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 #61

The celebration of fantasy and science-fiction themed band names continues! Two of them, originally featured 3 years apart, led me to reference the same science fiction project. Everything old is new again–I revived it last summer and it isn’t dead yet! As ever, wash your hands, wear your mask, get your vaccine, and if you are able, please buy these bands’ music and merch while we wait for a better day.

Slums of Utopia
(November 19, 2014) There’s a whole dystopian novel contained in these three words.

Stars at Your Feet
(February 8, 2014) A startling and striking image. On a personal note, I used this very phrasing in a science fiction story, in which a filmmaker on EVA is allowed to float away from the spaceship in order to get his shot.

Sunken Rocketship
(February 28, 2015) This seems somehow more disastrous than a regular sunken ship. A rocket has so much farther to sink.

Terraform
(January 8, 2011) It’s hard to pass up a good sci-fi connection. I think I’ve mentioned before that I came to rock music and science fiction at around the same time, and I’m still into both. This name particularly strikes me now because I’m writing a piece that involves terraforming and had to learn about it recently.

Trashcan Wizard
(March 3, 2012) I see Oscar the Grouch with a wand and a pointy hat.

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 ten issues and subscribe here for future issues. (Or just follow the blog for your weekly dose of band names.)