I think how good a band is will often define how bad their name is. Good bands can make a bad name ok, just as a bad band can ruin a good name.

Sent by Brian | 2:20 PM ET | 04-07-2008

I've always thought Death Cab for Cutie was a terrible name. It's memorable, but just sounds goofy and really doesn't fit the band at all. Actually, I resisted giving them a chance for a long time because the name just made me wince.

And, while I don't dislike the name Georgie James (or the band!) it seems like they're shooting themselves in the foot with that name - it guarantees their album will be filed under J as often as it's filed under G.

Sent by Josh Burnett | 2:33 PM ET | 04-07-2008

Dr. Dog- one of my new favorite bands. Dragged to a show and was captivated.

Sent by james | 2:35 PM ET | 04-07-2008

"Your 33 Black Angels"...For some reason I find this to be a ridiculous name. However, I find their album "Lonely Street" to be absolutely charming. Which is equally baffling, because nothing about this album(i.e. vocals, lyrics, or any part of the music) is all that special. I guess its a whole lot of stuff being not special alone....that ends up being pretty darn special together. But I don't really think that deeply about it.

Sent by Brendon | 2:53 PM ET | 04-07-2008

Spider.
Sounds like an 80's metal hair band... but no. It's an indie-folk lady with a stunningly simple hushed, clear voice. I can't put my finger on why or how, but she's unlike all the other indie-folk singer-songwriters out there. Her little album (Way to Bitter Lake) plays like a storybook. It is my new favorite. It's beautiful. Despite the name she goes by.

Sent by kate | 3:04 PM ET | 04-07-2008

Cracked.com did a pretty amusing post on this while back ("The 25 Most Ridiculous Names in Rock History" -broken down into "Stealth ridiculous" - (Porno for Pyros, the Alan Parsons Project) "Lazily Ridiculous" (Of Montreal, W.A.S.P.), "Just Plain Ridiculous" (The The, Mr. Mister, The Mr. T Experience), and finally, "The Painfully Ridiculous," including my personal favorite, Toad The Wet Sprocket...

Sent by bkr | 3:13 PM ET | 04-07-2008

The Lemon Pipers. I think they're a great band. But what a terrible name! Still, I recognize that some listeners may disagree as to one or both of my characterizations.

Sent by Pablo | 3:35 PM ET | 04-07-2008

I try to ignore band names. The Beatles? Atrocious name. Corny as any name I've ever heard. But their music... that's worth remembering.

It is difficult to forget about names, though. The name "Decemberists" reminded of so much hyperemotional dada that I refused to listen to their music for years. Turns out they're one of my favorite bands in the country now.

Sent by Mark M | 3:42 PM ET | 04-07-2008

Sometimes a band names the group when they're young and it becomes an embarrassing reminder of how they sounded before they learned how to play/write songs. A band from Santa Cruz, CA named Slow Gherkin was the single worst-named band I love to currently reside in my iTunes folders.

They were a bunch of high schoolers in a 3rd wave ska band when they named the group, but as they entered their mid-20s, the music matured into a great mix of Attractions-era Costello melodies, uniquely cathartic vocals, and Specials/English Beat dancehall-crashing rhythms. Their final album was called "Run Screaming" and I think anybody who listened to them regularly was just dying to hear what they would do with one more album...

The Flying Burrito Bros. was and is a bad band name.

Names that too-openly acknowledge a band's influences are a turn-off, no matter how decent they really are (I'm look at you, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names.)

And, of course, lots of bands turned me off because their name was extremely misleading. When I hear about The Dismemberment Plan, I damned well expect metal, okay?

What a dissappointment.

Sent by Brendan K. | 3:43 PM ET | 04-07-2008

I love Chris Thile, but after Nickel Creek he had a little problem picking a new band name:

1 - Chris Thile and the How to Grow a Band
2 - The Tensions Mountain Boys
3 (finally a good one) - Punch Brothers

Sent by Kyle | 3:53 PM ET | 04-07-2008

actually, i rather a band have a name i think is stupid and dumb, but memorable, than a boring name like the dodo's.

one of my favorite bands does have what i consider a really boring name. if i hadn't heard their stuff on the radio, i'd probably never give them a chance.

but the hell does the name "cracker" say to anyone?

Sent by OlderMusicGeek | 4:12 PM ET | 04-07-2008

Fun Fact: Two of the band names referenced in the comments here were part of a Monty Python sketch. I forget which album it was, but it was basically a radio announcer running down a list of goings-on in the rock world, each involving a more and more ridiculous band name.

Now that I think of it, Monty Python was a pretty terrible name for a comedy troupe...

Those band names in question? Death Cab for Cutie and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

My personal choices are My Morning Jacket and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah for terrific bands with terrible names. And even though I don't care for their music, I think I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness is pretty great.

Sent by reval5 | 4:28 PM ET | 04-07-2008

Bad band names can be a filter -- if you can't come up with a good moniker, how am I to trust your lyrical sense? That said, as people are noting, it's not often the correct filter.

I'm also thinking bands should be allowed (and encouraged) to change names as they mature (with UB40 as a prime example, as They B about 60 now).

I love the band "Jump, Little Children," but wish they had a different name.

In a reverse of the bad band name logic, I do find myself drawn to trying out bands just for having good/interesting album cover art.

Sent by Patrick | 4:34 PM ET | 04-07-2008

worst band name: !!!

enough said.

Sent by isaac | 6:12 PM ET | 04-07-2008

I actually found out about the Dodos a while back because I wanted to use that name for myself. Then I considered Nono Dodo. Silly/dumb band names, to me, indicate that they don't take themselves too seriously and are probably oddballs in some way -- always a plus for me.

And yeah, Brendan -- I remember being surprised how poppy the Dismemberment Plan was. That was definitely not a good mix of name and sound.

Sent by Joel | 8:14 PM ET | 04-07-2008

Word. Everyone I've mentioned that band to has said "what an awful name." I have to force people to listen to the track "Jodi" before they can get past it.

Sent by Alex Marvar | 8:45 PM ET | 04-07-2008

I actually don't think The Dodos is a bad band name really. No worse than The Beatles as someone else pointed out above.

One band name that I really don't like is Holy F*ck. I'm also not a fan of !!! (chk-chk-chk). Both band names are more impediments than anything else.

Sent by Ed | 10:19 PM ET | 04-07-2008

"Dough Dough a Female Deer" would have been better.
Silly band names. So original. Haven't heard a silly band name in .... that long.
Time for a revolution in music and all the arts. If you hate silly names why not talk about Post-Bands music? It hates silly names and the silly music that goes with it. ( No now I'm convinced -"Dough Dough a Female Deer" would have been much better)

Sent by Tom Hendricks | 11:25 PM ET | 04-07-2008

Vomit Launch was a great indie band with a hideously bad name!

Sent by Craig in NJ | 5:15 AM ET | 04-08-2008

I'm From Barcelona and the Boy Least Likely To. The names are just so.... clever.

Also, to respond to Brendan K., I thought the Dismemberment Plan was a terrible name too until I watched Groundhog Day again and realized that that was where it came from. Then I loved it

Sent by David W. | 11:45 AM ET | 04-08-2008

I adore The New Pornographers and understand why they named the band but cannot bring myself to let anyone know about them since I am sure the name will lead to blank stares and dark thoughts about my musical taste. I wish they came up with a name more like Behar's Destroyer.

Sent by george | 1:40 PM ET | 04-08-2008

Dandy Warhols.

Sent by Katie P. | 2:22 PM ET | 04-08-2008

The Shins sounds quite ridiculous but since I am not a native I didn't really think the same in the beginning :D

And I also had Math&Physics Club in my music collection for considerably long time and didn't listen because of the name only to find few months later that it's a great band. They are one of my most fav now.

Sent by Lenka Bliss | 2:37 PM ET | 04-08-2008

It's funny that you should mention the Dodos. I saw their CD in our preview rack of new music at my radio station and skipped right by it -- I also thought the name was dumb. And then I got a caller who requested a track off of "Visiter" so I was forced to listen and...wow, I really enjoyed it. So you're not alone, Bob!

Sent by Tamara Vallejos | 4:23 PM ET | 04-08-2008

My wife constantly complains about the names of bands I listen to, even if she loves them. The one she always complains about is Spoon, but she loves their music, and when asked to come up with a better band name, she usually just grumbles and leaves the room. Which is nice for me...

Sent by ian | 4:49 PM ET | 04-08-2008

I would never have bought a Papa M album until someone made me listen to him.

Sent by zach | 9:59 PM ET | 04-08-2008

Come to think of it, The Zombies is a pretty silly name and not very well suited to their wonderful music...

P.S. Wasn't "Death Cab For Cutie" from Magical Mystery Tour, not Monty Python? In any case - bad name for a bad band!

Sent by Jeremy Shatan | 7:33 AM ET | 04-09-2008

Need mp3 tracks just for joining??

John Glenn
Subscribe to Full Caliber's emailing list and instantly receive two Free Mp3 tracks of good hard Full Caliber rock and roll, just for joining! http://fullcaliber.com

Sent by phyza17 | 5:30 PM ET | 04-09-2008

my friend loves this band called "under the influence of giants" which i think is godawful. i don't think "hot hot heat" is that great of a one either. and i hear you about the new pornographers. i love them and have listened to them so long that now i'm immune to the effects of the title, but i get odd reactions whenever i tell someone knew about them!

Sent by sydney | 6:47 PM ET | 04-09-2008

Vampire Weekend. I think they sound the exact opposite of what you'd expect with a name like Vampire Weekend. Although maybe they want you to have low expectations so that once you hear their music you are pleasantly surprised. Worked for me.

Sent by Carissa | 9:20 PM ET | 04-09-2008

Hm, I was looking through my music collection for bad names, and I noticed that I don't really pay any attention to the names themselves. How I feel about the names is directly related to how I feel about the music. If I try to think about band names by themselves, most of them don't make any sense to me at all.

Sent by Nick | 12:10 PM ET | 04-10-2008

I personally don't dislike the name, but I think it doesn't fit with the type of music. I don't know the Dodos sound like a good mock rock band, not something like this. But still great tunes that they have.

Sent by Antonio B | 12:46 PM ET | 04-10-2008

A little off topic, but just to correct the last few posts, 'Death Cab For Cutie' was a song by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (perhaps it does relate to this topic), who were frequent guest musicians on an early '60's BBC children's show which included several soon to be members of Monty Python. And Bonzo member Neil Innes went on to collaborate with Eric Idle for 'The Rutles' mockumentary.

Sent by Matt Hocker | 1:25 PM ET | 04-10-2008

The absolute WORST band name for a great band ever is: The Band.
I LOOOVE The Band, as I'm sure many ASC listeners do, and I just can't grapple with their lack of originality. Music From Big Pink is one of the most original albums I own, and yet they couldn't transfer that creativity into naming themselves.
Their original name was The Hawks, which was definitely better than The Band, and as much as I hate "(Blank) and (Blank)s" names for band, even their later name "Levon and the Hawks" was superior.
I will admit however, that "Bob Dylan and The Hawks" doesn't sound quite as good as "Bob Dylan and The Band." Still, no excuse for not representing themselves as more than just "The Band" because they were SOOOO much more than just a band.
-TC

Sent by Taylor C | 5:05 PM ET | 04-10-2008

Are you kidding? The Dodos is a perfect band name. Ultimately the music can help or hurt though. I wasn't big on the previous album tracks I heard, but the Visiter album is great. The song Jody is absolutely killer.

Sent by Neil Cotterill | 5:12 PM ET | 04-10-2008

Somebody referenced Papa M. I am so happy.

Sent by Steven | 9:03 PM ET | 04-12-2008

Great Band !!! Well the name doesnt really stank but hey

F&F Blues Project

Hearts Turning Blue
Let Me Inside
You Monkey

and a few others

Painful Situation has some Hendrix style licks ala FJM

check em out

Sent by Frank M | 7:51 PM ET | 04-18-2008

Personally... the worst is The Greatfull Dead. The first time I listened to them in middle school I was expecting something like Black Sabbath and I heard 'touch of grey' and have never gotten over that disappointment enough to appreciate the band.

PS. I liken 'The Band' to the road stop eateries the have 'Restaurant' on the front.... you know the food is going to be good if they don't have to put any effort into the name.

Sent by Joel | 10:29 PM ET | 04-19-2008

What about:

... And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - it even includes the ellipsis! Now if that's not an impediment, I'm not sure what is.

Sent by Chris | 1:42 PM ET | 04-20-2008

I love Cafe Tacvba. But its they out grew the name years ago as their audience grew beyond their neighborhood in Mexico.
Also, I use to hate They Might Be Giant's name, a bit too quirky for what I think is a band of lasting influence. But my husband Luis pointed out, it is so fitting for such an overlooked band. When will they be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Sent by Karla | 3:46 PM ET | 04-20-2008

I avoided Broken Social Scene for a while because the name sounds like bad teenager emo music. Of course, they make amazing music. Strangely, most of their component bands have better names - Stars and Metric are both good band names.

Sent by Terence F | 8:56 PM ET | 04-20-2008

Have been and always will be a They Might Be Giants fan. I came to them as a teen in the early 90's when I needed a crazy band like this to wrap my identity around. I couldn't have found them without the name!

But that's not my point. I once was looking at a Camelot Records for new TMBG stuff, and came across the band They Eat Their Own. Not unlike the Dismemberment Plan comments here, I was certainly expecting something daring and hard-edged. When I heard their "hit," "Like a Drug," I was pretty bummed that I was listening to what seemed like an Eve's Plum clone (Eve's Plum, maybe that should make the list, too...)

Gosh, remember when we had to go to Camelot to find new music?? I love the world we live in...

Sent by Mike Sanders | 11:17 PM ET | 04-20-2008

ya know the only band names that bother me are ones you can't search on the internet because it is the name of something else more important. like if there was a band named "Fire," that would suck cause then whenever you typed their name you would have to say "Fire (band)."....especially like Wiki searches...

Sent by Evan Strouss | 5:51 PM ET | 04-24-2008

i know what you mean, i was just given the dodos cd by a friend of mine who is friends with the lead singer, he said "check out my friend's band, the dodos" immediately i was a little hesitant with the "friend's band/ dodos" but luckily i listened to it on the ride home from work and the visiter cd hasn't left my car since

Sent by Francisco Stoll | 8:20 PM ET | 04-27-2008

One of those band names that I've overlooked because of the band themselves is the Flaming Lips. I think they originally planned to change it if their music caught on but never got around to it.

Sent by Sarah | 10:03 AM ET | 04-29-2008