrections! |
Galaxie 500
 |
... a 1960's gas guzzling car made by Ford
thanks to Scott! |
Gwenmars
 |
... a Kindergarten teacher |
H-Blockx
 |
... high security prisons |
Jamiroquai
 |
... a wordplay with "Jam" and "Iroquai" (the native American tribe which is of course spelled "Iroquois". |
Jane's Addiction
 |
a prostitute the band members had all met through. |
Kings Of Convenience
|
They established the name Kings of Convenience, as they found it really convenient to be two people with two accoustic guitars. And of course that they like the state of convenience in general. |
King Adora
 |
huge vibrator |
Lemonheads
 |
... a type of candy.
There is also Applehead, Grapehead, Orangehead and Cherryhead.
|
Lambretta
 |
... a scooter. See also here. |
The Lovin' Spoonful
 |
... like 10cc and pearl Jam, they took their name from "male bodily fluid".
thanks to Peter |
Mötley Crüe
 |
Their name looks like Turkish, but it comes from the look of the band members who all look so different: a motley crew.
Thanks to Stephane for this one! |
MxPx
 |
MXPX began about 7 years ago when three15 year-old kids calling themselves Magnified Plaid started pounding out music inspired by and similar to the Descendants and other Southern California pop-punk bands. They didn't really love their band name, however, which was a tribute to the original guitarist's penchant for wearing one particularly loud plaid shirt. Consequently, the name was abbreviated to M.P., but in Yuri's handwriting, periods become "X"'s and since he made up the show posters for the band, the four-letter moniker stuck. |
Pavement
 |
The band were looking up words with the same meaning in US and UK
eg Pavement/sidewalk, and liked the sound of it |
Queens Of The Stone Age
 |
The band's name is intended to tweak the noses of the homophobic rednecks Josh Homme used to see at Kyuss concerts. "It’ll be interesting if they can say the name '' to their friends," he smiles.
[...] |
Ramones
 |
There were 4
people in the band who adopted the names joey, dee dee, tommy and
johnny ramone. Others came later. Each person in the band chose a
fake first name and used the last name Ramone. Ramone was chosen as a
symbolic name for the greaser/rocker/tough street kid image the
ramones were trying to imitate with the look and torn clothes. That
came from authors' research writing biographies on the late members
of the band.
thanks to tim! |
Readymade
 |
... Duchamp's "readymade" sculptures, such as The Bicycle Wheel done in 1913, were objects seen in day to day experience, but were placed into a different setting, that is they were now looked at as aesthetic objects. The most incredible aspect of Duchamp s "readymades& was that he was that he did not give them that classification.
[...][...] |
Reissdorf Force
 |
... a German beer brand |
REO Speedwagon
 |
... an antique US fire engine - more info here |
Sahara Hotnights
 |
... a racing horse. Drummer Josephine tells: "We took the name because we thought it sounded cool, quite simply." |
Samba
 |
... the famous adidas sneaker. |
Scissor Sisters
 |
... a slang term for lesbians |
Sensorama
 |
... a 60's arcade game that used motion, sound, smells, even artificial breezes, to convince users they were riding a motorcycle through the streets of Brooklyn or watching a belly dancer perform.
more here |
Smash Mouth
 |
Football players use this slang term in any game with a lot of blocking or
tackling.
[link] |
SR-71
 |
... the legendary "blackbird", the fastest areoplane in the world [more] |
Talking Heads
 |
... term assigned to news casters as the T.V. network just needs a pretty face to tell the news.
Once again, thanks to Mark! |
Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts
 |
Garth Adams (bass) in an interview:
Russell (Crowe, that is!) came up with it after seeing some film rushes earlier in his career. The phrase [thirty odd foot of grunts] was on those rushes. In the meantime we didn't come up with an alternative so it stuck.
thanks to Pacilio 1 |
Three Dog Night
 |
... When you travel Alaska by dogsled, and
you bed down for the night, you put a sled
dog on either side of you for warmth. If
it's especially cold, you put a third dog
on top of you. So, a particularly cold
night in Alaska is a "three-dog night".
Thank you to Scott |
Tool
 |
In a 1994 interview, Danny [the band's drummer] said that the band's name stands for how they want their music to be a tool to aid in understanding lachrymology ("the study of crying").
But if you don't buy the whole lachrymology thing, there's always the obvious answer... see toolshed.down.net
thanks to Mario! |
Tosca
 |
... one of Giacomo Puccinis most
famous operas in which Floria Tosca and her lover Marios
devotion to each other is tragically forfeited by Baron
Scarpia who requires Tosca to satisfy his own trivial needs.
In lieu of running the entire twisted plot by you, let it suffice
to say that Mario is killed and, upon discovering her lovers
death, Tosca leaps to her own. |
Vega 4
 |
... the star Vega. The number 4 comes from the number of bandmembers.
Want some data? Here we go:
Alpha LYR Vega
Azimuth: 270°36'12", RA: 18h36.2 - Decl: +38°46'
Spectral Class: A0 Brightness: +0.04
Distance: 8pc - 26.08Ly - 2.464E+17m. |
The Warlocks
 |
Like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Warlocks named themselves after a motorcycle gang. |
Whyte Seeds
 |
On their Homepage, when being asked why they spell their name with a "Y", they answered:
It's the same reason we decide to play a song in D instead of G. If songs could be played in Y then we would do it. We just go bananas over the letter Y.
Aha. |
Wir Sind Helden
 |
(German for "We are heroes") On their homepage, they write:
Wieso heissen die so?
Weil Helden groß sind. Und ganz klein. Romantisch, furchtlos, zu visionär um sich selbst die Schnürsenkel zu binden. Verloren in einer Welt aus U- Bahnhöfen und Kaufhäusern - zu verträumt zum Geradeaus laufen, zu wach zum wegfliegen. |
The Zutons
 |
Q: What does the name Zutons mean? A: The name was a mistake to be honest, an it just stuck! we wanted
a band name whcih would make us original and not forgotten about in fifteen minutes.
(Source) |
