my band name's better than your band name

January 22, 2003 9:52 AM

Meanwhile, Back in Communist Russia... BBC Radio1 clowns/idiots Mark and Lard have an ongoing quest to find the worst band name ever. Personally I think some of the bands in the poll have the best names. What makes a crap band name? Something unimaginative like The Michael Schenker Group? Something crass like Speculum Fight or Alien Porno Midgets? What, for that matter, makes a good name? Do tell.
posted by nylon (83 comments total)

I have a feeling that survey is just going to turn into 'which band do you hate the most?' contest. If I didn't have a certain attachment to their music I probably would have been more likely to choose They Might Be Giants. But oh well, bias is great when it's conscious. Limp Bizkit it is.
posted by Space Coyote at 10:01 AM on January 22, 2003

I have two proposals:

Nunslaughter

Heavy Days and the Feminine Applicators - not sure about this one, but I think that was their name.

And a bad album name proposal - Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope, from Agoraphobic Nosebleed (which is not a bad band name, IMHO)
posted by starvingartist at 10:05 AM on January 22, 2003

Odd, I was just talking about weird band names on my site (obvious self-link) this morning...

Personally, I think the Goo Goo Dolls have the stupidest name in existance, but for a full list of unfortunate names go to Brainwashed's canonical guide to weird band names.
posted by KnitWit at 10:06 AM on January 22, 2003

I always thought Lenin's Pallbearers would make a good band name. Never had a band to put it on tho'.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 10:08 AM on January 22, 2003

Mindless Self Indulgence.
posted by LouReedsSon at 10:10 AM on January 22, 2003

What, no "... And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead"? (best band name ever, BT...)
posted by shecky57 at 10:10 AM on January 22, 2003

"Add to Cart" feel free to use this beauty for YOUR band today!
posted by darkpony at 10:15 AM on January 22, 2003

Before they proved how good they really were, the Dictatortots got plenty of local press on their name alone.
posted by ewagoner at 10:24 AM on January 22, 2003

Schecky - I was just thinking the same thing. Although "Godspeed You! Black Emperor" is up there, especially now that they've moved the exclamation mark...
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:26 AM on January 22, 2003

I've always wanted to see ICanLickAnySonofaBitchInTheHouse open for The Fucking Champs. Them there's quality nomenclatures.
posted by redsparkler at 10:28 AM on January 22, 2003

Flock of Seagulls got my vote.

Their music sucked too, but you couldn't vote on that issue.
posted by tommasz at 10:32 AM on January 22, 2003

I can't believe that Hoobastank isn't even in the running. Just typing their name makes my gums bleed.

And for maximal awfulness, there is always (I'm really sorry, but I'm not making this up): Anal Cunt. Their song titles are also . . . something. Examples: "I Got Athletes Foot Showering At Mike's," "You Went To See Dishwalla And Everclear (You're Gay)," and of course "I Ate Your Horse."
posted by Skot at 10:36 AM on January 22, 2003

A discussion of the worst possible band name went on for many months on the Songfight.com message boards. There are many categories of bad band names. The most reliable are:

Puns
Pretentions
Mixed metaphors
Bandmember name and the plural noun
Verb or noun plus random number
All ska band names

There are a few twists; a run-of-the-mill terrible band name can make a great punk band name (my favorite ever: Fucking Retard). And my favorite bad bandnames are parodies of other bands' names (Urethra Franklin, REO Speeddealer, Folk Implosion).

There is also one popular (though lousy) band who made a serious effort to claim the title for all time by taking their name from a Monty Python skit ABOUT LAME ROCK BAND NAMES. That band: Toad the Wet Sprocket.

I think the very worst band names are based on bandmember names. The worst ever: Hall and Oates. That band name has nothing going for it. Runner up: the fictional Rod Torfulson's Armada Featuring Herman Menderchuck.

We came up with the following as-yet unsused terrible bandnames (use your scroll wheel to bypass):

Hulapoop
Flapjackal
Escapegoat
Farthuffer
Twee
The Seminferous Tubules
Laserjet
Endust
Audio Erotic
M.C larry and his family members
Ass Queef
The Dark Pondering
Pork Rage UK
Nat King Cold Sore
Snowtorch
Foxy Pig
Open Mike and the Knights
You Ruined My Shirt!
The Pedophiles
Four Word Band Name
Dr. Frankenshred
About Box
MC Text Wrap
Self Titled Debut
Sore Looser
Crystal Blue and the Pretty Persuasions
Kentucky Wigwam Village
Homosexual Panic
Prosthetic Johnson
The Pina Colonics
Ohio Tractor Explosion
Rejected Gift
Gift Horse
Sense & Sensibility
Prehensile Cock
Obliterati
Meta Refresh
Tuna Svelte
The Chroma Zone
Disturbin' Turban
Succor Punch
Leper Suction
Girthquake
Bachelor Spatula
Slurp
Cardiac Citation
Local Anastasia
Quarry and the Rocks
Twig Newton
Letter Size & The Collation
Umlaut for Omellete
Can't Opener
Unspeak-a-Boo
Eric von Cylable and the Differences
et cetera
et cetera

My very favorite, the worst possible ska bandname:
My Brother's Name is Ska-aahtt
posted by damehex at 10:41 AM on January 22, 2003

a friend suggest the best (worst) band name ever when we were looking for one...speaking of ska bands.

multiple skalerosis
posted by brock at 10:46 AM on January 22, 2003

Rod Torfulson's Armada Featuring Herman Menderchuck
posted by dragstroke at 10:46 AM on January 22, 2003

Worst Band Names let's see...Severed Head In a Bag, Frumious Bandersnatch, The Blossom Toes, Everpresent Fullness, Lolita & the Exotics, Necrophagia , Peter & the Test Tube Babies, Renaldo & the Loaf, Helmet Boy and countless more, some of whom despite their names were excellent bands.

The same cannot be said of the worst band name ever...
posted by jonmc at 10:47 AM on January 22, 2003

My late uncle once was in a band entitled The Barnyard Boogie Band.

damehex, you will be both shocked and appalled to learn that they chose this name after considering and then rejecting Escapegoat.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:48 AM on January 22, 2003

On second glance, the name Renaldo & the Loaf sounds like some kind of very weird kids book dosen't it?

"There sat poor Renaldo, all alone except for his trusty, crusty loaf.."
posted by jonmc at 10:52 AM on January 22, 2003

None of those name strike as particularily bad except for Puddle of Mudd and Take That. Christ. Yeah, and Hoobastank.
posted by mikrophon at 10:55 AM on January 22, 2003

Bandmember name and the plural noun
I think that would be an INCREDIBLE name for a band!
posted by KnitWit at 11:01 AM on January 22, 2003

Also, I think that there is a band called Escapegoat in Nashville . . . not 100% on that one.
posted by mikrophon at 11:01 AM on January 22, 2003

My friends and I always wanted to have a all-girl band called The Rent Boys...

But I think I'd have to go with T'Pau for the worst band name ever. Obscure Star Trek reference? Gotta go...

(Although...The Don Knotts Experience is pretty high up there...I'm positive I saw that on a flyer once...)
posted by Katemonkey at 11:04 AM on January 22, 2003

Whiskey Drinkin' Second Graders. Good and bad at the same time.
posted by effer27 at 11:05 AM on January 22, 2003

Some folks I know used to be in a band called Grätüïtöüs Ümläüt. I've also always liked the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir.
posted by nickmark at 11:10 AM on January 22, 2003

Most of the worst band names I can think of are fairly mainstream:
Hootie and the Blowfish
Extreme
That Russell Crowe band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunt (I think)
Spice Girls
N Sync

Bands I enjoy who have names I'm not so fond of:
Silver Jews
Neutral Milk Hotel
Dirty Three
Godspeed you Black Emperor

Best/worst album name ever: Smell the Glove, Spinal Tap
posted by picea at 11:14 AM on January 22, 2003

When I was in high school I was in a band called "My Mom". In retrospect, that was a pretty bad name.
posted by starvingartist at 11:16 AM on January 22, 2003

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band gets my full votes.

And I gotta admit, Justincase is a totally cheesy name, even though I love the band *g*
posted by wackybrit at 11:16 AM on January 22, 2003

john cougar concentration camp is a good bad name.
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 11:17 AM on January 22, 2003

For sheer goofiness-with-a-gross-out-factor, you gotta love those death metal bands:

Autopsy Torment
Bleeding Display
Bloodgasm
Bloodvomit
Cannibal Corpse
Dismembered Fetus

ok, I can't even make it past the Ds....
posted by gwint at 11:18 AM on January 22, 2003

I don't think it exists (yet), but I'm fond of The Pornographic Genocide MC’s.
posted by sillygwailo at 11:20 AM on January 22, 2003

My favourite band names (but not my favourite bands) are :
Dead Kennedys
Crash Test Dummies
The Tragically Hip
The Shuffle Demons

My favourite name that didn't stick was the one that the Butthole Surfers used to go by (briefly):
The Inalienable Right To Eat Fred Astaire's Asshole

I just wished Dick Clark or Rick Dees had to say that at least once...

Any time I come across an odd phrase, mispelling or bizarre word combo, I always end up saying "That would be a good name for a band."
posted by grum@work at 11:22 AM on January 22, 2003

I think the very worst band names are based on bandmember names. The worst ever: Hall and Oates.

"Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young" is twice as bad.
posted by yhbc at 11:23 AM on January 22, 2003

Crispy Ambulance
Attilla the Stockbroker
posted by Kafkaesque at 11:23 AM on January 22, 2003

Best names:

- The Sweatpant Boners
- The Circle of Dead Children
- Wellwater Conspiracy
- Kill Allen Wrench
- The Cum Shots
- Sofa King Killer
- combatwoundedveteran
- Scissorfight
- Alabama Thunderpussy
- Sixty Watt Shaman
- The Atomic Bitchwax
- James Plotkin's Atom Smasher
- Beaten Back To Pure
- My Dying Bride
- Pungent Stench
- Puny Human
- Total Fucking Destruction
posted by Dark Messiah at 11:24 AM on January 22, 2003

There's always

JFKFC
Urethra Franklin
posted by Atom12 at 11:27 AM on January 22, 2003

grum@work I was going to suggest Butthole Surfers not so much that they were bad just that name....
posted by SweetIceT at 11:29 AM on January 22, 2003

Back in my band-starting-up days I tried to start up a band that would do inane, stupid songs, just so we could use this excellent name:

Two, I Mean Three, Morons

Never got off the ground, though, for some reason...
posted by soyjoy at 11:36 AM on January 22, 2003

FYI, the Michael Schenker Group is often referred to as "MSG" by its fans. And when MS isn't in jail or Mexico, I hear he rocks out.

If you played guitar with UFO and the Scorpions, you'd want to name the band after yourself. Michael Schenker is a premier guitar player, as well as his brother, Rudolph Schenker. My parents almost named me and my brother after these two, so we take Schenker idolatry pretty seriously.

By the by, my vote for the worst band name ever is Anal Cunt, whom also happen to have the worst song titles ever. "You're Pregnant so I Kicked You in the Stomach, "I Sent Concentration Camp Footage to America's Funniest Home Videos" and "I Gave NAMBLA Pictures of Your Kid" to name a few.
posted by Homeskillet Freshy Fresh at 11:43 AM on January 22, 2003

Soyjoy: Other great bands that my friends and I have never (or just barely) gotten off the ground:

Pets' Musical Park
Partytown Hospital
Das Sofa
Taihen Ziko
Pamper Cakes
Bird Week
Anti-Nova Underground
Zoidzilla

We'll get around to them all some day.
posted by mikrophon at 11:49 AM on January 22, 2003

Well, damehex, I must say I like the name Prosthetic Johnson, I may use that. Say it loud: I want Prosthetic Johnson!

I personally have been in bands named Smurfburger, Armored Snout, Vlad and the Happy Impalers (once played a show with the Jolly Gravediggers), Patriot Love Rockets, Baffin Island Party, and of course the Alex Reno Experience.

Friends have had bands named Forty Foot Waves of Puke, God, Glorystompers, SNFU, Whitey Houston, Pangina, and Bing Jesus.
posted by alex_reno at 11:52 AM on January 22, 2003

Foetus has an impressive discography:

Foetus Under Glass
You've Got Foetus On Your Breath
Foetus Over Frisco
Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel
The Foetus Of Excellence
The Foetus All-Nude Revue
The Flesh Volcano
Foetus Interruptus
Foetus In Excelsis Corruptus Deluxe
Manorexia

and of course

Foetus Symphony Orchestra featuring Lydia Lunch
posted by gottabefunky at 11:53 AM on January 22, 2003

best name:

the smiths.
posted by sgt.serenity at 11:56 AM on January 22, 2003

foxy pig

i've gotta hand it to ya, damehex, this slayed me...for some reason.

i like to rely on tested Bad Band Name theories, like the one that states All Bands Named After Geographical Places Suck. To wit: Chicago, America, Miami Sound Machine, Boston, Europe, Africa, Bay City Rollers, Alabama, Texas, The London Suede...i could go on.
posted by serafinapekkala at 12:04 PM on January 22, 2003

This seems as good a place as any to mention: Metallica vs. Metallica.
posted by blue_beetle at 12:10 PM on January 22, 2003

All Bands Named After Geographical Places Suck.

What about the MC(stands for Motor City)5, Southside Johnny & the Asbury (Park) Jukes, Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, the Kentucky Headhunters, the English Beat, the Australlian Crawl, the Irish Rovers, Lordz Of Brooklyn and Brooklyn Funk Essentials?

There goes that theory.
posted by jonmc at 12:16 PM on January 22, 2003

NTM, the Mississippi Sheiks, Crown Heights Affair, and Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.
posted by jonmc at 12:23 PM on January 22, 2003

sub-thread alert...

i was thinking about The Invisible Library, and thought we could start a list of Invisible Bands, which only appear in movies. most of them would have pretty lousy names in real life:

The Pinheads -- "Back to the Future"
The Barbusters -- "Light of Day" (sorry, M.J. Fox obsession)
Hey That's My Bike -- "Reality Bites"
Kathleen Turner Overdrive -- "High Fidelity"
Barry Jive and the Uptown Five -- "
Sonic Death Monkey -- "
The Kinky Wizards -- "
Mystery -- "Satisfaction"
The Oneders/Wonders -- "That Thing You Do"
The Grasshoppers -- "Dr. Doolittle"

I don't think The Commitments or Spinal Tap really count, do they? others?
posted by serafinapekkala at 12:24 PM on January 22, 2003

Where does the E Street Band fall on your spectrum, jon?

and serafinapekkala: add the BC-52's from the Flintstones movie (I'm sorry I knew that). Unfortunately, I don't think Jet Screamer (from the Jetsons) had a band.
posted by yhbc at 12:31 PM on January 22, 2003

Best (This week) The John and Spencer Booze Explosion
Runner up: The Hate Fuck Trio
posted by black8 at 12:36 PM on January 22, 2003

ooh, and there's Hotblack Desiato, the real estate agent that became a literary rock star (leader of invisi-band Disaster Area!) that became a real prog rock band!
posted by serafinapekkala at 12:39 PM on January 22, 2003

brilliant, brilliant, everyone. KnitWit, the brainwashed list is of unprecedented fantasticness. i'll be visiting often to check out each band in turn.

no-one has yet mentioned the mighty bump of chicken. and one of my local bands is called Mr Duck. terrible name, terrible band.

serafina and johnmc, your geography arguments have flaws - the london suede and the english beat are names imposed upon them by the americans, because apparently there were already some lame-ass bands called suede and the beat over there. they are, however, still crap.
posted by nylon at 12:45 PM on January 22, 2003

jonmc, sorry, not only did i mis-read your last post, but i also got your name wrong. i'll get my coat.

anyone remember we've got a fuzzbox and we're gonna use it?
posted by nylon at 12:50 PM on January 22, 2003

yhbc-do you mean are they good or geographically named? They're great of course. But I figured I'd keep the geography at at least the town level.

and nylon,I'm actually arguing that some geographically named bands(like the abovementioned) are good.

plus the american group known as the Beat was actually not bad(nor was the English Beat for that matter).
posted by jonmc at 12:50 PM on January 22, 2003

jonmc, nylon, et al., i hereby retract my Geography-Suckage Index Theory from circulation, as it's clearly not been put through proper beta-testing. *sniff* >;- P on the London Suede tip, yes, i knew that about the name change, the American "Suede" is a mediocre lounge singer.
posted by serafinapekkala at 1:03 PM on January 22, 2003

There goes that theory

Actually, I think Serafinapekkala is right. I have long subscribed to the Place Name Theory. Jon, your examples:

MC(stands for Motor City)5, Southside Johnny & the Asbury (Park) Jukes, Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, the Kentucky Headhunters, the English Beat, the Australlian Crawl, the Irish Rovers, Lordz Of Brooklyn and Brooklyn Funk Essentials, the Mississippi Sheiks, Crown Heights Affair, and Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.

While surely impressive, are not truly named for places like Asia, Boston, Kansas and America.
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:19 PM on January 22, 2003

Doing a search for one of my old favourites, I Jog and the Tracksuits, came up with this link, which has a number of great names, including the Scrotum Poles.

CHOM FM in Montreal used to have this great contest, Racehorse or Rockband, in which they read out a name and contestants had to decide in which category they belonged. It's pretty funny how similar naming conventions can be, although horse names tend not to be in such bad taste.
posted by Officeslacker at 1:47 PM on January 22, 2003

Icy Hot Stuntaz? Ben-Gay Bustaz? Krill Be Ballaz? White Gangstaz?
posted by bhayes82 at 2:06 PM on January 22, 2003

In college, I played with a band known as Lonely Shepherd. Our covers included 'Embraceable Ewe' and the 'Baa-ad to the Bone.'
Halfway through the set, our singer was pelted with a bologna sandwich.
posted by horsewithnoname at 2:09 PM on January 22, 2003

an update to the Invisible Bands list: boyfriend Nathaniel is all twinked out that i neglected to include:

Marvin Berry & The Starlighters -- "Back to the Future"
Citizen Dick -- "Singles"

so there ya go. i am also formulating a sub-group of actors who sing/play solo in a movie with no band, like Lily Taylor in Say Anything, Mary Stuart Masterson in Some Kind of Wonderful, and Hugh Grant and That Kid in About A Boy. [/fairly pointless listmaking]
posted by serafinapekkala at 2:10 PM on January 22, 2003

Serafina, there already exists a Rocklopedia Fakebandica, which compiles fictional bands from TV and movies. I didn't verify if your suggestions were listed, but if not I'm sure they'd accept your nominations.

Way back in junior high, some friends of mine had a punk band called the Flaming Necropheliacs. A couple members went on to form God Awful , which self-released an album ("What Would Jesus Do," after a banner that hung in the catholic school gym they often performed in -- back in the early '90s, before the WWJD craze hit) before breaking up.
posted by me3dia at 2:26 PM on January 22, 2003

me3dia, that reminded me of a band I "discovered" (a la PDQ Bach) back in college - Jesus and the Disciples. Their albums - recorded back in 23 A.D., because Jesus had access to any equipment He could conceive - included God is My Amp; Wine, Women and Songs; and Fire & Brimstone. They rocked, righteously, in my imagination.

A few years later I recorded (er, re-recorded) some of the songs myself and realized that, well, I couldn't and shouldn't try to compete with Jesus.
posted by soyjoy at 2:36 PM on January 22, 2003

My vote goes to local Chicago band the Impotent Sea Snakes. Other terrible names of actual bands are:

• the stupid -- Fuck
• the irritating -- My Life with Thrill Kill Kult
• the boring -- The Band
• the trying too hard to be menacing by using a K instead of a C -- Korn

posted by psmealey at 3:31 PM on January 22, 2003

Worst ever: Milli Vanilli
Best ever: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
posted by ssmith at 3:31 PM on January 22, 2003

"The Ass Ponys" has always bothered me for its lack of the proper plural "-ies" ending. But that's just me.
posted by interrobang at 3:37 PM on January 22, 2003

The Impotent Sea Snakes has to get my vote for the best and worst band name ever, although actually they started out in Atlanta based out of a fetish club called the Masquerade. Chicago was one of the few sexually liberated cities that would even allow them to play when they started back in the mid 90's so maybe they should claim them as their own.
posted by oh posey at 3:55 PM on January 22, 2003

gottabefunky - and wiseblood, perhaps?
every track a winner, Godbrain being a personal favourite.
then there's henrietta collins and the wifebeating childhaters. features 'i have come to kill you' (to the tune of 'we have come to rock you' - queen) amongst others.
and of course wayne county and the electric chairs, with the classics 'toilet love' and 'fuck off'.
it's all good.
posted by asok at 5:02 PM on January 22, 2003

I encountered a listing once for a Boston-area band named Feces Pieces.
posted by Songdog at 5:25 PM on January 22, 2003

Flamin' Gobs of Vomit Death, anyone?
posted by alumshubby at 5:36 PM on January 22, 2003

There used to be a great Cincinnati area band (who've since changed their name) called The Legendary Big Bill Pickle and the Jerkin' Gherkins.

Some friends of mine and I are starting a band called the Monks of Funk, just so we can use the name. Currently we have 2 harmonicas, a drummer, and a flute-playing Monkette, so it might be a while before you hear about us.

Two more invisi-bands for you -
Hey Man, That's My Bike > Reality Bites
My Little Brother's Puss > Home Improvement
posted by krakedhalo at 5:41 PM on January 22, 2003

A local band in college was "Group Shower".
posted by mmascolino at 6:30 PM on January 22, 2003

'Naked and Shameless are better than sex.'

Full disclosure : friends of mine. I was for a very brief period long ago the 'lead ranter'.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:18 PM on January 22, 2003

(Unless noted, all are real names, I swear to God)

Band names I love:
Superchunk
Sorry About Dresden (I think my favorite band name. Ever.)
Vibraspank
They Might Be Giants (seems so paranoid)
Your Mom
Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Talking Heads
Dire Straits
Screaming Cheetah Wheelies
The Replacements
The Testostertones
The Clash
Mojo Nixon (& Skid Roper, too)
Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys
Divine Intermission
No Use for a Name
Veruca Salt
Rage Against The Machine
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Free Beer & Chicken
Southern Culture on the Skids
Bettie Serveert
MC 900 Foot Jesus
Wilco
Neko Case and her Boyfriends
The Band
The Damned
Kewpie Doll
Whu Gnu?
Bad Brains
Circus Monkey (in the movie "Bandwagon")
Circle Jerks
Shark Quest
Traffic
Of Montreal
Apples In Stereo
Little Georgie and the Shufflin' Hungarians


Band names I hate:
Ass Ponys
Butthole Surfers
Anal Cunt (hmmm, a theme seems to be developing)
UB40
Peaches and Herb
Slint
Queensryche
Hootie and the Blowfish
Indigo Girls
Hoobastank
Mister Mister
Strawberry Alarm Clock
(anything with an umlaut)
Extreme
Shakespear's Sister
Wang Chung
Right Said Fred
Toad the Wet Sprocket
For Squirrels
Snotty Scotty And the Hankies


If I ever start a band, it's gonna be Tastes Like Chicken.
posted by Vidiot at 9:12 PM on January 22, 2003

Forgot a few more cool names:
Aquarium Rescue Unit
Sex Mob
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Queen Sarah Saturday
Sex Police
Portastatic
Nozmo King
Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos (prosthetic Cubans)
Public Enemy
posted by Vidiot at 9:18 PM on January 22, 2003

apart from all of this, it should be noted that the band meanwhile back in communist russia are positively amazing.

(website currently quasi under constuction, naturally)
posted by sinical at 9:21 PM on January 22, 2003

I always loved Me, Mom & Morgentaler.
Some explanation required for all you non-Canadians, though: Dr. Henry Morgentaler was an abortionist who seemed to always be in the news back in the days when I was a teenager, before I had status and before I had a pager.
Also good:
A Tribe Called Quest
JFKFC
The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience
Wagon Christ
Forbidden Dimension (and Tom "Jackson Phibes" Bagley's old band, Colour Me Psycho, and what the hell, his new one, The English Teeth, too.)
Utterly the opposite of good (name-wise, anyway)
Any bar band with a license plate for a name (OU812, etc.)
Enuff Z'Nuff
Winger
Ass Ponys, but please note that "Some Stupid With A Flare Gun" was one of my favourite album titles of whatever year that was)
U2
Any band doing the "Noun Number" thing. You heard me, Sumblink 41182.
Puff Daddy. Or is it P. Diddy, or Puffy? (yeah, I know, not a band)
Kid N' Play
Gorillaz. In fact, anybody who uses "z" for "s". Using "Thee" for "The" is OK, though.
The Electric Prunes

Oh, and bluebeetle, I think Jose Luis Borges would agree with me that the San Francisco Metallica have a terrible name, but the Edmonton Metallica have a great one.
posted by arto at 3:03 AM on January 23, 2003

side projects of notorious bands have often been a reliable source for crappy-yet-delightful band names. for proof, check out the names of Ministry´s: my favorites are 1000 Homo DJ´s and the unforgettable Revolting Cocks.
posted by inkeri at 3:47 AM on January 23, 2003

Worst band I ever saw just because I was intrigued by their name: Cadaviar.
posted by JoanArkham at 4:24 AM on January 23, 2003

Worst : Throbbing Gristle

Best : Mindless Powder Hoovers

admittedly, the above are inter-changeable, depending on my mood!...
posted by Incubus.exe at 1:33 PM on January 23, 2003

Some band names I like:
When Babies Eat Pennies
Space Travel Made Children of Us All

Some band names I don't like:
The Toilet Boys (one Toilet Boy was a member of Mother Nature's Blacklight Rainbow, a fucking great band with a really terrible name)
The Dismemberment Plan (I *heart* that band, I just hate the name. They are breaking up and I'm so sad about this I'm reluctant to make any critical remarks, just in case they are on the verge of staying together but then read that I think name is stupid and changed their minds again.)

Vidiot -- Sorry About Dresden! Great band name, great band, too! Saw them live in Chapel Hill and they were fantastic.
posted by jennyb at 2:21 PM on January 23, 2003

Gift Horse

There are two bands called "The Gift Horse"
posted by ed\26h at 6:34 AM on January 24, 2003

Everyone is talking about stupid band names!
posted by KnitWit at 7:53 AM on January 24, 2003

ohmigosh, jennyb. I thought I was the only one who ever knew of Sorry About Dresden.

NC represent!
posted by Vidiot at 7:01 PM on January 24, 2003

OK, so one I enjoy for the sole reason that they played here in town and the Oregonian ran an ad promoting the show and people all over town (well, the uptight parts) all complained about it:

Nashville Pussy

And the one I gave my brother when he said his band needed a name:

Second Shooter And The Grassy Knolls

Which I thought was brilliant. Worst though, I'd have to go with Skankin Pickle (???) or Barenaked Ladies (I love them love them love them, but their name is redundant) or perhaps Live (whom I also love, but their name can be confusing).
posted by verso at 9:02 PM on January 24, 2003