Rant: Band names

[lukethedrifter]

Nashville's own

Diarrhea Planet

http://gatewayredbirds.com/forum/viewto ... a#p1296032

[Freed Roger]

Paging statman crothers

[IMADreamer]

I'm not sure, but Buddy Guy is rad.

Indeed. Still a great show at his advanced age. First time I saw him, he plays some riff and someone in the crowd yells "play if funky!" and he says "I'm gonna play it so funky your gonna smell it." haha I'll never forget that.

[docellis]

what about "the band"

I think that one's great because it says so much about them. They pretty much exemplify professionalism, competency, strong songwriting, intra-band democracy. Nothing flashy about them.

and still so underrated

[lukethedrifter]

Neutral Milk Hotel's name didn't keep them/him from making it big. Being a recluse probably had much more to do with it.

[redbirdjazzz]

what about "the band"

I think that one's great because it says so much about them. They pretty much exemplify professionalism, competency, strong songwriting, intra-band democracy. Nothing flashy about them.

and still so underrated

One of my top three groups ever, and if pressed, probably number one. There have been very, very few groups with that combination of versatility, virtuosity, feel, and songwriting.

[mikechamp]

what about "buddy guy"...what if his name was "guy buddy", would his music still be considered good?

I concur that Buddy Guy (the musician) is awesome, but I will also cite my exception:

*The exception to this theory is a person's name, like Jimi Hendrix or Eric Johnson. Those can go either way, but you can't get upset at someone for their name.

So, if his name was Guy Buddy, I couldn't get upset about that. It's different than a completely fictional name like Jethro Tull or Lynyrd Skynyrd. While names, they are not the names of anyone in the band (unlike the stated example of Tom Petty).

[mikechamp]

Neutral Milk Hotel's name didn't keep them/him from making it big. Being a recluse probably had much more to do with it.

I'm not trying to claim it's the determining factor. I just think it can contribute, good or bad.

I've been trying to think of band names that don't fit the theory. Again, keeping musical quality out of it, I think a case could be made that when the Red Hot Chili Peppers hit the scene, that name wasn't screaming "good idea".

Perhaps Southside Johnny and The Jukes? Queens of the Stone Age?

[The Third Man]

My favorite band name (and one of my favorite bands): Swans. Michael Gira described them as being "a beautiful creature with an ugly temperament," which absolutely nails Swans' entire career. Everything from beautiful acoustic numbers to brutal multiple-guitar assaults. God, I love that man.

[The Third Man]

On the other hand, several of my favorite bands - The Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine, Television, Galaxie 500 (a car, of all things) - have names that are only memorable for the fact that they're legendary bands. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, "What the hell is a Velvet Underground?"