in a (band) name
i have a theory that all the best band names in the world are already taken. i think everyone that’s looking for one should either stop now or settle for the less awesome one, THE one is not an option anymore because someone thought of it before you did.
A spends a lot of his time trying to think of good band names. if it’s not one band, it’s the other. as you can imagine, i am never much of any use with regards to this matter and keep making the meanest of faces everytime he suggests something.
you may think that all there is in a band name, is that it ’sounds good’, that it sounds like something people can say easily and regularly. what we often forget, or just fail to notice, is that the name gives the band a lot of advantage or disvantage, all on its own. its gives it an edge, a dimension, makes it more interesting, unusual, exciting, or not. it all depends.
but did you ever think of how ridiculous ‘the backstreet boys’ sound? would we have taken them more seriously if they had called themselves something else? and to name another from that era, ‘boyzone’. what were the ’spice girls’ thinking, awesome as they were? what about ‘the dave matthews band’, he just couldn’t be arsed, or what? what kind of name is ‘the goo goo dolls’? how can we ever forgive train, fuel, linkin park, limp bizkit, staind, korn, take that, def leppard, hoobastank, audioslave, mcfly?
what does one do when the following names are already taken? (and sometimes, the band that got it doesn’t even deserve an awesome name!)
the crash test dummies
massive attack
no doubt
rage against the machine
yeah yeah yeahs
the fray
a tribe called quest
daft punk
crowded house
the chemical brothers
pink floyd
fatboy slim
elbow
red hot chilli peppers
cake
suede
blessed union of souls
blur
gorillaz
sex pistols
alice in chains
radiohead
my list could go on…stone temple pilots, queens of the stoneage, lost prophets…but, must i? you get my gist. trust me, it’s done, over. whatever it is that you think sounds just right? it’s taken.
yes i think we should now go for hip sinhalese names. The Karapoththas, Gonubillas, kos kirannas, beti beti bonikko..ad nauseum (ad nauseum is a good name for a band too, latin maybe the way to go).
Comment by ddm — November 2, 2006 @ 6:05 pm
i came, i saw, and i concur, absolutely! but what can ye expect? all the great music ran out about a decade before the names did!
speaking of names, though, i’m prepared to swear that there was a south african band called ‘all the good names are taken’…
Comment by jokerman — November 2, 2006 @ 6:46 pm
ddm : HA HA! trust you to be the one that leaves a comment that makes me literally laugh out loud. i’ll pass those on to those who are looking for band names…
jokerman : i think it’s unfair to say that all the ‘great’ music has entirely run out. that’s a fairly general statement to make. yes, the standards have dropped hugely and it’s much easier to get popular now than it was ten years ago because every tom, dick and johnny has a hit single. but, regardless of the unusually crappy quality of the music we hear most often now, there are a few gems. i think you might be right about that band.
Comment by electra — November 3, 2006 @ 5:58 am
There still is good music around. It’s just gone to a different place, which is not MTV or mainstream radio.
Good Lords, that sounds fucking pretentious.
Comment by Curious Yellow — November 3, 2006 @ 12:42 pm
ado ddm….ur effing hilarious machan… i just pictured u sayin that… and laughed out even more!…
Comment by Anush — November 3, 2006 @ 1:29 pm
curious yellow : that, as pretentious as it may seem, is the truth.
Comment by electra — November 3, 2006 @ 4:30 pm
I STILL think we should have called ourselves ‘The Baby Fuckers’.
Comment by hiran — November 5, 2006 @ 7:02 pm
Not one to comment much but loved the following names. I must admit they are old bands…. Electra, heard of Toad the Wet Sproket? Soggy Bottom Boys? Saliva? Aztec Camera? The Window Speaks? Baltimora? Speaking of Names Englebert Humperdink really cracks me up. Apparently, no one ever heard of him as George Dorsey.
Comment by amahen — November 6, 2006 @ 5:47 am
VULVAS
Comment by Yanik — November 8, 2006 @ 5:01 pm
yanik and hiran : be proper, now.
Comment by electra — November 10, 2006 @ 2:50 pm