Random Generators
I first built the Random Generators in 1997, starting with the Band Name Generator. I gradually added several others. Most of them are based on a technique of multiple passes of replacing keywords in phrases. They start with a template, then replace keywords with plain text or another keyword phrase. This goes on until only plain words are left.
A key component to this is the large database of classified words. I started with about 300 words originally, and coded an interface for people to add more. As of September 2006, the database had more than 40,000 words. Although there are some people who add garbage words, the majority of words are appropriate. In 2005, I added a system that tracks votes on words. This allows visitors to help with editing. Words with low vote counts are not used. Words with high counts are used more often.
If you’d like to leave a comment, please use the form below.
September 18th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
I used your Random Generators to create the song “Algebraic SexMachine”. It can be found at my website http://normloman.googlepages.com/ by Adwanoc and the Deceptive Gecko Band! Thanks for your hard work!
November 17th, 2006 at 1:08 am
i made a rustic on the same idea :
http://klimperei.free.fr/else/A_name_for_your_Band_!.htm
all the best cp
December 7th, 2006 at 7:18 pm
Dudes, chicks, whatever, that random chord generator is excellent. I just found it but I’m sure that it will help my guitar out tremendously. Thank you.
December 19th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
u need a random pimp name generator where it puts like 3 words togather out of a list like:
pimp, daddy, flex, powda, silk, smooth, pimpin, papi, funk, masta, trinkle, fly, sugar, caramel, cash, money, smooth, diesel, man, playa, etc..
February 12th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Hi Leon. Love your site. I was hugely inspired by your random lyric generator, that i made a song from the lyrics. And i actually recorded it !! Double dare for you.
Great site
-Ryan
February 12th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Ryan: all of your songs on your MySpace page are instrumentals. Were you getting blank pages from the random lyric generator?
Thanks,
Leon
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:38 am
This tool is great, some of the names it comes up with are hilarious, i’ll be sure to pass this on to all of my DJ friends as a lot of them are tired of just using their own names when advertising their gigs.
Great work!
March 7th, 2007 at 6:10 am
Hey can you please remove the background for lyrics, it becomes distracting and its difficult to read when the background is red.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
What’s up Leo, well i want to know if u can make a song called
“loved-hated” please, specially about girls, u know something like u love her but she left u and u hate her at the same time u love her.
Well, ur site is really cool and i think it’ll help a lot my band so if u got anything new please send me an email
David
April 7th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Hi Leon -
How about a random website name generator and a random password generator?
Thanks!
- Anne
September 5th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Hi, I find way too many junk in the words db for the generator to be useful… you could take the “Bad word report” page a step further with a multiple selection feature, so one can vote down for many words with a single submit (and also increase the number of words displayed).
An interesting feature would be the possibility for a user to save her own words database and have the generator use it on request, so it does not messed up by someone else’s “anal toys”…
Ciao!
September 17th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
could please get rid of all the spam people have written!
September 17th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
It’s sad, but spammers are submitting words to the database. I can’t use the same techniques for catching email spam since they are just single words. The idea of bulk votes probably just puts off the problem for a little while. I don’t have the sense that there are enough people willing to fight it out as they do on wikipedia.
I do have an idea, though. The least amount of work would be to disallow submitting words that I don’t already know are in the dictionary. That would definitely keep out undesirable words while still allowing anyone to contribute. I think I may need to roll back the clock on the words since there’s a tremendous number of junk words in there.
November 2nd, 2007 at 2:24 am
Hi,
I can’t add any word, though it is correct English.
It says it isn’t in the dictionary but who can something like “is eating donuts” be in the dictionary?
Why don’t you try a CAPTCHA test to prevent spam?
Ciao,
Arno
November 10th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Arno,
I’ve let people enter whatever they wanted forever, but I recently switched it only accept dictionary words. See my comment above for why.
Thanks,
Leon
November 21st, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Yesterday I kicked out all the words that aren’t in the dictionary. I also added a facebook app that allows you to update your status with a random phrase. I’m currently working on Google Gadgets versions of the generators so you can plop them down on your iGoogle page and see random stuff every time you go to your start page. Weird? Yes.
January 20th, 2008 at 3:02 am
any chance of getting these as downloadable *.exes??!
would be v nice..
March 29th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Could you take the Dictonary restriction off the Proper Nouns
June 9th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
for the fellow requesting the pimp name generator, such can be found at http://www.playerappreciate.com, though i would like to say it’s not as fun as it might sound like it would be.