Rock Groups 2025

So it's July again, when Internet readership drops off sharply and strange things happen on this blog while no-one's looking. Arguably the strangest is the annual Offering of Rock Groups Yearning to Be, that yearly list of potential group names posted for the benefit of literally anyone who wants one. (Full details here.)

Included in the deal is permission to reveal to anyone who enquires that your group's name was bestowed by a Zen hermit monk. And that all by itself is worth the price of admission. (Which is zero. Don't ask; it's a Zen thing.)

So once more into the breach. Extra credit to anyone who catches the literary, historical, scientific, and pop culture references that follow. In Google veritas.


Rock Groups 2025

The Window

Holgar

Tsunami Turtle

Der Pfeilstorch

Concrete Animals of Mexico

Einsatz

Exidor

Fala Does Mind

Hyōgaiji (may I suggest that you also take 丂 as your logo)

Vines's Boot

The Offcuts

Morton's Fork

PTT

The Skeleton Men

The Dumb Waiters

Headbolt

Deadbolt

Gasket

The High-Fivin' White Guys

Daily Driver

Harfang

Elon

Musk

Membrane

Jonas Grumbey

The Heat Monkeys

The Luck

Hinge

Plug Ugly

The Roadside Dinosaurs

Pilori

French Club

Uh-Oh Chongo

Gaturro

Motormouse


(Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com and a generous photographer.)

July Haiku

even one-penny
fireworks...
ooo! ahh!

Issa


(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and a generous photographer.)

Rock Groups 2024

Welcome, honoured sangha, to your annual festival of potential rock group names here on the Ring. This makes an eleventh year of this odd and inexplicable July ritual, which is offered in the cause of the entertainment of all sentient beings.

Those needing reminder will find an explanation, such as it is, of this phenomenon here, as it first appeared away back in 2013.

As for rules and regulations, I suspect the 2021 post stated them most clearly.

Remember that any suggested genres are just that; there is no obligation of any kind, moral or financial, associated with this list, in whole or in part. You're a group as yet unnamed, you grab anything you like, with no apologies.

Let's crack on, shall we?


Rock Groups 2024

Roobar (Australian alt-country)

The Riot Dogs

Synesthesia (acid rock jam band)

Visible Filth (seems like it's gotta be punk, but hey, why not a boy band?)

The Drop Bears

Albino Platypus

Palindrome

Head Cannon

None More Black (Spinal tap reference)

Farmer John and the Weeds of Concern

The Sea Lions

No Thru Traffic

Demogorgon (metal)

Prometheus (hair band)

Bedfellow

House Hippo (Canadian twee pop)

Fingerstop

Matthew

Drywall

Maßkrug (metal band too sophisticated for an umlaut)

Ziggy Says

Monitor (the lizard, not the teacher's pet or computer screen)

Apeechequanee

Pantser

The Brothers German

Rook

Crankover

Ten Penny Nail

Blork

Menȝies (pronounced properly)

Gar Ye Grue (Scottish punk band)

Elementary Penguin

Viaticum (death metal)

Fustibalus

Номенклатура

Article 58

Alice Blue (dream pop)

When Ready Fire

The Pump Jacks

Puck Bunny

Fox 3


(Photo courtesy of Kelly Sikkema and Unsplash.com.)

Tom Lehrer's Entire Catalogue, Free For The Download!

This is a July post – meaning it has little immediate relevance to Zen or hermit practice – but Tom has made it clear on his website that this incredibly generous gesture is temporary, so I need to get word out to other fans well ahead of then.

Tom Lehrer was the patron saint of my college years, thanks to a chemistry prof who brought The Elements into class on a cassette tape and played it for us as a study aide. (I aced the class. Thanks to Tom? You decide.) I subsequently asked for the album for Christmas, and my sainted mother got it for me.

Infection achieved.

I've since continued to discover and enjoy Tom's work, even though his musical career ended while I was in primary school.

In real life, Thomas Andrew Lehrer was an accomplished academic with an amazingly broad résumé, encompassing teaching positions in mathematics, music, and political science, at a long roster of Ivy League colleges. A secret life of virtue that remained generally occult to the legions who savoured his storied public career as a composer and performer of jangly, razor-sharp music hall satire.

(And if that's not impressive enough, he also claims to be the inventor of the Jello shot, which claim has not yet been debunked. A fact I share in Tom's patented voice, in tribute to his questionable influence on me.)

Anyway, 'way back in 2007, Tom shifted every one of his songs into the public domain, declaring that anyone can perform or record any of them free of any financial obligation to creator or corporate sponsor.

What's more, we are also encouraged to download any of his own recordings, among which there are many enduring classics, also free of charge.

And now he's actually made them available on his website, often in multiple versions, for anyone so disposed.

All 95 of them.

And all of his albums may also be streamed or downloaded there in their entirety.

This amazing act of magnanimity (or insolence, take your pick) is time-sensitive, as the author, who is 96 at this writing, warns that the page may be taken down at any time. So hurry on in.

For those who have lived in tragic ignorance of this seminal œuvre, may I suggest the following appetisers:

The Elements (where my own life took its dire turn)

Oedipus Rex

The Vatican Rag

We Will All Go Together When We Go

And if you don't like those, there are 91 more waiting for you, right here.

Nine bows to a man who has made this existence slightly but significantly more tolerable.


(Photo of Professor Lehrer corrupting Danish youth for once courtesy of Jan Persson and Wikimedia Commons.)

Good Song: Dek Bovinoj

In keeping with our general July theme ("what the heck") here on the Ring, today I'm sharing something awesome, just because it is.

This time it's Pablo Busto's Esperanto counting song, Dek bovinoj ("Ten Cows"). After the lyrics below I've translated the last two verses (the first ten being largely self-explanatory).

As profound as the song and performance are, I think the embedded video, produced for the children's show Aventuroj de Uliso, also adds weighty philosophical dimension, so I suggest you watch along.

All in all, an entertaining 3 minutes, even if it doesn't have much to do with Zen.

Or does it?

Dek bovinoj
de Pablo Busto

Unu bovino muĝas,
muuu

Du bovinoj muĝas,
mu mu

Tri bovinoj muĝas,
mu mu mu

Kvar bovinoj muĝas,
mu mu mu mu

Kvin bovinoj,
mu mu mu mu mu

Ses bovinoj,
mu mu mu mu mu mu

Sep bovinoj,
mu mu mu mu mu mu mu

Ok bovinoj,
mu mu mu mu mu mu mu mu

Naŭ bovinoj,
mu mu mu mu mu mu mu mu mu

Dek bovinoj,
mu mu mu mu mu mu mu mu mu, mu

Ni bovinoj ŝatas muĝi
kaj manĝadi freŝan herbon.
Ni tre ŝatas la kamparon
kaj ripozi longan tempon.

Ni bovinoj estas grandaj
kaj produktas multan lakton.
Nia kapo havas kornojn,
kaj la buŝo grandan langon.

Translation of last two verses:

Us cows like to moo
and eat fresh grass.
We really like the country
and resting for a long time.

Us cows are big
and we make lots of milk.
Our heads have horns
and our mouths have big tongues.

Rock Groups 2023

And here we are again, with another Rock Group roll. Those joining us in progress can get filled in here; note as well the rules, such as they are.

For the rest, let us simply observe that 2023 marks the tenth July I've dropped this bomb.

Also, please note that there is now a group called Enumclaw. I'm not saying they got their name from Rock Groups 2018 – timing seems a little tight – but see Rock Groups 2018. Savour also the Washington locations in this video.

And with that, we process to...

Rock Groups 2023

Red Right Return

Longbow

Baron von Turducken and the Knights of Day

Solid

Dot and the Flying Monkeys (grrrl punk)

Bloodstone

Radio Free America (political rock)

Hungry Ghost

Mugato

Splat

Riboflavin (psy-electronica)

Earwig

Link Simmons and the Skeleton Men

Tinker's Daughter (roots country)

Triceratops

P22

Zaibatsu

30 Meter Band (vibes jazz)

Nazi GI (film buff-approved metal band)

Auntie Freeze

The Algorithm

Ten-Penny Nail

The Mac-Paps (political punk)

747

Spyder 500

Abacus

AFK (chipstyle, MIDI)

Possible Possum

SST

MT Space (synth rock)


(Photo courtesy of Rawpixel.com and a generous photographer.)

Good Video: Hidden In Plain Sight

So it's July again, the month when the Internet takes a vacation and I can post stuff that's just cool and not necessarily about enlightenment.

Except this kind of is, if you want it to be.

Anybody my age or older was raised on Warner Brothers cartoons; among other things, their vaudeville tropes are almost entirely responsible for our knowing anything about that art form, whose popularity peaked when our grandparents were in high school. Yet somehow, a very important facet of those gems of animation's golden age remains occult, in spite of the fact that it's been right in our faces for decades.

I found this video fascinating, and if Looney Tunes was a cherished part of your childhood, you will, too. One thing is certain: I'll never look at them the same way again.

Oh, and the Zen angle? It's about clear-seeing. And being present. And appreciating the fulness of unrequested blessings.

And not making everything so goddam serious.

So prepare to be floored by something you've seen a hundred times.

And Happy July.

Rock Groups 2022

July has ambushed us again, and you know what that means: another whack of rock groups.

As I've explained in the past, July is that month when readership plummets, Zen monasteries close for the summer, and I run about the house naked… figuratively, at least. Which is to say, I vary from the more serious business of this blog and indulge a silly whim or two.

Of which this one has become an annual tradition.

So if you're new to this ritual, click on the embedded link above for the particulars. For the rest of you, gird your loins for:


Rock Groups 2022

Debris

Manley Toggle and the Light Crew

Dipswitch

Quadruped

Reg-O-Matic (rapper named Reginald)

Mångata (ethereal electronica)

Petrovascular

Tom Collins and the Highballs

Shotgun Wedding

Peristaltik

Dead Right

Looseleaf

Solid State

The Plethora

Airship

Dish Rack

Moosemeat

Tazelwurm

FlashBang

Crossbow

Sparehead #1 (don't pronounce the #)

Turdücken

Bandsaw

Hi-Horse

The Whistleblowers (Irish folk-rock)

The Wheelers

Tomnahurich (Scottish folk-rock)

The No Code (accent on No)

Les Castors du Rhône

Bright Blue

Rockbound

Skred

Monkeynut

Tony Zamboni and the Ice Machine

Blatweasel

The Rescue Dogs

Homogenous Mass (rap group)

Stretch

Avvakum

Aqua Regia

Tan Ru and the Nomads

Onyx

Dirty Thieving Bastards

Sinlahekin

Cutter John and the Penguins

(Photo courtesy of Markus Spiske and Rawpixel.com.)

Rock Groups 2021

Ah, July. That glorious month when northern Zen loosens up and Rusty Ring vacates from seriousness.

Seriously. I look forward to this.

And each year our flagship foolery is the annual Rock Group Survey, in which I gather up all of the group names that the gods have revealed to me since my last Cortex dump.



The rules have not changed. They are:

» That all names here-under are available to any taker. I hereby repudiate all ownership, and offer them freely to anybody who wants one or more for any reason.

» That such takers must however verify via thorough search of the Information Superhighway that in fact no existing group currently fights under the desired name, as I have not already done so. (notresponsible fordukkhaduetopreviousownershipofnamesorconceptswriterisnotanintellectualpropertylawyernoranintellectualnorpropertynoralawyeralwaystakeeverythingyoureadonlineoranywhereelsewithacaskofsaltyourenlightenmentisyourresponsibilitynotliableforkarmicconsequencesresultingfromassumingIwaswiserthanyouareseriouslyareyoublindaswellasstupid?)

» That any group assuming one of my identities is entitled to claim they were personally bestowed same by a Zen hermit monk, who will for his part back up any further legend concocted in connexion with the aforementioned claim.

As ever, where entries include parenthetical commentary on possible genres, that's just me talkin'. You want it, you take it. No questions asked, no takings tasked.

So hey, summer's a-wastin'! Dive in, dude!


Rock Groups 2021

Caman (Scottish rock)
Glastonbury Thorn (British folkrock)
Hollowstate
Serpent Zed
Bangjang
Asparagus
The Sea Monkeys
Grate
Runnin' Jump
&c.
Telstar
Pork
Overkill
Bitten Kitten
Wombat
Headwind
Ctrl-Z
Airlock
The Big Happy
The Murder Hornets (a bit shamed I didn't come up with this before there was an actual thing called that)
Mission Creep
Peña Ajena
Drudge
Электросталь
Bad Bread
Mother
Halftrack
Catshark
Wally Cleaver and the Dam-Rats
Ronin
Gelatinous Mass (in Gothic lettering with Catholic imagery)
Uploaf
Hillary
Gary Seven and the Timewarp
Killswitch
Spork
Monongahela
Egress Window
The Surfin' TERFs (grrrl group)
The Sandpapers (punk take on the Sandpipers)
Konïgstraat
Rocksalt
The Cul de Sac Kids
Rory Chesterfield and the Lowboys


(Photo courtesy of Bekir Dönmez and Unsplash.com.)

WW: Christmas in July

(It's difficult to see at this resolution, but this tree – overhanging an idyllic spot on a swamp – is richly decorated with fishing tackle. Bass gear, for the most part. This in spite of the fact that as far as I know, no-one has ever pulled a fish out of here. But catching fish is not really the point in a place like this, at this time of year.)

Appearing also on My Corner of the World.

Rock Groups 2020

God help us, here we are again. There but for the grace, &c. And if ever we needed rock groups – as many rock groups as possible - this Periodic Year of Spontaneous Karmic Adjustment is it.

And so, in continuing public service to my suffering species, I offer yet again, with gratitude and unbowed defiance, the list of pre-born groups still waiting in the bardo as of this date.

With respect, please liberate them.

The rules again, for those distracted:

• All proposed names are available to any taker. I hereby repudiate all ownership, overt or implied, of any of them, nor is any trademark, copyright, or other legal superstition attached.

• However, do recall that nefarious others sometimes steal my ideas without informing me, often – and this is particularly low - before I've even had a chance to think them up myself. So if you find something you like, be sure to Google the crap out of it to verify it isn't already somebody else.

• Now how much would you pay? Don't answer yet, because you also get the added privilege of telling reporters that your group name was bestowed by a Zen hermit monk. That alone oughta get you press.

For the rest, names that suggested genres when they occurred to me are so identified in the list below, but you aren't bound to respect that. If you fancy an entry, but sing another song, just smash and grab.

Therefore, look smart, demons that bedevil us. For here comes…

Rock Groups 2020

Kino Neutrino
William's Axe
Black Like Him
Raging Atoll
The Kill Count Kiddies
Kiss Mary Kill
The Xiphoid Process
Third Bird
Ouroboros
Whipsnake
2020
Mainframe
Bob War and the Post Pounders (alt country)
Hammerblossom
Energetic X
Häzmät
Ghillie Dhu
2Ys
Juggler
Wildebeest
Logical Lizard
Spindletop (Southern country rock)
Sporadic E
Headbone
Earthstar
Leatherhead
The Mongrels
Satanic Panic
Aero-Dynamic
Rinderpest
Tubafor
Dire Wolf
Dachschünd
C. Klamp
Rubber Feat
Isometric
The Practice Babies
Numb Chuck
Anorak
Buffalo Jump
Hat Trick
Экраноплан
Bang
OEM
C-Horse-7

(Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com and a generous photographer.)

Best Thing In Years

Zen monasteries traditionally close in midsummer, when the zendo gets too hot for comfortable (or safe) sitting and the travelling is good. Then the sangha put the altar Buddha in cryostasis – wrapping him in black cloth till autumn – take stick, and leave, posting a skeleton crew to mind the store.

The Internet does that too. Around July readership drops sharply as more attractive options open up on the northern half of our planet, where most users live. Thus, I learned long ago that I can do pretty much anything I want around now; ain't nobody home no how.

Hence the yearly ritual of the rock groups, with sporadic even weirder vacations from Zen, strictly spoke. So let this post be one of the latter.

Over the past year I've become attached to a Youtube trend so awesome I have to share it. By measured steps, short-subject filmmaking has advanced on that platform, quietly improving and proliferating, in the absence of all profit motive or likelihood of fame. Today, as fans often remark in the comments, these labours of love and passion can rival anything coming out of major studios or corporate television.

Probably the most prominent example is Dust (above). Though devoted to science fiction, in the best tradition of that genre this channel's definition of same is decidedly liberal. So much so that choosing an embed is agonising. The one I finally went with is both typical (quality of concept, writing, performance, production) and unusual (subject). But I'm unable to discern a "normal" Dust subject; any redundancy in their catalogue is well-camouflaged.

Note also that the suggested video is only 12 minutes. That's on the long side. If Dust uploaded a 20-minute film, they'd probably have to put an intermission in it.

The Omeleto vault, for its part, might be summed up as "O. Henry meets Rod Serling". Again, my search for an archetype was fruitless, but the video below is representative of the humour, insight, and fearless young writing.

Some of the actors you'll see are familiar, particularly in the Dust entrées. But if you recognise one, you won't recognise two; the rest will be brilliant aspirants. This means those few name artists are doing it for joy more than career, and I for one tend to love that sort of thing out of all proportion to objective merit.

Which is also awesome here. Just to be clear.

Likewise, some scripts are complete, taking the audience two hours' distance in ten minutes, while others play like opening scenes from non-existent features. But in both cases the raw power of the writers behind them makes me want to get out of the business.

All in, this movement is a perpetual mitzvah: the best movies you'll see all summer, free, bottomless, on demand, fully portable, and each one shorter than a sitcom. (Even without adverts.) "Hang on, I gotta watch this BAFTA-calibre movie. No worries; it's eight minutes long."

And the manna pelts on unabated, for in addition to further Dust and Omeleto suggestions, you'll find other nuggets of comparable genius from still more independent short channels in the margins. If you're not careful, this could become a problem.

But don't come running to me; my own Watch Later list is so long it'll be months before I get back to you.

So much of the hope we had for the Internet never materialised, or rotted into horrors we scarce suspected. In such times, this-here is a fair-dinkum boon; a manifestation of wish fulfillment.

So load 'em up. We've earned it.

Rock Groups 2019

It's July, aka the Rock Moon here at the Ring, in which I share with the world my preternatural gift for naming rock groups.

Even rock groups that don't exist.

Even rock groups that should exist. So get on that, OK?

The rules remain constant:

1. All names inscribed here are available to anybody who wants one, free of any charge or obligation. You like it, you take it.

2. I can't guarantee somebody hasn't committed psychic plagiary by already naming their group one of these, so Google thoroughly before adopting one.

3. Any genre suggestions are gratuitous. If you think Les Sœurs Hospitalières would be a great name for your gritty alt-country band… have at it, pardner.

4. All I ask is that if in future someone asks you where you got that awesome name, tell them it was conferred upon you by a Zen hermit monk. Because that's a fantastic story.

And so, to those of you who are about to rock, I give you:

Rock Groups 2019

Les Ignares
The Wogs of Door (like last year's Dogs of War, but… not)
The Pie is Gone
Pygar
Les Sœurs Hospitalières (all-female medieval folk rock group)
Albatross
Grindhouse
Hammerstadt
Jessica's Bad Idea (grrrl punk)
Croatoan
OpCit
Wight
180
Puppyuppers
Stream of Conscience
Dino Arduino
Standup Tragedy
Splenetic
Bikini Chain
Drop D
Spew (gotta be metal)
Lolo Pass (country, as above)
Humphrey Dumfries and The Egg
Toxic Mail
UVB-76
The Latchkey Kids
The Knights of Stairwell
The Recipe
The Massage
Hot Mess
Cherry Red
Восток
The Synoptic Gospels and John
Заманиха
Pepper's Ghost
Punk Muppet
Icehammer
Pious Ponce
Pilot Error
Xylophobe
Angelfish
Gooseberry Jam (upbeat country rock)
Greek Fire
Cabulus
Devil's Club

(Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com and a generous photographer.)

WW: School apples

(Swung into this back-county primary school a few days ago, looking for a place to get off my bike and rest in shade. As I coasted into the carpark I was delighted to find an entire row of summer apples! Two dwarf varieties – a red one and a green one – espaliered against the front fence. Both heavily in fruit.

There's nothing like a tart, juicy, sun-warmed apple of a late July afternoon, when the tarmac is melting under your tyres and you're hungry and thirsty. I don't know whose idea it was to instal this waist-high orchard, but he or she was a genius. Now I come up with excuses to pass this school – which is generally well off my track – so I can enjoy a few more.

May your scrumping be as rewarding.)

Rock Groups 2018

Well, it's somehow July again, which means it's time to invert the year's box of rock groups.

As I explain each July, my unearned facility for naming rock groups has kept me hoarding same since I was a teenager. As I have no outlet for this superpower, I commend them to the world here.

The rules remain constant:

1. Anybody who wants one for their group is welcome to it. I claim no copyright, trademark, patent, or juju.

2. Be aware that sometimes my muse two-times me, so if you see something you like, vet it carefully to be sure someone hasn't already had the same idea.

3. The genre suggestions that follow some entries are my fancy alone. If a name implies a different sound to you, have at it.

4. All who assume these identities are entitled to tell interviewers they were named by a Zen hermit monk. Because that is the awesomest of rock 'n' roll backstories.

Harken therefore ye unto:

Rock Groups 2018

(A service mark of Rusty Ring® Zen hermit products. No rights reserved.)

Cobb
Logjam (Northwest country rock)
Ice Train
Elvet Velvis (courtesy of my brother Fletcher)
ASA (Canadian rock)
Blue Highways
Briar Blade
The Wadcutters
Собака
Enumclaw (that's EE-numb-claw)
Davy Jones and the MTC
Shovel
The Tank Tops
Betty Bell and the Dial-Tones
Große Straße
Danny Dillinger and the Usual Suspects
360
Zoidberg
Gila Joe and the Rattlers (rockabilly)
Syzygy
The 9 Lords of Li Ping
Whitby Manor (emo)
Stream of Conscience
Ignore Amos
Boyle
CisOp
The Whangdoodles
Steambox
The Dogs of War
Big Bill and the Fruits of Labour
Pyewacket
The New Christy Wastrels
Boiled White
Gömböc
Blank Reg (as in the short form of Reginald)
Uppish With People
Endangered Eel
Drumnadrochit (Scottish folk rock)
Pygargue (French power rock)
African Genesis (soul)
Mastodon
Brother John and the Crimonious Clarks
The Cut-Outs (ask an old person for the reference)
404
Trump T. Trump and the Indelible Stains
Los Focos
Hive
Rubber Puppies
Led Sadr and The Brass Sponge
Ouch Mouse

(Photo of inuksuks at Peggy's Cove Lighthouse courtesy of Shawn M. Kent and Wikimedia Commons.)

Rock Groups 2017

Well, it's July again, and you know what that means: another random blast of speculative rock groups. As I first explained five years ago, I have a gift for naming musical ensembles – one that goes entirely uncapitalised-upon, given the utter lack of a venue for such genius.

Therefore I routinely dump the cream of the harvest on the world right here in the Seventh Month. The usual caveats apply:

1.)  These names are entirely free for the taking, public domain, unregistered, homeless, motherless, and legally usurpable by anyone who wants them. Should you adopt one, you owe me no money, credit, thanks, or apologies. (But see Caveat #4, below.)

2.)  That said, be aware that I can't guarantee others haven't already named themselves something similar, or even exactly the same thing. So do a thorough Google search before taking the plunge.

3.)  Any suggestions I make about possible genres is just me talkin'. You can use these names for anything you want.

4.)  Any group that takes one of these names is entitled to tell fans they were named by a Zen hermit monk. Because nobody else has such a cool origin story. (Not even Nirvana.)

So don't be a clown; bump that frown and scroll on down. Because The Wolfman comes just once year.

Rock Groups 2017

Don't Tell Dad
DDT (thrash metal)
Scythe (funeral doom)
The Akkadians
Linchpin
Miri and the Grups
Northern Soul (Yukon, NWT, or Nunavut group)
Polydactyl
The Denisovans
JPEG
Rock Bass (that's bass as in fish; country rock, maybe)
Kapz-Loc (political rap)
The Red Paint People
Real Meat
Narrow Sparrow
Jude
Tin Foil Cat
Willie Wiki and the Socks
Les Chats Libres de Marseille
The Banned Italians
Whooping for Christ (non-Christian group)
The Organic Cavalry
Coldcock
Rotifer
Architect of the Capital
Wankel (industrial punk)
Bullhead (Southern rock)
The Divorced Presidents
Maitrank
Archaeopterix
Gang of Four
Catfish Walker and the Invasive Species (warning: apparently there is, or was, a blues singer named Catfish Walker)
Love Spoon
Harrow (British folk rock)
Soldierfly
Handschüe
Truncheon
Snakehead
Contraband
Igneous Music (record company)
Iceberg Let Us
The Walking Onions
Buddha Bowl
Auntie Christ
2-Ply (quirky rap)
Plywood (alt country)
Ten Foot Pole
Home To Roost (political country rock)
Schöttgun
The Mangerdogs
Isosceles
Aardvaark
Critical Mass (in High Gothic script, with Catholic imagery on the album cover)
Rhoticity
PissRipper
Los Hongos Serios
Early X
Redeye
Blackstrap

(Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com and a generous photographer.)

Good Song, Good Movie: Sabhyata and Sita Sings the Blues

Here's a neat convergence of genius, for a little customary Rusty Ring summer fun.

First off you've got Sabhyata, by Indian/Algerian group Karmix. That all by itself is awesome, but a YouTube artist had the good sense to double down on its awesomeness by creating this compelling video for it, by sampling animation from Sita Sings the Blues.

Which is undangerously legal, because that excellent film is public domain, by unambiguous declaration of Nina Paley, its author. (If you missed the whole ridiculous attempt at corporate piracy against Paley, read about it here.)

And that move begat an opening for the luminous work embedded here. So screw you, rights-scalpers.

And if you haven’t seen it yet, check out Sita as well. It's a really entertaining riff on a tale from Hindu scripture; the hip, wisecracking shadow puppets alone are worth the price of admission.

Roger Ebert loved it. So do I. Free o' charge and at full resolution, right here.

Watch both at full screen on your computer, bare minimum. Television is even better. Good speakers will also greatly enhance the experience.

Happy July to all, from all of us here at Rusty Ring.

Rock Groups 2016

July is happening again, and that means another rack of Rusty Ring rock groups is ready for delivery, in no particular order, with no implied obligation or warranty.

The rules remain the same as they are every year:

1. Anybody can use any of these band names; I claim no form of copyright or trademark on any of them.

2. That said, be aware that some of these bands may already exist. (And some names may be taken by non-music projects, such as the Internet browser that stole "Iceweasel" from me, probably before I even thought of it.)

3. If your group decides to take one of these names, all I ask is that when people ask you where you got it, you say, "A Zen hermit gave us this name." Because that's, like, an awesome origin story.

Where a genre suggests itself, I've included that meditation. Such proposals are for your consideration only; if your Cookie Monster metal band wants to take a name that sounded like a jazz ensemble to me, I stand corrected.

And now:

Rock Groups 2016

Baby Goes Boom
Opie's Maw (all female alt-country band)
Box o' Rocks
Kalakala (North Coast First Nations rock band)
Dormouse (psychedelic)
Metal Rain
Titanic Mushroom
Hitler GIF
The Tailfins (50s rock)
One Horse Town
The Trust
KOCMOHABT
Dr. Strangepork
The Zouaves
Dred Scott
Terd O'Hurtles
Blood Moon
Scred
Tinfoil Fedora
The Chocolate Teapot
Mudd's Women (all-male group)
Gastropod
Possible Soup
Henge
03 (pronounced Ought Three)
Tone Def (rap parody)
Blowtorch
Sloboda
Death Zipper (Canadian metal)
The Screaming Carrots
Hammer & Tongs (British folk rock)
Mysterious Meat
Sonar
Magnet School
Axolotl
The Love Dogs
Steel Penny
The Flashbulbs (warning: apparently there's already a musician called The Flashbulb)
Gizzard
SpicePeach
The Walking Stereotypes
Klo Zen Plā (old-school rapper)
Voynich
Origami Ethos
Quảng Đức's Heart (political rock)
Doctor Dregg and the Maniacal Plan
Haakon
Monkey Wrench
Kutter
Bucket of Dumb


(Photo of the original rock group courtesy of Sam Boulton Sr. and Wikimedia Commons.)

Summer Trip

Here's a really now happening, courtesy of the Rusty Ring Experience:

1. Type the word "psychedelic" in Google Search.
2. Press Enter. (Some browsers do this automatically.)
3. At the top of the search results page, click on "Images".
4. Like, groove, baby!

Word up to all my fellow survivors of the 70s. Keep on truckin'.

(I wonder, if I replaced my desk lamp with a blacklight...)



(Artwork courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and a generous artist.)

Rock Groups 2015

Time again for the yearly crop of Awesome Rock Groups Waiting To Happen. Same rules as ever:

• Anybody who wants one of these can have it. There is no trademark, copyright, or grigri on any of them.


• Remember that people often steal my names without telling me, or even waiting for me to think of them. So vet any you want carefully to make sure someone else isn't already that.


• All clients of mine (which you become the moment you assume one of these identities) are entitled to tell everyone that they were named by a Zen hermit monk.

Where a name suggests a possible genre I've included that information as a serving suggestion.

So.


Rock Groups 2015

The Next of Kin

Antofagasta (Spanish rock)

The Blacks (political rap)

Y2K

Massive Transit

Under Where

Взвод

Notochord

Flags of the World

Referendum

Hoe

Fork

Gravesend (English folk rock)

Finisterre (Celtic rock)

Crabapple (American roots rock)

Umlaut (without one; irony-parsing metal group)

Goana (Oz group)

The HouseMartians

Polysynthetic (electronica)

The Caecilian Mafia

Man Ray

Left For Dead

Squeegee

Earthpig

Zoot Suit Riot (hot brass'n'sax swing)

Morticia (emo girl group)

Tucúquere (Andean roots rock)

Chompipe (Guatemalan roots rock)

Zopilote (Mexican roots rock)

Chew

The Axes of Evil

Urban Renewal (Motown revival group)

Kleever

Cheap Meet

Camouflage (alt country)

Whammy Bar

Too Wellington

Back 40 (rockabilly)

Jigsaw

The Virtual Uninhabitants

Bomb Vomit

Gregory Go Boom

Lothar and the Hill People

Tumour Spoon

No Jump Julie (Seattle sound)

Bluegill (country)

Watermelon (psychedelic)

Sundial

Titular Lizard

Biff Blake and the Parasitic WASPs


(Photo courtesy of Kathy Reed and Wikimedia Commons.)