Aotearoa New Zealand band Shihad tried to break into the US market around the time of 9/11 and were advised to rebrand because their name apparently sounded too similar to jihad.
They renamed themselves Pacifier. Ugh.
After failing to break into the US market they returned to Aotearoa and reverted back to Shihad.
This is possibly a bad example because their initial name wasn't even offensive but their new name definitely was. Well, offensively bad at least.
― The Ghost Club, Wednesday, 11 October 2023 00:56 (eight months ago) link
The Halo Etc.
― PaulTMA, Wednesday, 11 October 2023 00:56 (eight months ago) link
I really like what I've heard of Cindy Lee, their music is a kind of perverse psychedelic take on beach rock from the 60s, dream- and bangle rock from the 80s/90s, and noise.
Act of Tenderness is an album for the ages
― Dan S, Wednesday, 11 October 2023 01:23 (eight months ago) link
xp at ll tbf cindy lee is the drag project of a nonbinary person
― budo jeru, Tuesday, September 12, 2023 4:12 PM (four weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink
oh ok, then that is ok! i'm sorry -- i haven't paid much attention to any their music bc their naming conventions were so wack
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Tuesday, September 12, 2023 4:15 PM (four weeks ago)
I already addressed this and it is not "a problem for me" geez!
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 11 October 2023 14:07 (eight months ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Thursday, 12 October 2023 00:01 (eight months ago) link
spooky black -> corbin
― Who u? I don't kno u (noz), Thursday, 12 October 2023 03:31 (eight months ago) link
Missed this poll. Preoccupations is my bête noire, just because it was SO AVOIDABLE. Viet Cong was an obviously provocative name — when their tape came out I was shocked: “Holy shit, you can do that?” And if they’d given it even a second’s thought they could have come up with some kind of half-assed real reason why they named themselves that (“something something American imperialism something something the struggle”). Instead they were your bog-standard clueless white guys about it: “duuuuh…. We just thought it sounded cool” and got rightly pilloried. And then they chose the dumbest most boring name this side of Window Lamp.
― The land of dreams and endless remorse (hardcore dilettante), Thursday, 12 October 2023 03:36 (eight months ago) link
And yeah, Women, I’m pretty sure it’s Matt Flegel (brother of Cindy Lee) who keeps coming up with these. Fuck, VC were SO GOOD for a while. “Death” (written for Women guitarist Chris Reiner who just up and died .. for literally no reason, not drugs or anything, just .. whatever the adult version of SIDS is …) makes Tonight’s the Night sound like Gilbert O’Sullivan.
― The land of dreams and endless remorse (hardcore dilettante), Thursday, 12 October 2023 03:48 (eight months ago) link
“something something American imperialism something something the struggle”). Instead they were your bog-standard clueless white guys about it: “duuuuh…. We just thought it sounded cool”
the latter is the better excuse
― close encounters of the third knid (darraghmac), Thursday, 12 October 2023 06:19 (eight months ago) link
Well, the former is more a 'justification'
― Mark G, Thursday, 12 October 2023 06:37 (eight months ago) link
If I remember correctly, VC were starting to get protests from the Hmong communities in the Midwest and they decided to change the name because it meant nothing to them.
― bbq, Thursday, 12 October 2023 06:38 (eight months ago) link
But I always thought it was cute that Gang of Four publicly defended their band name.
― bbq, Thursday, 12 October 2023 06:43 (eight months ago) link
Well, there was four of them, so there was that.
(Plus, there was only ever one Viet Cong)
― Mark G, Thursday, 12 October 2023 06:47 (eight months ago) link
when did the band form / name themselves? all I can find is 1976 but mao died in september and the gang were arrested / denounced in october and the name takes on whole new connotations after that - I'd always assumed it was a possibly tongue in cheek "anti-revisionist" response to the rise of deng but it seems too early for that and maybe I'm thinking about it more than they did in any case
― Left, Thursday, 12 October 2023 07:37 (eight months ago) link
Can’t tell if my syntax was poor or if Mark G is making a joke, but here’s what I was referring to.
https://pitchfork.com/news/58779-gang-of-four-on-viet-cong-name-controversy-ridiculous-undemocratic-anti-progressive/
― bbq, Thursday, 12 October 2023 07:48 (eight months ago) link
oh I thought you meant defending *their* bandname
― Left, Thursday, 12 October 2023 07:51 (eight months ago) link
those capitalist roaders at p4k seem to think it's a loaded bandname but I don't recall reading about any Go4 controversy, it's not like their lyrics were about chucking teachers out of upper storey windows. I'm of that age when I first saw that term on the tv news, it was in reference to the fookin' SDP.
― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Thursday, 12 October 2023 08:53 (eight months ago) link
I've never heard of any controversy about Go4's name
― The First Time Ever I Saw Gervais (Tom D.), Thursday, 12 October 2023 09:24 (eight months ago) link
“something something American imperialism something something the struggle”
i once chatted with a member of the soft pack/muslims where he was on some bullshit like that, complaining about "having" to change the name because no one understood the complex multivalent political/religious/historical commentary they were making maaan, iirc the holocaust was somehow involved even? it was truly moronic and embarrassing
― waste of compute (One Eye Open), Thursday, 12 October 2023 13:30 (eight months ago) link
most artists are dumb
― deep wubs and tribral rhythms (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 12 October 2023 13:59 (eight months ago) link
MC Hamas is probably thinking twice right now
― Beyond Goo and Evol (President Keyes), Thursday, 12 October 2023 14:32 (eight months ago) link
same with Vanilla ISIS
― real warm grandpa (Neanderthal), Thursday, 12 October 2023 14:41 (eight months ago) link
BBQ, I don't follow but when the SDP party formed in the UK, the originators were called "The Gang Of Four". That's what I was referring to.
― Mark G, Thursday, 12 October 2023 15:03 (eight months ago) link
"Gang of (Number)" is also a common name for a group of legislators from different parties collaborating on a bill
― Beyond Goo and Evol (President Keyes), Thursday, 12 October 2023 15:05 (eight months ago) link
Also, Gang of Four was an explicitly political band
― kirsten gilla band (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 12 October 2023 15:59 (eight months ago) link
Mick Lynch spotted at a recent Gang of Four gig, so that all checks out
― Ward Fowler, Thursday, 12 October 2023 16:27 (eight months ago) link
Gang Of Four definitely took the name from the Maoist political faction but I can't see why that would casue any offence.
― stirmonster, Thursday, 12 October 2023 16:28 (eight months ago) link
some people are really really offended by communism
― no gap tree for old men (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 12 October 2023 16:31 (eight months ago) link
Wait till they hear my band Gay Chuevara
― Beyond Goo and Evol (President Keyes), Thursday, 12 October 2023 16:46 (eight months ago) link
vg+
― Mark G, Thursday, 12 October 2023 17:05 (eight months ago) link
xpAnd chucking teachers out of windows.
― nickn, Thursday, 12 October 2023 18:19 (eight months ago) link
a few more I found...
Eskimo Callboy changed to Electric Callboy in 2022Spirit Animal changed to Record Heat in 2020there was another, Florida-based band named Slaves who changed their name to Rain City Drive in 2021
― RICH BRIAN (Neanderthal), Thursday, 2 May 2024 17:32 (one month ago) link