Artists You've Written Off/Pointedly Ignored because of their name

The “Big” in Big Thief is what has always annoyed me. It’s just a bland and easily forgotten name. Not close to the worst mentioned on this thread, though.

yeah I agree with Paul's post above, Big Thief isn't offensive or annoying it's just a bad name that to me recalls prog bands like Big Big Train and Pineapple Thief, which they don't sound anything like. Black Country, New Road is another one of those, like what, if anything, does that mean?

Counting Crows.

xp The problem seems to be that you know too many bands, lol

Grimes

Black Country, New Road is another one of those, like what, if anything, does that mean?

Supposedly it's a road in the West Midlands ... and a shit name for a band.

looks like a shit road too tbh

https://i2-prod.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article18729192.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/1_KA_BEM060820_BCNRJPG.jpg

the black country area is named after all the pollution from the factories that used to be in the area btw. or the coal that was mined there or something

I'm going nuts, I wrote a post a couple of years ago summing up why Car Seat Headrest is such a bad name for a band by comparing it to a band being named after a component in a cabinet or something but I can't find it at all. What the hell?

There are several threads like this

I saw Component in a Cabinet open for Car Seat Headrest once.

xp Evan, I think this is the post.

Alfred Sisley

Component in a Cabinet I know, I know, they're openers ...

there is an inverse relationship between how good a band name is and how good the band is. no good band has ever had a good band name.

Well, that certainly isn't true.

xp Evan, I think this is the post.

― Kim Kimberly, Friday, March 11, 2022 3:51 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Oh god thank you, search was truly failing me or I was just failing to focus. Thanks!

hell yeah that post ruled

let's eat grandma

xps to Evan. words in quotes are unsearchable.

let's eat grandma

I'm hungry too, but can we keep this thread on-topic?

Idk I think “Rolling Stones” is a pretty great band name

any spoonerism band

like

Wevie Stonder

I was looking at the calendar for my local club today, and on back-to-back nights they are featuring bands with semi-amusing names and, I'm assuming, post-TMBG twee-ness that I never need bother trying to appreciate:
Apr 11 - Great Good Fine OK
Apr 12 - We Were Promised Jetpacks (with Weakened Friends)

My educated guess is that the members of We Were Promised Jetpacks are 65-70 years old, are all deeply involved in the Jonny Quest fan club, and buy Quisp cereal whenever it's temporarily reintroduced

And they all wear Hawaiian shirts

I know this from some other terrible band name thread: We Were Promised Jetpacks were named after a line in a Ricky Gervais podcast. What Gervais actually said in the podcast was "we were promised hovercrafts." However, the bandmates thought "jetpacks" would sound cooler.

In a similar vein there is Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. This is made even worse by the fact it's a solo artist, I don't like when solo artists give themselves stupid band-like names at the best of times.

“Funny” band names are a mistake unless your listeners are people who think the same joke is funny over and over again

weakened friends is a great band name (and band) imo

Cocaine Piss

Every single explanation behind every band name has made me hate the band name more

Ricky Gervais podcast ffs

Really hate it when bands take their names from sorta-but-not-really obscure film references, like Zuzu's Petals. "And you know where they get their name from?..." No, Einstein, feel free to enlighten me.

OK I just googled to check Ricky Gervais Podcast wasn’t the name of a band

It seems like the most durable bands have band names that have a whiff of shit to them. I'm thinking Arctic Monkeys, like, that has a whiff of bad to it, that whiff is necessary otherwise your band is just called Espers or Ida or The Vaccines and you have a couple albums and you're done

Really hate it when bands take their names from sorta-but-not-really obscure film references, like Zuzu's Petals. "And you know where they get their name from?..." No, Einstein, feel free to enlighten me.

― henry s, Sunday, March 13, 2022 12:46 PM (thirteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

just remembered there's a band calling themselves spirit of the beehive

Yeah there's something peculiarly annoying about band names that are simply the name of an old film. You need to at least alter it, like 10,000 Maniacs.

🎶 My love wears fordibben colours 🎶

> Really hate it when bands take their names from sorta-but-not-really obscure film references

my bloody valentine...

All three musical projects I had on the go a few years back were named after old films in one way or another, sorry. Kind of lazy I admit.

Was it beloved cultural critic Marilyn Manson who said that every band with a number in their name should be avoided? On the whole I don't agree (Spacemen 3, Level 42, 10cc, Gang of Four, Dirty Three), but there are definitely many examples that would seem to support this theory

can you name a band who have numbers in their name and aren't shite?

xp The theory could be “avoid bands with the letter ‘e’ in their name,” and you’d find the exact same thing (some good ones, lots of bad ones).

Smashing Pumpkens

Speaking of--and of obscure references--has there been a band called Smiling Politely yet?

just remembered there's a band calling themselves spirit of the beehive

― ✖, Sunday, March 13, 2022 1:00 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I actually don't mind their music, but have a knee-jerk reaction to the name on grounds of there can only be one "of the beehive" band, and that is Voice of the Beehive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m3C1K5b5VI

Ha, me too!

OK I just googled to check Ricky Gervais Podcast wasn’t the name of a band

― Alba, Sunday, March 13, 2022 9:48 AM (six hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

After this day on ilxor.com, this made me laugh my ass off, many thanks

From the press release for the new ANALEPSY album:

"The correct pronunciation of the name of the band is 'uh-nuh-leh-psy' [ʌnʌlepsy], and it was chosen due to its (now obsolete) meaning: recovery of strength after an illness."

And yet, there's still a giant space anus on the cover.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNzeBDjXoAQmvfA.jpg

The oldest I ever felt was when I found out there's a band called Alvvays. Spelling shit in a Transylvanian accent is a thing now? No fucking way.

Anyway I later found out it was just to make the name google-able but the damage was done.