SXSW Band Name Revue

I admit this is off-topic for a food blog, but the Soupies have come to depend on me each year to help them navigate the maze of SXSW band names. Previous band name winners I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, Crapulence, and Phil & The Osophers went on to greatness (I think) after being bestowed the honor of Soup Peddler's Best SXSW Band Name.

Although the paucity of "wolf"-based band names this year has been lamented by many in the blogosphere, I felt that there was still a strong showing, including Turbowolf, Pack Of Wolves, Wolves In The Throne Room, AIDS Wolf (can anyone explain?), and Yoni Wolf, which either sounds like a Jewish name or a predator of the the Sanskrit "divine passage".

Definitely a good showing for the animal kingdom this year, though, with a decent equine and feline concentrations: An Horse, Stereo Pony, and Toy Horses, with Legendary Tiger Man, The Republic Tigers, Miniature Tigers, and Lions In The Street. From there we have Deer Tick, Fight Like Apes, Grizzly Bear, Greyhounds, Street Dogs, Guinea Worms, Hello Seahorse, The Lemurs, Hot Panda, Crocodile, Midnight Peacocks, The Iguanas, Ocelot, Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man, Or The Whale, and Rabid Rabbits.

Our friend the Grim Reaper seems to be taking the year off, more or less. The death theme seems to be taking a breather while awaiting a new generation of morbid listeners. Disease and injury are still a hot topic, however, with Yellow Fever, Girl In A Coma, The Cute Lepers, Coma In Algiers, and the perennial favorite Cancer Bats (can anyone explain?).

I was pleased to see Attack! Attack!, Bam Bam, and Bang! Bang! all in the lineup this year and while we're appreciating emphatic names, I love the use of exactly four exclamation marks for Gravy Train!!!! No more, no less. Did anyone notice that both the Bar Kays and Bo Keys are playing this year?

But enough clowning around, let's get onto the list of candidates for best band name. Our, uh, eleven, no make that twelve runners-up this year are...

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
Dananananaykroyd
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
DD/MM/YYYY
Deleted Waveform Gatherings
French Horn Rebellion
Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt
Good Times Crisis Band
The Phenomenal Handclap Band
Gringo Star
Scissors For Lefty, and
Underwater Tea Party

And our winner (I don't know exactly why but this is my list and I'm in charge here and it gave me the biggest smile) is...

We Were Promised Jetpacks

Huzzah!! To all of the likely woefully underfed members of We Were Promised Jetpacks, come on down to The Soup Peddler and we'll give you some free grub.