My top vote: Incubus. It should be a really hardcore, take-no-prisoners Goth band, but instead, it’s just a semi-weird semi-nu-metal semi-pop band.
Also on the list:
Kitchens of Distinction
Beats the Hell out of Me.
Okay, both sound like “BAND NAME!” band names, but if you DO have a “BAND NAME!” band name, you need to be a really good band to prove yourself worthy of it.
For instance, I’ve only heard the Rock Band entry from Honest Bob and the Factory to Dealer Incentives, but from the okayness of it, they seem to be skirting the line on this.
But the two I mention above, while not totally sucking, really need to look to Saves the Day for the quality you need to have if you want to sport a “BAND NAME!” band name. (I had actually thought before finding out about them that there should be bands called “Saves the Day” and “Beats the Hell Out of Me”.)
1983 – the middle of my sophomore year of high school. Someone mentioned something about this new band, Tears For Fears, and I immediately thought “Woah…kick-ass name…they’ll probably really rock. That’s one of the best punk band names I’ve heard in awhile”.
It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I actually heard them, when Everybody Wants to Rule the World was released. “Letdown” doesn’t come close to describing it. They retained my personal “Least Rocking ‘Rock’ Band” award for nearly 25 years, until Coldplay came along.
My apologies to the SDMB’s Roland Orzabal, but I find them gawdawful.
I always thought Godspeed, You! Black Emperor was a cool “angry political rap band” name wasted on post-rock noodlers (not that the band isn’t cool, but the name is much cooler)
I was going to start a sister thread, for lame band names with an awesome band, but then I realized that pretty much every album I own falls into this category.
I agree with Incubus. The thing is I swear that a year or so before they became popular, I played an Incubus song at a bowling alley just because their name sounded cool and it was super-ultra dark heavy metal, just like you’d expect. False memory syndrome (BAND NAME!) I guess.
I’d say Snake River Conspiracy is another one. Should be some good bluesy southern rock.
And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. They’re about as heavy as I expected, just sort of meh, though.
You’re right about SRC’s seeming genre. I don’t like their name that much, but it’s definitely better than their music
But I have a basically opposite opinion of yours on … And. I guess if all their songs were as heavy as “It Was There That I Saw You”, they’d be as heavy as their name appears. OTOH, they are almost as good as their name, so they do squeakingly qualify (I actually like them as a band, but their name ROCKS!)
