Okay. If anyone I don't know finds this blog, this question is going to sound very odd and random, but, if the reader knows me, this will merely seem like par for the course.
Here's the question that's been keeping me up at night (well, really just one night, and my roommate wasn't very much help):
Why do some vegetables (and other food) work for band names but not others?
For example, the Black-eyed Peas - that works. The Carrots - that does not work.
Korn - that works.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - that works. Black Cold Cabbage - that does not work.
Bread - that works. Muffins - that does not work.
And I can think of no fruit band names (there's Banana Seat - but that's not named after the yellow fruit). If anyone else can, let me in on the secret.
And, to extrapolate that principle, let's apply it to places as well:
Chicago, Boston, Kansas - those all work.
Think you'll ever hear of a band named Norman? (unless the lead singer is named Norman, don't count on it) Or how about Tobago? (now that I think about it, that would actually be a pretty cool name)
Why is there no band named Greenland (or is there and I don't know about it?) or Iceland?
Here's my theory: there are some names that are inherently cool and those are the names that work for bands (don't ask me what it is that makes them inherently cool, that's like asking what makes ice cubes cool - no, not the same thing, that actually has an explanation - they're frozen; it's like asking what makes waterskiing cool - it just is). The other names are like instant death to your band if you name your band after that item/person. Rule of thumb? There is none - I guess you have to name your band and leave the coolness decision up to everyone else (sorry all you aspiring bands out there, I have no guidelines for you).
This is one of those posts where I am going to ask for feedback. What are your thoughts on this band issue? I need to get some sleep, so I need to know. I can't afford any more sleepless nights because of this question!
4 comments:
I really don't know about band names, but when I was little I had an interesting idea about how trademarks worked. I thought that there was a switchboard with all the available names for businesses (mainly fast-food in my mind), and then when someone wanted to open a new place they had to go in and flip a switch to a name that wasn't being used.
Good luck with the band name quest.
Yeah, band names are weird. What does "The Rocket Summer" mean, anyway? Your question has me stumped (doesn't take much, I know).
I must say that I disagree - band names really don't seem to have as much control over a group's success as you seem to want to argue.
There are some bands that have had excellent names that have simply flunked out due to bad music. There have also been bands with stupid names that have been completely successful - Bread. Really, I think that the name of a band has little to do with its success. Besides name recognition, I have not seen much evidence that the names have any effect.
Look here, Justin, you have missed the entire thrust of my argument. My point is that some band names seem to work and some don't (for example, if a band named Tobago were to 'flunk out' because of bad music, it would not change the fact that they had a very cool name. The fact that Soft Cell had a hit song does not change the fact that their name stinks. And, contrary to your opinion (although, this may all be an opinion thing anyway), Bread oddly enough does work as a band name). While I concede that I did make the statement that a bad name could cause a band not to make it, I meant that it would be much more difficult for a band with the unfortunate disability to choose a good name to make it in this business. (and, just because a name is stupid does not make the name 'not work' for a band, incidentally - there are, after all, Cake and Kiss)
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