A History of Terrible Band Names

If you’ve ever been in a band, you’ll know how torturous it is to come up with a name for your group.  It has to be emblematic of your sound and style. It has to lend itself to good graphic design. It can’t have been used before. And everyone in the group has to agree on it.

This criteria has doomed many a band to terrible names.  Hoobastank.  Toad the Wet Sprocket. Limp Bizkit. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Dayglo Abortions.  Butthole Surfers.

And when you think about it, “The Beatles” is pretty lame.  It was meant as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets that double as a pun about being about the beat.

Cracked has this list of the 25 worst band band names of all time.  But the Village Voice goes deeper with a decade by decade look at the worst monikers of all time.