In the ’60s they were animals: Turtles, Monkees, Crickets, Byrds and Beatles.
In the ’80s they were toxic: Poison, Venom, Ratt, W.A.S.P. and the Scorpions.
It only takes a brief scan down the Billboard album chart to see what kind of names are prevalent as we enter the new millennium. Numbers, of course. Just ask Blink-182, Eiffel 65, Powerman 5000 or BR5-49.
Some of the names have deep, theological connotations. Others mean nothing. But just to clear things up once, here’s the 411 on a bunch of today’s most numerically significant bands:
Blink-182
Who they are: Punky popsters Blink-182 have scored huge hits with “Adam’s Song,” “All The Small Things” and “What’s My Age Again?”
What the number means: “It’s the number of times Al Pacino says [expletive] in `Scarface,’ “bassist Mark Hoppus said.
Link 80
Who they are: Link 80 is a ska-flavored band who’ll be playing this summer on the Plea for Peace Tour with the Alkaline Trio, Mike Park and others.
What the number means: “When the band first started, all of the members lived right off of Interstate 80, that being the link between the band,” saxophonist Steven Borth said.
Stroke 9
Who they are: The Bay Area-based Stroke 9 had one of the biggest modern rock singles of 1999 with “Little Black Backpack.”
What the number means: “The name Stroke 9 comes from the T.S. Eliot poem `The Wasteland,’ ” bassist Greg Gueldner said. “The line is towards the beginning of the poem and it talks about a clock-tower bell in London that has a `dull clang’ — or `thud’ or `strike’ or something — at the stroke of nine.”
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Joe 90
Who they are: Joe 90’s sugar-coated rock tunes have been featured in “Party Of Five,” “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “Felicity” and other youth-oriented shows.
What the number means: “The name is from a late 1960s English kids show called `The Amazing Adventures of Joe 90,’ about a 9-year-old kid who put on these special glasses that would give him superpowers and skills that were thought to be only available to someone in the future, like the ’90s,” keyboardist Gary DeRosa said.
311
Who they are: Long before rap-rock hybrids like Limp Bizkit dominated the airwaves, the five members of 311 stumbled upon an infectious blend of reggae, hip-hop and alt-rock.
What the number means: In Omaha, where the band is from, 311 is the police code for indecent exposure. “At first we thought it was pretty funny,” vocalist SA Martinez said. “But after a while, it became kind of corny. We just tried to ignore it in interviews until all this KKK stuff came out.” In the mid-’90s, rumors began spreading that 311 stood for KKK since K is the 11th letter in the alphabet. “There’s a lot of rumors about our name, this one’s just the most disturbing,” Martinez said.
12 Rods
Who they are: The new album by post-new wave critical favorites 12 Rods, “Separation Anxieties,” was produced by rock legend Todd Rundgren.
What the number means: “It has to do with the story of the choosing of the King of Bethlehem,” singer Ryan Olcott said. “The one of the 12 who choose the correct rod would be king. We literally pulled the Bible off the wall, opened a page and pointed.
Apartment 26
Who they are: Apartment 26, who’ll tour this year with the Ozzfest and Warped tours, is poised to be the year’s breakthrough metal act.
What the number means: “The name comes from references made in David Lynch films,” said singer Biff Butler, son of Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler. “We first noticed it watching `Eraserhead.’ Then we kept noticing that there were other Apartment 26 references in his films. It’s always a dark, mysterious place and we thought that it was really cool.”