Fun subject for a little shit list debate, and it comes to you via Cracked.com. We’ve gleaned that there are a couple of stipulations in place, namely 1) your high school band is not eligible (unless you’re Brandon Urie) and 2) apparently you’re meant to dig deeper than just emo and hair metal bands (too easy), though a few do justly pop up on this list. Of course we have our issues, but first their Cracked out findings…
25. Porno For Pyros
24. Nickelback
23. The Alan Parsons Project
22. Stone Temple Pilots
21. Matchbox 20
20. The Smashing Pumpkins
19. Def Leppard
18. W.A.S.P.
17. Puddle Of Mudd
16. Of Montreal
15. Goo Goo Dolls
14. The The
13. Mr. Mister
12. The Mr. T Experience
11. Panic! At The Disco
10. Limp Bizkit
09. Chumbawamba
08. Enuff Z’nuff
07. Mott The Hoople
06. Hoobastank
05. Toad The Wet Sprocket
04. Thirty Odd Foot Of Grunts
03. Hootie And The Blowfish
02. Archers Of Loaf
01. !!!
First off, the Smashing Pumpkins: really that bad? Same with Of Montreal — both sound good to us. And Limp Bizkit should be a lot higher. !!! is hell to Google, but seeing the Chkers and Archers go 1-2 on this list is painful. (Though that may just be the music fan in us talking.) Just put Hootie #1 on the name shame list and make everybody happy.
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The The are #14 on the list.
it’s really too bad that !!! didn’t make the list.
that’s most annoying of all names in history..
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, ring any bells?
I’m going to have to go out on a luimb here and say “Radiohead” is the shittest band name in history. Shit band, shit name. Total shit.
And before it turns into pedants corner here, apologies for the misspelling of “limb” in my previous post.
Re: Rygun at June 28, 2007 1:41 AM
it’s really too bad that !!! didn’t make the list.
that’s most annoying of all names in history..
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Checck it again. It’s Number 1.
You left out “String Cheese Incident.”
That was a mistake.
Admit it, Stereogum, you made a mistake. You forgot about String Cheese Incident, didn’t you? Admit it!
Deep Blue Something
The Slugs Tits
(and although I love them) Duran Duran
Just an fyi The Automatic Automatic are really just The Automatic, I guess they had to change it because a US band already had the name.
I truly dislike Alexisonfire
Ditto Alexisonfire. Is it supposed to be Alex Is on Fire or Alexis on Fire? Fuck that.
I love Duran Duran, too, but their name is crap. Maybe that’s why I think Duran Duran Duran is such an awesome name.
As for all of the crappy emo/metal bands like on Fuse or whatever, how hard is it to come up with a GOOD word to name you band after? Not something that sounds like the main character in some lonely English major’s unpublished fantasy novel.
I’m guilty of the ! sin. I started a band last year called Yes We Can!. But that wasn’t as bad as my bass player’s subsequent metal band Aunt Rosie’s Roadside Freakshow. My friend Derek and I tried to start a band, but we spent more time trying to come up with a good name before we settled on Eck, a reference to Johnny Eckhart, which is terrible. I would’ve gone with Khango, which is equally terrible. His friend Matt had an ridiculous (in a good way) name for a metal band, however: Death or Death. I chuckle whenever someone mentions it. Sorry if I seem like I’m plugging a bunch of bands I was in, but I’m just saying coming up with a name is hard business. In all fairness, all of these bands are defunct and never recorded anything.
Oh yeah, I was glad to see Natives of the New Dawn make the AV Club list. The only reason I knew about them was because I knew the lead singer’s underage girlfriend. But they’re based in Detroit and both of us lived in North Carolina. The last time I saw that girl was the first half of her senior year of high school when she threw up and passed out on the floor of my drama class and never came back to school. Then I found out she had a baby. But anyway, that’s a shitty, pretentious name by a band with a shit sound.
I think I’m done.
Oh yeah, as for Akron/Family, I’ve always just said “Akron Family.”
There is a vast goldmine of awful band names that has yet to be tapped on this thread, and that is band names with “ska” in them. Some of the worst include:
The Skaskank Redemption (I’m pretty sure there were two bands named this for awhile)
Oskama bin’ Skankin’ and the Skaliband (for real; they have a MySpace page)
Skanorrhea and the Burning Sensations
I’m not too upset with this list, but it is missing an awesome and awesomely bad named band: A Hawk and a Hacksaw.
Most inappropriately named band? Barenaked Ladies. For obvious, testosterone related reasons.
And while I love them, I do think Kings of Convenience is a pretty stupid name.
BeatallicA … and their album- Sergeant Hetfield and the Motorbreath Pub Band. Shitty band and even worse name.
I agreed re:Limp Bizkit. They should win anything that helps them carry on their heavy weight champions of suck title.
Shittiest Name Ever + Shittiest Band Ever = Shiny Toy Guns
The exclamation point thing is way overdone at this point. Bring on the question mark!
Alexisonfire?
Akron/Family?
!!!?
Limp Bizkit?
Ah…that’ll be the day…
I’d like to submit a band name to the post calling for best names of all time.
My entries:
The Damned
The Sex Pistols
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Black Sabbath
slaughter and the dogs, wham, urban cookie collective, mr wiggles magic skin flute, ok that last one i made up but i think i might rename my band it now
oh yeah i forgort sigue sigue sputnick, explain that one for me please
and neds atomic dustbin, what drugs were them fuckers on
I just thought of one. Fisted Sister. If that’s not a band, it needs to be.
I’m glad to see that people here are really digging up the good ones, since the original list is really lame. Half of the list are actually fairly smart names (although pretty lame) that the list maker apparently didn’t get and have proven their ability to stick in our minds over the years. I personally think Panic! at the disco is a great name, although I don’t like the music. !!! deserves a prize for being so annoying that everyone talks about the name, even if they’ve never heard the music. That suits the attitude of the band too.
Here’s my two cents:
- The Sisters of Mercy (one of my fave bands, but what the fuck!)
- All Girl Summer Fun Band
- The Kevin Costners
BILLY TALENT. makes me cringe every time i hear it.
What about Butthole Surfers?
Halo of Flies…kind of like the imagery, though.
How about Barnyard Slut?
Oh yeah. Professor Murder. Love them, but dumb name. I know that it’s intentionally stupid (which suits them) and it’s a Mr. Show reference, but still, Professor Murder? It’s just kind of awkward. I like it and dislike it at the same time.
#1 most rediculous band name of all time…
GOBLIN COCK
Bachman Turner Overdrive.
I think the 70s win for bad band names. Bachman Turner Overdrive is my least favorite. At least others are trying to be silly/funny. BTO is trying to be badass (!Overdrive!) but end up sounding like a lawfirm.
I guess it’s an improvement over their original name – Brave Belt.
NEW FAST AUTOMATIC DAFFODILS
(from Manchester UK, had a minor alt radio hit with “Stockholm, and defo the worst name ever)
mmm… powerman 5000?
That SHTEWpid new one: Mute Math
?!
How has no one mentioned Harvey Danger, the shittiest fucking name in recorded human history?
Butthole Surfers belongs simultaneously in the top 5 best and worst band names of all time.
yeah, i don’t really like their music at all, but me first and the gimme gimmes is probably the best band name i’ve ever heard of.
Has anyone here mentioned Nashville Pussy? Ick.
Or Harry Pussy, for that matter? Pussy Galore?
“Southern Culture On The Skids”?
Sweatpant Boners
Fall Out Boy
should be on there somewhere.
Green Day…(they are great), but what’s up with they name?
Green Jelly (really wtf?)
Foo fighters (what’s a foo)
the Beastie Boys
Dixi Chix (they suck, and what’s a dixi, that’s now how you spell CHICKS)
there are so many more retarded names, that have absoutley no meaning what so ever.
i’m going through my iTunes:
ambulance ltd.
big japan
big star
cat power
dntel
electric light orchestra
every move a picture
enon
goldfrapp
her space holiday
king crimson
murder city devils
the sea and cake
silversun pickups
the starlight mints
stellastarr*
stereo total
these arms are snakes
weezer
c’mon, cracked.com.
this band i once knew….’lame and bitching on music blogs about worthless shit’ comes to mind.
foo fighters is understandable… im gonna say, the “ozark mountain daredevils” should be in there if STP is in there, and how bout the butthole surfers … pink floyd… pretty much 8-9 out of 10 names on any list are rediculous
led zeppelin .. they are the only band i can truly think of with a great and meaningful name… killswitch engage… that has some meaning because of their musical direction ……….. judas priest, another symbolization of the standings of the band …. the who is good cuz its kinda a joke and the rolling stones pictured their success within their name … alterbridge – theres one, since they are supposedly a christian alternative rock group . im just wonderin how the beatles are bad? they changed their name to be catchy but contain the word “beat”… if thats ridiculous then i dont know wat earths coming to
DANITY KANE.
And, on a tangent, () is the stupidest name for an album (or just plain the worst title for anything) – ever.
How come no one has said jimmie’s chicken shack yet? God that’s such a piece of shit band name along with…
the all-american rejects
am/fm
au
audioslave
biffy clyro
blessid union of souls
brand new
buckcherry
cross my heart
our lady peace…i can’t take this anymore my list ends.
Cross My Heart were awesome. I just have to say that because no one knows them.
‘Smashing Pumpkins is British slang for nice tits.’
Uh, no it isn’t.
The Dead Kenny-G’s
The Steve Gutenband
Skabba The Hut (Bravery fans?…)
The Ass Ponys
All of these are equally amazing as they are bad.
There is also a band kicking around upstate New York and beyond (whom I am a huge fan of) called:
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
I think that !!! should be given honorable mention for creating a bandname that, when spoken out loud, makes the speaker sound like they have some horrendous vocal tick. For instance, when I was raving to my mother about seeing !!! live, I was forced to repeatedly say the chk chk chk, and just the next day she took me to get a catscan to be sure I didn’t have some brain tumor destroying my vocal abilities, and when that came back fine I was shuffled straight over to the vocal therapist. I quickly became the golden boy by overcoming my pre-mammalian guttural throat stutter in record time, but it was still a rather unneeded excursion all on account of a band.
^ Ha!
I agree with the whole “incorrect spelling and numbers” thing. Worst ones I can think of that no one’s mentioned:
Little Blue Crunchy Things (I saw them once on the Jenny Lewis show and I only remember them because of their hideous name).
Dope
Bran Van 3000
Ted Nugent Probably Smells Like Corn Chips
The Number 12 Looks Like You (I hate it because they’re obviously *trying* to come up with a crappy name, and yet it’s so bad that it’s almost avant garde.)
The best band name I can think of is a band from my high school called The Atoms Family.
The best band name “Duran Duran Duran”
I was pretty disappointed in America when “Fall Out Boy” became legit.
Really? A Simpsons reference…? Thats good enough for you?
sigh…
Electric Lights Flashing Very Fast. Pretty good band, but still.
And Def Leppard is an awesome band name, as is The Smashing Pumpkins, but I’m glad to see Chumbawamba made the list.
Hm, I’ve never heard of Number Twelve Looks Like You before, but I’m intrigued. Always fun to meet a fellow Twilight Zone enthusiast.
Haircut 100
“Spookytooth” ……………. ftw
Lothar & the Hand People
Echo and the bunnymen? Sounds amzazing, but is absolute rubbish.
Did anyone mention Snow Patrol? Maybe it should be Yellow Snow Patrol.
MEN WITHOUT HATS – dumbest band name of all time.
I do not like it when bands leave out punctuation such as Gatsbys American Dream and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.
BANANARAMA people… BANANARAMA.
“there are so many more retarded names, that have absoutley no meaning what so ever.”
Foo Fighters are named after a bit of WWII jargon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foo_fighter). And if you don’t know what Dixie (which you misspelled) means, you must not be from the US. Maybe you should look things up before assuming that they’re meaningless.
Hentai Cum dungeon. Real Band I swear.
wow, there are some really terrible, stupid suggestions on here. for most ridiculous band name of all time, someone suggests ‘big star’? what an idiot!
I haven’t read all the comments, but Vomit Launch’s career was certainly hindered by its name.
Iowa City, Iowa once had bands called Marcia Brady’s Tits and Odlid! (the exclamation point is part of the band’s name; spell it backwards and wonder how their CD ever got sold at Wal-Mart).
This changed from “Worst band names” to “Best band names” really fast.
What about Betty’s Not A Vitamin?
Or Gaye Bykers on Acid (here we go with misspellings again) or their counterparts, Lesbian Dopeheads on Mopeds?
yeah !!! whoo!!!
Leftover Salmon!
um…what about PEARL JAM ? Come on (er, pardon the pun). How’d they ever get away with that anyway?
What about the ones like MC Hammer to Hammer?
or Puff Daddy to P Diddy to just Diddy?
There are so many but these are mostly ridiculous:
Bubba Sparxxx
Dirty On Purpose
Thunderbirds Are Now!
The Go! Team
Eminem
Architecture in Helsinki
Hot Hot Heat
Zero 7
She Wants Revenge
My Morning Jacket
Bitter:Sweet (not too many with colons are there)
Clear Static (another oxymoron)
The Boy Least Likely To
The Like
Silversun Pickups
Be Your Own Pet
Elbow
Nine Black Alps
Shout Out Louds
Stars of Track and Field
Aqualung
Film School
Dashboard Confessional
Boys Like Girls
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They
The Academy Is…
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – one of the first bad ones I immediately took notice to
Genius:
Sam Champion – He’s a NYC area weatherman.
Le Castle Vania
Air – genius or ridiculous?
Test Icicles – I love it
His Boy Elroy
CunninLynguists
Actually, Eminem is pretty clever when you think about it. Eminem = M&M = Marshall Mathers – his initials.
Super Furry Animals
SPiTZZ
Ween
wat about falloutboy??
i mean i love them but seriously?? wat kind of name is that??
and is anybody else actually reading the list?? i keep seeing commetns for ‘why isnt smashing pumkins or the the on there? casue those are really weird names 2!’
well if you arent a complete retard and if u look on the list you will see that they ARE ACTUALLY THERE ON THE STUPID LIST!!!!!
glad i could be of service
Fall Out Boy
Bullet For My Valentine
Pavement
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Not sure if it counts because it’s a fictional band but it’s goddamn stupid.)
Harry and the Potters and all derivatives (Draco and the Malfoys, Ron and the Weasleys, etc)
(and it’s Brendon Urie. Just thought I should point that out. Otherwise you’d get mauled by 14-year-old weemo’s)
Hey Neil Wheatley! Thanks for considering us in your personal most ridiculous band name in rock history.
For those who don’t “get” the name, go rent Police Academy.
Four: Citizens on Patrol.
or Short Circuit.
3 Men and a Baby. Classic.
WHAT ABOUT THE FOX BORO HOT TUBBS?????!!!!!!!!
Uhh,
(yes the smiley is part of it)
3OH!3 (Its said like 3 0 3)
The Academy Is……
Blink-182
Cannibal Corpse (can’t believe nobody got that)
The Devil Wears Prada
Backseat Goodbye
Brokencyde
Bullet for my Valentine
Chiodos
Dance Gavin Dance
Dot Dot Curve
Eiffel 65
Escape the Fate
Every Time I Die
Goatwhore
Hey Monday ( Huh?)
Hyper Crush
I am X-Ray
LMFAO (come on guys……)
Never Shout Never!
Nickasaur!
The Number Twelve Looks Like You
PlayRadioPlay
Slow Motion Noise
Suicide Silence
Tune Up!
Ultra Violent Sound
Watchout! Theres Ghosts!
Any of these could have made that list…..
And I’m not just bagging on bands I don’t like. Some of these are from my Itunes, and some are from my friends with, well, poor taste in music.. haha.
I’m the guitarist from slowmotionnoise.
I agree, our name is a little ridiculous, but then again, so are we!