The 25 Most Ridiculous Band Names in Rock History

By Matt Wilson June 26, 2007 4,119,538 views

#22-#16: The Lazily Ridiculous

These next entries earn their place on the list for the sheer lack of thought the bands later admitted they gave to their names. If the bands had spent any less time coming up with something, they would have ended up calling themselves The Band Name.

#22.

Stone Temple Pilots

The story: One of the band members thought the logo on the STP car treatment spray bottles was cool. So yes, in case you were wondering: a lot of thought went into this.

Why it's ridiculous: Most of the band members seemed to think titling songs "Kitchenware & Candy Bars" and getting addicted to heroin was a fantastic idea, too. Evidence suggests they might not be the guys to turn to for well-reasoned decisions. The mental image of four guys flying around ancient Aztec temples matches up better with a psychedelic rock band, not a bunch of cock-rockers penning songs like "Meatplow" and "Sex-Type Thing."

#21.

Matchbox 20

The story: Explanations range from the name being the title of a song from an earlier band to the band's drummer seeing the word "matchbox" and the number 20 on a guy's shirt in a restaurant. Either way, shut the fuck up, Rob Thomas.

Why it's ridiculous: If you're going to pick a band name that doesn't mean shit, there's an unspoken rule it should at least sound cool (Soundgarden, etc). Matchbox 20 manages a triple play of mediocrity: It's incomprehensible, it's boring and it's not even very original, given how many other generic bands showed up at the same time as matchbox with "word-number" combos (Blink-182, Sum 41, 13 Engines, Seven Mary Three, etc.).

#20.

Smashing Pumpkins

The story: More of a cautionary tale than anything else, bandmates Billy Corgan and co. reportedly dashed the name off quickly so they could get on with their lives, not realizing they'd be fielding lame pumpkin-based jokes about it for the rest of their lives.

Why it's ridiculous: According to a November 1993 Washington Post interview with bass player D'arcy Wretzky, even the band thinks Smashing Pumpkins "is a stupid name, a dumb bad joke and a bad idea," which should tell you something. These days, they claim the name doesn't even have anything to do with pummeling squash fruit, in that "smashing" was meant to imply "great" (as in the British slang), like that somehow makes it less stupid. It'd be like accidentally crapping yourself on a bus, then telling everyone it's okay, because you meant to: Nobody cares why you did it, Shitty Pants.

#19.

Def Leppard

The story: Singer Joe Elliott thought of the name Deaf Leopard while he was in school (presumably while failing something). The spelling was later changed so the band didn't become confused with punk bands (who are known for their flawless spelling).

Why it's ridiculous: Putting aside '80s metal bands' fascination with animals for a minute (White Tiger, Whitesnake, Great White, Jackyl, Ratt) unless you're a Mozart-level talent, there's simply no excuse for including a word in your band's name that means you can't hear sounds. You might as well just call yourself Terrible Music and save people the energy of mocking you.

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741 Comments

on number 18 W.A.S.P stand for something it stand for (we are sexual predators)
and kiss doesnt stand for anything its a complete myth.

11/4/2009 12:54:49 AM

pHiLlNeSs_HxC

I think you could also include 'Nsync. When I was 12 and my best friend told me the name of that new boy band, I heard "in sink", and assumed I had misheard her.

Some of these band names are so silly, I felt embarrassed to even say them. I used to like Chumbawumba and Limp Bizkit in middle and high school, but I could never bring myself to ask my mom to buy their CDs as Christmas gifts.

11/3/2009 9:03:34 AM

catgirl

when you are partially responsible for Pink Floyds sound. (sound engineer for the band for everthing Dark side of the moon and earlier) and have your name in a Pink Floyd song (Alans Psychadelic Breakfast) I would think you can name your (awsome f*****g band) anything that you wish

11/2/2009 12:16:44 PM

jarrodzoso

LOL nickleback is so terrible and one of the worst names for a band. itd be 100 times cooler if, say, ur drug dealer was happy that u brought him a ton of customers today, so he gave u a free nickle bag... back...

and dave matthews sucks, i dont get y every girl aged 16-23 insists on how great he is.

11/2/2009 8:49:54 AM

choppin_meat420

30 Odd Foot of Grunt. Being Australian, I've unfortunately seen Russell interviewed about the name and he confirms the accumulated hieght of the band members as being the reason for the names. I've also unfortunately been able to see this incredibly s**t band play, and as there are 6 of them, I can state that the average height of them is NOT 5 feet tall.
And on another note, Russell doesn't spend most of his time on a gay ranch but on the most exclusive harbourside address in Sydney. He's still a massive poof though!

10/24/2009 6:22:43 PM

mattricks

How about the ridiculous symbol that once substituted for prince's name, or they might be giants...actually they might totally suck, or worst of all "yes" or "the band" or "the who"

10/21/2009 10:38:07 PM

ak_andy

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10/17/2009 6:06:24 AM

diamondsingle

Example of an awesome band name: Audrey Hepburn's Penis. It's something that doesn't exist, references a famous name, AND it's a dick joke. Brilliant. Just brilliant.

10/12/2009 7:31:06 PM

DrVenkman

Good article. And yes, there are some band names that aren't that ridiculous (Guns N' Roses, rage against the machine, Poison...). I'm not saying they make any sense, but at least they sound kinda cool and don't have such a retarded explanation or, quoting the article, don't "...invite you, the listener, on a subconscious simian level, to punch each of them in the face until they agree to change it." Can't explain it better than that.

10/10/2009 8:09:28 PM

Human_gs

i think this ARTICLE is pointless.
how is any band name NOT ridiculous.
you expect them to name themselves rockband1, rockband2, rockband3?
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHH!

10/3/2009 4:21:52 PM

wildr4bbits

@migga. lol if your being sarcastic.
And LOL if you arnt.
But seriously, !!!? What kind of a stupid name is that?

9/22/2009 9:00:09 PM

ShaunPhillips

Stone Temple Pilots's third album did have some psychedelic tones to it. Way to cherry-pick the least subtle song titles.

9/21/2009 9:15:36 AM

Tibs

Nickelback is my fav rock band but i didn't know that's where they got the name. So....LAZY!

9/17/2009 2:37:56 PM

nodevout

Russell Crowe's band is no longer called Thirty odd foot of grunt. After making the emminently sensible decision to change their name, they inexplixably settled on the name The ordinary fear of god. Thus they are probably the only band in this list which has the dubious honour of having had had two of the worst band names in history.

There is is theory that the band had a surplus of band merchandise emblazoned with the intials TOFOG and thus had to think of a new name which would also have the same initials.

Russell's football team, the Rabbitohs, are named after people whose job it was to skin rabbits during the 1930's so his idea of what constitutes a good name may be a bit skewed. The team has just missed the playoffs and their coach was knocked out by one of the players after slapping him (and the rest of team) in the face. As punishment he has to watch Russell's band play a full show.

9/15/2009 11:03:55 PM

katzy

I have to agree with everything in this article, especially the part about Limp Bizkit, who's fronted by one of the biggest tools on the face of this planet, Fred Durst, or as a friend of mine would call him, "A Jacksonville Faggot turned New York Faggot!"

My friend's band had the misfortune of opening up for those jerkoffs about 100 years ago, and Fred Dirtbag claimed he could out-rap anybody. Well, my friend called him out on it live on stage, and that little p***y wouldn't even budge. Fred Durst is a f*****g sellout tool, and anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

9/11/2009 1:34:08 AM

sk8rpunk

who ever wrote this is gay.
panic at the disco is freakin amazing

9/9/2009 11:23:38 PM

migga

!!!?... I don't get it.. Can someone please.. !!!.. Really? How in god's name do you pronounce that.

9/7/2009 4:29:15 PM