But seriously, are band names getting out of hand?
We live in a world where genre is becoming less and less important, and don’t worry, that’s a good thing.
The reason it’s a good thing is that when genre isn’t a factor that musicians are considering too heavily, it means that ideas are much more free-flowing. We saw dregs of this in the past, and musicians were hailed for pushing boundaries, but it wasn’t something which was as widely accepted.
For instance, Eric Clapton is widely considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time because of the way he was able to blend genres new and old. He was an artist who quite happily took styles from blues and R&B, but then merged them with more modern pop stylings, such as what George Harrison was putting together in the Beatles. His reluctance to subscribe to any particular genre made him a guitar legend.
“Eric Clapton is the most important and influential guitar player that has ever lived, is still living or ever will live […] Do yourself a favour, and don’t debate on this,” said Steve Van Zandt, “Introduced the essence of black electric blues: the power and vocabulary of Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin and the three kings—BB, Albert and Freddie—to create an attack that defined the fundamentals of rock and roll lead guitar.”
Other artists running up to the modern age have also been praised for this willingness to reject any kind of genre and instead blend various styles. You have the likes of Led Zeppelin, Sly and the Family Stone, and David Bowie, who are hailed as legends in the modern age because of the open-minded approach they had towards music.
That open-mindedness is something which we see a lot more frequently in modern music, and it’s partly because of these musical minds that came prior, paving the way for such music, but also because of the dissipation of genre. So, why don’t we care about genre as much in modern music? It all comes down to accessibility.
Before the internet and streaming services were available, genre was very important because you needed to have an idea about what you were listening to. Music was a treat, something you had to pay a lot of money for and set aside time to listen to. People didn’t want to waste their time or money, so it was important music could be appropriately labelled and listeners knew what they were buying. These days, now that music is available at the press of a button, this desire to appropriately label music and stay within those labels isn’t as prominent.
This is a good thing when it comes to the creation of music. Who doesn’t love the fact that artists can be as free as they want when they make something? It’s a great rule to have as far as creativity is concerned; however, there is a downside to it. Yes, a music critic is admitting there is a pitfall when it comes to allowing artistic people to do whatever they want, and that pitfall is shit band names.
When labels were important, so too was it important for bands to have a name that was representative of that label. Rock bands sounded like rock bands, funk bands sounded like funk bands; there was an identity behind the name. I’m not going to sit here and say that there aren’t bad band names from these periods as well, but even the bad names felt somewhat attached to the kind of music they were making.
As genre has become more ambiguous, so too have the names of modern bands. It seems that musicians are well aware that they are going to take a broader approach towards the music they make, and therefore, it becomes harder to pick a name. You can’t just decide you’re going to be a rock band and go for a name like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Guns N’ Roses, the choice isn’t as simple as that. Not to mention, so many names have now been taken, which adds another obstacle.
I have sympathy for people trying to name their band in the modern age, but these new hurdles don’t justify the fact that a lot of these names are well and truly getting out of hand. When bands are looking for a name now, in a bid to not limit themselves, they go for something either entirely random or intentionally simplistic. Both of these approaches mean that they have no ties to a certain sound, but it also means that they sound ridiculous.
Feet. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Divorce. Lambrini Girls. Geese. Loaded Honey. BDRMM. SPRINTS. Sex Week. Sex Mask. Famous. Piss. Adult DVD. The Rolling People. Toad of the Wet Sprocket. Adult Nephew. Truthpaste. Girl Group. Pig Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. Delivery. Talk Show. Dry Cleaning. GOAT. Barry Can’t Swim.
By no means are the above bands bad (granted, bar one or two), but there is no escaping the fact that they don’t give even the foggiest window into the kind of music the bands make, and the reason for this is because most bands don’t subscribe to one particular form of music. With creative ambiguity comes… well… creative ambiguity. All in all, it’s a great time to be a fan of music, but it’s a terrible time to say the names of the bands you like.
