Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand is a Glasgow-based indie rock band formed in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals and guitar), Bob Hardy (bass guitar), Nick McCarthy (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backing vocals), and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion and backing vocals).

The band's name origin is probably better known more Europeans than Americans. Franz Ferdinand (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia. This caused the Central Powers (including Germany and Austria-Hungary) and the Allies (countries allied with Serbia or Serbia's allies) to declare war on each other, starting World War I.

Kapranos has said in an interview that they viewed his assassination as a turning point - "perhaps the real start of the 20th century."

The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out"from their debut album, Franz Ferdinand. They won the 2004 Mercury Music Prize, and two BRIT Awards in 2005 for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act. NME named Franz Ferdinand as their Album of the Year. From the album, three top-ten singles were released: "Take Me Out", "The Dark of the Matinée", and "This Fire".

With their three studio albums, the band sold over three million albums worldwide in 2009. Their latest studio album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
is out later this month.

MP3 Downloads

My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky. They are known for their psychedelic hippie rock. The band is comprised of Jim James (singer-songwriter, guitarist), Tom 'Two-Tone Tommy' Blankenship (bassist), Patrick Hallahan (drummer), Carl Broemel (guitarist, pedal steel guitarist, saxophonist, vocalist), and Bo Koster (keyboardist, percussionist, vocalist).

They are a great example of a band that doesn't really want to explain their band name origin. I might even guess that the name My Morning Jacket has no real origin, hence the mystery.

Circuital

One explanation found in several places is that Jim James was visiting his old student-hangout bar (Boot's Bar in Lexington) which had been razed by a fire. Amongst the charred remains, he came upon a jacket (or robe, I've seen both described) which had stitched "MMJ", which he took to mean "My Morning Jacket."

I also found the explanation that it is slang for when a man wakes up in the morning with an erection, but an erection with a condom on it.

One online post collects a number of origins:

Interviewer: Where did the name My Morning Jacket come from?
Jim James: I have no idea

"There are just some things that are meant for us and there are other things that are meant to be shared with the public. Our name and the name of the studio is for us; the music is for the public." - Jim James, Neumu interview, September 2003

Perhaps more believable in its simplicity is when Jim James told Magnet Magazine that the name is just something he remembers scrawling down in a middle-school notebook. Or when he said "I was just lying on my bed, writing songs in a notebook, and I put 'my morning jacket' at the top of the page, it doesn't mean anything. A lot of things happen for me that way - things pop into my head when I'm riding down the highway or at inopportune moments, like when I'm falling off to sleep." (The Age interview, March 2004)

Studio albums
Tennessee Fire (1999)
At Dawn (2001)
It Still Moves [Vinyl] (2003)
Z (2005)
Evil Urges (2008)
Circuital (2011)

Hookers

A euphemism is a generally innocuous word or expression that is used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant.

A "sex worker" might be considered one euphemism for a "whore."  The "oldest profession" has attracted a number of terms: "Prostitute", "whore", "strumpet", and "harlot." A "streetwalker" solicits customers on the streets or in public places, while a "call girl" makes appointments by phone.

The use of the word "prostitute" without specifying sex is commonly assumed to refer to a female, so terms like "male prostitute" or "male escort" are therefore often used to identify males. Those offering services to female customers are commonly known as "gigolos" and those offering services to male customers are "hustlers" or "rent boys."

Another term for a prostitute is hooker. One popular origin story connects "hooker" with Joseph Hooker, a Union general in the American Civil War. His personal reputation was as a hard-drinking ladies' man, and his headquarters was known for parties and gambling, and his name is often associated with the slang term for prostitute, But the word "hooker" has been documented to appear with that meaning in print well before he became a public figure.

The more likely etymology of the term is from the concentration of prostitutes around the shipyards and ferry terminal of the Corlear's Hook area of Manhattan in the 1820s. These prostitutes came to be referred to as "hookers".

If you want to make a field trip, the original location of Corlears Hook is now obscured by a shoreline landfill. It was near the east end of the present pedestrian bridge over the FDR Drive near Cherry Street, but you can make a trip to Corlear's Hook Park at the intersection of Jackson and Cherry Streets along the East River Drive.

To class up this post a bit, here is Femmes de Maison
by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, c. 1893–1895

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Oasis

         


OASIS were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991 formed by Liam Gallagher (vocals and tambourine), Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (bass guitar) and Tony McCarroll (drums, percussion), who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher (lead guitar and vocals).

They have had eight UK number-one singles and eight UK number-one albums, and won fifteen NME Awards, nine Q Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards and six Brit Awards, including one in 2007 for Outstanding Contribution to Music and one for the Best Album of the Last 30 Years as voted by BBC Radio 2 listeners. They have been nominated for three Grammy Awards.

The band were listed in the Guinness World Records book in 2010 for “Longest Top 10 UK Chart Run by a Group” after an unprecedented run of 22 top 10 hits in the UK and they hold the Guinness World Record for being the most successful act in the UK between the years 1995 and 2005, spending 765 weeks in the Top 75 singles and albums charts.

Adam Franklin wrote to us about the origin of the band's name, Oasis.

Oasis Leisure Centre

They originated as ‘The Rain’ then Noel told Liam to let him in the band. Noel was a roadie for Inspiral Carpets and they had a gig at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon.  

Yes, that's right, the world of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll wouldn't be the same without a space-age looking leisure centre in central Swindon - our very own Oasis. 

The story goes back to 1991, when one Noel Gallagher visited Swindon while working as a roadie for indie band Inspiral Carpets, the front-man confirmed during an interview on Radio One.
Brother Liam, who had come along to the gig, was taken with the name "Oasis", and he suggested to Noel that it would make a good name for their own band, which was then called The Rain. 

Noel, not surprisingly, wasn't immediately convinced by the idea because he thought it sounded more like the name of a reggae band. But the brothers, famous for their backstage fighting and on tour feuding, made the best decision of their lives and eventually agreed to give the name 'a go' when they returned to Manchester. 

Now described as the 'Kings of Britpop' after selling well over 25 million albums since changing their name, the two brothers can look back (not in anger) and say a big 'cheers, pal' to Swindon for making such a difference in their pursuit of musical fame. Ironically, they've never played a gig here, which for some is a shame and others a blessing! 

So that's the story, morning glory.

Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis performing in San Diego on September 18, 2005

Eurythmics

Eurythmics was a British music duo consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, now disbanded but known to reunite from time to time.

Their musical style ranged from new wave and synthpop to pop rock and soft rock. Eurythmics originally came together in 1980 and disbanded in 1990, but reunited in 1999 and split again in 2005.

The duo released their first album, In The Garden, in 1981 but really hit it big with their second album Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), released in 1983. The title track from the album was a worldwide hit, topping the chart in various countries including the US.  Eurythmics went on to release a string of hit singles and albums before they split in 1990.


They called the group Eurythmics after the pedagogical exercise system that Lennox had encountered as a child. Dalcroze Eurhythmics (note spelling difference) is also known as the The Eurhythmics of Jaques-Dalcroze or simply Eurhythmics and is a system of interpreting musical rhythms through one's body. It was invented by Swiss composer Emile Jaques-Dalcroze to express the "symmetry and spirit" of music. Similarly, if something is eurhythmic, it is harmonious, or pleasing to the ear.

It is one of several developmental approaches including the Kodaly Method, Orff Schulwerk and Suzuki Method used to teach music education to students. Eurhythmics teaches concepts of rhythm, structure, and musical expression using movement, and is the concept for which Dalcroze is best known. It focuses on allowing the student to gain physical awareness and experience of music through training that takes place through all of the senses, particularly kinesthetic.