Just like Jimi Hendrix, Bing Crosby, Meat Loaf, Rod Stewart and Neil Young, I’m colour blind. It’s way more common with dudes than ladies — 8% of men have some form, compared to 0.4% of women. And it really causes accessibility issues — especially with games on my phone or lines on map apps. Wiring diagrams are a write-off.
But colour has an effect on music as well. Specifically, in what we can expect the music to be or sound like. That’s because lots of bands use colours in their names, and colours not only reflect the colour they are, but a range of emotions, a concept, idea, character or an abstract meaning.
One way you often see this put to use in rock ’n’ roll is in song titles. By using the name of a colour, together with another word, a songwriter can evoke a curious image — Green Hell, Blue Monday, Purple People Eater. This also works with band names, which we will examine further below.
But the problem for folks like me, is we don’t always pick up on this abstract meaning because we don’t attach the same degree of symbolism to colours as non-colour blind people. Mostly we do, because they’re often obvious, but not always.
There are a number of generally accepted associations when it comes to colours:
Brown — comfort, reliable, rustic, grounded, practical
Black — sophisticated, serious, death, evil, mourning, doom, classic
White — cleanliness, softness, purity, newness, simple
Green — safety, fresh, fertility, health and youth, calm
Gray — modesty, dignity, reliable, maturity, serious
Blue — inspiration, wisdom, serenity, secure, relaxed, cold
Purple — royalty & nobility, luxurious, creative
Red — passion, energetic, angry, dangerous, lucky
Yellow — sunny, bright, optimism, happiness, spontaneous
Pink — romantic, playful, fun, cute, sweet
Orange — energetic, warmth, enthusiasm
I thought I’d go through some of the bands in my record collection with a colour in their name. But first, the rules: The colour has to be used as a colour and not an adjective or a different noun. For example, Red Rider counts, but not Red Hot Chili Peppers. With individual names, Frank Black, Black Francis and Red Sovine count but Jimmy Carl Black, Josh White or Cilla Black do not. Here we go!
Purple: Deep Purple, New Riders of the Purple Sage
Blue: Moody Blues, Blue Oyster Cult, Blue Cheer, Blue Rodeo, Screaming Blue Messiahs, Shocking Blue, Pale Blue Eyes and The Blue Nile, Blue Man Group
Brown: Savoy Brown, John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
Red: Red Rider, Red House Painters, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Bill Nelson’s Red Noise, Simply Red
Yellow: Yellowman, Yellow Magic Orchestra
Orange: Agent Orange, Rhymes With Orange, Orange Juice
Green: Green Day, Green River, Gang Green
Pink: Pink Floyd, Pink Fairies, Frijid Pink, Pink Martini
Black: Black Sabbath, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Black Flag, The Black Keys, The Black Crowes, Black Oak Arkansas, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Black Mountain, Frank Black/Black Francis, Big Black, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Noir Désir, Black Pumas, Black Label Society, Black Uhuru, Big Black Delta
White: White Stripes, White Zombie, Whitesnake, White Lion, Great White, Plain White Ts, Average White Band, White Denim
Oddballs: King Crimson, Maroon 5, Indigo Girls
Silver: Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Silverchair, Silver Jews, Silver Beatles
Gold: Golden Earring, Golden Seals, Golden Palominos
Blonde: Platinum Blonde, Concrete Blonde, Blonde Redhead
A colourful playlist:
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
