As most of the regular visitors to the Garden know, we have a frog. Actually we have a few pets. Two dogs, one cat and a frog. We had some goldfish but currently the tanks are empty. In the past we have had geckoes and anoles but now only a lonely frog lives in the terrarium. Of course he's not really alone. There are a few crickets living with him that are supposed to be his food. Frogs are hunters and they prefer to capture live prey. But for some reason our frog is not hungry today. And there has been a cricket chirping in the tank ALL DAY LONG.
In some ways the gentle chirping of a cricket recalls warm summer evenings. In other ways it's really fucking annoying. I've tried to find the cricket and shove him out into the open. But he is well hidden in the foliage. I've talked to the frog in an attempt at encouragement. But his only reply has been "Hello my baby, hello my darlin', hello my ragtime gal!"
So now I'm just sitting here on Saturday night listening to some old R.E.M. (Life's Rich Pageant) and as I hear the cricket in the distant background I realize how much Michael Stipe sounds like an insect. And actually if you see some of his early photos, he looks like a bug. It's amazing how things are connected.
And that brings us back to the title of this piece. Did you know that The Beatles came up with their name out of respect for Buddy Holly and the Crickets? It's true - go ahead and look it up if you like. But it kind of makes you wonder how the Flaming Lips got their name. Or not, really.
1 comment:
OK... so, I didn't believe Hogi - wonder what type of work I do?!
But, he's right... "In 1960 Lennon's talented art school classmate Stuart Sutcliffe joined the band and he suggested a change in band name to the Beetles which later became the Silver Beetles. The influence of Buddy Holly's Crickets is said to be the inspiration behind the name change. Another subtle change followed several months later when the band became known as The Beatles, with 'Beat' emphasising their style of music."
I also took the challenge on The Flaming Lips: "Why 'The Flaming Lips'?
There's always a whole lot of stories flying about explaining how the band got its name. Wayne, though, says that there was never a story - they just made it up and thought it sounded better than all the alternatives they had thought of. However, some of the myths are suitably far fetched to make interesting reading:
(1) Wayne had a dream where the Virgin Mary spoke to him in the back of a taxi cab and fire came from her mouth as she kissed him. (They made that up for a press release...)
(2) One day they were passing a cinema showing skin flicks, and they took the name from one of the titles displayed on the billboards out front.
(3) It comes from the title of a fictional film in another film.... It's a long story so I'll let Jonny Hutchens explain."
Fun stuff! :)
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