Wikipedia Names Your Band. (flickr pool) [more inside]
posted by flatluigi on Feb 22, 2009 - 101 comments

Austin music scene ~1990-1995 (an unscientific survey): 8 1/2 Souvenirs ₁ - American Analog Set _{1 2} - Bad Livers ₁ - Bedhead - Butthole Surfers ₁ - Duckhills ₁ - Ed Hall ₁ - Fuckemos ₁ - Furry Things - Gals Panic ₁ - Glass Eye ₁ - Johnny Goudie ₁ - Hamell on Trial ₁ - The Horsies - The Impossibles ₁ - Daniel Johnston ₁ - Motards - Pocket FishRmen ₁ - Poi Dog Pondering ₁ - Pariah - Pushmonkey _{1 2} - The Reivers ₁ - Retarted Elf - Scratch Acid (yes, I know -- late 80s...) - Shoulders - Sincola - Sixteen Deluxe ₁ - Sons of Hercules ₁ - Soulhat ₁ - Spoon _{1 2} - Starfish ₁ - Storyville ₁ - Twang-Twang-Shock-a-Boom ₁ - Ugly Americans - Wild Seeds ₁. Previously: 1 2 3
posted by swift on Dec 3, 2008 - 66 comments

For Those Who Tried To Rock is a blog about the bands that never went anywhere, for example. Urbicide, The Tribulations and Only One. The band photos are usually accompanied by mp3s and short testimonies, such as this one about Soft Option: "Flock of Seagulls owned Liverpool when we came together but we were really Depeche Mode fans. Trouble was, we only had one Synth – the Roland pictured above – so on the more complicated songs we covered like Everything Counts (see cassette below) I had to play parts on a Melodica – the small keyboard you blow into. It was my Mother's idea. We went to an all boys school, so the gigs were boys only, which meant we did not get laid but the nights we played were some of the greatest of my adolescence." [via Carrie Brownstein's Monitor Mix]
posted by Kattullus on Jun 5, 2008 - 50 comments

Paulo in London asks musicians to write him a story on an index card. [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Apr 15, 2008 - 7 comments

Matthew Ingram at Stylus pontificates various band logos, revealing some secret origins and offering some perspectives on consistency and cultural signifiers built into them.
posted by beaucoupkevin on Sep 24, 2007 - 25 comments

The Ten Best Bands That Never Existed.
posted by amyms on Aug 7, 2007 - 137 comments

If you missed Elvis Perkins on Late Night with David Letterman making their national television debut, at least now you can say you knew about these guys before they really hit the big time (check out "Acoustic Slip Away"). I first heard about them on Lex and Terry. Warning, may be NSFW, youtube and audio links. Click at your own risk.
posted by misha on Jun 14, 2007 - 32 comments

Moptops in suits. Not necessarily the ones you were thinking of.
posted by oneirodynia on May 9, 2007 - 32 comments

Would you trust this man with your life's savings? Successful entrepeneur and president of Trans Continental Airlines cum boy band svengali, Lou Pearlman was the guiding hand behind N'Sync, the Backstreet Boys, and O-Town. Now, however, he's on the lam, wanted by the FBI for swindling old folks out of $317 million. Pearlman was last seen in Berlin on February 1st; as he sat in a crowded theater watching his latest creation, the German boy band US5, win an international pop award, FBI investigators were already combing through his Florida home and offices.
posted by billysumday on Apr 17, 2007 - 43 comments

The major label machine sucks in and churns out young bands all the time, leaving plenty of good music unheard by the public. Boston's trip-hoppy Splashdown were one of the acts brought low by this process, disbanding two years after Capitol decided not to release their major label debut LP. The late 90's were a commercially bad time for female-fronted electro-pop, of course, but the band found an outlet for their material by releasing it for free online -- their whole catalog, including three LP's, two EP's and some double-secret-unreleased tracks, is available with the band's blessing. Members have since joined other bands -- Freezepop, Universal Hall Pass -- which hopefully will avoid the trouble Splashdown had.
posted by aaronetc on Feb 24, 2007 - 37 comments

Yardbirds documentary part 1, part 2, and part 3. Bonus: Jimmy Page, age 14.
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 27, 2006 - 27 comments

Underground Wonderland The RISD Museum is hosting a retrospective of Providence's DIY marketing approach to underground shows. The exhibit, with every wall plastered from floor to ceiling, feels like a time-capsule. Fort Thunder and its associated bands has been mentioned here on the blue before, but the sense of community that comes through, and which still runs through Providence's subcultures thanks to individuals like Ryan Lesser and his "Lots of Noise" site deserves yet another post. Be sure to check out the Lots of Noise image and photo gallery for more fun stuff. (No direct links, sorry!)
posted by stagewhisper on Oct 9, 2006 - 7 comments

Tourfilter: Track your favorite bands. See who else is tracking them. Never miss another show! [Boston, Chicago, New York for now - other cities on the way.]
posted by mr.curmudgeon on Jul 5, 2006 - 15 comments

If Banks were Bands, which would they be? A Bloomberg columnist writes about the 'personalities' of the world's big investment banks, and compares them to well-known bands. Some amusing, and insightful, descriptions
posted by darsh on May 17, 2006 - 58 comments

A blog invitational - Jazz group The Bad Plus came up with a list of conceptually similar authors and bands. They now invite readers to add their own submissions. The type of similarity between the band and the author is up to you: examples from the band's original list include Tom Waits/Charles Bukowski, Jewel/Danielle Steele, and Rush/J.R.R. Tolkien. Here is the first set of fan submissions, and here is another blog that is participating.
posted by ism on Nov 20, 2005 - 61 comments

Back In Black, Bold, Semibold, Roman, and Light: Ever wanted to write your name in the font The Scorpions used? Or make your wedding announcements in the AC/DC font? Maybe you'd like to create nametags with the official Ozzy font? Here are all the rock fonts you'll ever need, all for free.
posted by fandango_matt on Feb 16, 2005 - 18 comments

brickwallers and douchebags. It's incredibly cruel but oh so clever. Exposing the band promo photo. You might think you look good but this guy will identify your weak point and skewer you with a bon mot - which is a hell of a lot more painful than anything else you can be skewered with. Even sharp things. A couple of favourites are this one and this one, which almost killed me. If you get it you'll know what I mean.
posted by milkwood on Feb 13, 2005 - 43 comments

The Essential Foghat Timeline. Is it any wonder that Foghat is so hard to keep track of? (Found here). There were two versions of Foghat touring from 1990 to 1993. Roger Earl was touring with his version of Foghat (originally called the Kneetremblers) from 1986 to 1993 and Dave toured with Lonesome Dave's Foghat from 1990 to 1993...
posted by inksyndicate on Aug 28, 2004 - 3 comments

Pour Some Sugar On Me, as reinvisioned by Townsend, a boy band. Some would say it's the worst thing they'd ever seen, but I'd hazard a guess that it may actually be the worst thing ever filmed. The song is enhanced with a rap section, and the video is enhanced with the addition of the jackass from Smashmouth, for some bizarre reason. NSFNSAVI (not safe for the non sight & vision impaired)
posted by jonson on Aug 26, 2004 - 65 comments

According to Scientific Proof magazine your favorite band stinks. If you like Justin and Christina, Staind, Linkin Park or a host of others then it is a scientific fact that you have bad taste in music. Fortunately, there is a cure.
posted by mokujin on Aug 9, 2004 - 35 comments

B2B. Band to Band links. 6 degrees for music.
posted by srboisvert on Jul 27, 2004 - 27 comments

The Greatest Week in Rock History (Salon link) - 34 years ago today, Billboard Charts had a outstanding album lineup - perhaps not the best albums ever, but for a single point in time, arguably unmatched for quality, originality, and longevity. Take a look back at the roster: the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Tom Jones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Stones, Santana, the Temptations, Blood Sweat & Tears, Crosby Stills & Nash, and Easy Rider.
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 20, 2003 - 53 comments

John Elway gets the ball to the 18-yard line. Mark Harmon (not that Mark Harmon...) kicks the field goal to bring his team one point ahead with 4 seconds left on the clock. Kevin Moen catches the ball on the return kick, laterals to Richard Rodgers, who laterals to Dwight Garner. Garner laterals back to Rogers who then shovels the ball to Mariet Ford. Ford then passes back to Moen, who finishes what he started by tackling trombonist Gary Tyrrell in the end zone. So ends the 1982 "Big Game" between UC Berkeley and Stanford. So begins the legend of the weirdest play in the history of college football, complete with audio (wav file).
posted by jonp72 on Nov 20, 2003 - 22 comments

Roadies. They've got their own lingo, rules, and even recipes. Obviously, they've also got their own website, which has much more to be explored.
posted by Ufez Jones on Nov 10, 2003 - 4 comments

"The Band uses unique instrumentation: the music is performed using obsolete computer equipment for instruments. Currently they are using a 1977 Atari 2600 game console, a 1986 portable 286 PC, a 1983 Commodore 64 computer, and a 1985 Epson dot matrix printer."
posted by cody on Oct 28, 2003 - 14 comments

I've never heard of TAB (Tommy Aguilar Band) who apparently became quite popular in the mid-90's, but Off The Record is nonetheless a fascinating read, offering great insight into what it's really like to be in a band. Michelle Rubin, the bass player, offers a journal describing one of their first disastrous tours. Tommy has a write-up that is also well worth reading. The book gets rave reviews.
posted by ashbury on Aug 21, 2003 - 8 comments

Want to serve your country, but you're not exactly up for being a marine? If you know an instrument well, then not to worry...join "The President's Own", the official USMC band! Unlike other USMC bands that are put together from Marine Corps regulars, musicians in the President's Own are enlisted specifically for playing in the band (MOS 9811). You have all the rank, privileges, pay, and snappy uniforms as a Staff Sergeant upon entry, and you can even work yourself up to colonel! You get all the benefits, like seeing the world and free haircuts, provided you meet height and weight requirements, and can meet certain physical criteria (try marching for 10 hours a day)....and NO BOOT CAMP...that's right...they're the only unit in the Armed Forces that doesn't require any military training before joining. And of course, one the coolest things about the Marine Corps band, is that you follow in the footsteps of John Philip Sousa, who enlisted when he was friggin 13.
posted by taumeson on Jun 26, 2003 - 19 comments

Electric 6 is the new rock sensation in Europe... Their first video, 'Danger' (High Voltage) was tastless but undeniably funny... But with their new one, 'Gay bar', nobody will dare to say Rock music isn't political anymore... After George Michael's Shoot the dog video (which has been discussed here if memory serves me right), this one is just another way to admit that yes, political "leaders" do inspire artists...
posted by Sijeka on Jun 16, 2003 - 30 comments

Radiohead TV: Welcome To The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth Of All Time! Yes, fans and detractors - it's that time of the year again. But look before you hear, mind! My favourite band The world's most lyrically evolved band Radiohead is about to unleash, after the wonder that is There, There [Full videoclip here] a new long-playing record and with it, on May 26th, a new television channel [Please scroll down a bit for details]. They're going: "I haven't had this much fun in years". Well, indeed! I wonder how many fans get the dark, gallows humour of Radiohead. And what beautiful songs! I put it to you Thom Yorke is the new Leonard Cohen, another much-funnier-than-he-sounds songwriter and performer.[Windows Media req. Quicktime version of TV channel here; Real version of "There, There" video here. Please go to the website for other details and lower res alternatives..]
posted by MiguelCardoso on May 13, 2003 - 54 comments

The Mu Major Chord Outstanding guitar themed Steely Dan fan site. Learn the secret Steely Dan chord substitution!
posted by crunchburger on May 8, 2003 - 15 comments

Throwing Muses are among the most sadly unsung bands of the alt.rock era. Though beloved by critics (particularly the British press) and adored by a small army of devoted fans, they disbanded in 1997 for financial reasons. After releasing a killer new album, the band (featuring prodigal Muse and Belly founder Tanya Donnelly) are back for what may be the last time. (more inside)
posted by pxe2000 on Apr 25, 2003 - 32 comments

The White Stripes will be appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, for the entire week, starting tonight. The band is promoting their new album called Elephant.
posted by Beholder on Apr 22, 2003 - 47 comments

All that's cat, all that's hep? Huh? I am utterly mystified by not quite sure about the website, which seems to be Italian, but the pictures are cute and the music snippets that you get when you click on the covers sure are strange and funny and sweet...and I wish I understood what it's in aid of! Can anyone here tell me what these Old Woogie guys are up to? Are they evil? Are they devious? Or are they just tragically enthusiastic?
posted by Carlos Quevedo on Apr 16, 2003 - 3 comments

Possibly the greatest band that ever existed is only a few fingerprints away: your own, created right here! [Via Bifurcated Rivets]
posted by Carlos Quevedo on Apr 5, 2003 - 16 comments

British band The The is alive, well, and pissed off. The March 21st "issue" of their website This is The The Day is a brash, one-stop-shopping WarLinkapalooza to (among other things) Micah Wright and his war poster satires, Tom Tomorrow, Get Your War On, Robert Fisk's Baghdad dispatches and . . . Alan Watts? (Oh, yeah--Pt 6 of the Johnny Marr/Matt Johnson interview is there too.) Are other bands taking a stand against (or for) the war? Googling this results in only a certain spyplane, while Bono has no comment (for a change). Please do not turn this into a pro/anti-war flamefest. We're flamefested out by now : ) Peace.
posted by Shane on Mar 21, 2003 - 12 comments

Ever Wonder What Happened to Little Tibia and the Fibulas? You can find out here at the Rocklopedia Fakebandica, a classic compendium of bands that only existed on TV or in the movies. [More inside]
posted by jonp72 on Jan 24, 2003 - 4 comments

Meanwhile, Back in Communist Russia... BBC Radio1 clowns/idiots Mark and Lard have an ongoing quest to find the worst band name ever. Personally I think some of the bands in the poll have the best names. What makes a crap band name? Something unimaginative like The Michael Schenker Group? Something crass like Speculum Fight or Alien Porno Midgets? What, for that matter, makes a good name? Do tell.
posted by nylon on Jan 22, 2003 - 84 comments

Phish ends Hiatus. The band will play four shows beginning with a New Year's show at MSG. Dirty neo-hippies everywhere rejoice.
posted by uftheory on Aug 14, 2002 - 26 comments

Tonight, I saw (for the 4th time) one of the greatest live bands on the planet: Sweep The Leg Johnny. They played to a half-empty room in Toronto. Recently, the band put out their fourth CD. Sadly, they're calling it quits after this tour. What are some of the bands you've told folks to Go see now!, but no one seems to listen?
posted by dobbs on Jul 11, 2002 - 36 comments

They Might Be Giants have a new album for kids and I can't wait to foist it on mine.
posted by engelr on Jun 18, 2002 - 33 comments

The odd phenomenon of tribute bands. Heartfelt homage and harmless fun? Creepy obsession and pale imitation? Whatever you see it as, their numbers are swelling. Some that you'd expect, a few that'll surprise you, at least one that vaguely frightens me and one to which I say 'it's about time!'. Sincerest form of flattery or mild insanity? Your call.
posted by jonmc on Jun 1, 2002 - 28 comments

It's the music *you* love but everyone you know hates it... It's the band you love. You've played them to all your friends. All your friends hate them (don't they see? haven't they got ears? can't they hear?) You've tried the old "no - really just *listen* to them...honestly they *are* great - can't you even see yet?" ploy... But you can't make anyone understand and everyone you know still hates them. This is my one. (mp3's available) What's yours? (nb. i know most of you are going to hate this band, so it would be pointless to post replies of the "this band are sh*t nature)
posted by Spoon on Jan 14, 2002 - 74 comments

The Ramones named #2 band of all time by Spin magazine, following the Beatles at #1. I think we all can agree to disagree about the vailidity of the yearly Grammy nominations, but when given a little more time, you'd think that the editors of Spin could come up with something better than placing The Smiths at #21, or Fugazi at #31. In other news, Bruce Springsteen was left off the list.
posted by padjet1 on Jan 10, 2002 - 91 comments

Band names are out; blog names are in. All of us musical inepts who spent more time thinking up band names than actually learning to play an instrument now have a purpose for our great list of names that rock your world, dude! Here's a really brief list of blog names grabbed from Linkwatcher, any one of which could have been a band name: Virulent Memes, Grouse, The Dome of the Sky, Underduck, Sixth Dev, Ten Reasons Why, Industrial Technology and Witchcraft, Phester, Hopeless Romantics, Next Generation Degeneration, Being Terran, Hit or Miss, Entropy, Wee David, Kitty Kitty, Inexplicable Fancy Trash, etc etc. On the flip side, you could use random band name generators to come up with blog names, too. Some people compile lists of band names. Of course, some sites take band names seriously. What's your best band/blog name ever?
posted by monkey-mind on Dec 30, 2001 - 38 comments

The Rocklopedia Fakebandica is an exhaustive compendium of non-existent musical acts from television and film. Need to know the complete lineup of Evar Orbus and His Galactic Jizz-Wailers? It's here (via Grouse!).
posted by MrBaliHai on Dec 21, 2001 - 17 comments

Tool played in Philly last night, and I was lucky enough to go. Always wanted to see them, but for certain reasons, never have till now. Any bands out there you've been wanting to see live, or wanted to see live before a split-up ruined your chances?
posted by mich9139 on Sep 28, 2001 - 93 comments

Pages about the band Hot Snakes eventually led me to the site of record label Vagrant. I'm really impressed by the clean design and quality content. What other stand out record label sites are out there?
posted by gwint on Sep 10, 2001 - 6 comments

"Ten years ago, Kurt Cobain saved us from the horrific pap that was popular music. We sure could use another Kurt Cobain today." Are we really being duped these days? There's still good music in my opinion - maybe it's hard to find, but it's there.
posted by pnevares on Jan 11, 2001 - 87 comments

U2's site gets a redesign, losing the befuddling wireframe "studio" concept for something a little more familiar: a timeline-cum-blog, taking elements of Classic Motown and U2log.
posted by hijinx on Oct 30, 2000 - 13 comments

Look at the silly boys with their cute little grindcore band names. Oooh! I'm threatened! I'm quivering! I'm shocked and saddened, saddened and shocked! So scary.
posted by Mo Nickels on May 21, 2000 - 3 comments