The 25 Most Ridiculous Band Names in Rock History

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

#18.

W.A.S.P.

The story: Eager for a cool-sounding metal band name, Blackie Lawless, Rik Fox, Randy Piper and Tony Richards decided to take the word "wasp," then for no reason punctuate the shit out of it.

Why it's ridiculous: When not naming themselves after animals, insects, or something misspelled, metal bands love acronyms. However, unlike KISS (which at least purportedly means "Knights In Satan's Service") or H.I.M. ("His Infernal Majesty"), the best that Lawless has been able to come up over the years is "We Ain't Sure, Pal." (This is probably better than "White Anglo-Saxon Protestants," but only slightly.) Worse, looking at W.A.S.P. song titles like "L.O.V.E. Machine" and "9.5.- N.A.S.T.Y." you start to suspect they might not even know what an acronym is, and just think punctuating stuff looks badass.

#17.

Puddle of Mudd

The story: The 1993 Missouri River flood left the band's practice space a muddy mess, which led them to this name-instead of the far better one, Missouri River Flood.

Why it's ridiculous: Not only do we get an extra "d" for no reason (these guys are the anti-Staind), we also have the privilege of getting an altogether unnecessary word. No, it couldn't just be Mudd Puddle. We definitely need that extra "of." Just like when you're ordering lunch and will sometimes get a sandwich of tuna with chips of potato. Bonus ridiculousness: This band name would actually work perfectly as the name for a bohemian coffee shop where a girl in an orange tank top with a brown bandana on her head asks if you want an organic wheat muffin.

#16.

Of Montreal

The story: Frontman Kevin Barnes has told many conflicting stories about where this Athens, Ga. band got their name, but the one that seems to have gained acceptance is that he was dating a girl from Montreal and it didn't work out.

Why it's ridiculous: What's the word for those people who change their explanation for something 100 times before settling on an excuse that sounds vaguely implausible? Oh, that's right, liars! Barnes named his band Of Montreal because he wanted people to think his band was from Montreal. He knew just as well as everyone else that if your group is from Montreal, you can record yourself taking a poop on a xylophone and Pitchfork will give it a sparkling review. Meanwhile, the last time a great band came out of Athens, Michael Stipe still thought he was straight. But why not just name the band "We're from Montreal" then, and get it over with? Oh right, because Barnes wanted to make it extraordinarily difficult for fans to use his band's name in a sentence:

Of Montreal Fan: Ever heard of Of Montreal? I'm a fan of Of Montreal. In my book there's nobody above Of Montreal.

Hot Indie Chick: You're hooked on phonics, aren't you?

First
Previous
Page 3 of 7
Next
Last

Recommended for Your Pleasure

14 More of the Most Unintentionally Gay Rap Lyrics Ever

by: Adam Brown

590,129 views
5 Massive Hit Songs That Almost Didn't Get Released

by: Ralf Bakr

687,566 views
7 Obnoxious Assholes Who Show Up At Every Concert

by: Adam Brown

661,284 views
Six Degrees of Su-Su-Sudio: Using Pandora as Musical Gaydar

by: Seanbaby

123,060 views

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

Life needs passion.
__ http://www.diamondsingle.com __ is a private exclusive dating club to meet millionaires, rich and beautiful men and women worldwide. Find your perfect match easier and more effective! what's most surprise is that it is 100% free. hope you can find your perfect match.

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