Thanks to A Brooklyn Life, I just learned that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, one of the big indie bands du jour, got its name off a wall near the Gowanus Canal. A Brooklyn Life found the story at the Tucson Sun.

On the way to their first gig, they were driving through Brooklyn, near the Gowanus Canal, and saw the phrase "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" written on a wall in 6-foot-high letters. Not graffiti letters, but normal-looking letters, which seemed strange. They needed a name, and the phrase seemed appropriate. After playing together for a few months, the band recorded a self-titled album, and released it themselves.

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