The 25 Most Ridiculous Band Names in Rock History

By Matt Wilson June 26, 2007 4,171,102 views

#3.

Hootie and the Blowfish

The story: The band is named for two of singer Darius Rucker's college choir friends, nicknamed "Hootie" and "the Blowfish" because one looked like an owl and the other like a blowfish. Interesting note: That choir was named Darius the Black Guy & The Two Ugliest Dudes on Campus.

Why it's ridiculous: In a word: "hootie." In four: "hootie," "and," "the" and "blowfish." We now know from scientific studies performed in 1998 at Cambridge that there isn't a single aspect of Hootie and the Blowfish's name that doesn't invite you, the listener, on a subconscious simian level, to punch each of them in the face until they agree to change it.

#2.

Archers of Loaf

The story: Because the band members apparently wanted to spend every single interview talking about their name, they came up with the stupidest one they could think of.

Why it's ridiculous: Because it's clearly just the result of opening the dictionary two times and using the first word one of the guys pointed to. Unfortunately, one of the words happens to be "loaf," as in "meat" or "pinching a." Also, here's a hint, fellas: If you go out of your way to give yourselves a dumb name, reporters aren't going to ignore it. They're going to ask you about it. And then you'll have to tell the story about how Mike put on a blindfold and pointed at the middle of page 67 in Webster's every day for the rest of your lives.

#1.

!!!

The story: aka Chk-Chk-Chk. In the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy, the clicks in the Bushmen's native language were represented with exclamation marks in the subtitles. The band thought that was cool, apparently, and named themselves three clicks. (This also makes the second band that's completely unsearchable by Google.)

Why it's ridiculous: "Hey, Nic Offer, lead singer of the three-exclamation-mark band whose name I can't even begin to pronounce, even after I heard them masturbating all over you on NPR, why did you name your band three exclamation marks?"

"Have you seen the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, then I really can't explain it."

(A Coke bottle descends from the sky and hits Offer on the head, sending him on an amazing journey of discovery.)

___________
Read more of Matt's ramblings and participate in discussions all about his band, Live Lobster Special, on The MW Blog.

First
Previous
Page 7 of 7
Next
Last

Recommended for Your Pleasure

12 Bizarre True Stories Behind Famous Band Names

by: Robotman

549,492 views
5 Massive Hit Songs That Almost Didn't Get Released

by: Ralf Bakr

706,395 views
7 Obnoxious Assholes Who Show Up At Every Concert

by: Adam Brown

677,772 views
7 Songs From Your Grandpa's Day That Would Make Eminem Blush

by: Chris Naish , Nathan Birch

619,909 views

742 Comments

there is no confirmed meaning for W.A.S.P, I've heard a few. The one you said, "We Are Satan's People" and "We Are Sex Perverts", to name a few.

11/10/2009 11:47:47 AM

zachstaska

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