Tampa Calling

A new weekly blogroll of what the Creative Loafing music team is listening to right now.

The Thermals
The Body, The Blood, The Machine (2006)
Straight up, uncompromising rock n’ roll. It’s filled to the brim with loud guitars, catchy tunes, and smart lyrics. The icing on the cake is the storyline that ties it all together: a Christian-based government runs the United States, oppressing its proletariat and a young couple on the run for their lives.
Recommended tracks: “Here’s Your Future” and “A Pillar of Salt”
–Gabe

Dr. Dog
We All Belong (2007)
Sure, their name sounds like some bad ’80s rapper, but don’t let that fool you. Dr. Dog borrows from the best elements of The Beatles, The Band and The Beach Boys — layered vocal harmonies, ear-catching melodies and quality songwriting — to create something of their own. They’ll be playing Crowbar Thursday, February 19.
Recommended track: “The Way the Lazy Do”
–B.Treotch Read the rest of this entry »

In response to Leilani’s “Top 10 Stupid Band Names,” I’d like to point out that, yes, not only are some band names stupid, or bad - sometimes they’re downright stolen.

We’ve all sat around stoned, drunk (even sober) and thought up – or accidentally stumbled upon - the next greatest band name EVER. There’s got to be a list of those names somewhere, right? I seem to remember someone saying, “We’ve got to write that one down!” 

There are plenty of band names inspired by literate source material or that just make sense (Steely Dan, named after a dildo in William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch or The L.A. Guns and Hollywood Roses combining to form Guns and Roses). But to lift the name of your group straight out of another artist’s catalog instead of establishing a new identity for your sound, your band, your business? It’s like starting up a fast food chain and calling it “Big Mac’s.”

As my wife pointed out, the only time a tribute should be paid to a band’s song is when you’re actually paying tribute to that band – as is the case with “Paradise City: The Guns N Roses Tribute” or ”Strutter: The Ultimate Tribute to Kiss.”

Here’s my list of offenders (in order of offense taken):

Read the rest of this entry »