Wall of Mouths

Best band name: Who is the girl in the red dress, and why does she keep calling me Andrew?

Song title: Fuck her gently.

I think it’s so great that people in Europe love the Tea Party. As I’m sure that Matt can attest, it’s good to see a Canadian band that never made it big in the US have a good following in Europe.

The Tea Party are probably the only band I know that have yet to release an album that I didn’t think was great. They always put on an amazing live show, they’re nice guys in person, and their CDs rock! Jeff Martin is a great guitar player and I just can’t say enough good things about them. I’m very happy that you folks in Europe support the Tea Party!

I always listened to CFNY, Edge 102.1, so there’s your answer.

No, that’s Californian women. If you go elsewhere in the country, the women are much better.

When I think of Czech women, I think of women with fat ankles and babushkas. No offense though, I’m sure your girlfriend/wife/sister is hot.

I won’t bother listing all the Canadian bands I’m into, but a general list is: Tea Party, Matthew Good Band, Watchmen, 54-40, Bran Van, hHead, Gandharvas, Headstones, Treble Charger, Moist, Killjoys, Econoline Crush, Limblifter and Rusty. I see them all live whenever I can.

I do prefer Canadian beer to American beer too. Luckily there’s a store down the street from me that carries Labatt Blue, which is the only beer I drink usually. Though I like Moosehead a lot, and Molsen Canadian sometimes. The Molson XXX is good too for getting hammered quickly.

And American women are better looking. Sorry, but it’s true. Our TV is a lot better too, although nothing holds a torch to Degrassi Jr. High.

Cheapest CD prices in the world? Last time I was in Toronto, the HMV on Yonge St. charged $18 for Bran Van 3000, and $36 for Born in a Crash! $36!!! Granted the exchange rate helps out, but it still doesn’t seem that cheap.

But I agree, the new Tea Party stuff rocks.

Oh yeah, and Canadian cigarettes are awful too, but don’t think I’m just ragging on your home. Since I love Canadian music, I’m willing to forgive.

I might be inclined to be a loser and say the Clash, the Cure or the Smiths.

Yep, I mean the band James. I’ve been looking around, but so far no luck.

Title: Can anyone give me a hand?

I know this is pretty much off-topic, but does anyone on the board (most like England folks) know where I can get a James tshirt? I promised my girlfriend that I’d get her one, and I figured that odds are someone here has run across one or another. Thanks!

Tea Party, Matthew Good Band, Econoline Crush, the Cure, face to face, Soul Coughing, Bran Van 3000, Belle & Sebastian, Treble Charger, the Watchmen, and too many to list.

I really don’t think the name of a band has much bearing on their lyrics. Take for example:

* Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet - Good name, good lyrics.
* Who Is The Girl in the Red Dress and Why Does She Keep Calling Me Andrew? - Pretty damn creative name, pretty lame lyrics.
* Foo Fighters - Not the best of names, but some good lyrics.
* Smoking Popes - Great name, but weak lyrics. They’re quirky and semi-creative, but not too deep.
* Fury In The Slaughterhouse - A borderline. Sometimes I think it’s a hokey death-metal sounding name, other times I think it’s good. Same with the lyrics for the most part. However, they are Germans writing English lyrics, which I can imagine might be difficult.
* Smashing Pumpkins - When you think about it, a pretty crappy name. Great lyrics though.
* Our Lady Peace - Hate the name (hate the music too), but I suppose the lyrics are deep. They’re not too crafty at naming albums either: ‘Happiness is not a fish you can catch’ for example.

So many bands pick names from seemingly arbitrary sources. Some might just take the name of a movie (Sleeper), some random object (Shoenen Knife) or a person (Mookie Blaylock). Oddly enough, Matthew Good has said that he hates the fact that the Matthew Good Band is named after him. The band just had to print up a record label quickly and once they became popular, it was just too hard to change.

I’ve heard bands with great lyrics and poor music. I’ve heard bands with great music and really lame lyrics. There’s no rule that says you need to pick a band that has both, because sometimes that can be a rare thing. And finally, lyrics, music and names are so subjective that they really can’t have that much impact on one another.

You can tell he sucks, because Mike Watt was a horrible bass player, and the Minutemen were just a terrible band. Why you’d bother to pick that as your username (unless that’s your real name) is beyond me.

It would be really sweet if you got your name from Degrassi Jr. High, that great Canadian melodrama from the 80’s. It’s too bad you European folks don’t get it, because you’re really missing out on some hilarious TV.