The Street Names Are Watching

Dan Gibson | December 12, 2008 5:00 am

An English town is naming 13 of its its streets after Rolling Stones songs—although it’s doing so in a rather pathetic way, using songs like “Get Off Of My Cloud” and “Sympathy for the Devil” for inspiration instead of, say, “Brown Sugar” or the simple and obvious “Sex Drive.” The neat concept, yet somewhat flubbed execution by the town of Dartford, where Keith Richards and Mick Jagger grew up, made me wonder what American cities would rework their municipal geographies in honor of musical artists.

I wondered if my current home of Phoenix would consider such a thing, but to be honest, I’m not sure what band we would choose to honor that way. Sure, the Gin Blossoms (second mention today!) might be a candidate, and one song would be an immediate choice.

Still, the Gin Blossoms are playing malls and RV parks these days, so I’m not sure Phoenix (or even Tempe, the actual home of the band) would be all that into the implied association.

My hometown of Tucson’s most famous export is probably Calexico, but they seem to name half their songs after local haunts, so street naming might be a wasted exercise. Up north, the town of Winslow already has a statue honoring the Eagles, so why not use one of the most famous (albeit dreadful) acts of the ’70s to boost tourism further? Just don’t make one of the streets “Life in the Fast Lane” (for obvious reasons).

What band could your hometown take on as street-naming inspiration? Would Minneapolis consider a Charlemagne in Sweatpants Avenue?

Stones get road name Satisfaction [AP]