WEBVTT - Where Do the World's Best Band Names Come From? 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.200 Guess what, Mango, what's that? Will? So I know we're 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:06.440 both pretty good at celebrating each other's accomplishments. But I 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:08.920 do have to admit there's one thing you have on 0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:12.320 your resume that I've honestly always been a little jealous of. 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:14.520 You have a band named after you, Mango. 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:18.520 I mean, that's a bit of a stretch. 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:20.240 I don't think it's a stretch at all, all right, 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:22.960 So our listeners will know. When we were in college, 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:25.319 Mango was playing the keyboards and a band that a 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.319 few of our closest friends had started. Well, this also 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:30.080 happened to be around the time we were trying to 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:33.640 start Mental Floss, and Mango realized there just weren't enough 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:36.880 hours in the day. So, fortunately for all future fans 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:40.240 of Mental Floss and even part time genius, Mango decided 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:42.680 to keep working on our new venture, and he dropped 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.000 out of the band. Now, this was also around the 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.000 time that the band was just starting to get a 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.440 few more gigs, and I mean some of their shows 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:51.000 were getting I don't know, what would you say, Mango, 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:52.680 like tens of people in the audience. 0:00:52.760 --> 0:00:53.800 It was at least ten. 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:57.440 It was impressive, but they needed to settle on a name, 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:01.320 so they decided to simultaneously honor and throw a little 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:03.680 bit of a friendly jab at Mango by calling the 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:05.360 group Minus Mango. 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:09.320 Well I'm not sure honor is the right term for that. 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:12.160 Well, either way, the band ran with it, and they 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.720 had a short but fun run. And I've even heard 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:16.959 the band inspired some songs like I think it was 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:20.720 meatloafs I would do anything for love and shares believe 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:21.959 if I'm not mistaken. 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:25.080 Yeah, I mean, there's only one problem with that theory, Will, 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:27.960 And actually there's several problems with that, the main one 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:30.600 being that it's not true, but the other being that 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:33.160 both those songs came out well before the band formed. 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:35.440 Well, I just think that's what makes it so impressive. 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.560 I mean, that is really remarkable. But anyway, we're not 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:41.000 here to talk about Minus Mango today. We're here to 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:43.840 talk about the origins of some other band names and 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:47.039 maybe even create a little hall of fame of great 0:01:47.160 --> 0:02:11.280 and terrible band names. So let's get started, Hey, their 0:02:11.320 --> 0:02:14.240 podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson, 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:16.680 and as always I'm joined by my good friend Mangeshot 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.480 Ticket and on the other side of that Soundproof Glass 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:23.200 rocking a T shirt for his favorite mashup cover band, Mango. 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:24.680 I don't know if you'd heard of this one before. 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:29.040 I had not. It's called Beatallica. Anyway, that's our friend 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:32.320 and producer Tristan and McNeil, and you know, Beatles songs 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:35.519 covered in the style of Metallica. It's not something you'd 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:38.519 expect to work, but Tristan played me a few tracks 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:41.040 earlier and I've honestly got to say I really kind 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:41.480 of dug it. 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:44.640 Yeah, I mean, the way they blended Blackbird with Fade 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:47.760 to Black is pretty masterful. That My favorite probably is 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:49.440 still All you Need is Blood. 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.280 I mean, it really says it all, don't you say. 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:56.360 But anyway, as funny or clever as cover band names 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:59.200 and song titles can be, the stories behind them are 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:02.639 usually not all that interesting. I mean, by definition, they're 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:05.560 pulled from or at least made in reference to existing 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:09.000 works by other artists, and all the origin stories for 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:11.200 the names of original bands tend to be a lot 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:13.880 more interesting. Even that's not a sure thing. I mean, 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:17.040 take the Beatles, for example. They've definitely earned their place 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:19.160 in the rock and Roll Hall of fame, But in 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.320 the band name hall of fame, I really don't think 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:24.320 they belong there. I mean, they took the name of 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:27.320 an insect and kind of turned it into this obvious 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:29.880 pun on musical beats, and so it doesn't tell you 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:32.520 anything about the group or the kind of music they play, 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:35.680 and honestly, worst of all, there's no hidden meaning or 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:37.360 interesting story behind it at all. 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:38.440 That's right. 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:41.160 So for today's show, we're gonna set aside the artist 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:43.880 and their work and really focus instead on what they 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.680 chose to call themselves. Even bad band names are on 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:48.840 the table, just as long as the stories behind them 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:50.400 are strange or interesting. 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:52.440 Yeah, and I thought we could do this like we 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:54.400 did a while back in that episode where we tried 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:57.800 to assemble our own version of Mount Rushmore. And of 0:03:57.840 --> 0:03:59.440 course it was so much fun to hear from all 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:02.640 the listeners with ideas of what other presidents we should 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:05.120 include on Mount Rushmore and why. So we're kind of 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:07.400 doing the same thing here. We'll each pitch some of 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:09.680 the best band name origins that we had, you know, 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:13.040 come across while researching and kind of gradually fill out 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.200 our Hall of Fame. And you know, the one thing 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:17.960 we noticed while preparing for this episode is how many 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:22.160 band names fall into similar categories, whether that's band's name 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:25.160 for literary works or band's name for TV shows. So 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:28.120 we'll try to limit our picks to one per category 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:30.400 so that we end up with a pretty good mix 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:32.560 of origins. So, all right, Mango, I'm gonna leave it 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:34.000 up to you. Where do you think we should start? 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:36.200 So I was thinking about this, and I think we 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.640 should start with band names inspired by history, because those were, 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:41.840 you know, some of the most interesting to me and 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:44.960 also some of the hardest to choose from. So a 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:47.000 few are pretty well known at this point. I mean 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:49.800 you think about like Franz Ferdinand, which takes its name 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:52.839 from the archduke whose assassination led to World War One, 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:54.839 Or there were lots of other ones I knew that 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:57.360 were taken from history, Like did you know that U 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.440 two was actually named after a spy plane currently You 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.440 two's were used to monitor the Soviets in the nineteen fifties. 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.119 You know, I've heard of this term before, but actually didn't. 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.479 I didn't realize that, but I guess it makes sense 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:11.200 though a lot of You two songs contain, you know, 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.279 references to political and historical events. And actually I was 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.880 just thinking about one the other days. Isn't Sunday Bloody 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:19.280 Sunday about the gorilla warfare in Northern Ireland? 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:20.600 It is? 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:24.200 Actually have you watched that Alan Partridge episode where Steve 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:28.159 Coogan's like a total buffoon and he's talking about this 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:32.120 inspiration for the song and he's like, it's just so relatable, 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:34.760 like when you're in line at Tesco's and you just 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:39.240 think Sunday Bloody Sunday. 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:42.120 Maybe that actually is the origin. I'm not sure. That's 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:42.640 pretty good. 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.400 But what's funny to me though, is that the band 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:47.520 really didn't choose you two to make any sort of 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:50.520 political statement, Like they went with it because it sounded 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:54.039 ambiguous and also I guess inclusive, like you know the 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.919 phrase you two. And also it was just more interesting 0:05:56.960 --> 0:05:59.440 than their earlier names, like they started out as Feedback 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:02.160 in nineteen seventy six before switching to the Hype and 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:03.560 then U two within the span. 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:06.159 Of two years. Yeah, it's funny because I found another 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:08.520 band that couldn't seem to settle on a name until 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:12.320 they stumbled upon an historical one. So you remember Jethro Toll, right, 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:14.240 m hm well, they had a hit with that song 0:06:14.320 --> 0:06:17.960 Aqualong in the early seventies, and apparently Jethro Toll was 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:20.680 a real person, just not a member of the band. 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:24.400 He was actually this English agricultural pioneer who played this 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:28.200 pretty pivotal role in bringing about the British agricultural revolution 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.640 in the early eighteenth century. And so his biggest claim 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:34.400 to fame was the invention of a horse drawn seed 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:38.200 drill to easily sew seeds in orderly rows, which really 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:40.760 laid the groundwork for modern agriculture. 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:45.599 That's just so rock and roll, you said. The band 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:47.039 just happened upon that name. 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:49.880 Yeah, So, in the band's early days, they had this 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:52.640 habit of making up a new name for every single 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:56.520 gig because their performances were so spotty and most places 0:06:56.520 --> 0:06:59.520 didn't book them a second time. So after about seriously 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:03.240 like four something name changes, the group finally hit on 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:07.279 this unexpected winner with their homage to an eighteenth century agronomist. 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:08.320 You know, that's the way it goes. 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:10.400 That's pretty incredible. 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:13.840 Well, but agricultural roots aside. My favorite band name with 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:16.880 an historical origin probably has to be Foo Fighters. 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:20.040 So this is strange, right, because I consider myself something 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:22.840 of a history buff. I actually won mister Zippy's History 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.200 Award in tenth grade. But I have no idea what 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:29.000 part of history that could possibly come from, like where 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:32.120 the Foo Fighters, Genghis Khans, elite bodyguards or something. 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:34.480 Not even close. It actually comes from the tail end 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:36.960 of World War Two, and this is when the Allied 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:41.200 pilots began reporting some sightings of these mysterious German aircraft 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:44.560 and they really couldn't be identified, and so the pilots 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:48.240 took to calling these UFOs foo Fighters. And when frontman 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:50.720 Dave Grohl came across the nickname he was reading a 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:53.720 book about UFOs, he actually just decided it was perfect 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:54.640 for his new band. 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:57.800 So did he ever elaborate on what made it sound 0:07:57.840 --> 0:07:58.600 so perfect to him? 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:02.120 Well, girl actually cour of the entire first Food Fighters 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:05.320 album all by himself, but he kind of wanted everybody 0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:07.560 to think it was the work of a proper group, 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.000 and for whatever reason, he thought a World War two 0:08:10.120 --> 0:08:12.520 term for UFOs would lead people to assume there was 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:15.080 more than just one man behind this music. 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:18.160 That's pretty funny reasoning. 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:22.400 So you know, I read this history article of Nirvana 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:25.840 where the guys would always apparently remind Dave Grohl that 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:28.440 he wasn't in the first iteration of the band. So, 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:31.520 I mean, it's kind of like telling Ringo he wasn't 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.240 an original Beatle, just over and over, and I feel 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:37.480 awful for him, But you know why, food fighters like 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:37.959 he could have. 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:40.280 Chosen any word that was a plural noun. 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:43.840 Well, you know, girl apparently came to a similar conclusion 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:46.600 because later he said in an interview, he said, had 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:49.680 I actually considered this to be a career, I probably 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:52.319 would have called it something else because it's the stupidest 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:53.880 effing band name in the world. 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:57.560 So I almost kind of want to add it to 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:00.280 our list just for that reason. But really, if we're 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:02.520 going to narrow it down to a single band per category, 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:03.719 I think we have. 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:05.160 To give this to the Decembrius. 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:07.960 Okay, So I know their songs tend to be very 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:11.720 literary and sometimes recount or maybe pull from historical events. 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:14.760 And I do remember a little bit about the Decembers 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:17.360 from a Russian history class I took years and years ago. 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:20.400 But I think I need a little bit of a refresher. 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:24.760 Right, So the historical Decembris, whose spelling actually is different 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:26.800 from the month in the band because it doesn't actually 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:29.199 have a third e in it. They were this group 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:33.240 of Russian revolutionaries who led almost a failed uprising in 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:36.000 the December of eighteen twenty five, and so the group 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:39.000 was composed mostly of these young Russian officers and also 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:42.160 members of the upper classes who they wanted to reform 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:45.080 the autocratic government into more of a liberal system. And 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:48.400 they actually took advantage of the chaos surrounding the death 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:51.559 of one tzar and the sension of another to stage rebellion. 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:54.760 But because it had been so poorly organized, their revolution 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.000 was quickly put to an end, and their hope of 0:09:57.080 --> 0:09:59.800 overturning an oppressive system has really only lived on. With 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:02.680 martyred December is now serving almost as a source of 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.160 inspiration for new generations of Russian rebels. 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.319 So is that actually where the band name comes from. 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:11.800 Yeah, so that's the thing it does, and it doesn't. So, 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:15.840 according to the band's frontman, Colin Molloy, the name's partly 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:18.640 derived from the Russian freedom fighters and partly from the 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:19.840 month of December itself. 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:21.880 I mean, it feels like you might be cheating a 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:24.800 little on this one, Mango. It's only a half reference 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:26.959 to history, So why do you feel like it deserves 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:28.760 a spot on our list because. 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:30.760 This is the only historical band name we've mentioned where 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:34.120 the reference wasn't chosen at random. So with the December 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:37.040 is there's actually this real thematic connection between the band's 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:41.400 name and its music. And as Colin molloy puts it, quote, 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:43.720 I like to think that the drama behind the month 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:46.520 of December, there's a group of people who that is 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:48.640 their month and they're sort of stuck in this month, 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:50.680 And I think that sort of speaks to the songs 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:53.480 and the characters and the songs sort of marginalized, sort 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:55.920 of on the outskirts, all living in the coldest month. 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:58.640 Well that is pretty interesting, But actually, didn't you say 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:01.400 the real Decembers were from the nobility. It kind of 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:04.319 doesn't sound like they were marginalized people living on the 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:06.199 outskirts as he was describing. 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:09.320 Yeah, so they were definitely a minority in terms of 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.400 openly opposing the system that ruled them. And once their 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:15.880 rebellion was sort of stifled, the Decembrists became well and 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:19.120 truly marginalized. Most of the surviving members were sent off 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:22.520 to remote work camps in Siberia, where their descendants still 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:24.800 eke out a living even though they brought education and 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:26.240 culture with them to that land. 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:29.400 Well all right, well it's not the cheeriest historical connection, 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:31.560 but but you're right, it certainly seems like one of 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:34.320 the deepest. And because of that, I agree, and I'll 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:36.640 give it to you. The Decembrists deserved the first spot 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:38.720 in our band name Hall of Fame. 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:42.679 Ding ding Dings, So they probably don't know it, but 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:45.360 that's a huge honor. And since it took us a 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:47.319 while to decide on that first entry, I actually have 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:49.840 a category that we can probably knock out pretty fast, 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:53.880 and that's best band named acronym that isn't actually an acronym. 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:56.840 And remember ARIM is disqualified from this one because it 0:11:56.920 --> 0:12:00.960 really is an acronym and it stands for rabbit eye movement. 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.000 Apparently Michael Stipe just cribbed it from the dictionary after 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:05.400 pointing to the word at random. 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:07.880 Yeah, probably the laziest way to come up with a 0:12:07.920 --> 0:12:10.559 band name, but you do hear that happening a lot, right, Well, 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.280 I guess my pick for this one would be kiss. 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:15.600 I would think, you know, everybody's heard the rumors that 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:18.840 the name secretly stands for something sinister. I remember hearing 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.080 as a kid that it stood for things like kids 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:24.400 in Satan's service. But you know, according to Jane Simmons, 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:27.240 the name doesn't stand for anything and was simply just this, 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:31.000 like this idle suggestion from one band member to another. 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:33.040 And it was it was Paul Stanley that came up 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:35.360 with this, And he's actually gone on record that he 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:39.079 chose the name Kiss because it quote just sounded dangerous 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:40.600 and sexy at the same time. 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:45.920 I mean, I guess you can't argue with the results, 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:48.439 or I guess you can actually, but. 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.439 I'm sure some people found them sexy and others dangerous. 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:54.439 I think my sister would be included in that category. 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:56.480 I know I've told you this before, but my sister 0:12:56.520 --> 0:12:57.920 is a few years older than I am, so when 0:12:57.920 --> 0:12:59.840 I was little, I would sneak into her room and 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:02.920 to her music. But i'd also, of course go through 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:05.079 all of her stuff. And one of the things I 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.600 remember finding was this shoe box, and it was full 0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:09.439 of these Kiss trading. 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:10.400 Cards, kiss ianthing. 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:13.360 It's hilarious to look at it. I really wish she 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:14.160 still had. 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:15.720 These and that's pretty amazing. 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.400 But you know, for my money, the best faw acronym 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:20.600 band name is still wasp Oh. 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:22.840 I remember them. So they were a heavy metal band 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:24.400 and back in it was this seven. I guess this 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:27.200 was the eighties, right, And I can't believe that's not 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:29.920 actually an acronyman. They even put a period between each 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:30.680 of the letters. 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:32.680 I know, I mean, I guess it's from the era 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:36.360 where you'd put gratuitous like umlots and nonsense and names 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:39.280 like wing dings and whatever. But supposedly it was just 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:41.679 because not many other bands had done it at that time, 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:43.960 and they hoped it would make them stand out and 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.120 get people curious about the band. But just like Kiss, 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.800 rumors swirled that the acronyms did for all sorts of 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:54.240 naughty stuff, like we are sexual perverts, we are Satan's preachers, 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:58.800 we all smoke pot. But my favorite red herring of 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.240 that lot is an answer that one of the band 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:04.360 members gave when he was doing an interview, and he said, 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:06.400 you know, they asked what does was stand for? 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:08.199 He said, we ain't sure, pal. 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:11.680 Oh, I like that. There's some pretty good ones there, 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:14.000 all right, So the periods were just a marketing technique. 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:15.600 But what about the name itself, I mean, does it 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:18.080 stand for anything or like, why WASP? 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:21.280 I guess one of the band members saw wasp one 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:23.680 night and thought it might make for a cool band name. 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:27.080 All right, Well, I guess you kind of stacked the 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.160 deck with this category, but I'm still gonna give you 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:31.600 this one as well for WASP, so we will add 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:32.920 them to the list here. 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:37.360 Which is awesome because I'm two for two and I 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:39.000 don't think you have any points on the board. 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:40.960 Right No, but don't don't get too cocky. We've still 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:42.800 got a bunch of origins to get to and I 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:45.080 really doubt you're gonna be able top this next one. 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:46.680 But before I hit you with it, let's take a 0:14:46.720 --> 0:15:01.840 quick break. You're listening to Part Time Genius and we're 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:05.680 talking about the weird stories behind famous band names, all right, mango. 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:07.560 So now our Hall of Fame needs to be the 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:10.000 best story for a band name taken from a TV 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:12.960 show or movie. It can be either one, and I 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:16.600 actually think I've got the perfect contender. Now. At first 0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:18.920 I thought about fallout Boy, you know, because I'm always 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:21.880 thinking about Fallout Boy, or maybe not, but you know, 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.760 They've been this nameless band until they pulled the audience 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:27.920 at their second show and someone in the crowd shouted 0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:32.080 out the name of Radioactive Man's superhero sidekick from The Simpsons, 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:33.920 and it actually just sort of stuck. 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:35.800 That's amazing, that's where it comes from. 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:38.400 Yeah, it's a pretty good story. So but actually then 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.880 I thought I'd go with something a little more obscure, 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.640 and that's what led me to the Bloodhound Gang. Do 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:44.800 you remember the Bloodhound Gang? 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:47.840 Yeah? I mean I wish I didn't, because they had 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:51.040 that annoying song bad Touch, and the video of it 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.800 was just them in monkey costumes running around town and 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:56.840 I guess doing weird, dirty things to everyone inside. 0:15:57.000 --> 0:15:58.600 I don't know. It was just art mango. I don't 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:00.880 know why you don't want to remember that. Well, there 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:03.120 is something interesting I found out about that when you 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:05.760 talk about them running around doing weird and dirty things 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:08.240 to everything in the video, And honestly, that's that the 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:10.840 Bloodhound Gang was actually a lot more wholesome than you 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:13.240 might think, or or at least their name was. And 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.000 that's because the band took it from this recurring sketch 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:18.440 that was on the old three to one Contact show 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:20.720 the Way from PBS in the eighties. I know you 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:22.720 were a big fan as a kid, definitely. Well, the 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:25.920 sketch was all about this group of dorky kids called 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:28.600 the Bloodhound Gang, and so they'd get together and try 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:31.320 to solve these crimes using math puzzles, and that's where 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:31.960 they got the name. 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:35.000 That's pretty funny that, you know, such a raunchy bend 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:38.320 would take their name from kids program. But uh, you know, 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:40.800 even though three two one Contact Magazine was actually a 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:45.160 huge influence on me in mental fluss. Seriously, I'm I'm 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:46.840 still not sure I want those guys in our Hall 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:47.200 of fame. 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:50.120 Oh wow, I guess that video did a number on you. 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:53.080 But all right, I do agree with you. No Bloodhound 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:54.920 Gang allowed, So we got to come up with another one. 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:58.200 So what sort of slammed on entry do you have 0:16:58.280 --> 0:16:59.200 for TVA movies? 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:01.960 Well, that would be a little band I like to 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:07.040 call exclamation Point, exclamation Point, exclamation point, or as fans 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:11.480 have wisely decided to call them, Chickchick Chick. Yeah, of course. 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:14.040 So they're this post punk funk group out of Sacramento, 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:17.040 and they actually took their unusual name from the nineteen 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.320 eighty South African comedy The Gods Must Be Crazy. You 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:21.439 remember this movie, right. 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:22.720 Yeah, that's crazy. 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:25.560 So for listeners who haven't seen it, it's about this 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:28.360 remote African tribe that lives in peace until they find 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:30.800 a coke bottle that falls out of an airplane and 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:33.640 they all start fighting over it. And you know, it's 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:35.879 a funny movie. But I have tomit. I don't know 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:37.840 what it has to do with those three exclamation points. 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:41.400 Well, in the movie, the Bushman Shoshin language was subtitled 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:44.600 as a series of exclamation points, and the band liked 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:46.800 this idea of using that to refer to a different 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:49.240 kind of sound, you know, one that's hard to categorize, 0:17:49.280 --> 0:17:52.520 And I guess that's how they viewed their own music now, 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:56.000 because the bush language sometimes sounds a lot like clicking sounds. 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:59.840 I guess you know, the most common pronunciation is chickchick, chick. 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:02.720 But according to the band, the intention was for people 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:05.080 to use any three repetitive sounds and they could just 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:07.720 choose them, so you could call the band bam bam 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.440 bam or pow pow pow, and you know, you technically 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:12.800 still be talking about the same band. I can give 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.720 you other examples example, that's. 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:18.639 Right, all right, Well, I think you sold me on 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:20.800 Chick Chick Chick, and that's gonna get my vote. But 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:23.280 I have a feeling this next category is going to 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:26.000 be a bit more hotly contested, and it's the best 0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:28.359 band name for somebody who isn't in the band. 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:31.439 Oh yeah, there's a bunch of good examples for this vote. Actually. 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:34.680