Naming a band is an act of concentrated creative expression. Square Pig in a Round Hole exists to reward five favorite band names each week. Winners are (usually) listed alphabetically.

Selection is wholly unscientific and subject to whim, with a bias toward wordplay, humor, and local flavor. In most cases, I won’t know anything about the bands at the time of selection. Thanks to the Seattle Times nightlife listings for abundant source material!

(Until live music returns, I am curating retrospective posts from past material. Dates indicate when the band was originally featured.)

SQUARE PIG IN A ROUND HOLE PANDEMIC EDITION #52

Wow, a whole year–52 weeks–of retrospective posts! My last post selected from current club listings was on March 14, 2020. I assume all those shows were canceled. Appropriately, that post included Everything Sux, about whom I wrote, “You think so, and then you look up and everything is in bloom. We’ll get through this.” This is an appropriate occasion for a new theme: time. Time travel, time change (spring forward tonight!), and time blundering ahead. As ever, wash your hands, wear your mask, and if you are able, please buy these bands’ music and merch while we wait for a better day.

Another Lost Year
(February 18, 2017) It’s early enough in 2017 that a lot of people still feel bitter about 2016. Those who don’t might think again as they begin to work on their taxes. [Update: how naive I was in 2017.]

The Blank Tapes
(March 2, 2013) Nostalgia trip! There was a time in the not-so-distant past when we devoted a certain part of our budget and storage space to blank tapes. We haven’t bought one in ages; even the used tapes have all been ripped or are steadily being replaced. But this band name triggered memories of a well-used recording [and timing –ed.] medium that was a great convenience in its day. [Update: Leo Ottens, the inventor of the cassette tape, died last weekend at the age of 94.]

Cambrian Explosion
(August 24, 2013) A reference to geologic time and events in an artifact of popular culture — by definition fleeting — is a sweet irony.

Creeping Time
(June 18, 2011) Where does the time go? It creeps away. Creeping Thyme is a fragrant groundcover, but the first time I heard it spoken aloud, years ago, I thought it would be a great name for a band or something. I’m glad someone else thought so, too.

Every Time I Die
(November 15, 2014) I like the uncertainty. It’s only four words, but the lack of punctuation leaves this phrase open to at least two interpretations. Is it merely an exaggeration of embarrassment, or does this character get multiple endings?

Two last things before you go:

1. My new thing in 2021 is The Rage Brigade, a Facebook group for conversation about fantasy, science fiction, superheroes, and music (and the intersections thereof). If that sounds like fun, come join us here.
2. I share highlights from this blog in my quarterly author newsletter, The Storypunk Report, as well as news of what I’m writing and reading, upcoming events, and other goodies, including “Wizard in the Mosh Pit,” an exclusive short story just for subscribers. Click the link to check out the first nine issues and subscribe here for future issues. (Or just follow the blog for your weekly dose of band names.)

Shameless Self-Promotion: Death’s Midwife (Daughter of Magic Book 3) releases March 23 and is now on pre-order! You can find all the details here.