Naming The Band - What Were They Thinking?
There have been numerous strings on the greatness or awfulness of band names but I was watching current darlings Fleet Foxes playing at a raucous Seattle event last Saturday and wondered what inspired them to choose their name. I think it works for a group of intense folk-tinged harmonists but at some point one of them must have turned to the others and said “I’ve got it, how about...?” It feels like some thought went into it. Perhaps not as much as Gnidrolog (an anagram of the brothers Goldring I always thought, but that doesn’t explain the extra ‘O’) I wonder how Craig Finn and company came up with The Hold Steady which I think is a fine name or what absence of imagination or extreme haste caused the Britpop bands to land on bland one-words that convey nothing very much. Oasis, Blur, Cast et al. There is perhaps a wonderful series of anecdotes to be had if someone were prepared to gather the trivia
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Gygafo
Prog band from the 1970's. Apparently what they were told to do by a promoter.
Get Your Gear And F**k Off!
Mr Favourite band name story
One of US indie chaps We Are Scientists was moving house and the other guys were helping him load boxes into a van. One of the removal men looked the slightly geeky looking threesome up and down and said, 'So, are you guys scientists?'. Not knowing what to say in response and not wanting to disappoint him the band simply nodded in agreement.
Oasis
Aren't they named after a leisure centre in Swindon? And you suggested they put no thought into their name!
Mott The Hoople
A 1966 book by Willard Manus. Should not work but is one of the great band names that trips off the tongue.
http://www.hunter-mott.com/books/mott_the_hoople.html
We Are Scientists
As accomplished jokers in interviews, I expect that's probably one of many, many stories they've told about how they got their name. I've certainly heard a couple of others.
Blur...
...were named by their record company weren't they? They were called Seymour before they were signed.
Vampire Weekend
How on Earth did they get that?!
The only possible thing I can see is that on weekends, maybe, they'd do a vampire film marathon.
Bad ones:
There is a band called: !!!
They claim you pronounce it "Chk Chk Chk", which is helpful.
Also in the awful name category:
Fuck Buttons
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
I think Fuck Buttons is a great name.
The other two you mention are bloody awful, but there's something about Fuck Buttons that both amuses me and makes me think, "You've no ambition to sell any records. Fair play to you."
There are so many terrible band names about but one I've enjoyed of late is Working For A Nuclear Free City. Snappy.