Bandnames of famous progressive rock bands
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Topic: Bandnames of famous progressive rock bands
Posted By: friso
Subject: Bandnames of famous progressive rock bands
Date Posted: August 04 2011 at 09:49
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The way bandnames are chosen differs from band to band. Some bands want to have bandname that communicates about the intention or idea behind the music (for instance; Oresund Space Collective), other bandnames are chose 'because they sound cool, strong or perhaps even mystical'. Some professional bands choose names that fit into 'the unwritten laws of bandnames of a genre' (for commercial purposes), we get to see much of that in progressive metal and power metal. There are also bands that choose bandnames that don't say a lot about the music, or a bandname that is just strange for the sake of it (for instance; Godspeed You! Black Emperor).
Of some progressive rockbands the meaning of the band name isn't mentioned to often, so my intention was to make a blog about the meaning of the bandnames of some well-known bands of our beloved genre. Feel free to add information about bandnames of other famous progressive rock bands! King Crimson It is said the band was named after it's famous composition 'In the Court of the Crimson King', rather then using the bandname for the main composition of the debut album. Early King Crimson lyricist Peter Sinfield is said to have coined at this bandname, which is said to be a synonym for 'Beelzebub, prince of demons'. According to Rober Fripp 'Beelzebub' translates to 'The Man with an Aim', or 'Man with a Cause'. When looking at other sources this 'Beelzebub' is also being called 'The Lord of the Flies', 'Lord of the (heavenly) Dwelling' or 'High Lord' and is referred to as the original god of the Philistines. In the bible the name 'Beelzebub' is however mentioned in the new testament as being that of a synonym of Satan. In later Christian text Beelzebub is called a part of the 'unholy trinity', consisting of Satan, Beelzebub and Leviathan. Van der Graaf Generator The bandname of this Brittish eclectic/psychedelic progressive rock ban was coined at by Smith, who would leave the band after their first single (that was only available for a week) and before their first studio album. A Van de Graaff Generator is actually a scientific instrument that can be used for several causes. In is noteworthy that the instrument is spelled differently then the band itself. This instrument (invented by Robert Van de Graaff in 1929) can be used to accumulate an electrical charge on a metal globe. In science the instrument is used to sterilize food and process materials as well as an accelerator of protons for nuclear experiments. In a practical sense it is used to create to create 'lightning' or make peoples hair stand up (hairs repels each other when electrically charged). Both practical uses could be seen as helpful to understand the music of the band (attempt at being funny). On the 'The least we can do is wave at each other'-cover the band is depicted inside of the metal sphere of a Van de Graaff generator. Soft Machine It is highly likely that the bandname of this English Canterbury band is derived from the novel 'The Soft Machine', by William S. Burroughs (1961). It is a fictional book that describes how 'control mechanisms invade the body', as explicitly mentioned in the appendix. Besides that, the term Soft Machine was perhaps mentioned earlier in scientific circles. As the duality (body and spirit) of humanity started to be debatable again, there was a first generation of biologists and other scientists that saw the body as a complete, intricate and highly sophisticated machine that could be recreated if one would have the proper tools and knowledge. All attributes of human life and consciousness were attributed to the brain. Till this day there is no definitive conclusion in the debate on duality. Pink Floyd Though a lot of, especially young people, think of the bandname of this English psychedelic/symphonic progressive rock band as a description of a visual flood in pink, it is actually based on a silly concept. Founding member Syd Barrett had named the band 'The Pink Floyd Sound', after two blues musicians of Piedmont Blues Records named Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Earlier, the band had chosen 'The Tea Set', but that name was already used by another band. Before releasing their first album the band-name would be shortened to Pink Floyd. |
Replies:
Posted By: Bluekindred
Date Posted: August 04 2011 at 11:21
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That's pretty cool - it's always interesting to see where band names come from... and so hard to think up a new, really good name that noone has ever used before - let alone with a good reason / back story for it! Cheers for posting this... looking forward to your next post in this thread. |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: August 05 2011 at 06:50
| Wasn't the Crimson King something to do with an old French King or something? I seem to remember reading a long piece about this on PA a while ago? |
Posted By: Flavio
Date Posted: August 05 2011 at 07:14
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Matching Mole This is a joke on "Machine Molle", which is the french translation for "Soft Machine" ------------- Never too old to rock 'n roll |
Posted By: The Truth
Date Posted: August 05 2011 at 11:34
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I'd be interested in reading more of this blog.
------------- http://blindpoetrecords.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: Andy Webb
Date Posted: August 05 2011 at 12:02
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If you don't mind I'll spew some of my fanboy knowledge: Dream Theater, as most people know, were originally called Majesty. The origin of this name was when Portnoy, Petrucci, and Myung were in line for a Rush concert and Portnoy commented that "Bastille Day" was "Majestic," and then Majesty was born (which is also the inspiration for the classic Ytse Jam - Majesty backwards). When the band released their demo album in 1986 under the moniker Majesty, however, a Las Vegas band of the same name threatened legal action if they didn't change their name. The band cycled through a number of different names, such as Glasser, Magnus, and M1 (Glasser was used for a week to the spite of the fans). Eventually, Portnoy's father suggested the name of a small theater he ran in Monterey, California, and modern day Dream Theater was born. ------------- http://ow.ly/8ymqg" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: OT Räihälä
Date Posted: August 06 2011 at 05:06
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It is also well known that the name Gentle Giant refers to the giant Pantagruel, a figure in Franēois Rabelais's novel The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel. ------------- http://soundcloud.com/osmotapioraihala/sets" rel="nofollow - Composer - Click to listen to my works! |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: August 06 2011 at 05:58
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Steely Dan also took their name from William S. Burroughs.
Curved Air took their name from 'A Rainbow In Curved Air' by Terry Riley.
Supertramp was taken from 'An Autobiogrpahy of a Super-Tramp' by by William Henry Davies. ------------- What? |
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: August 06 2011 at 06:08
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Danish band Papir took their name from paper. Originally stems from Egypt where the plant Cyperus Papyrus was made into paper roughly 7000 years ago. Paper comes in many forms, we use it to wipe our backsides with, but in some cases it´s so sharp that it´ll slice you right open, if you´re not being careful. ------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: August 06 2011 at 06:43
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Dean wrote:Posted By: friso
Date Posted: August 08 2011 at 04:15
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Krautrock
Popol Vuh This German progressive/electronic prog group was named after 'the book of council' or 'book of the people' of the Mayan tribes of the post classic Quiché kingdom in Guatemala's. The main features of this book are it's creation myth, it's flood myth and some of it's epic tales. Nowadays the Popol Vuh is seen as the holy book of the Mayans, a reputation it gained simply because of the fact it's the biggest among the scarce amount of surviving Mayan texts. Amon Düül II This German krautrock band was part of an artistic and politcal community called Amon Düül. 'Amon' is derived from the name of the Egyptian god of the sun, whilst 'Düül' is said to have been derived from a Turkish mythological character. This community would later split up in two rockbands, Amon Düül I and Amon Düül II. The second formation would became famous with their original psychedelic/avant-garde/space rock. CAN This bandname of another famous krautrock group actually has more meaning than the metal cans we use to conserve food. Can is an abbreviation of Cannibalism, Anarchism & Nihilism, as suggested by drummer Jaki Liebezeit. Before the band was named 'Can' it has been called 'Inner Space' and 'The Can' (on the the debut album). |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: August 08 2011 at 15:11
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Jethro Tull This band was named after an English agriculturist who lived from 1674 to 1741. He had some ideas about improving agriculture which were disputed in his own day but practised afterwards. A fitting name for a progressive band... ------------- 
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Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: August 08 2011 at 21:19
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For the record, Godspeed You! Black Emperor were named after a Japanese documentary film about biker culture. Collecting band name origin stories is an interest of mine. ------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: friso
Date Posted: August 09 2011 at 03:14
Feel free to ad some yourself! I'd be very happy if some-one would concentrate on modern progressive rock. |
Posted By: martinprog77
Date Posted: August 09 2011 at 05:46
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shadow gallery took their name from the graffic novel //v for vendetta ''
opeth name was derived from the word "Opet," taken from the novel The Sunbird. In this novel, Opet is the name of a fictional city in south africa whose name is translated as "City of the Moon" in the book; the name might be a reference also to the egyptian goddess taweret also known as Opet. ------------- Nothing can last there are no second chances. Never give a day away. Always live for today. |
Posted By: Thommy Rock
Date Posted: August 11 2011 at 06:07
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Here's a quick selective guide to German Bandnames: Novalis borrowed their name from a romantic 18th Century Poet and Author and actually incorporated some of his poems in their German sung work. Hoelderlin took their name from another 18th Century Poet and Author, although this band did not use his writings for their lyrics. Eloy is the name for the descendants of the human race in HG Wells novel "The Time Machine". Grobschnitt translated means 'rough cut'. Kraftwerk literally translated means Powerhouse, and generally the term is mainly used to describe a Nuclear Power Plant. Neuschwanstein is a 'fairy-tale' castle comissioned by King Ludwig II as a retreat to Wagner in the south of Germany at the foot of the Alps. Triumvirat is the term for three leaders holding (or aspiring to) absolute political power. Wallenstein took their name from a famous Habsburg monarchy general and politician, who lead the army in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). ------------- "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible" FZ |
Posted By: paganinio
Date Posted: August 11 2011 at 06:36
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Agalloch (also Agallocha, Agallochum) is a soft, resinous wood of highly aromatic smell, and is used as incense and perfume in many Asian countries. The band members themselves actually mispronounce the word "Agalloch".
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Posted By: friso
Date Posted: August 11 2011 at 08:31
| Many thanks for the contributions, keep 'em coming! |
Posted By: Siloportem
Date Posted: August 11 2011 at 10:26
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If I may make requests. Porcupine Tree! And since they´re gone Pure Reason Revolution ------------- Thanks !! Your topics always so good and informative. I like you talk. |
Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: August 14 2011 at 07:48
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There is a section on band name origins in Classic Rock presents Prog magazine too. Could post some of those here. ------------- 
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Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: August 14 2011 at 09:56
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STEELY DAN - Named after a dildo in the William Burroughs novel Naked Lunch. According to Burroughs, the Steely Dan was a metal dildo that an evil German bulldyke prostitute crushed using her nether regions Throbbing Gristle, which is a slang term, from Hull, meaning erection. Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) is distantly related to Wallis Simpson, the wife of Edward VIII - his maternal grandmother was Simpson's 2nd cousin. Van Vliet's stage name came from a term used by his Uncle Alan. Alan had a habit of exposing himself to Don's erstwhile girlfriend, Laurie. Alan would urinate with the bathroom door open and, if she was walking by, mumble about his penis, saying "Ahh, what a beauty! It looks just like a big, fine beef heart." Erm...you see a pattern here  Someone once told me that PFM were named after an Italian bakery...surely not? ------------- 
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Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: August 14 2011 at 11:26
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PFM = Premata Forneria Marconi. "Forneria" means "Bakery" and Marconi is a family name (but I don't find translation for "Premata": could some Italian fellows help us here?) |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: August 14 2011 at 11:48
| Premiata means "awarded" in the literal sense afaik, and it is used to indicate that the bakery is really fancy. I remember reading that PFM took the name from an actual bakery which showed interest in sponsoring them, but this should be verified. |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: August 14 2011 at 12:03
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Ah, "premiata" - with an "i". I read "premata"and couldn't find it in my dictionary. |
Posted By: Jake Kobrin
Date Posted: August 14 2011 at 12:46
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Sigur Rós means "victory rose" in Icelandic. Jóni's little sister was named Sigurrós which is a common female name in Iceland.
Agalloch is a type of firewood, also called Aloeswood. It's also the best smelling incense ever.
 ------------- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Neil-Kobrin/244687105562746" rel="nofollow - SUPPORT MY FATHER AND BECOME A FAN Jacob Kobrin Illustration |
Posted By: Andy Webb
Date Posted: August 14 2011 at 14:14
It's also grammatically incorrect and is a play on words (in Icelandic). ------------- http://ow.ly/8ymqg" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Andy Webb
Date Posted: August 14 2011 at 14:16
Dick prog?  ------------- http://ow.ly/8ymqg" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Evolver
Date Posted: August 14 2011 at 16:48
The post prompted me to create a number of imaginary stories of bands named for penises. Wisely, I deleted it.
Although....
Band member 1: "We've been trying to find a name for our band for a month. Can't we agree on anything.
Band member 2: "Let's just name it after our penises."
Entire band: "YES!" ------------- Trust me. I know what I'm doing. |
Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 04:20
I think Tool beat you to it  -------------
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Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 04:39
I'd rather associate the term "Dick prog" with the guy known as Fish (former Marillion singer), whose proper name is Derek William Dick. Both Derek W. Dick and Chris Squire are named 'Fish' because they have a peculiar preference for spending an unusually long time in the bath tub. The album title 'Fish Out of Water' was apparently well chosen.
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Posted By: DiamondDog
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 05:06
| Very interesting stuff - can we have more please? |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 05:33
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Some Romanian band names: Talitha Qumi is in aramaic and means "rise and walk". Obviously, it's a line from the Bible and it goes well with the band's interest in the spiritual realm. Kumm means "sand" in Tartar language. The Black Sea beaches were the youth's place of total freedom after the fall of Communism (and, under cover, even before the fall). Talitha Qumi, the band that predated Kumm, was formed on the beaches of the Black Sea, and Kumm followed their path. The same beaches are sung by byron in the piece http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bj8_H7E_N0" rel="nofollow - No Man's Land . Dan "Byron", the leader of byron, was a vocalist in Kumm so there you got a real tradition. Yesterdays: the band wanted to show their love for YES. Bucium: it's the name of a traditional Romanian instrument which you can see and hear http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN6f7XfoLc0" rel="nofollow - here or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O8vxxpgSp0&feature=related" rel="nofollow - here . I think Negură Bunget use buciums in their music. Negură Bunget: the first word means "dark mist" and the second means "thick forest". Quite awesome for an atmospheric/folk black metal band if you ask me. DorDeDuh: it's three words stuck together, and means "yearning for Grace". These guys are hard on the spiritual. Celelalte Cuvinte means "the other words" and refers to poetic meaning and what you can't express with words (hence other words). Progresiv TM: the first word means "progressive" and it was supposed to be a clear indicator of the band's style. TM is the abbreviation of Timiş county, where the band came from. That is also where most rock/prog bands came from during Communism, including Phoenix, Pro Musica and others. Timişoara, the capital of this county, is close to the border of Serbia, which had a more relaxed Communist regime, and so the people of Timişoara could hear rock music on Yougoslvian radio. Coming back to Progresiv TM, they were inspired to create a name of this shape by the locally famous Hungarian band Lokomotiv GT. |
Posted By: friso
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 06:25
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Progressive Folk
Jethro Tull The early version of Jehtro Tull, from way before the first album, was plagued by booking problems. To regain interest of podiums and festivals the band changed it's name several times (Navy Blue, Ian Henderson's Bag 'o Blues, Candy Coloured Rain). Finally, a booking agent mentioned 'Jethro Tull' as yet another option for the band's name. The band decided to keep the name because the first 'Jethro tull'-gig in the London Marque Club was said to be a success and the band was asked to return. Later on, club manager John Gee helped them to get gigs on bigger stages and got their career rolling. In stead of a psychedelic band name, Jethro Tull is actually a name of an early 18th century figure who is seen as one of the first scientists that applied the scientific method to enhance the agricultural knowledge. The 'Seed drill' is said to be one of his major inventions. Gryphon The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary folklore creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The 'creature' is said to have come from ancient Greek mythology, but since medieval times it also found in folklore stories and depictions all over Europe. Fairport Convention Bassist Ashley Hutchings met guitarist Simon Nicol in North London in 1966 when they both played in the Ethnic Shuffle Orchestra. They rehearsed on the floor above Nicol's father's medical practice in a house called "Fairport" on Fortis Green in Muswell Hill, North London. |
Posted By: GypsyJoker
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 06:58
Interestingly, there's a recently-diagnosed condition known as "prog dick," in which the sufferer can only attain arousal if his background music is in alternating measures of 9/8 and 11/8.
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Posted By: Jake Kobrin
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 10:02
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^ Don't forget Tool. When I asked Toby Driver why the band was named Kayo Dot, he and Mia just laughed and said "It's a long story." So I guess we'll never know? Ulver means Wolves in Norwegian. I think they're prog but people don't usually agree with me... Sunn O))) took their name as a literalization of the logo of Sunn amplifiers. Comus is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances in Greek mythology. Shub-Niggurath is a deity from HP Lovecraft's Cthulu mythos.
------------- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Neil-Kobrin/244687105562746" rel="nofollow - SUPPORT MY FATHER AND BECOME A FAN Jacob Kobrin Illustration |
Posted By: refugee
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 11:39
Taken from Wikipedia: Porcupine Tree started out as a duo of Wilson and his schoolfriend Malcolm Stocks (with Wilson providing the majority of the instrumentation and Stocks contributing mostly ideas, additional vocals and experimental guitar sounds). Wilson began experimenting by recording music in his home until he had the hunch it could become someway marketable. The material was subsequently compiled into three demo tapes ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarquins_Seaweed_Farm" rel="nofollow - Tarquin's Seaweed Farm , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love,_Death_%26_Mussolini" rel="nofollow - Love, Death & Mussolini and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nostalgia_Factory" rel="nofollow - The Nostalgia Factory ). For the first tape, he even wrote an inlay introduction to an obscure (imaginary) band called "The Porcupine Tree", suggesting the band met in the early '70s at a rock festival, and they had been in and out of prison many times. The booklet also contained information about band's obscure members like Sir Tarquin Underspoon and Timothy Tadpole-Jones, and crew members like Linton Samuel Dawson (if put into initials forming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD" rel="nofollow - LSD ). Wilson: "It was a bit of fun. But of course like anything that starts as a joke, people started to take it all seriously!" Apart from that, it’s obviously derived from porcupine and pine tree. Pure Reason Revolution is probably taken from Kant’s Kritik der reinen Vernunft (Critique of Pure Reason), but I don’t know about the revolution part. ------------- He say nothing is quite what it seems; I say nothing is nothing (Peter Hammill) |
Posted By: refugee
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 15:02
Btw, great thread!  A couple of questions: Not a band name, but was Selling England by the Pound a slogan for the Labour party in the 1970s? And now a band name: Is 10 cc the average amount of sperm in a man’s ejaculation? ------------- He say nothing is quite what it seems; I say nothing is nothing (Peter Hammill) |
Posted By: GypsyJoker
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 15:08
IRC, it was supposed to be more than the average amount. There have been numerous explanations of the band's name over the years, with some of the group saying that's the meaning, and others denying it.
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Posted By: thehallway
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 15:52
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Yes - Originally Mabel Greer's Toy Shop (spelling?), the band decided it was too long and un-catchy, and shortened it to Yes, which being only three letters long, would enable the band to get a large font on concert posters and be more noticeable. Because Peter Banks had originally thought of the name Yes, he thought he'd better take up the band's offer to be lead guitarist. ------------- http://www.thefreshfilmblog.com/" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: August 15 2011 at 19:02
Jonathan King takes credit for naming both Genesis and 10cc. According to him, when he started as a producer, a band called the Garden Wall came to his attention, and he took them on as a client, renaming them Genesis because they were his first "serious" client and the start of his production career. After their first album tanked, they kicked him to the curb but kept the name. From an interview with King, re 10cc: "I started my own label in the early '70s called UK Records, and I picked up this master called "Donna" by this group that was put together by a guy that I knew from Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders a long while back [guitarist Eric Stewart]. I had to give them a name there and then because I'd signed the record, and I went to sleep that night and had this dream that a band of mine on my label made number one on the album and singles charts simultaneously in America, and the band was called 10cc. So I gave them that name the next morning. Everybody then decided that this was apparently meant to be the amount of an average male ejaculation. Which was absolutely far from the truth; it had not been a wet dream, I can promise." (from the book Rock Names) ------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: refugee
Date Posted: August 17 2011 at 08:06
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^ Thanks for clearing things up!
------------- He say nothing is quite what it seems; I say nothing is nothing (Peter Hammill) |
Posted By: OT Räihälä
Date Posted: August 17 2011 at 12:51
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10cc is ten centilitres = one decilitre = one tenth of a litre = 1,75 pints Here are some names of Finnish prog bands: Höyry-kone translates to Steam-engine. The band wrote the name like that because they wanted it to sound old-fashioned. Alamaailman vasarat = Hammers of the Underworld Tasavallan presidentti = President of the Republic Haikara = Stork Kaamos = Polar darkness, the period when the Sun doesn't rise during the winter behind the Polar Circle Kalevala = the name of the Finnish national epic Nurkostam = the first syllables of the band members, Nurmi, Koski & Tamminen Tabula Rasa = latin for empty (plank) painting Viima = cool, stormy draught Taipuva luotisuora = Bending plumb-line ------------- http://soundcloud.com/osmotapioraihala/sets" rel="nofollow - Composer - Click to listen to my works! |
Posted By: refugee
Date Posted: August 17 2011 at 13:14
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^ Nice! Still I’d like to add something (that probably many of you know): Tabula rasa. (Latin for: a blank tablet.) A phrase used by Locke to describe the human mind at birth. His contention was that innate a priori knowledge is a fiction and that only experience can furnish the mind with ideas. (A Dictionary of Philosophy, edited by Jennifer Speake.) ------------- He say nothing is quite what it seems; I say nothing is nothing (Peter Hammill) |
Posted By: CCVP
Date Posted: August 17 2011 at 20:16
interestingly enough, there is something that dicks like very much that smells like fish. Coincidence?  -------------   
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Posted By: chefrobb
Date Posted: August 19 2011 at 11:47
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Jethro Tull.....the inventor of the seed screw; used for sowing fields ------------- chefrobb |
Posted By: chefrobb
Date Posted: August 19 2011 at 12:20
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Black Sabbath- originally Earth.....changed their name off of a movie marquee to be something "dark". Barclay James Harvest......random words literally pulled from a hat ------------- chefrobb |
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: August 19 2011 at 16:17
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Dzyan-name taken from the nickname occult figure Madame Blavatsky gave for what she claimed she uncovered in the late 19th Century amounting to a sort of Indian Book Of Creation Dedalus-name taken from figure in Greek mythology, Icarus and Dedalus flew towards the sun-Icarus's wings melted, and he fell, but Dedalus kept on going Il Baricentro-translates directly as "the center of the circle" Focus-they were looking for a name that would indicate "focusing on solving your problems, versus escaping from them" |
Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: August 19 2011 at 20:54
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Hawkwind were so named because Nik Turner had a nose like a hawk's beak and was obnoxiously flatulent. Between the Buried And Me took their name from the lyrics of "Ghost Train" by the Counting Crows. Hatfield & the North took their name from a highway sign going out of London. Meshuggah took their name - Yiddish for "crazy" - from a dictionary of American slang. The Mars Volta are named after a film technique used by director Federico Fellini. The Moody Blues started out as the house band at a pub owned by the Mitchell & Butler brewery. At first called the M&B Five, they renamed themselves based on the initials - at the time they were trying to project a dark, moody image and were playing mainly blues-based material. ------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: Starhammer
Date Posted: September 17 2011 at 20:44
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SBB : First known as Silesian Blues Band then later as Szukaj, Burz, Buduj which is Polish for Search, Break Up, Build. Queensr˙che : Were originally called "The Mob". The name is derived from a song on their EP "Queen of the Reich", and is the only known use of the letter Y with an umlaut in English. It was used to soften "Queensreich" and not confuse the band with Nazism. Magma : "Back in 1966, I had written a piece and I was already in a band with Bernard Paganotti, who became a bass player. Already, I was searching for the right word. The tune I wrote back then was called Nogma. I was looking for the word Magma, but didn't know it was what I was looking for. One day the band didn't have a name at the time, and they were standing in fornt of a fairly well-known club in Paris. The club management told me if you don't have a name, you can't come and play tonight. So we went for coffee, at the shop next door. I thought deeply, you know, and the word Magma came out. At the same time, I founded Univeria Zekt. I wrote this down on the receipt from the coffee shop and kept it." - Christian Vander. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum : The name comes from a small group of Dadaists, Futurists http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism_%28art%29" rel="nofollow - , and artists named the Sleepytime Gorilla Press who owned and operated what they called a "museum of the future" which was "anti-artifact, non-historical and closed." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepytime_Gorilla_Museum#cite_note-GOC-3" rel="nofollow - The "museum" opened on June 22, 1916 (the same date as the bands' first concert, 83 years later). The exhibit was a fire which caused wide chaos and confusion. The following day the museum was closed (hence the name of the first album). The name itself apparently comes from a poem called "Of the Future Hides the Past," written by Museum members Lala Rolo and Ikk Ygg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepytime_Gorilla_Museum#cite_note-GOC-3" rel="nofollow - |
Posted By: Camel_APPeal
Date Posted: September 19 2011 at 19:27
That's incorrect; 10 cc is ten cubic centimeters = 10 mililiters = one hundredth of a litre = 0,0175 Imperial pints (0.021 US pints). Cool picture, though!! |
Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: September 20 2011 at 12:05
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How'd they come up with something as obscure as Emerson, Lake & Palmer? GTR obtained their name from the abbreviation "gtr" written onto masking tape & pasted onto the slider of the studio mixing board for the guitar input! I believe I read that in a Steve Howe interview years ago.
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Posted By: sherrynoland
Date Posted: September 23 2011 at 02:04
| http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000142244174" rel="nofollow - FLASH - Ray Bennett : "The Flash name was picked on a night out with the boys. Peter Banks and Colin Carter and a journalist (Chris Welch) threw around ideas -- though I wasn't there. I think the idea was something short, easy to spell and remember. No great meaning involved." |
Posted By: engrwulf
Date Posted: December 24 2011 at 07:48
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Interesting Thanks for sharing all of this good stuff :)
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Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: December 24 2011 at 08:43
according to Tibor Kneif, author of a German rock lexicon, Premiata Forneria Marconi were actually named after an Italian sweets shop -------------  A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: ClemofNazareth
Date Posted: December 24 2011 at 08:57
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GYGAFO - Supposedly the band were in a studio playing and an annoyed engineer threw them out saying "Get Your Gear And F**k Off". Uncle Dirtytoes - The band says it comes from an old Welsh saying that loosely translated means "can these foul socks, so soiled with meaning, yet be changed?" Pearls Before Swine - A quote from the Bible (Jesus' famed 'Sermon on the Mound' in Matthew 7:6): Sigmund Snopek III - Named after his father Sigmund Snopek II ------------- "Peace is the only battle worth waging." Albert Camus |
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: December 24 2011 at 11:00
Dies Irae-which translates as "Wrath of God" |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: December 24 2011 at 11:19
or...
 ------------- What? |
Posted By: frippism
Date Posted: December 25 2011 at 08:14
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I'm trying to look up how ELP got their name but I couldn't find anything. Can it be a lost species of albatross? ------------- There be dragons |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: December 25 2011 at 08:55
literally "Premiata Forneria Marconi" means "Prize-awarded Bakery Marconi" ------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: December 25 2011 at 09:43
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Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Named after a Fleet Street law firm in London. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Angelo
Date Posted: December 25 2011 at 15:33
Never would've guessed that  ------------- http://www.iskcrocks.com" rel="nofollow - ISKC Rock Radio I stopped blogging and reviewing - so won't be handling requests. Promo's for ariplay can be sent to [email protected] |
Posted By: Ambient Hurricanes
Date Posted: December 25 2011 at 18:54
| Apparently, Rush got their name from a frantic come-up-with-a-name brainstorm session before their first gig. As they were "rushing" to think of a name, original drummer John Rutsey's older brother yelled down from the upper floor, "Why don't you call your band 'Rush'?" |
Posted By: Mr James
Date Posted: January 02 2012 at 18:10
My, what a pelf of information this thread does furnish!
 More of the obvious:
NIAGARA -a waterfall, I believe
SAHARA - a desert
OUROBOROS - a mythical creature
PROCOL HARUM -Latin "beyond these things" (a friend's cat)
POTEMKIN -soldier & statesman, fav of Catherine The Great
CAN - acronym:Communism,Anarchism,Nihilism
DEEP PURPLE blackmore's grandmother's fav song by Nino Tempo
DEBIL MENTHOL - weak or mentally-deficient menthol
MABOULE - crockpot, loony
HYDRAVION -sea plane
OSE - daring ,risque
DENTRO - within
OSANNA -Hosanna shout of praise
ORME - footprint
PICCHIO DEL POZZO - woodpecker of the fountain
BARICENTRO -center of gravity
CERVELLO - brain, intellect
PAESE DeI BALOCHI - village region of the (???) amused
MAMMA NON PIANGERE - mother not weep
KEBNEKAISE( KEBNEKAJSE) - highest mountain in (north) Sweden("Resa Mot Okant Mal" - "travel towards unknown destination"
MYRBEIN "MYRORNAS KRIG" - Antleg "war of the ants"
FLASKET BRINNER - the flesh is burning
KERRS PINK -a potato brand
YM-STAMMEN - THE tRIBLE OF yME
SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA -gather mama's manna
RADIOMOBEL - radio furniture
HANDGJORT -handmade
PISKA MIG HARDT - WHIP ME HARD
ANGLABARN -angel child
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Posted By: Mr James
Date Posted: January 02 2012 at 18:13
| And of course, PIBLOKTO - hysteria in Eskimo women |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: January 02 2012 at 18:37
Clepsydra - ancient Greek for "water clock" (literally means "thief of water"). if you don't know what that is, here a picture: ------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: January 02 2012 at 18:49
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Yes - It is so; as you say or ask. Used to express affirmation, agreement, positive confirmation, or consent
Genesis - The coming into being of something; the origin
Rush - To move or act swiftly; hurry
Camel - humped, long-necked ruminant mammal of the genus Camelus, domesticated in Old World desert regions as a beast of burden and as a source of wool, milk, and meat
Caravan - company of travelers journeying together, as across a desert or through hostile territory
Queen - A woman sovereign
Twelfth Night - the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking
Magma - molten rock material under the earth's crust, from which igneous rock is formed by cooling
Arena - An enclosed area for the presentation of sports events and spectacles
 none of those explain why or how the band chose the name. ------------- What? |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: January 02 2012 at 18:56
Good point Dean. A shrewd observation. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: bensommer
Date Posted: January 02 2012 at 19:47
So many bands - prog or not - would up changing their names because of infringement or lawsuits. Better to go with something totally retarded (or use a band member's name) to avoid that fate! ------------- http://bensommermusic.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: January 05 2012 at 05:49
^ The excellent Australian band Pivot had to change their name because of this. They are now known as PVT. 
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: January 05 2012 at 08:53
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Bands don't need to change their names at all -there is no international law that prevents two recording artists from having the same name. Years ago I believe the Actor's Guild (or somesuch) did not allow two actors to join their closed-shop union with the same name, hence the proliferation of stage-names, (such as one aspiring actor David Jones who changed his name because there was already an actor with that name). Threats of litigation from band-management are usually just a load of hot-air and bravado. ------------- What? |
Posted By: bensommer
Date Posted: February 26 2012 at 19:47
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Haha - for the longest time I believed the hoax that Pink Floyd was UK slang for a dog's erect dick. Didn't seem so off if Steeley Dan named themselves after a dildo. ------------- http://bensommermusic.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Ambient Hurricanes
Date Posted: July 29 2012 at 23:47
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The band Calgary Asian Escort reportedly got their name from a spam post on progarchives.com. EDIT: I hate it when spam posts get deleted so my jokes about them don't make sense anymore.  ------------- I love dogs, I've always loved dogs |
Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: July 30 2012 at 00:48
GOD I love that story, thanks!! This is a fantastic interview with Pete Banks about the earliest days of Yes, when they held court at the Marquee Club in Soho....his comments about Bob Fripp and others are just hilarious!! http://www.themarqueeclub.net/interview-peter-banks-yes" rel="nofollow - http://www.themarqueeclub.net/interview-peter-banks-yes By they way, when I was in Devon UK last (1997), I had heard that the name "King Crimson" was originally inspired by the local maple tree, the "Crimson King," and that Pete Sinfield was the one who came up with the moniker. http://www.ornamental-trees.co.uk/ornamental-trees-c18/maple-trees-acer-trees-c29/acer-platanoides-crimson-king-tree-p268" rel="nofollow - http://www.ornamental-trees.co.uk/ornamental-trees-c18/maple-trees-acer-trees-c29/acer-platanoides-crimson-king-tree-p268 Since you hail from Dorset, good sir, would you kindly ask Mssr. Fripp about this? Thank you so much!
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Posted By: smartpatrol
Date Posted: July 30 2012 at 00:51
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My musical project, Ozark Soundscape, isn't exactly prog, but whatever. It's named after the video game development team Ozark Softscape who made the legendary M.U.L.E. ------------- http://bit.ly/1kqTR8y" rel="nofollow">  The greatest record label of all time! |
Posted By: NotAProghead
Date Posted: July 30 2012 at 04:42
Rather village (region, country, land) of toys. ------------- Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour) |
Posted By: clarke2001
Date Posted: July 30 2012 at 13:58
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Here are a few if anyone is interested: Bijelo dugme is White Button. Buldo˛er is, of course, bulldozer. Drugi način is "The Other Way", meaning the different way (of thinking). Igra staklenih perli is "Glass Beads Game", named after you-know-who's novel. Leb i sol means bread and salt, a traditional symbol of hospitality. Indexi - to quote Seyo: "(plural of "index", a student's blue book for writing exams and attendance). " The proper spelling should be "Indeksi", I guess they added x to appear more "fancy" or "international". S vremena na vreme - from time to time. Tako means "that way" or "like that!" ------------- |
Posted By: DaleHauskins
Date Posted: July 30 2012 at 19:50
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http://www.progressiveworld.net/html/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1555%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20" rel="nofollow - - ------------- Ｄａｌｅ Ｈａｕｓｋｉｎｓ (858) 401-2973 (310) 293-0432 https://artistecard.com/Dalehauskins |
Posted By: clarke2001
Date Posted: July 31 2012 at 09:01
For the sake of accuracy, talitha means "girl" in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talitha_%28given_name%29" rel="nofollow - aramaic , and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_language#Vocabulary" rel="nofollow - not only in aramaic .  ------------- |
Posted By: Raccoon
Date Posted: August 03 2012 at 02:47
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The Doors got their name from the book The Doors Of Perception. Though everyone might know this already, or not even consider this a progressive rock band (I feel as if they are ) that's all I can contribute to this thread. Great book, great band. Really explains what The Doors stood for. Expanding your mind to their unique, drug-induced style of music. |
Posted By: Sagichim
Date Posted: August 03 2012 at 05:15
| Israeli band Zingale means a Joint. That's what they were basically doing in the time of recording. |
Posted By: zachfive
Date Posted: August 04 2012 at 00:02
| Mr.Bungle was the name of a puppet on a children's tv show. He was notoriously dirty and filthy, and children were to not behave as he did. |
Posted By: DaleHauskins
Date Posted: August 04 2012 at 15:58
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I'm very proud of my close old friend,fellow band member and legendary Jamaican bassist Phil Chen that has been touring;and working with The Doors for some time now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Chen" rel="nofollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Chen  Brazilian jazz drummer/percussionist Airto Moreira,African percussionist Remi Kabaka,Jamaican bassist Phil Chen,Trinidadian steel drummer Einstein Brown;Stevie Winwood's bassist;and Los Angeles guitarist Dale Hauskins backstage at the House of Blues Hollywood,California 1999 http://www.jimcapaldi.com/" rel="nofollow - ------------- Ｄａｌｅ Ｈａｕｓｋｉｎｓ (858) 401-2973 (310) 293-0432 https://artistecard.com/Dalehauskins |
Posted By: FunkyHomoSapien
Date Posted: September 29 2012 at 05:38
| would make an interesting book |
Posted By: Son.of.Tiresias
Date Posted: October 02 2016 at 12:20
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Banco del Mutuo Soccorso -- quite difficult, my Italian teacher had to think this carefully as she never had heard of it (them) but knew I Pooh (which is very popular in Italy over the years, she said). Next week she said: it´s kinda social financial benefit from society/community... banco = fund (?) mutuo = mutual soccorso = benefit, aid Italian speaking people please is this right ? ------------- You may see a smile on Tony Banks´ face but that´s unlikely. |
Posted By: TheH
Date Posted: October 03 2016 at 07:17
my Italian isn't the best, but I would say: Banco simply means Bank (it can mean bench also) mutuo means mutual but mutuo as a noun means "credit" or "loan" Soccorso means benefit,aid So I would go for "Bank for Credit Aid" (or Bench for Mutual Benefit
) |
Posted By: Son.of.Tiresias
Date Posted: October 11 2016 at 10:21
Agree with "Bank for Credit Aid". Excellent ! My teacher agrees too. I gave her "Darwin!", "No palco" and "Alphataurus" to listen..... ------------- You may see a smile on Tony Banks´ face but that´s unlikely. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: October 11 2016 at 10:43
"Mutual" is a banking/investment term so there is no need to change it to "credit" therefore "Mutual Aid Bank" is sufficient. Mutual basically means 'owned by the investors' - Italy has many "mutual banks". ------------- What? |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: October 11 2016 at 11:37
Mutuo has two meanings in Italian In this case I believe Mutuo it's not referred to the banking tern, so the name would be Bank for the Mutual Aid...The word "del" makes more sense like this. ------------- 
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Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: October 11 2016 at 11:56
A curious case is "Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera" The first name they chose was The Velvet Opera, but the guitarist Dave Terry appeared in a session wearing a long black cape and a preachers hat, the band immediately identified him with Sinclair Lewis fictional character Elmer Gantry and from that moment his name changed (legally) and the band was baptized as ELMER GANTRY'S VELVET OPERA. The problem came later, when Terry left the band and didn't allowed them to use his legal name, so they returned to Velvet Opera. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: October 11 2016 at 13:20
I didn't see this one mentioned. Spock's Beard were named from an episode of the Original Star Trek where they encountered a mirror universe where there was an alternative Spock who had a beard.  ------------- 
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Posted By: Son.of.Tiresias
Date Posted: October 11 2016 at 13:53
Resistance is futile, even in a mirror universe. ------------- You may see a smile on Tony Banks´ face but that´s unlikely. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: October 12 2016 at 00:47
Both meaning are related to banking so you're still using "Mutual" as a banking term and my point stands therefore "Bank for the Mutual Aid" (or "Bank for Mutual Aid") is sufficient too. I have no problem with that. ------------- What? |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: October 12 2016 at 10:02
I believe in this case it's more related to reciprocal aid. The exact translation of Mutuo Soccorso is reciprocal aid as in Mutuo Amore (Reciprocal Love). It it was Banco Mutuo del Soccorso...It would refer to a Mutual in banking terms But Banco del Mutuo Soccorso is more like Reciprocal Aid Bank, because mutuo is linked directly to Soccorso, not to Bank
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Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: October 12 2016 at 10:34
not quite true; it just means "power plant". there are two German words for "nuclear power plant": "Kernkraftwerk" (which is the literal translation since the German word for "nucleus" is "Kern") and "Atomkraftwerk". "Kraftwerk" just means any power plant, regardless of type ------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: October 12 2016 at 10:41
almost but not quite. the flatulent part is right, but Turner also had the habit of hawking, and that in combination inspired the name ------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: TheH
Date Posted: October 12 2016 at 15:05
I think you are correct here. You can find a lot of "Mutuo Soccorso" societies in the Net. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: October 12 2016 at 23:14
 if it has two possible meanings then it's a pun, not a mistranslation.  ------------- What? |
Posted By: BarryGlibb
Date Posted: October 13 2016 at 04:05
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Horslips - after a drunken get together to come up with the name of their new band, the members decided on Horslips from a spoonerism of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which became The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse. |