This one's for the pop-culture junkies. For those who, like us, are tickled by all forms of pop media, whether it be literature, film or music... this list encompasses them all. A surprisingly high quantity of bands have named themselves after books, songs, and films; some are obvious, some took a little digging, and (many) others simply urged us to seek out myriad (evidently) highly inspirational low-budget horror films.
Duran Duran: Drawing inspiration from the 1968 steamy sci-fi film Barbarella, the New-Wave pioneers borrowed their name from the movie's mad scientist, Dr. Durand Durand, whom Barbarella (Jane Fonda) is assigned to retrieve from planet Tau Ceti, in order to save the earth.
Veruca Salt: This '90s (partial) female powerhouse fancied Roald Dahl's bratty creation so much, they named their band after her. Of course, Veruca Salt the character, from Dahl's beloved book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and 1971 film adaptation Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, was a "bad egg," but her name - and attitude - live on in the band, which continues making music despite front woman Nina Gordon's 1998 departure.
Titus Andronicus: One wouldn't guess these gritty hard rockers would draw inspiration from the most floral of flowery wordsmiths - Shakespeare - but leave it to them to choose their namesake based on the poet's gooriest of tragedies, (The Lamentable Tragedy of) Titus Andronicus, penned in the late 16th century.
Mogwai: These Scot-rockers, who play Warehouse Live May 17, have released albums on some of indie-rock's hippest labels (Sub Pop, Matador, etc.), but they borrow their name from one of the cutest beings of '80s filmdom. Not to be confused with actual Gremlins, Mogwai musn't get wet, be exposed to sunlight, or be fed after midnight. The cute ones are always high-maintenance.
Modest Mouse: Despite a rumor we heard years ago, that Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock chose his alliterated band name based on a speech-therapy exercise he was forced to repeat as a child, Brock actually chose the name "Modest Mouse" via a passage from Virginia Woolf's "The Mark on the Wall," rearranging words from the line "the minds of modest, mouse-colored people."
The Fratellis: In homage to perhaps the single best movie of the '80s, The Goonies, the gleeful Glasgow rockers named their band after the film's dimwitted villains.
Mudhoney: The Seattle grunge pioneers named their band after a 1965 Russ Meyer film, which was based on the novel by Raymond Friday Locke. The band had allegedly never even seen the film when they chose their name in 1988.
Black Sabbath: The heavy-metal Brits aptly named their band after the 1963 Italian horror film of the same name.
Jim Bricker
Lady Gaga: Whether it's accurate or just a thoughtful PR story, Lady Gaga, aka Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, attained her stage name via producer Rob Fusari, who, via a text to the singer, recommended the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga" as her new moniker. Evidently, Fusari's phone auto-corrected the name into "Lady Gaga," and the rest is history.
Radiohead: It's hard to believe these innovators borrow from anyone, but they did, and early-on. After forming in the mid-'80s under the original name "On a Friday," the day the band rehearsed in the music room of Oxfordshire's Abingdon School, where they met," they soon after changed their name to Radiohead, inspired by Talking Heads' 1986 True Stories track of the same name.
Save Ferris: Perhaps the most iconically recognizable of bands' pop-culture loans, this late '90s Orange County ska band took their name from '80s teen classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off, an expression on a water tower forever etched in our minds.
Say Anything: Speaking of iconic '80s teen films, "like the origin of any unlikely hero, Say Anything was forged from conflict," reads the band's Web site bio... which could almost double as a character description of the stereo-holding, trenchcoat-wearing, hopeless romantic Lloyd Dobler, from Cameron Crowe's 1989 film and clear inspiration to the band.
White Zombie: Leave it to Rob Zombie to name his band after a 1932 "evil voodoo" horror film.
The Doors: The band suitingly took their name from Aldous Huxley's 1954 book The Doors of Perception, a hazy tale detailing the author's psychedelic mescaline-induced trip.
My Bloody Valentine: The Dublin shoegazers adopted their romantically gory name from a low-budget 1981 Canadian slasher film of the same name.
Goldfinger: Easy enough; these pop-punks borrowed their name from the third film in the James Bond series, 1964's Goldfinger.
chicagotribune.com —On February 15, the Vatican's newspaper, L' Osservatore Romano, published its semi-serious list of the top ten rock and pop albums of all time.
News.com.au has the story of Ronald Vikash Gander, a man who along with his girlfriend, pimped out a 16-year-old schoolgirl to have sex with men by paying her with chicken nuggets. It apparently was all part of some master plan to afford rent on their downtown apartment. Gander would receive all the money, totaling in the thousands of dollars, and the prostitute would receive nothing except for the occasional box of chicken nuggets.
These allegations came to light in the course of the trial of Gander, during which the judge exclaimed, “The girl was used as if she was a piece of meat … and your conduct can properly be described as that of a sleaze merchant.” I must say there’s a certain symmetry of the judge calling the girl being used as a piece of meat, when she was paid in pieces of meat (assuming McNuggets are real meat). Gander plead guilty to several counts and was sentenced to two and a half years of jail time.
The lesson in all of this? Gander is apparently no match for Ronald McDonald, who’s pimp hand is strong. Ronald is so smooth he has a Ph.D., a Pimpin’ Hos Degree. Reports state that Gander had initially reached out and contacted McDonald before his arrest, but Ronald allegedly retored, “Whatchoo talkin’ about, punk?! You the Baltic Avenue of this board, you talkin’ to Park Place, baby!” Without Ronald’s sage wisdom, Gander was lost and eventually was arrested. I will say this, Ronald is a cold-hearted bastard and would never let a ho get out of line. Hell, he even pimps out his own daughter:
As you might have read on our website (or otherwise heard), there’s this new phenomena spreading called the McGangBang. In doing research (or whatever you call searching the Internet for info) for the McGangBang, I came across something else called the McLobster. Originally, I thought it was a joke. McDonald’s isn’t exactly high brow enough to serve Lobster, now is it? I’d consider lobster to be a seafood delicacy. But I soon came to realize that it indeed was real and began shaking in my boots at the prospect of such a McFood.
To be fair, the McLobster is hardly new. It’s been around for several years, but unless you live in Eastern Canada or New England, you might not be aware of the crustaceous cousin of the Filet-o-Fish. It comes and goes, much like the McRib, and the maritime treat basically represents McDonald’s take on the venerable lobster roll. The disturbing mix of lobster and bread is smothered in white “McLobster sauce”, which is some combination of mayonnaise, tartar sauce, and possibly some salad dressing. Shredded lettuce and bits of celery are also included. Photo below by “are you gonna eat that?”
Actual McLobster
And in case you’re wondering, it is real lobster meat in the sandwich. It’s actually not priced all that differently from typical lobster rolls, so don’t be too worried. Reports indicate that it’s a decent representation of the sandwich, so maybe you should go out and try a McLobster next time you’re in New England or the Maritime Providences of Canada. And if you’re French-Canadian, be sure to ask for the McHomard instead. What’s the worst that can happen? Actually, scratch that last part, you probably don’t want to think about it too much…
Here are a couple additional McLobster photos:
And if you need further proof of it’s existence, here’s a commercial…
Of course, this opens the door to a whole host of regional foods. I began to wonder, what else I was missing out on living in the D.C. area. Was there a McGrits? A McTofu? And really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. What about worldwide? Beyond the Pulp Fiction famed Royale with Cheese, what other creations cater to the various cultures around the world. Here are some examples:
Spam Location: Hawaii In the Aloha State, the McDonald’s Deluxe Breakfast includes Spam along with eggs, rice, and Portuguese Sausage.
Le Croque McDo Locations: Belgium, France This is McDonald’s version of a Croque Monsieur, a breakfast sandwich consisting of two melted slices of Emmental cheese and a slice of ham toasted between two buns.
Poutine Location: Quebec, Canada Poutine is fries with gravy and cheese
Chicken Maharaja Mac/McCurry Location: India As you might have guessed, beef and pork products are not served to cater to Indian religious sensitivities. The Big Mac morphs into the Chicken Maharaja Mac (originally a mutton burger), containing two grilled chicken patties with a smoke-flavored mayonnaise, fresh onions, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese surrounded by a toasted sesame seeded bun. Also available in a lamb version. The McCurry is a rectangular shaped crust that is topped with a creamy sauce (made without eggs), and vegetables and/or meat. You might also find the Pizza McPuff, which replaces the cream sauce with a tomato-based sauce and is topped like a pizza. As noted on the menu, the vegetarian dishes (marked in green) and meat dishes (marked in red) are prepared in separate areas of the restaurant in respect for vegetarians. (Photo by counterclockwise)
McOz Location: Australia How’s beetroot sound to you? This burger contains it, plus ketchup, mustard, onions, McChicken sauce, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a quarter pound of beef.
Pasta Zoo Goo Happy Meal Locations: Australia and New Zealand The meal includes ten pasta pieces (filled with cheese and vegetables) along with Zoo Goo (Italian pasta sauce), a pair of small plastic tongs, a toy, and a milk drink with a ‘Sipaah’ flavored straw (in chocolate or strawberry).
Deli Choices Location: Australia There are various sandwich types to choose from. For breakfast you can have a Bacon and Egg combination, and for lunch these are some of the options: Chicken Tandoori, Turkey and Cranberry, Chicken Caesar, and Thai Chicken.
Greek Mac Locations: Greece, and several other European nations such as Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Cyprus, and Portugal You take two burger patties, wrap them in a pita, and add yogurt sauce, tomato slices, iceberg lettuce, and onions. This “McGyro” also comes in Chicken.
Gazpacho Location: Spain Chilled gazpacho (which is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup) is served in sealed plastic cups.
El Maco Locations: Finland, Sweden, and growing McDonald’s wants to feed your inner Mexican….from Scandinavia? In Finland this comes with BBQ sauce, but in other parts of the world it comes with sour cream and/or spicy taco/salsa sauce. Sweden will even toss in a side of nachos. In fact, while the name remains the same, the sandwich really varies from place to place. In some locations, you can get it with chicken instead of beef. (Photo by dolanh)
McAloo Tikki Burger Location : India The vegetable burger contains a fried and breaded potato and peas patty, which is topped with a special spice mix, tomato, onion, and a vegetable-tomato mayonnaise secret sauce.
Haupia, Taro, and Pineapple Pies Location: China and Hawaii Similar to the familiar Apple Pie, this item uses the same crust and turnover shape, except with a different filling. The Haupia pie is meant to replicate the traditional creamy coconut dessert offered at a Hawaiian Luau. Similarly, Taro and Pineapple pies are meant to taste like their regular dessert counterparts.
Shogun Burger, Chicken Wings, Pineapple, etc… Location: Hong Kong McDonald’s in Hong Kong is a whole nother adventure. The Shogun Burger consists of a pork patty served with Japanese Teriyaki sauce and cabbage on a sesame seed bun (egg optional). Other options include ordering pineapple slices instead of french fries or fried chicken wings as a side. Many locations also offer a separate counter selling ice cream and desserts or a McCafé. Oh, and they serve breakfast all day!
McLaks Location: Norway The McLaks (laks is pronounced like lox) is simply a salmon burger. (Photo by larskflem)
McKebab Location: Israel and Argentina It’s a kebab served on flatbread.
McSpaghetti Location: Philippines The McSpaghetti is exactly what it sounds like, a bunch of spaghetti noodles served in a sweet tomato-based sauce with grated pasteurized cheese. Also notice the Crispy Chicken Fillet with rice you can get. It’s popular to eat a McSpaghetti with some form of chicken.
Prosperity Burger Location: Malaysia The Prosperity Burger consists of a beef patty with black pepper sauce. It is usually only available during Chinese New Year (that’s bad), although you can get it with curly fries (that’s good). Also available in chicken. (Photo by owaief89)
Ebi Filet-o Location: Japan Yuri “Ebi-chan” Ebihara, a popular Japanese celebrity(pictured above), endorses this shrimp burger (similar to a Filet-O-Fish) topped with special sauce and lettuce. You can order one with french fries in barbecue, seaweed, or Italian basil flavors.
McArabia Locations: The Middle East and other Arab nations such as Egypt, Morocco, and Pakistan The sandwich consists of two grilled chicken patties of de-boned breast meat, Arabic bread, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and garlic sauce. In Morocco, McDonald’s also sells “deluxe potatoes” which can be substituted for French fries and are thick-cut spicy potatoes.
McRice Burger Location: Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia The McRice Burger is a ground beef burger (or chicken fillet) served with special sauce in toasted rice cakes shaped like buns.
Bulgogi Burger Location: South Korea This treat is a pork patty in a bulgogi marinade.
Cheddar McMelt Location: Brazil This sandwich is a hamburger patty, melted cheddar cheese, and grilled onions flavored with soy sauce on a whole wheat bun.
McShawarma Location: Israel This pita bread with turkey meat was made famous in an advertisement based on the memorable scene from Pulp Fiction. Check it out:
Recette a la Moutarde Locations: France and Morocco Loosely translated to mustard burger, it consists of meat, two kinds of cheese, tomato, onions, and dijon mustard on ciabatta bread.
Kiwiburger Location: New Zealand The monstrous burger featured a beef patty, tomato, beetroot, and a fried egg. It was later replaced with something known as “The Boss” sans beetroot and egg. Due to popular demand, the Kiwiburger returned as you can see from the billboard. (Photo by TreMichLan)
Samurai Pork Burger Location: Thailand Where as McDonald’s is a cheap food alternative in the United States, it’s a higher end option in Thailand. So much so that its almost prestigious to be seen in one. The “burger” is a pork patty marinated with teriyaki sauce and topped with mayonnaise, lettuce, and a pickle. I don’t know what’s so Samurai about this concoction, but if it’s not your thing, you can check out the McPork Burger or the Pepper Chicken Burger instead.
McHuevo Location: Uruguay Its a burger with a poached egg (huevo) and mayonnaise on top. And if I believe the billboard, it’s also tasty.
McCountry and Shrimp Scampi Location: Czech Republic and other locales A regular menu item in the Czech Republic is the McCountry, which consists of a pork sausage patty on a plain bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and mayonnaise. You can also get Shrimp Scampi to go with it.
McCroissant Locations: Europe This one is pretty self explanatory.
McKroket Location: The Netherlands It’s a deep-fried roll containing beef ragout, similar to the Dutch Croquette sold in snack bars. FYI, beef ragout is made with stew beef, onions, carrots, and potatoes. The McDonald’s sandwich is topped with a bun and a creamy mayo-based sauce.
Tamago Double Mac Location: Japan A hamburger with two beef patties, pepper sauce, bacon, and a poached egg. Served with or without cheese. (Photo by Rex Roof)
McKielbasa Location: Poland In Poland, there was a sandwich offered called the “McKielbasa,” which was a Kielbasa patty topped with ketchup, mustard, and onion on a sesame seed bun.
CBO Location: Europe Like the BLT, this one combines chicken, bacon, and onions in a winning combo.
McRice and McFill Location: Sri Lanka The McRice is a combination of rice, salad, chicken and a spicy curry sauce, while the McFill is like a pita. McRice is also available in other nations as straight white steamed rice.
McPizza Location: various It’s pizza!
McNífica Location: Latin America Its a salted beef patty served with cheese, lettuce, and tomato.
McFloat Location: various It comes in various flavors, for example in the Philippines they offer a bubblegum-flavored Sprite McFloat.
McKofta Location: Pakistan In Pakistan, you can get plenty of stuff with chutney in it, such as the McChutney Burger. Or instead you can get the McKofta, a meatball sandwich. Finish it off with a pineapple-flavored sundae or a mango-flavored milkshake.
Kiwi Apple Sundae Location: Korea A normal sundae with a new topping. (Photo by ~Mers)
McBingsoo Location: Korea A McBingsoo is similar to a Patbingsu Korean shaved ice. Also interesting in Korea is that there is a deposit levy on cups, which is refunded upon return to any McDonald’s location for recycling or reuse.
McColosso Location: South America Not all that different from a normal sundae, but they look quite good.
McHotDog Location: Japan It’s a hot dog!
Cinnamon Melts Location: Japan Cinnamon roll goodness as done by McDonald’s.
McBeer Locations: various Okay, so they don’t actually call it McBeer, but you can get Beer all across the globe at various locations of McDonald’s.
Volcán de Chocolate Location: Argentina They tried these desserts down in Argentina. Basically its a chocolate pastry with chocolate filling inside. It was served with “helado de crema (ice cream), dulce de leche (caramel like sauce), and salsa de chocolate caliente (hot chocolate sauce).”
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All you art collectors out there. Here is a chance to get a Giclee copy of some of Ian M Sherwin work. Ian is planning on doing a whole series of Marblehead, Massachusetts paintings. His work is amazing.
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