pinna storm

Image by Lana Labermeier

I can’t remember which one of my friends introduced this game to me, but since they have it has been a favorite. You can play it while waiting for ribs to come off of the grill at a BBQ, or mull it over alone while you’re waiting at an airport and trying not to fall asleep, or send random texts to friends who are in the know when good ones come to you in a cab on your way to dinner.

The way the game goes is you connect one band’s name to another with a common word. For example: Carly Simon & Garfunkel. It has to be the same word — you can’t change something from plural to singular to fit your needs. So no Rolling Stone Roses or The Go Gos Team. But spelling and punctuation don’t have to be taken into consideration; if a band spells it “gurlz”, you don’t need to take their silliness into consideration, and can simply use that as “girls” for connecting purposes. But Rye Ryan Adams would be a stretch. Got it? Once you start thinking about it your brain will keep pumping them out forever and ever and always. Or at least that’s how my brain works. There aren’t really points or anything like that — usually you just go back and forth until you can’t think of any more. But obviously the more you can connect at one time, the awesomer. And while it’s tempting to use “The The” to get you out of any time that it’s your turn and nothing’s coming to you, try to avoid it. Here are some of my favs:

• Bobby Bare Junior Boys II Men at Work
• Widespread Panic at the Disco Biscuits
• Spinto Band of Horses
• Belle & Sebastian Tellier
• Thirty Three and a Third Eye Blind Melon
• The Dave Clark Five for Fighting
• Tally Hall & Oates
• Tea Leaf Green Day
• O’Death Cab for Cutie
• Missy Elliot Smith Westerns
• Notorious B.I.G. Unit
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Yeah Yeahs

If you come up with a good one, leave it in the comments or tweet them @pinnastorm us or just gchat them to your bestie and laugh it up for the rest of the afternoon.