Love the Name-Hate the music & vice versa

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I'm thinking of bands whose names I like but whose music I can't stand. For example the grateful dead. Kind of a catchy name, too bad most of their music (in my opinion) sucks. And vice versa: any bands with lame, uninspired mames making good music? Hmmm...

― Turner, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

On a related theme, do you see some correlation/proportional relationship between the name quality of bands and their music? Is it impossible to 'isolate' the qality of a band's/artist's name/moniker from the rest of their creative, musical output? Have you ever bought a record based on the title/name of group with the assumption that someone who could come up with a title like that would be worth a cursory listen?

― Turner, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Rockcritics asked the same sort of question (and got grate answers) here and here.

― Sterling Clover, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

How about Anal Cunt - not only is the name great, but the SONG TITLES! Shame the music doesn't live up to it.

― dave q, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'Nirvana' has got to be one of the most inappropriate names ever. I mean, even if you like their music, and not one of the all- out haters of it, you have to admit this hippy-buddhist name was - I mean, 'Mudhoney,' 'The Meat Puppets', yes those are grunge names, but 'Nirvana' - why didn't they just go the whole way and call themselves 'Songbong'?

― maryann, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Songbong is the GREATEST NAME OF ALL TIME BAR NONE!! Everything that is wrong with music today is linked to the fact that NO ONE tht to call themselves Songbong!!

― mark s, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

ugly names pretty music : kraftwerk, pita, beach boys, small faces, virgin prunes, red kross , tipographica,t rex. nice music not so nice music:seagull screaming kiss her kiss her, elastica, bonzo dog band, hanoi rocks...; super names and music :royal trux , boredoms

― francesco, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

SONGBONG is my new favourite fictional band entity.

― matthew m., Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Hate The Name, Love The Music" = MY BLOODY VALENTINE. Runner up is The Rock of Travolta.

Love The Name, Hate The Music = Radial Spangle

― colin clarke, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I don't hate them, but I feel ...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD don't quite live up to their name.

― alex in nyc, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine. There's no way their music could have lived up to their awesome name. Going the other way, I'll have to say Cocteau Twins. I always hated the sound of their name.

― palpable, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Get the Hell Out of the Way of the Volcano. Never heard them, but what a name!

― palpable, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Name better than music: Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Vintersorg, Elf Power, Dead Kennedys, Iced Earth

Music better than name: Goo Goo Dolls, In Flames, U2

― Lyra, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

MBV is a great candidate. I'm so used to talking about them and having people know where I'm coming from that I forget how the name must sound to people who aren't familiar with them -- as typified by wearing an MBV t-shirt while visiting my mother and not realizing, for a few minutes, why she thought it was sort of scary.

Similarly: Death Cab for Cutie. I recall their manager calling my radio show before I'd heard them and asking me to play something of theirs to promote a show. I think I laughed at him: "Death Cab for Cutie?" Didn't put together the Magical Mystery Tour reference until a few days later.

― Nitsuh, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

well i don't like the music, but Dawn of the Replicants is an amusing name, BUT---only because John Peel used to talk about Dawn of the Replicants, and i always thought he was talking about a member of the band The Replicants, and that this member was called Dawn.

― gareth, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Death Cab For Cutie comes from Magical Mystery Tour? i didn't know that, but then i suppose i have never seen Magical Mystery Tour

― gareth, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Death cab for cutie is a GREAT name! Never heard their stuff though.

― turner, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I really wanted to like Viva La White Bitch.

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Bad Boy Zinc

― Kodanshi, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Dandy Warhols is one of the coolest names for a band ever, they should have it confiscated.

― jamesmichaelward, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Death Cab For Cutie comes from Magical Mystery Tour? - yeah i guess 'cause it's a Bonzo Dog Band song & they're in that movie. Which I have never seen either & nor have I heard DCFC the band.
& SONGBONG are 4-real, right here in Dunedin, we've never heard 'em natch but the posters are out there on the st's of this town for us to snigger at.

― duane, Thursday, 2 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Duane: They're featured performing "Death Cab for Cutie" in the film, if I'm not thoroughly misremembering things.

Turner: It's not inherently a bad name, but I think it's bad for that particular band. It points to something either harsh or funny, whereas they're quite pleasant and pretty serious. I mean, "Death Cab for Cutie" -- I expect squonky noises from that.

― Nitsuh, Friday, 3 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Well Nitsuh, that answers the original question of 'is it possible to isolate the quality of a band's name from the rest of it's musical output...' In this case the answer appears to be yes. I still think DCFC is a wonderful name, though (albeit slightly ridiculous).

― turner, Saturday, 4 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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