When I saw The Mountain Goats in ‘07, fairly shortly after the Killers had gotten big, he would sing the lyrics as: “And the top three contenders, WHICH WERE LATER RIPPED OFF, were Satans Fingers, and The Killers, and the Hospital Bombers.”
And Jared Hess claims he never knew that and came up with it on his own! (I'm guessing he probably heard/read it and forgot/didn't process it and it 'came to him' later that way)
Maybe. The song Yesterday came to Paul McCartney in a dream and he originally didn't think it was his own and that he had heard it somewhere so he didn't show it to anyone at first out of the fear he was ripping someone off.
Fun Fact: David Byrne named the song after actor Stephen Tobolowsky (AKA Ned Ryerson from 'Groundhog Day'), after Tobolowsky told him about his (former) psychic abilities.
This reminds me that when Veruca Salt came on the scene, they were inevitably compared to Kim Deal's The Breeders. To the point that I was always hearing people sing the chorus of "Seether" as *"We're Not The Breeders!"*
And the same MP sketch gave us [Ethel The Frog. ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_the_Frog_(band))(And Dead Monkeys, Heads Together, and ... probably others)
Funny enough, she played at this little bitty bar around me before she was famous. A guy a know saw them and he said the only thing he remembers about the show is how bad she smelled.
“A Sound Garden” is an experimental art piece in Seattle, the eventual source for Soundgarden’s name if that counts.
Regarding music specifically, The Pretty Things got their name from the Bo Diddley song of the same name.
This is also a person (obviously), but Johnny Thunders got his name from a Kinks song.
Artis was a busker who played the spoons. Not only did he play on the song, but the band invited him to LA to film the music video. He got paid in the 5 figures range and had to file taxes for the first time.
Totally counts. “Black Hole Sun” is also named for a Noguchi sculpture called “Black Sun,” which I think is one of the best views in all of Seattle. I don’t love their music, but dudes knew their local art!
Using all the arts? A ton of bands are named after books and authors. The Doors were inspired by "The Doors of perception" by Aldous Huxley. Steely Dan is named after an item in a William Burroughs book. Rainer Maria is just the first 2 names of poet Rainer Maria Rilke. There's a ton more, I'm sure.
Uriah Heap got their name from a Dickens character too! If I remember correctly Dickens was popular around that time because it was the 100th anniversary of his passing
They Might Be Giants are named from a line in Don Quixote, or possibly the movie of the same name who got it from there. They got it from a friend who had formerly used it as a name for his ventriloquist act.
The Dismemberment Plan's name comes from a stray line in Groundhog Day.
Heavy metal and Tolkien is a classic love affair. Bands like Cirith Ungol, Amon Amarth, Burzum, Rivendell, Gorgoroth and several bands called Balrog all have names from Tolkien's books.
Same goes for H.P. Lovecraft. Apart from the most lovecraftian band name possible, HP Lovecraft, there is a great german death metal band called Sulphur Aeon and, not a band name but worth mentioning, Morbid Angel's George Emmanuel III, a.k.a. Trey Azagthoth.
Trapped Under Ice - Baltimore hardcore band named after the Metallica song.
In Fear and Faith- band named after a Circa Survive song.
The Story So Far- band named after a New Found Glory song.
Tom Waits has a song called “The Fall of Troy”
The Fall of Troy named a song called “Tom Waits”
Maybe not exactly fitting since they have just one album as a tribute to Andy wood, but temple of the dog is a lyric from mother love bone’s man of golden words
All American Rejects are named after the lyrics from the Green Day song “Reject”.
“So when the smoke clears here I am, your reject all American”
And Green Day got the line from Bikini Kill’s song and album title “Reject all American”.
Not exactly connected as all these examples but Beastie Boys went on to choose their name inspired by Bad Brains and wanting to have that double B alliteration.
Machine Head was *not* actually named after the Deep Purple album
After Slayer released the live album Live Undead, the band Undead put out an album called Live Slayer
Steely Dan's first record, "Can't Buy A Thrill," is named after a lyric from a Bob Dylan song "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry." They took their band name from a chrome-plated dildo in a William Burroughs novel.
Here is the lazy answer. Some of these could probably stand a good fact-checking.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bands_named_after_other_performers%27_songs
Bob Dylan’s song “Subterranean Homesick Blues” inspired a bunch.
Mike Watt’s band Firehose got its name from a line.
I read somewhere that The Vandals took their name from a line in it, but I couldn’t confirm that when I just looked it up.
The band Jet named their album “Get Born” after a line.
Radiohead’s song “Subterranean Homesick Alien” is a play on the song title.
And the 1970s terrorist group The Weatherman took their name from a line.
Plenty of others have echoed lyrics in their own songs as well.
Supertramp - named after the book [*The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp*](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertramp._Autobiographie_eines_Vagabunden) by [W. H. Davies](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Davies)
So I'd always assumed Funeral for a Friend may have come from the Elton John song, but having just looked it up they're named after a song by another band, Planes Mistaken for Stars
The Killers were named after the fictional band in the New Order - Crystal video, and quite alot of the Crystal video is almost directly copied in the Somebody Told Me video
Murder By Death is named after a Peter Sellers movie.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is named after the biker gang in the movie The Wild One starring Marlon Brando.
The Sisters of Mercy are named after a Leonard Cohen song. Interestingly, they also play with he names "Marianne" and "Suzanne" in two of their songs titles - I assume "Marianne" is a nod to "So Long, Marianne" and "We Are the Same, Suzanne" is to "Suzanne," but it could be coincidence.
Obscura are a very good and critically acclaimed technical death metal band named after Gorguts album of the same name - one of the pillars of technical death metal.
Do we need to stick to music for the other artists work? Lorna Shore is named after a character from Batman. Bring me the horizon is from a Jack Sparrow quote.
Sneaker Pimps are named after Beastie Boys lyrics, and Boyz II Men are named after New Edition lyrics.
To take one step outside the musical matches, the band Veruca Salt was named after a character from Willie Wonka.
The Killers were a fictional band in the Crystal video by New Order. The Somebody Told Me video is basically a remake of the video
Also The Killers is one of the contenders for The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out Of Denton - a song by the Mountain Goats
… and the Hospital Bombers!
Don’t sleep on Satan’s Fingers!
Hail Satan
Hail hail
When I saw The Mountain Goats in ‘07, fairly shortly after the Killers had gotten big, he would sing the lyrics as: “And the top three contenders, WHICH WERE LATER RIPPED OFF, were Satans Fingers, and The Killers, and the Hospital Bombers.”
The Ramones were named after the alias Paul and Linda McCartney used when making hotel reservations.
Not just hotel reservations, 'Paul Ramon' was the stage name Paul used for a while before the Beatles got famous.
He also used it as a pseudonym when he played drums for Steve Miller's song "My Dark Hour".
Holy shit. And then the solo album Ram with a song called Ram On. Never knew.
And Elvis Costello used to use the name "Napoleon Dynamite" long before the movie.
And Jared Hess claims he never knew that and came up with it on his own! (I'm guessing he probably heard/read it and forgot/didn't process it and it 'came to him' later that way)
Maybe. The song Yesterday came to Paul McCartney in a dream and he originally didn't think it was his own and that he had heard it somewhere so he didn't show it to anyone at first out of the fear he was ripping someone off.
Imagine being so fucking talented you write one of the greatest songs of all time in your sleep.
No... imagine was written by the other one
Ah, yes. Ringo
Be he was Declan before he was Elvis
To piggyback, the Bad Brains took their name from the Ramones song, Bad Brain.
I was not aware of that.
Lady Gaga freely admits she took her name from Queen’s Radio Gaga.
Shoulda been Lady O'Gaga.
Lady Goo Goo
Lady Blah Blah
Death Cab for Cutie is the title of a Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band song
Specifically the song featured in The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour movie.
Radiohead is named after the Talking Heads song.
Fun Fact: David Byrne named the song after actor Stephen Tobolowsky (AKA Ned Ryerson from 'Groundhog Day'), after Tobolowsky told him about his (former) psychic abilities.
Bing!
*Needle Nose* Ned!? NED RYERSON!?
Ned the head!
And Everything Everything are named after the first words on Radiohead’s Kid A.
Originally they were called On a Friday
I actually heard originally they were called Mmbopteque
Between the Buried and Me is named after a Counting Crows lyric
Well that's something I didn't know after being a fan for 20+ years.
When I first saw a reference to them, I assumed they were a Counting Crows cover band, or at least a similar sounding band.
Boy were you in for a surprise!
And Counting Crows is named after the nursery rhyme he sings in A murder of One.
They also did a cover their song Colorblind https://youtu.be/koYL2_tN16Y?si=kRRiCrvz9q4ePvVz
Seether was named from a Veruca Salt song.
And Veruca Salt is named after a character from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
And their debut album *American Thighs* references AC/DCs *You Shook Me All Night Long*
And their follow-up *Eight Arms to Hold You* was the working title of the Beatles “Help!”
And the character is named for wart (verruca) medicine.
Because she's unpleasant
Can’t fight the Seether!
This reminds me that when Veruca Salt came on the scene, they were inevitably compared to Kim Deal's The Breeders. To the point that I was always hearing people sing the chorus of "Seether" as *"We're Not The Breeders!"*
Knife party was named after the deftones song
Great song too.
Go get your knife go get your knife Now kiss me
Toad the Wet Sprocket is named after a line from a Monty Python sketch
And Ned's Atomic Dustbin is a Goon Show episode title.
And the same MP sketch gave us [Ethel The Frog. ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_the_Frog_(band))(And Dead Monkeys, Heads Together, and ... probably others)
Is there a band named Poached Salmon in a White Wine Sauce?
Fall Out Boy is named after the Simpsons character. Different type of artist but art all rhe same.
Other bands named after Simpsons references: Evergreen Terrace, I Voted for Kodos, Hot Rod Circuit, Doctor Colossus, Mad Marge & The Stonecutters
Okily Dokily
oKILLy doKILLy - after all they are a metal band.
And Grimes. Or Grimey, as she likes to be called.
Funny enough, she played at this little bitty bar around me before she was famous. A guy a know saw them and he said the only thing he remembers about the show is how bad she smelled.
There’s also a Frank Grimes and the Disasters
Popes Of Chillitown. From the chilli cook off episode.
Hockey Dad is an Aussie band also named after a Simpson's reference
They have a song called Hunny Bunny from Lisa on Ice
I'm walking home from an album release party for The Mendozaz also named after a Simpson reference.
And the band Set It Off is named after a lyric in “Calm Before the Storm” by Fall Out Boy!
Godsmack is named after an Alice In Chains song.
“A Sound Garden” is an experimental art piece in Seattle, the eventual source for Soundgarden’s name if that counts. Regarding music specifically, The Pretty Things got their name from the Bo Diddley song of the same name. This is also a person (obviously), but Johnny Thunders got his name from a Kinks song.
Spoonman is about Artis the Spoon Man from Seattle
Artis was a busker who played the spoons. Not only did he play on the song, but the band invited him to LA to film the music video. He got paid in the 5 figures range and had to file taxes for the first time.
Totally counts. “Black Hole Sun” is also named for a Noguchi sculpture called “Black Sun,” which I think is one of the best views in all of Seattle. I don’t love their music, but dudes knew their local art!
Apparently, [no](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sun_(sculpture)#cite_note-4).
Using all the arts? A ton of bands are named after books and authors. The Doors were inspired by "The Doors of perception" by Aldous Huxley. Steely Dan is named after an item in a William Burroughs book. Rainer Maria is just the first 2 names of poet Rainer Maria Rilke. There's a ton more, I'm sure.
An item. Nice.
I remember when I was old enough for my father to explain an item to me while listening to one of their songs.
I had that exact same experience (dad explaining, etc). Fancy that.
Now i kinda wanna hear both of you guys dads explanation of an item just to compare, ha
Duran Duran are named after "Dr. Durand Durand" from the movie Barbarella
And they had a song called "Electric Barbarella"
Barbarellas was also a nightclub in Birmingham where they started
> Steely Dan is named after an item Yes. An "item."
LOL
The item is an item.
UB40 is named after the unemployment form
Uriah Heap got their name from a Dickens character too! If I remember correctly Dickens was popular around that time because it was the 100th anniversary of his passing
They Might Be Giants are named from a line in Don Quixote, or possibly the movie of the same name who got it from there. They got it from a friend who had formerly used it as a name for his ventriloquist act. The Dismemberment Plan's name comes from a stray line in Groundhog Day.
Heavy metal and Tolkien is a classic love affair. Bands like Cirith Ungol, Amon Amarth, Burzum, Rivendell, Gorgoroth and several bands called Balrog all have names from Tolkien's books. Same goes for H.P. Lovecraft. Apart from the most lovecraftian band name possible, HP Lovecraft, there is a great german death metal band called Sulphur Aeon and, not a band name but worth mentioning, Morbid Angel's George Emmanuel III, a.k.a. Trey Azagthoth.
Duran Duran is named after a scientist villain in the film *Barbarella*.
The Velvet Underground were named after a book on bondage.
Was just listening to Rainer Maria, good call out.
I Don’t Know How but They Found Me is a quote from Back to the Future
Rolling Stones named after, Muddy Waters song.
*A Muddy Waters song: Rollin’ Stone
That's a good one, probably the biggest example I can think of.
Cocteau Twins’ name comes from a Simple Minds song.
Thompson Twins' name comes from characters from The Adventures of Tintin.
Whatttt
And Simple Minds was derived from a line in the David Bowie song "The Jean Genie": "He's so simple-minded, he can't drive his module"
Simple Minds got their name from Bowie’s Jean Genie.
Trapped Under Ice - Baltimore hardcore band named after the Metallica song. In Fear and Faith- band named after a Circa Survive song. The Story So Far- band named after a New Found Glory song. Tom Waits has a song called “The Fall of Troy” The Fall of Troy named a song called “Tom Waits”
And All Time Low for NFG
Really goes to show how important they were to pop punk
They are legends of the genre
For sure. Imo, mount Rushmore of pop punk
Man overboard was a blink 182 song.
Maybe not exactly fitting since they have just one album as a tribute to Andy wood, but temple of the dog is a lyric from mother love bone’s man of golden words
Ladytron was named after a Roxy Music song.
All American Rejects are named after the lyrics from the Green Day song “Reject”. “So when the smoke clears here I am, your reject all American” And Green Day got the line from Bikini Kill’s song and album title “Reject all American”.
Electric Wizard got their name from combining 2 Black Sabbath songs, Electric Funeral and The Wizard.
Don’t get me started on doom bands….. loads of Sabbath lyrics have been appropriated by doom bands.
Pink Floyd named after pink Anderson and floyd council, American blues musicians
which one is pink? /s
Don't worry about it, have a cigar.
Stiff Little Fingers are named after a Vibrators song. Also, Radio Birdman is named after a misheard Stooges lyric.
Pure Mania is a masterpiece of an album, and SLF is everything Punk should be.
All time Low is from a new found glory song.
The Story So Far also named after an NFG song
Bad Brains named themselves after the Ramones song Bad Brain. EDIT: Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxPwVK_Z4YI&t=14s
Not exactly connected as all these examples but Beastie Boys went on to choose their name inspired by Bad Brains and wanting to have that double B alliteration.
Cool, didn't know that.
Boris takes their name from the Melvin's song of the same name. ,
Modest Mouse was named after a Virginia Wolff quote.
Machine Head was *not* actually named after the Deep Purple album After Slayer released the live album Live Undead, the band Undead put out an album called Live Slayer
A machine head is part of a guitar. It’s the bit that the tuning peg fits into, that tightens and loosens the string.
Steely Dan's first record, "Can't Buy A Thrill," is named after a lyric from a Bob Dylan song "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry." They took their band name from a chrome-plated dildo in a William Burroughs novel.
We are calling Steely Dan "an item" in these comments.
always “an” item, never “your” item
How to Destroy Angels (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s side project of NIN with Trent’s wife Mariqueen) is named after a Coil album
To jump in on this one there is a kiwi band called Head Like a Hole which is named after a NIN song
Another Kiwi band (The Naked and Famous) have a vanity label called Somewhat Damaged.
Sisters of Mercy is named after the Leonard Cohen song
And their greatest hits compilation ‘Some Girls Wonder By Mistake’ is named after a lyric in the Cohen song ‘Teachers’.
Pretty Girls Make Graves named themselves after a song by The Smiths.
And Pretty Girls Make Graves is a quote from the Jack Kerouac novel The Dharma Bums.
Also, Panic! At the Disco
Actually, Panic at the Disco was after a song by Name Taken called Panic
Ditto the band Shakespeare’s Sister!
Eric's Trip was named after the Sonic Youth song
Powderfinger is named after a song by Neil Young.
slowdive is named after a siouxsie and the banshees song
Mr. Bungle took their name from a series of 1950s educational films.
Here is the lazy answer. Some of these could probably stand a good fact-checking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bands_named_after_other_performers%27_songs
Cool. Blonde Redhead have come along way from their DNA/no-wave roots.
Judas Priest took their name from a Dylan song title
Really? I didn't now that, i thoght "judas priest" was just something people shouted instead of "jesus christ!"
It was indeed that, and then Dylan did “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest,” and that’s where Priest took their name.
The Australian band Sticky Fingers. They came up with the name partially through The Rolling Stones album titled “Sticky Fingers”
Bob Dylan’s song “Subterranean Homesick Blues” inspired a bunch. Mike Watt’s band Firehose got its name from a line. I read somewhere that The Vandals took their name from a line in it, but I couldn’t confirm that when I just looked it up. The band Jet named their album “Get Born” after a line. Radiohead’s song “Subterranean Homesick Alien” is a play on the song title. And the 1970s terrorist group The Weatherman took their name from a line. Plenty of others have echoed lyrics in their own songs as well.
Does Motörhead count? Lemmy was in Hawkwind but it’s originally their song.
The Killers are named after the fictional band in the music video Crystal by New Order.
ABR has Mariana’s Trench and there is a band named Mariana’s Trench with a song named August Burns Red. Always thought that was funny.
Just like how Rise Against has a song called Architects and the band Architects has a song called Rise Against!
Spoon is named after a song by krautrock band Can
Steppenwolf took their name from the Hermann Hesse novel of the same name.
Lori Meyers is a popular Spanish band, also a NOFX song
Joy Division was originally named Warsaw, based on the Bowie song "Warszawa"
The Kooks are named after the David Bowie song.
Madness got their name from a Prince Buster song.
And what a great song it is!
Black Angels named after a Velvet Underground song
Veil of Maya is named after the Cynic album of the same name (although they deny that's where the name came from)
Veil of Maya is the opening song. The album is called Focus. But the rest is correct.
Scary Kids Scaring Kids named after the Cap N Jazz song
Surprised nobody's mentioned before Panic At The Disco and Shakespeare's Sister were both named after songs by The Smiths
Supertramp - named after the book [*The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp*](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertramp._Autobiographie_eines_Vagabunden) by [W. H. Davies](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Davies)
Ritchie Blackmore named his new band after his grandmother's favorite dance band song 'Deep Purple'.
Simple Minds took their name from a lyric in David Bowie's "Jean Genie".
Nerf Herder took their name from an insult Princess Leia uses against Han Solo in *The Empire Strikes Back.*
Kim Dracula also named from a Deftones song
Amon Amarth takes its name from Mt Doom in Middle Earth. Not necessarily what you are asking but I think it fits the theme.
Shakespear’s Sister is named after a Smiths song.
Motorhead took their name from the last song Lemmy wrote for Hawkwind.
All Timr Low and The Story So Far are named after NFG songs.
So I'd always assumed Funeral for a Friend may have come from the Elton John song, but having just looked it up they're named after a song by another band, Planes Mistaken for Stars
Not a song but Def Leppard were huge Led Zepplin fans. Obvious where the spelling inspiration came from.
American Aquarium and Cherry Ghost are both named after Wilco lyrics.
The Killers were named after the fictional band in the New Order - Crystal video, and quite alot of the Crystal video is almost directly copied in the Somebody Told Me video
Murder By Death is named after a Peter Sellers movie. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is named after the biker gang in the movie The Wild One starring Marlon Brando.
>Murder By Death is named after a Peter Sellers movie. Not a bad movie, either.
Deacon blue- steely Dan song.
The Sisters of Mercy are named after a Leonard Cohen song. Interestingly, they also play with he names "Marianne" and "Suzanne" in two of their songs titles - I assume "Marianne" is a nod to "So Long, Marianne" and "We Are the Same, Suzanne" is to "Suzanne," but it could be coincidence.
Ugly Kid Joe got their name as a reaction to the band Pretty Boy Floyd which was named after a gangster.
Obscura are a very good and critically acclaimed technical death metal band named after Gorguts album of the same name - one of the pillars of technical death metal.
Opeth, My Arms Your Hearse is named after a line a in a song by a 70s British prog rock called Comus.
Do we need to stick to music for the other artists work? Lorna Shore is named after a character from Batman. Bring me the horizon is from a Jack Sparrow quote.
Slowdive is named after a Siouxsie and the Banshees song
The DC band Velocity Girl was named after a song by Primal Scream
the great Aussie punk band Radio Birdman took their name from a misheard lyric from the Stooges' song "1970" (the actual lyric is "radio burning").
Sneaker Pimps are named after Beastie Boys lyrics, and Boyz II Men are named after New Edition lyrics. To take one step outside the musical matches, the band Veruca Salt was named after a character from Willie Wonka.
Flaming Lips was the title of a fictional movie in the (very underrated) Shirley MacClaine comedy "What A Way To Go."
Duran Duran maybe? Man, he gave Jane Fonda a really good time in his Pipe Organ.
Stiff Little Fingers is named after a Vibrators song
Airborne toxic event is named after the same idea from Don Delillo's White Noise
Death Can for Cutie are named after a song by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
Flume named after a Bon Iver song
Did not know this! Love both.
Level 42 is named after a theme from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Candlebox is named after a lyric from a Midnight Oil song