The Savage Animal 07.01.09: Names From The Silver Screen

Posted by Mikey MiGo on 07.01.2009

In the 150th Edition of The Savage Animal, Mikey MiGo takes a look at ten bands who got their names from movies. Check in with “White Zombie” to “Wu Tang” and all the “Misfits” in between.

150 columns. That's a lot. I'm about three or so weeks from my starting the FOURTH YEAR of The Savage Animal. In the past three years I think I've only missed four or five editions. That's over 97% Attendance. I've never had that well of an attendance record before in my life. Not school or work. Then again, I get to ramble about music so that could have SOMETHING to do with it. Any who, I was going to make this a big special event column, but I'm going to save that for the Three Year Anniversary Edition!

On Saturday I found myself at the Rock The Bell's show in Tinley Park, IL. Short notice and unexpected, but it was very fun. I got to see The Knux, The Roots, Talib, BUSTA RHYMES, Damien Marley, Nas, Tech N9ne, Big Boi from Outkast, Charlie Tuna of Jurassic 5, and "Mr. Hiphop-ology 101" KRS ONE. It was one helluva line up and I'm very happy I had the chance to go. Busta Rhyme has one of the most energetic presences I've ever experienced. I might not have liked his recent work, but he covered just about everything you could ask for but left the crowd hungry for more. Probably one of the best sets I've ever seen by a hip hop artist and just artist in general. It was insane! I don't go to nearly as many hip hop shows as I'd like to, but I can honestly say that in one fell swoop I got to see many of my all time favorites in one night. Rock The Bells was like diving into a pool of hip hop history and never wanting to come up for air.

Obviously, we lost an icon this past week. I don't think I need to say anything or pander to the emotional façade that's being spewed at us by most. Still, I feel validated in sharing my thoughts. The typical accusations and hate about him aside, Michael Jackson has always been one of my favorite performers and artists. Last week, BEFORE his death, I featured a live performance of "She's Out of My Life" as my "Random Video of The Week". He's from my home town of Gary, Indiana. He's always been a huge part of my musical upbringing and lexicon. I'm sure he'll remain that way. In 2003, Gary, Indiana gave Michael the key to the city and renamed Jackson Street to Jackson Street (seriously, lol). Jackson said "This is a very special honor. I'll remember this for the rest of my life. I'm proud to be from Gary." Not many people would say that, but I'm glad HE did. The man has always been the butt of many jokes, but to the region he's always been a glimpse of hope.

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Names From The Silver Screen
Bands with Movie Related Names.I've always had an interest in why and how a band gets their name. The name of a band is sometimes the first thing someone sees and for the most part it gives the instant vibe of what the band could possibly sound like. That's not really the case all of the time because sometimes something obscure will suit a band just fine. Half the fun is knowing where it begins. What inspired the artist to adopt a moniker is always a fun trivia discussion with fellow music fans.

In this specific case, I got to thinking about all the bands who have taken inspiration from films. Some bands just completely adopt a movie title as their name. There's a local Chicago area band that have named themselves "Chasing Amy". Being a huge Kevin Smith fan, they have already gotten my attention. I've not heard them yet, but their name makes me a bit more open to it. That's the case with a lot of bands. If a band is named "Sex, Coffee, and Cigarettes" then I can honestly say that I'd listen to them at least once. I love all three of those things so I like where they're coming from.

Here are ten bands who have taken inspiration from a film in terms of naming their band:

Wu-Tang Clan ("Shaolin and Wu-Tang")
The 411: The story goes that RZA and ODB were big kung fu fans and took the name for their super group from the movie "Shaolin and Wu-Tang". If you've listened to the Wu for more than 10 minutes, you'll hear they still haven't strayed from their original obsession. A lot of their work is inspired by kung fu flicks and themes. It's worked out, I'd say, pretty damn well for the group.


Veruca Salt("Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory")
The 411: I miss this 90's band. The Chicago group named themselves after the spoiled rich girl character from Willy Wonka. Veruca Salt was the "Bad Nut" of the movie, but a "bad ass" band.


Black Sabbath
The 411: Originally named "Earth", the band came into a problem when they started getting confused for another English band with the same name. Around the same time, the Boris Karloff movie "Black Sabbath" was playing across their rehearsal spot. The line of fans inspired Geezer Butler to lay down the song with the same title. The success and surprise of the darker toned song really got them in the direction that we're all used to today. From there, they offer an alternative to the hippy music with their dark and "Satanic" toned material. Thank Jebus that theatre wasn't showing a Shirley Temple movie or one of the biggest hard rock bands of all time could have been called "Wee Willie Winkie", which actually sounds a bit scarier now that I think about it.


Radiohead ("True Stories")
The 411: This one is sort of a stretch as David Byrne's "True Stories" was a movie AND an album. The song "Radiohead" is one of the more underappreciated Talking Head songs. This is a weird connection. I am a fan of both bands(and the movie), but I don't see a musical connection between the two. I can't fault Radiohead for good taste though.


White Zombie
The 411: Rob Zombie and the people in this trailblazing band were really into horror films, Halloween, and all things spooky and eccentric. From this came the name "White Zombie", taken from an old Bela Lugosi film. This works simply because I couldn't imagine the band under any other name.


Save Ferris ("Ferris Buellers Day Off")
The 411: Besides having that song from the movie "10 Things I Hate About You", they obviously took their name from the film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". I couldn't find any more information about this SoCal band's connection to the John Hughes classic. I'd assume at least someone in the band is a huge fan of the movie or they're just being ironic. Either way, in this case the band's name is cooler than the band.


Misfits ("The Misfits")
The 411: It's hard to believe this vile punk act is named after a Clark Gable/Marilyn Monroe film from 1961. I guess since it was Monroe's last movie it has some "edge" to it, but still. The band's movie love doesn't stop there. Besides songs, they had the label of "Plan 9 Records" named after the comically bad "Plan 9 from Outer Space". That sci-fi horror flick makes much more sense than borrowing from a Monroe movie.


Atreyu ("Neverending Story")
The 411: They originally used the very original name of "Retribution" until they found out there was another band from their area with the same time. Not to count the other hundred "Retributions" surely in dive bars near you. So they went with the main character's name "Atreyu" from the movie "The Neverending Story".


Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ("The Wild One")
The 411: I didn't know this one until approaching this column. The band's name is taken from Marlon Brando's 1953 film "The Wild One". In the movie, Brando's gang is called "Black Rebels Motorcycle Club". So they made "Rebels" singular as opposed to plural.


Dynamite Hack ("Caddyshack")
The 411: The not so known, other than their "oh so witty" cover of Easy E's "Boyz-n-the-Hood", Dynamite Hack has a really cool name origin. In the great film, "Caddyshack", Bill Murray describes the weed he's smoking to Chevy Chase as "dynamite hack". This is another case of the band's name being better than the band itself. It's sorta upsetting that such a cool name is wasted on a "barely one hit wonder".


Surely I missed a few and I'm SURE that I'll be told that my list is discredited for not including (place band I probably don't care about anyway here).

What's your favorite movie-related band name?

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RANDOM VIDEO(s) OF THE WEEK
Okay, now come back to the US already!
"Last Cup Of Sorrow" by FAITH NO MORE(Download Fest 09)

The 411: The recently reunited Faith No More did a set at the Download Fest recently. I am a huge fan and would love for them to do at least one tour in the US. There's no denying that Mike Patton is one of the best vocalists of all time that you probably sleep on. Faith No More brought his most commercial work. The band is as awesome as ever. Listen to this! They haven't lost anything. I'd say they're on the upper echelon of a short list of bands that I want to see live. But first we need Mike, Billy, Mike, and Rod to come to their senses and tour the US. How about if I say "pretty please with sugar on top"? It could be one of the biggest tours of any season they go out and would give at least this fan a chance to experience them live. I'm sure I'm not alone.

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RANDOM MOVIE REVIEW IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
"FRIDAY THE 13TH"
STARRING JARED PADALECKI, DANIELLE PANABAKER, & AMANDA RIGHETTII saw plenty of Jason movies as a kid. I enjoyed them for the most part, but was always a Freddy kid. I was redundant to see this winter release, but went with it. It turns out to be true to the old school horror genre, but still on the lame side. There was one cool "kill" from early in the movie that I liked, but the rest was pretty elementary. I'm not a gore porn fan, but I expected it to be a bit more creative with Jason's murders. The story wasn't Shakespeare, but it was okay. Sure it was predictable, but not too ridiculous for a "drunken teens in the woods" plot device. I really don't have much to say about it. It's decent and respectable to the genre, but a little bland on the murders. I guess that's a big part, so I'm giving it a "don't feel bad if you watch it once and never again" recommendation. I don't feel my time was wasted with it, but any more time spent will be.

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WRESTLING WITH PILLOWS
Looking Out From the Inside.I was almost perfect on my predictions for The Bash, but I got a few wrong. I typed that sentence and realized how ridiculous it was and slightly laughed. I hope you did too. If not, LOOK! A TURQUOISE ZEBRA! Any who, I was right about Dreamer retaining the title. It just seemed obvious to me that they'll give him a small run with it before he puts over a heel and then possibly retires. I'd say Summerslam, but I'd get it if they dropped it at Night of Champions. I was on about Rey winning. WWE makes too much money on those kid masks. I was wrong about Legacy winning. If I'd of known Edge and Jericho were going to be in the match, I'd obviously of said them. I was wrong about Melina as McCool retained. Oh well. Jeff Hardy won by DQ, but Punk retained his title so I am claiming victory there. And Orton retained over Triple H. I rocked that one. So out of my seven picks, I got 4. 3 if you want to be a douche. I am great! The show, not so much.

I ended up missing RAW. Not because there was something else on or because I don't like the WWE and was doing so out of protest. I was somewhat upset to miss it. I saw a lot of stuff happened. I like the guest host situation. It'll make each show have a unique feel to it. Last week I praised the possibilities of the idea and I'm tickled pink that they are going to run with it. Even if it is just Legends and hurt people, I like it.

Then there's the "trade" that Trump put through. Lame! I like it when the roster gets mixed up a little, but claiming "Trump did it" is just lame. Trump owned RAW, not the entire WWE. I could see Teddy Long going with it because Smackdown did okay with getting Hardy and Finlay back and the Hart Dynasty addition will rock. I actually look forward to a potential Hart Dynasty vs. Cryme Tyme feud. It doesn't automatically sound like a classic or anything, but I miss tag team feuds. CT are underappreciated as wrestlers and it seems the Hart kids are underappreciated as entertainers. Together they can just work off each other. Then with the added Edge/Jericho situation… rock on with it.

RAW gets the heart of ECW in Bourne, Swagger, Henry, Alicia Fox, and Gail Kim. I look forward to Gail vs. Mickie. I've always been a huge fan of Mark Henry. I hear the pop he got for beating up Orton on Monday was pretty hot so that could be good. I'm not sure if I like Big Show and Mark Henry being on the same show. They basically have the same role of being a Main Eventer, but ultimately they're used to help get people over who are on the cusp of getting to Superstardom and/or giving an unused Main Eventer a role when needed. Bourne can be a great addition of the US Title race and I look forward to seeing him mix it up with Kofi, Chavo, KENDRICK, etc. Hell, if they have the balls to do it. I'd have Bourne go heel and team with Kendrick. That would surpass the sadly boring combo of Londrick from the past.

Lots of people think ECW got screwed. They lost Bourne, Swagger, Henry, Finlay, and the Hart Dynasty and got Shelton, Goldust, Regal, and the Bellas in return. Not really. Replace Finlay's veteran bad-ass-ness with Regal, who I like a lot better anyway and replace Swagger with Shelton and the Main Event is safe. ECW is the third level show within the WWE. Its job is to do the best it can with unused vets and fresh faces. ECW DID IT'S JOB AND WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR THAT. ECW has gotten Swagger over as a legitimate Main Event quality performer. They have gotten Bourne over and some experience in the WWE style. They were the testing grounds that got the Hart Dynasty working fluidly together and something interesting. Same can be said for Morrison, Miz, Punk, Kofi, and a few others over the past couple of years. ECW is serving its purpose perfectly. It's grooming today's future for tomorrows RAWs and Smackdowns while maintaining one of the most entertaining shows in all of wrestling. I'm excited to see Goldust have a chance to be a big fish in a small pond and the idea of Regal and Shelton getting their "World Title" added to their careers is awesome. What I'm really excited about is to see who ECW elevates next. There's a lot of potential down at FCW and I am excited to see them called up and be given the ball.

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CHECK THIS OUT! [CHEAP PLUGS]
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That's all for this week. I have a vague idea of what I want to discuss next week, but who knows if that'll actually develop into a column or not. We're two or so weeks from the big "THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY" edition and I'm tossing around a lot of ideas for that one. Who knows. I'm up for ideas, topics, and bands to give a first impression to. Feel free to share. Until next time… Have a Great Week!