AC/DC--Slang for bisexual
Agent Orange--Named after the famous dioxin-based "defoliant" used by
the US military in the Vietnam War.
Amboy Dukes--After a 1942 pulp novel about Brooklyn street gangs by
Irving Shulman.
Anthrax--A virulent bacteria that used to infect large percentages of
cattle in Europe.
Babes in Toyland--A musical.
Bauhaus--Named after the style of graphic design and famous school of
architecture.
Black ***--Parody of the band name "Black Flag"
Black Flag--A flag flown by pirates and the brand name of a bug killer.
Black Uhuru--Uhuru means "freedom," so Black Uhuru means Black Freedom.
Bongwater--Water only fools would drink.
Breeders--Homosexual slang for heterosexuals.
Buzzcocks--British slang for vibrators (sex toys, you know ...)
Cabaret Voltaire--Named after the famous dada cafe/performance space in
Berlin.
Cassandra Complex--Is a reference to Greek mythology; Cassandra had the
gift of prophecy with the curse of no one ever
believing her.
CBGBs--"Country, Bluegrass, Blues" (the bar was there long before punk)
Circle Jerks--A group of losers in a circle masturbating.
Dickies--Named after the luckily now obsolete fashion item.
Doors--Named in tribute to Aldus Huxley's novel, The Doors of
Perception.
Einsturzende Neubauten--Translates to "collapsing new buildings."
Faster Pussycat--After the Russ Meyer movie of the same name.
Fields of the Nephilim--A mythological Hell (aren't they all?) Or is
Hell real? oooh ... maybe the X-files or Discovery
Channel will tell us this season.
Flipper--After the happy television dolphin.
Fudge Tunnel--Slang for anal cavity.
Galaxy 500--The cool car from the 1960s.
Gang of Four--group of old style Chinese rulers who all ended up in
prison.
Genesis-- The first book in the Bible.
Gin Blossoms--Burst capillaries on the face from drinking gin (WC
Field's nose).
Heaven 17--A fictitious band mentioned in the movie Clockwork Orange.
Heavy Metal--A term coined by William Burroughs in the 1960s. It
originally had nothing to do with music.
Helios Creed--Helios was an ancient sun god. The Colossus of Rhodes (one
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World)
was a huge statue depicting Helios.
HP Lovecraft--Named after the reclusive horror writer by the same name.
Husker Du--An old board game; its French for, "Do you Remember?"
Impotent Sea Snakes--strange little creatures that live in fish tanks.
Iron Maiden--Medieval torture device.
Jethro Tull-- He was a British inventor/farmer who invented the
precursor to the modern plow.
Johnny Rotten--Named after his rotten teeth.
Joy Division--(supposed) a division within concentration camps where
Jewish women were kept to sexually please the Nazi
military. I have never found a reference to Joy Divisions in a reputable
history book.
L7--Old slang for "square."
Lead into Gold--Reference to something alchemists kept trying to do.
Led Zeppelin--Jimmy Page first called the band The New Yardbirds. Keith
Moon said they would go over like a lead balloon,
hence, Led Zeppelin.
Lemonheads--After the candy.
Love and Rockets--A comic by the Hernandez Brothers.
Lynyrd Skynyrd--The name of the high school gym coach some band members
had to put up with.
Madonna--A not very slutty Christian icon.
Man or Astroman?--The 60s movie Space Zombies featured aliens that were
hard to tell from real men. They were called
Astromen.
Marylin Manson--Well, you figure it out.
Morphine--Exciting fun for kids of all ages.
Motorhead--This is British slang for a speed freak (which Lemmy
evidently was).
Mussolini Headkick--After an old Cabaret Voltaire song.
My Bloody Valentine--Scottish band named after an American horror film
they never even saw.
New Order--"The New World Order" and "New Order" were famous expressions
used by Hitler (and George Bush during
the Gulf War).
Pearl Jam--Eddies grandmas peyote jam. Evidently, they took it as kids
and called it pearl jam.
Pere Ubu--The main character in Alfred Jaffy's play, Ubu Roi.
Phantom Tollbooth--Named after a very cool children's book of the same
name.
Professor Longhair--"professor" was the title given to New Orleans whore
house piano players, he had long hair, too.
***** Galore--After the character in the James Bond movie Goldfinger.
Queen--Slang for flamboyant homosexual.
REM--A state of sleep, R.E.M. stands for "Rapid Eye Movement."
Rolling Stones--From the Muddy Waters song "Like a Rolling Stone."
Rosetta Stone--The famous archeological find.
Samhain--The Celtic New Year.
Selector--The Selectors in Jamaican and British dancehall culture are
the disc jockeys that back up dancehall rappers.
Silverfish--A bug.
Sisters of Mercy--Tribute to the Leonard Cohen song of same name.
Sisters of Mercy is also an order of nuns.
Sleeper--The title of a Woody Allen movie.
Smack--Named after a frighteningly popular drug.
Soft Boys--Combination of two William Burroughs novels, Soft Machine,
and Wild Boys.
Soft Machine--The name of a William Burroughs novel.
Soundgarden--A garden of kinetic sculptures that make music when wind
blows through them.
SPK--A German terrorist group from the late 60s called the "Socialist
Patients Kollectiv."
St. Vitus Dance--Victims poisoned by a particular fungus hallucinate and
their muscles jerk involuntarily in a macabre dance.
This was most common in Europe in the Middle Ages. Saint Vitus is the
patron saint of people with this infliction.
Steely Dan--A dildo in the William Burroughs novel Naked Lunch.
Steppenwolf--The title of a cool Herman Hesse novel.
Styx--After the mythical river Styx that people crossed over to go into
Hell.
Talking Heads--Video jargon for a camera shot showing only the top of
someone's shoulders and their head. Newscaster are
usually doomed to the classic "talking head" shot.
Tex and the Horseheads--Horse is slang for heroin. The lead singer,
"Texicali Jones," went by "Tex," and the Horseheads,
reportedly loved heroin.
The Fall--A novel by Albert Camus.
Tones on Tail--Refers to reference tones put on reel to reel tape.
UB40--The title of a form people in Britain have to fill out to receive
public assistance.
Velvet Underground--The name of an S&M book a band member found on a
sidewalk in New York.
Veruca Salt--Named after a character in the book, Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, later made into the film, Willie
Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black--In reference to the B-Horror film
actress Karen Black.
White Cross--After "speed" pills of the same name.
White Flag--Parody of the band name "Black Flag."
White Zombie--An old horror movie.
XTC--(Supposedly) after the drug Ecstacy. The band and the drug were
formed about the same time, but Ecstacy didn't
become popular until years later.
Yelloman--A nickname somewhat describing the hair and skin color of this
albino from Jamaica.
Yo La Tengo--A phrase used by a Hispanic baseball player that the band
likes. It translates to "I have it."
Zephyr--Greek mythological god of the West wind.
Band Names: What they mean
Re: Band Names: What they mean
Hüsker Dü is not French.Charles wrote: Husker Du--An old board game; its French for, "Do you Remember?"
The closest thing in French would be "Souviens-tu?"
"Hoc spatium adsuesco assuesco pro profunda rhetoricam."
Re: Band Names: What they mean
I always liked the origin of Deadmau5.
Never Underestimate The Fart Of A Monarch