Bakers Dozen: Edible Music

Tweet

So, as one or two of you may know, I recently made a list of my favorite bands with numbers in their names. It was a fun and difficult challenge, considering there is no database that stores this info, just my memory and 5th grade research abilities. Well, considering how much fun that list was for me to put together, I am going to do something along the same lines.

All of these bands are edible, and a part of one of the major food groups. I will rank them in my personal preference. I hope you mildly enjoy.

Oh, rules... yeah.... it has to be a food that I am willing to eat, so, Buffalo Springfield, um, Eels and etc are excluded from these rankings, mostly becuase I am afraid to eat Eel and I have never tried Springfield.


1. Damien Rice (Yes, I am aware, that this is his real name, but it counts, and you try and think of some I missed. Also, one of my favorite artists.)




















Where did Damien Rice get his name?

His mum, duh.

2. The Smashing Pumpkins
















Where did "The Smashing Pumpkins" get their name? According to D'arcy Wretzky, bass player, as interviewed by The Washington Post(11/19/93).

"The name of the band is a stupid name, a dumb bad joke and a bad idea, OK?" she says. "Billy named the band before there even was a band. He was like, 'I'm gonna have a band and it's gonna be called this.' 'Smashing' is not a verb, it's an adjective. It's not like we like to smash pumpkins or anything. And we are not amused by pumpkin jokes anymore."

3. Pearl Jam






















Where did "Pearl Jam" get their name?

According to Eddie Vedder, the long winded Eddie Vedder....

"I remember throwing words and meanings around for band names,..... I was writing songs daily and they seemed more important than the name of the band,.... I didn't grasp at the time how representative it may become,....not to mention we were just making a little record that few people would ever hear,...... so the words came, 2,... one of which was Pearl. The name of my great grandmother,..... married to a contortionist...... He used to fit himself into a suitcase.... One in a long line of peculiar individuals. Pearl is also a surfing term when you go headfirst and eat it on the face of a wave.... Janis Joplin's greatest record was called Pearl,..... And of course, Earl the Pearl Monroe who shared the court with Phil Jackson, I believe,.... (I often tell people that it was Phil's initials that led us to our name..... ) I thought that was much better than the rumor that Pearl Jam was some sort of slang for "ejaculated liquid"..... harsh,.....No,..... I feel that the best justification for the name is in reference to the pearl itself,... and the natural process from which a pearl comes from,...... Basically, taking excrement or waste and turning it into something beautiful,...... This is how our band began,..... taking emotions that we wrestled with personally and letting them evolve into songs,..... In this way the songs became vehicles in which to deal with it all,..... Add the volume of loud instruments, amplified vocals,..... moving chord changes,.... And it wasn't just shit anymore,.... It was kind of beautiful,.... powerful,,...... UNCULTURED! As Johnny Rotten would say later, Anger is an Energy...... And Shit can be Beautiful. the proof is in the pearl."

4. Eminem (I realize this should not count. But I think in 20 years, he will be looked back on as we do KRS-One and Sugarhill Gang, so I had to get him on some list.)













Where did "Eminem" get his name?

It is the rap name he started using at age 14. It is the combination of his first and last initials.

5. Fiona Apple
















Where did Fiona Apple get her name?

She was born Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart, but understandably and thankfully, she dropped the second half of her name.

On a personal note, I was never the biggest fan of Fiona, outside of a few great tracks (one of which will be featured in my favorite cover songs list soon), that is, until I saw her live. She opened for Coldplay and stole the show. Amazing performer.

6. Red Hot Chili Peppers





















Where did "Red Hot Chili Peppers" get their name?

According to the always on point and reliable Wiki

The band was originally known as "Antoine the Swan and the Mystical Masters of Mayhem." But they only envisioned playing one show together, due to other commitments. However, due to the response from the audience and the high demand for booking new gigs, the band changed their name to "Red Hot Chili Peppers" to describe how they felt at the moment.

7. CAKE





















Where did "CAKE" get their name?

The band claims it is simply named after a delicious pastry treat. I don't believe them.

8. The Cranberries





















Where did "The Cranberries" get their name?

The band was originally named "The Cranberry Saw Us." But after some failures, the band placed an ad to attract a new lead singer. Dolores O'Riordan responded to the advertisement and auditioned by writing lyrics and melodies to some existing demos. When she returned with a rough version of "Linger", the group hired her on the spot. After they hired O'Riordan they recorded their home-made demo tape. They made 300 copies. After the original run of 300 copies sold out, the group changed their name to "The Cranberries" and sent another demo tape, which featured early versions of both "Linger" and "Dreams," to record companies throughout the UK. Changing their name gave the a fresh start in the eyes of the same record companies that passed on them in the past.

9. Cream



















How did "Cream" get their name?

The band was named "Cream", as Clapton, Bruce, and Baker were already considered the "cream of the crop" amongst blues and jazz musicians in the exploding British music scene. Before deciding upon "Cream", the band considered calling themselves "Sweet 'n' Sour Rock 'n' Roll".

10. Blind Melon (Look for this band to grace my "Eulogy/dead-to-soon" list, coming rapidly





















How did "Blind Melon" get their name?

"Blind Melons" is the name Brad's (Brad Smith – bass, flute, backing vocals) father used to refer to his not-so-likely-to-succeed neighbors. The legend has it that one day Brad asked "What’s happening, blind melons?" and the name stuck.

11. Meatloaf





















How did "Meatloaf" get his name?

He often makes up a different answer, but the story most people consider to be true, is that while in high school, he stepped on his football coaches foot, and instead of swearing, the coach yelled "Meatloaf!" And it stuck. This one I did not even have to look up, I just knew it. That kinda makes me feel lame.

12. Black Eyed Peas















How did "Black Eyed Peas" get their name?

After several names, the group named themselves 'Black Eyed Pods' after the death of their lable owner (Ruthless Records) Eazy-E due to AIDS associated illness. The group eventually changed their name to 'Black Eyed Peas' for the reason that will.i.am considered their group as the food for the soul – as explained on the front cover of their Monkey Business album.

13. Mudhoney





















How did "Mudhoney" get their name?

The band took this name from the 1965 Russ Meyer film of the same name. I have not seen and it just pulled this fact from the bands website. Yeah, like I said, 5th grade research skills.



---------------------------------------------------------------
Also considered, in whim order.
Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Bread, Tonic, Humble Pie, Bannaramma, Meat Puppets, Vanilla Ice, Salt-n-Pepa, Phish, Vanilla Fudge, Veruca Salt, Strawberry Alarmclock.

Comments?