Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Naming a fictional emo band-- vote!

So it's no secret that the book I am working on toys with the myth of Persephone. I've been trying to use all Greek and Roman references. In an early draft the Persephone character has an emo/goth boyfriend who calls himself Wraith because his band is called Ghost of Christmas Past. I've decided I need to change the Dickens' reference into something that fits with Greek and Roman mythology to go with the rest of the book.

So far via Twitter and Facebook suggestions I've come up with:

"The World on His Shoulders" with the lead singer named Atlas.

"The Burden of Sisyphus" with the singer named Stone.

Then since I wanted to stick with the underworld theme of the rest of the book, I came up with:

"Saving Eurydice" with the lead singer named Orpheus.

I kinda like the last one best because it fits the underworld theme. But is Orpheus way too pretentious of a nickname even for a bratty emo/goth singer who is pretty full of himself? Would his girlfriend call him Orpheus? Is there a nickname that could work for Orpheus? 

My second favorite is The World on His Shoulders/Atlas.

Opinions? More suggestions?

So it's no secret that the book I am working on toys with the myth of Persephone. I've been trying to use all Greek and Roman references. In an early draft the Persephone character has an emo/goth boyfriend who calls himself Wraith because his band is called Ghost of Christmas Past. I've decided I need to change the Dickens' reference into something that fits with Greek and Roman mythology to go with the rest of the book.

So far via Twitter and Facebook suggestions I've come up with:

"The World on His Shoulders" with the lead singer named Atlas.

"The Burden of Sisyphus" with the singer named Stone.

Then since I wanted to stick with the underworld theme of the rest of the book, I came up with:

"Saving Eurydice" with the lead singer named Orpheus.

I kinda like the last one best because it fits the underworld theme. But is Orpheus way too pretentious of a nickname even for a bratty emo/goth singer who is pretty full of himself? Would his girlfriend call him Orpheus? Is there a nickname that could work for Orpheus? 

My second favorite is The World on His Shoulders/Atlas.

Opinions? More suggestions?

ETA: Maybe the guy could call himself "Lyre" since Orpheus is known for his Lyre?

6 comments:

M. Molly said...

I *love* Saving Eurydice. Could he go by Orph?

Though now I'm torn on whether "Saving Eurydice" is too much like "Saving Jane." Does that make it more or less awesome?

And Stone is a great nickname.

So clearly, I'm a lot of help! :-)

Liyana said...

I agree with M. Molly. Maybe you can mix the titles to have something else like: The World on Eurydice's Shoulders? Somehow I love the fact that the bratty-full-of-himself-singer's name is Orpheus. If he has a whiny irritating girlfriend, she can call him Orhpy! :D
I love the the plot of your book, and I'm really looking forward to reading this! It's been a long time since I've read a book about Greek and/or Roman mythology.

Kelsey said...

I like Saving Eurydice, but it is kinda close to Saving Jane. Maybe like Preserving Eurydice or something like that?

Jeri said...

If Saving Eurydice is too close to Saving Jane, why not flip it around?

Saved by Eurydice

Or use another word like

Leading Eurydice
Eurydice Follows
Eurydice's Footsteps

Orpheus could just be his stage name, and he could go by something less pretentious offstage. (And maybe that name isn't even his real one.)

Not sure about Lyre--maybe one too many layers of obscurity?

Stephanie Kuehnert said...

Well, um honestly I have no clue who Saving Jane is. Are they good? If so I will check them out. But I'm not too concerned about the similarity since Eurydice makes it so unique. If anything it is closer to Saving Abel who I hate, but whatever. Saving Eurydice works so well for the story so I just have to go with it. Band names are often similar cause there are just so many bands. I mean Saving Jane reminds me of Jane's Addiction. *shrug*

But I do really really appreciate all the feedback, I just ultimately had to go with what suited the story. So the band is Saving Eurydice and the singer is going to be Lyre. I just can't see Seph keeping a straight face and calling him Orpheus. Lyre is more obscure and pretty, but to make sure it's not too obscure, I already wrote in a joke from the MC that explains his name.

Thanks again for all the input guys!!!

Stephanie Kuehnert said...

Ugh actually now that I thought of Saving Abel, I think I will change it to Rescuing Eurydice...