by Brock Perles

How does a band decide on its name? Does a band’s name have anything to do with its popularity or the reasons that people first start listening to its music?  Some band’s names are catchy while others are just unexplainable and seem irrelevant to their music.  In some cases, a band’s name doesn’t seem to really make a difference as long as its music is good. Below are just a few band names, ranked from good, to tolerable, to bad.

BAD: The Academy Is…

This band was originally known as “The Academy”, but they added the “Is…” in 2004 to avoid

Two bands, Death Cab For Cutie and The Academy Is..., have strange names, but are good bands.

legal complications with other established bands already under that name.

“Clearly, the band is admirable. Their music sounds good and the lead singer’s vocals are alright. The band name just irks me, however. The Academy is… hm. The Academy is, what? It’s confusing and the ellipses is seemingly unnecessary.”

Israa Qureshi, junior, explained the reason that she disagreed.  “I don’t really care about the name. I just like the music,” Qureshi added.

TOLERABLE: Kid Cudi

This rapper’s stage name was taken from his last name Mescudi.

“It seems a bit unoriginal to just create a band name off of your own name, or to call your band by your full name. However, Kid Cudi is solo, his music is great, and due to this he is exempted.”

Bill DiFilippo, senior, explained, “It’s a very creative name. Most rappers use their real name, but ‘Scott Mescudi’ sounds more like a history teacher than a rapper. Other rappers have weird nicknames like ‘Lil Wayne’ or ‘Jay-Z.’ Taking your rap name from your real name is new and original.”

GOOD: The New Pornographers

Newman stated, “There isn’t really any significance to the name. Some people think it’s offensive. It’s no more offensive than Bare Naked Ladies or Cowboy Junkie. It’s just a Canadian tradition of having blandly offensive names.”

“I believe that because the band has concocted a unique name, has good lyrics, and has a mellifluous composition to their work, they set the bar pretty high for other artists.”

Nicole Cabral, senior, agreed stating, “I love the band name, love their music, and also believe that the lyrics and beats to each song are all simply perfection.”

GOOD: Hootie and the Blowfish

This band’s name came from the nicknames of two friends of singer/guitarist Darius Rucker. One of them had owl-like eyes so he called him “Hootie”,  while the other friend had puffy “Blowfish” cheeks.

“The band name is just good. (As well as the music) It’s comical, and there isn’t much else to say. Hootie’s great, oh and “the blowfish” are a’ight.”

Nate Coleman, senior, said, “Hootie has a voice that compels me to tears and bring me to a state of complete and utter emotion.  He enriches my spirit and gives me the feeling of pure patriotism.  The Blowfish rock my socks.”

GOOD: Modest Mouse

Their name derives from a passage from the Virginia Woolf story “The Mark on the Wall” which reads, “…and very frequent even in the minds of modest, mouse-coloured people…”

“Modest Mouse is a very good band. Their name, derived from literary text, enhances the value of their music, at least to me. Yeah, aside from that, Polar Opposites, is an amazing song.”

Lake Long, sophomore,  laughed stating, “I like them too. I don’t know what else to say though, Brock.”

Clearly, band names do have a clear importance in the way students, as well as fans perceive the bands. Successful bands usually have a good name, although, some poorly named bands have really good music. All and all, it merely depends on musical preferences of students and fans. People like different things, but surely, if a band chooses a name like “We Suck, Don’t Listen to Us”, people would probably be skeptical of their talent.