Teaching English Lessons Using Band Names

A new school year is starting, which means English teachers again must face their most difficult task. Introducing or reviewing the obvious parts of speech such as nouns, verbs and adjectives is easy until they reach that most indefinable concept. It is called the preposition.

Teachers of elementary age children often define a preposition as "anywhere a mouse can go," which works for many of the five dozen words in the list. High school instructors like me use a textbook definition like "words that show a relationship between nouns." This explanation is vague, and it does little to help students identify prepositions in our written language.

A fresh approach came to me last year when I saw an advertisement for a local music festival. The names of nearly a hundred bands were listed, and I scoffed at the unusual group monikers. There was one called Conspiracy of Owls, another called In Tall Buildings, and others known as Mansions on the Moon and Mates of States.

Regardless of whether they play heavy metal, folk, country or rap, all of these names have a common characteristic. They each have a preposition.

I had the students point out some of the prepositions in the names, and then I instructed them to come up with a class list of at least ten other bands whose names include a preposition.

Among the names they came up with were rock bands like Alice in Chains, Queens of the Stone Age, TV on the Radio, Panic at the Disco, Kings of Leon, Bowling for Soup, Rage against the Machine, Five for Fighting, and New Kids on the Block. Among the country bands were Asleep at the Wheel, Sons of the Pioneers, and Over the Rhine.

Finally, I too made a list of my ten favorite bands with prepositions in their names. Obviously some of the names elicited groans from students, especially when I attempted to sing the hit associated with each group.

Here is the list of my ten favorite prepostitional bands.

• Fountains of Wayne: They are a very talented but underrated band, mostly recognized for the hit, "Stacy's Mom."
• The Minus Five: Composed of members from REM and Young Fresh Fellows, Scott McCaughey and his crew are often associated with alt-country indie bands like Wilco.
• Death Cab for Cutie: They have built up quite a following since the 2000's, and they have had a blatant influence on pop groups like Owl City.
• Tears for Fears: Some students recognized the name, mostly because of their parents. Mom and Dad would have appreciated my rendition of "Shout" more than their kids did.
• Men at Work: Most students were familiar with "Down Under," and many of them even admitted that they liked the song.
• A Flock of Seagulls: I sang the hit "I Ran" for the class, but the students laughed even harder when I googled an image of the band's hairstyles.
• Wall of Voodoo: Students were expecting reggae when I listed this band, so they were surprised when I sang the quirky hit "Mexican Radio."
• Of Montreal: Several students mentioned that they liked this indie pop band, so I let them sing a few of the group's songs.
• Men without Hats: Again, not many students recognized the name, but they had certainly heard the hit "The Safety Dance."
• Band of Horses: I simply identified this group as a contemporary indie band without even attempting to imitate the high tenor of their vocalist.