What's in a Name?

With more than 1,300 bands, there are also, coincidentally, a lot of band names. Some are good. Some are bad. Some will never, ever be uttered aloud in unadulterated form on the radio in the U.S. (Those bands represented here include F---ed Up and Holy F---, and possibly also bands called Holy S--- and one that's the past tense of S---.)

Here at SXSW, you can see The Pandas, The Panda Band, Panda & Angel and plain old Panda. I'm going to start a band called Panda Zeitgeist. There are two bands called The Affair -- some wag programmed them for the same time slot at two different venues.

I saw a terrific British band last night with a terrible name: Temposhark. They're skinny dudes in monochromatic black outfits with Beatles haircuts, and they tap deep into the dark reservoir of British rock. If they had a better name -- Dark Reservoir, for example -- they'd get more buzz!

Neda Ulaby

11:16 AM ET | 03-16-2007 | permalink