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

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.

Alvvays
Chvrches
THE VVITCH
Wavves

Hovvdy

I don’t mind the VV or exchanging “U” for “V”.

The ones that always make me want to check something else are the ones that look like gamer chats, changing letters for numbers: 0 as O, 1 as I, 3 as E, 4 as A…

Eg:

CRIM3S, UNIIQU3, N3URO, N4NO, F4ST

And they usually have to style their names with ALL CAPS, so it doesn’t look extra stupid.

I swear I once saw an artist called QU33N L4TIF4H which I thought was extra annoying because I also dislike parody names (with counted exceptions).

I can’t find the name in spotify or youtube so maybe I dreamt it.

Not gamer only sorry, the correct name is “leetspeak” which I don’t usually mind, but hate seeing it on band names

this reminded me of Le1f - not that I minded his name. Spotify helpfully re-routed me to “Kalifa”, which he apparently goes by now (although Wikipedia is unaware of this yet).

confirmed by his Insta tho: https://instagram.com/khalif?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

At first I thought that artists were starting to use sentences, numbers, signs and replacing letters because every artist name in existence had already been used. Now I have my doubts.

So yeah it's not easy to take completely seriously artists named 1da Banton, Kizz Daniel, Blaq Diamond, Da Muziqal Chef, Spellz or BNXN fka Buju to take a few examples from the Afro-Pop/House generation. Maybe it's the French tradition of orthography in me. There are worse offenders in indie pop, cloud rap and vaporhouse I'm sure. Or things like iamamiwhoami irrationally raise my apprehensions up.

I'm also weirded out by artist names that look deceptively like a person's name but they're a group. Or the converse. I'll put that one under a touch of OCD though.

J3THR0 TVLL

Mashing up the previous three posts:

J3THR0 TVLL. The Man

I take some of these kind of names as enforced outsiderness, since they're resistant to search, proof you are in the word-of-mouth circle, the way punk bands chose names unprintable in family newspapers. See also Four Tet pseudonyms, etc.

I remember hating the idea of Ned's Atomic Dustbin because the name sounded like a stupid parody band. As if they were going out of their way to be zany. But they're okay. Generic and all their songs sound the same, but they're a credible early-1990s buzzsaw indie Madchester / Grebo / Whatever-style band that sound a bit like the Wedding Present. "Until You Find Out" is okay.

God Fodder got to number 4 in the UK and, amazingly, it cracked the Billboard 100! It's mind-boggling than anybody in the US bought Ned's Atomic Dustbin's debut album, let alone enough for it to reach #91.

It's particularly weird because their song titles were fine. The album titles were okay. But the band had a stupid name. Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine could abbreviate the band name, but Ned's Atomic Dustbin defies abbreviation. Ned's AD? NA Dustbin? NAD? They couldn't even call themselves Ned's.

I mean, Kissing the Pink was a little bit clever, but Ned's Atomic Dustbin was just bad.

It's a Goons reference, which was a bit odd given their ages

They were usually referred to as The Neds iirc. Music best described as "thrashy".

Maybe this belongs in the "stolen names" thread but I used to see listings for a local act called Dylan Nirvana (not sure if a guy or band) playing around the EV/LES.

Idk what more to say about that other than "no".

The 1975

I just listened to Just Mustard last night and really like them, but if I had encountered their name alone (outside the context of a rave review) I would have recoiled.

I just listened to Just Mustard last night and really like them, but if I had encountered their name alone (outside the context of a rave review) I would have recoiled.

Likewise. As great as they are (they’re from my current place of residence, too), that name is all manner of cringeworthy.

They're also hoping to be confused with 70s folk legend Must Justard.

The 1975

The Dirty Hit label alone has them, Wolf Alice, and beabadoobee, all three of which I wrote off for varying periods of time because of their names

Kurt Vile & Joanna Gruesome.

I always assumed Kurt Vile was a punkier pun on the Weimar era composer and Mr Lotte Lenya. Apparently it's his real name though.
Thought it was a pun cos it was one I'd at least mentally played with myself a few decades ago.

I'd at least mentally played with myself a few decades ago

Don't worry, Stevolende. It's perfectly normal to do that.

Apparently it's his real name though.

Haha, I never knew that. Always assumed it was a Weill pun too! Apparently there was a Swiss vibraphinist called Kurt Weil to muddy the waters further.

_The 1975_


The Dirty Hit label alone has them, Wolf Alice, and beabadoobee, all three of which I wrote off for varying periods of time because of their names

Massive lols at "just mustard", a spectacularly bad name.

All these years and nobody mentioned Slightly Stoopid?

I avoided Mercury Rev for years because I can't stand the name. Finally got around to listening to them and fortunately disliked the music too. Awful singing, and not in a fun Flaming Lips way.

Flaming Lips is a ridiculously stupid name too but I love their '90s records. Managed to get past the name on that one.

Early Mercury Rev had another singer that made things less twee, the music was also more chaotic and exciting. Always liked the name though.

A friend told me about beabadoobee a few months ago and I nodded while they were talking but mentally said NOPE

Just discovered the existence of a band called Sigourney Reverb and have already written them off because of their name

Surfer Blood fits alongside Dogs Die in Hot Cars as being like...nah, doesn't make me laugh, doesn't make me feel good.

I can't stand any band name that is a play on an existing name. That's the worst. Chet Faker? NOOOOOOO

Early Mercury Rev had another singer that made things less twee, the music was also more chaotic and exciting. Always liked the name though.

I guess I could give them another go... Any recommendations?

Yerself Is Steam and Boces are both awesome, the former is a hair better. Play it loud.

Not sure what's wrong with Mercury Rev as a name either?

Easily confused with Martin Rev?

Deafheaven

xp I heard something about the band reading a review of one of their gigs or something to that effect and having some words stand out in a way like how Exploding Plastic Inevitable was chosen. Mercurial.... & Rev... as part of a word elsewhere in the text that they connected.
THink I heard it was a Chris Roberts review too. Memories of an early 90s Melody Maker double spread story if i'm remembering right.

Spotify at least used to have a couple of earlyish gig recordings available from teh David Baker era which is the earlier singer an dthe chaotic era. I think that direction slightly outlasted him and was going by about 95/96. The band became a bit less improvisational and started using strings and things in places.
I always heard the early material as sharing some of teh same ballpark as Flaming Lips though the rhythm was a lot more fluid. Jonathan Donahue had played guitar with the Lips before going solo and leading Mercury Rev. I think the band had formed asa bunch of players who had come in to add playing to a soundtrack for subaquatic video footage . When they were doing so they were coming in at different times and overdubbing and I'm not sure they had played together as a band until after the lp was recorded. Which may be one reason that Boces is more coherent for the main part. Yerself Is Steam is pretty great though as are the singles and bsides from the era and whatever is on Lego My Ego and other mop up sets from the era.
I find the Caribou Vibration Ensemble set with Marshall Allen that came with Rough Trade copie sof Caribou's Swim cd shares some of the same qualities as that David Baker era Rev.

I remember something about the Baker band being volatile; fistfights and general chaos. The side project Paralyzed Mind of the Archangel Void is one of my favorite heavy psych albums.

Re: Just Mustard, first heard of them from a Maura recommendation so it was already too late for the name to bother me. Also I kinda like how it's something you could say if someone offered you Mayostard or Mustardayonnaise.

There was a band on a Max's Kansas City comp called Just Water, which I thought was a stupid name, but then I started hearing that phrase here and there (liquid spills, rain, etc) and came to appreciate the idea more.

They did a cover of "SIngin' in the Rain," didn't they? Used to hear it on the radio all the time back then.

Not rain, just water

Yerself Is Steam and Boces are both awesome, the former is a hair better. Play it loud.

Thanks for the recs, will give them a go. Haven't been in a heavy psych mood for a while but it's about time to try again!

Not sure what's wrong with Mercury Rev as a name either?

I dunno, it's just visceral for me. Instant bad vibes. I think maybe 'Rev' just makes me think of gross boy things?

Obviously Rev must have connotations I'm not aware of.

I just realized I only consciously realize I've written off an artist because of their name when one of their songs comes up in a Spotify playlist and I think "huh, maybe the War on Drugs are worth listening to"