I was hanging out with someone recently when the song, “Up On the Roof” came on. I said, “Who sings this? Is it…” “The Drifters,” he said. “Ah,” I replied, “I couldn’t remember if it was The Drifters or The Platters.” He nodded, as if to say that it was a reasonable memory lapse on my part. I then made a confused face. “Wait a minute,” I said, “That other band’s name is The Platters?” He thought I was still disputing the original song’s artist and told me that The Platters sang, “Only You,” “The Great Pretender,” “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” and other hits. “No, no, I got that part, but what kind of name is The Platters? Could they have chosen a less interesting inanimate object?” He stared at me for a couple of seconds before saying, “Yeah, I guess that’s kinda boring.” “Kinda? What’s more boring than a tray used to bring other, more interesting things from one room to another?” He saw my point, but wasn’t nearly as perturbed as I was and quickly changed the subject.
Call me crazy, but I’ll take strange names like “Strawberry Alarm Clock,” “Japandroids,” and “Frightened Rabbit” any day over dull and lifeless ones. The Platters? What, was The Drying Rack taken? That’s bullshit!