# Band names that don't fit their style **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576 "2014-06-25T01:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/61 "2014-06-26T13:07:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > With respect, I’d say Amy Winehouse hasn’t looked like much of anything for the last four years. Not true. She looks like [Keith Richards](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ITyrlumRCn8/UKq0gg7Us3I/AAAAAAAAhsQ/XHrb5DjRENE/s1600/keith-richards-wrinkles.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/62 "2014-06-26T15:23:18Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > [My rebuttal.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrIiLvg58SY) Nope, you’ve merely proved my point that they were a versatile band. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/63 "2014-06-26T15:58:10Z")
**The Police** are, in fact, not police. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/64 "2014-06-26T16:04:36Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > **The Police** are, in fact, not police. The Rev. Horton Heat, mentioned earlier, is also not an actual ordained minister. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/65 "2014-06-26T16:10:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Nor did the Moody Blues ever record many blues songs. In their early days, the Moodies WERE a pop/soul/rhythm and blues band. The band had started to fall apart by 1966, and original leaders Denny Laine and Clint Warwick quit. Justin Hayward and John Lodge were hired as replacements. And the band seemed to be on their last legs unil they heard the Beatles’ \*\*\*Sgt. Pepper \*\*\*and thought, “Hey, maybe WE could try writing pop/rock music with an orchestral sound.” Their new sound, the sound they’re now best known for, of course, wasn’t soulful or bluesy at all. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/66 "2014-06-26T16:14:50Z")
TODAY, the name Alice Cooper automatically makes us think of evil lyrics and sick stage theatrics. But when the band chose their name, the whole point was to come up with somethign that SOUNDED sweet, wholesome and innocent. “Alice Cooper” sounded to them like the name of a nice little old lady or of an angelic little schoolgirl. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/67 "2014-06-26T16:21:53Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > TODAY, the name Alice Cooper automatically makes us think of evil lyrics and sick stage theatrics. > > But when the band chose their name, the whole point was to come up with somethign that SOUNDED sweet, wholesome and innocent. > > “Alice Cooper” sounded to them like the name of a nice little old lady or of an angelic little schoolgirl. And originally, “The Alice Cooper Band” was meant to be a collective name for them. But as people kept calling the frontman “Alice,” it eventually became Vince Furnier, AKA “Alice Cooper,” and his band. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/68 "2014-06-26T16:34:37Z")
I don’t know much about **Night Ranger** but their song Sister Christian, while good, doesn’t match the badass band name. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/69 "2014-06-26T16:46:02Z")
So they have a hit ballad amongst a bunch of hard rocking songs. Most commercially successful bands, even hard rock and metal bands, have a ballad or two. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/70 "2014-06-26T18:19:20Z")
1910 Fruitgum Company 😕 What could that possibly relate to? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/71 "2014-06-26T18:22:16Z")
The name “Kansas” should probably make us picture a folkie or country band. In reality, Kansas was probably the closest thing to an American art-rock/prog-rock band in the Yes/ELP/Genesis mold. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/72 "2014-06-26T18:27:51Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > 1910 Fruitgum Company 😕 What could that possibly relate to? Bubblegum pop? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/73 "2014-06-26T18:35:10Z")
^ I thought it would be something like Grand Funk Railroad (Grand Trunk Railroad) or Chicago (Chicago Transit Authority). I guess it IS pretty descriptive. ::shudder:: ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/74 "2014-06-26T18:38:09Z")
**The Ramones** was a pretty deceptive band name for four guys surnamed Hyman, Cummings, Erdelyi, and Colvin. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/75 "2014-06-26T18:43:33Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > **The Ramones** was a pretty deceptive band name for four guys surnamed Hyman, Cummings, Erdelyi, and Colvin. **Cocteau Twins** weren’t twins…and there were three of them. Ditto the **Thompson Twins** , who were named after bumbling detectives in _Tintin_ and ranged from three to seven members, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/76 "2014-06-26T18:49:04Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > And originally, “The Alice Cooper Band” was meant to be a collective name for them. But as people kept calling the frontman “Alice,” it eventually became Vince Furnier, AKA “Alice Cooper,” and his band. And a bit off topic, Cooper pays his original bandmates a very handsome sum of money annually to keep using the name. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/77 "2014-06-26T19:02:01Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > **Jethro Tull** sounds like a country artist. Trivia note: “Jethro Tull” is the name of an 18th century horticulturist who invented the seed drill. The name was one of many names selected at random, because in the early days, the band was so bad that they needed to change their name every week to keep getting gigs. Still in the prog-rock vein, **Genesis** sounds like the name of a contemporary Christian band. (In fact, their debut album - _From Genesis to Revelation_ - sold poorly because record stores would often mis-file it in the religious section.) **Exodus** is even further afield. **Gentle Giant** sounds like it should be the name of a folk-rock band, or an ironically named black metal group. Speaking of black metal, **Celtic Frost** sounds nothing like Irish folk rock. And besides, they’re from Switzerland. How many metal bands ever came from Switzerland??? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/78 "2014-06-26T20:04:15Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Speaking of black metal, **Celtic Frost** sounds nothing like Irish folk rock. And besides, they’re from Switzerland. How many metal bands ever came from Switzerland??? Behold [Krokus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krokus_(band)). ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/79 "2014-06-27T04:58:38Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > **Cocteau Twins** weren’t twins…and there were three of them. > > Ditto the **Thompson Twins** , who were named after bumbling detectives in _Tintin_ and ranged from three to seven members, apparently. Ben Folds Five was a trio. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576/80 "2014-06-27T05:24:26Z")
Primal Scream is a name that does not fit the band that has it. And the only thing extreme about Extreme is how mind numbingly boring they were. Sure they played different kinds of music, but they sucked at all of it. Regarding Slaughter I seriously doubt that was his name, He is a former frontman for the Vinnie Vincent Invasion and Slaughter is nothing more than a more pop friendly version of that band. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-that-dont-fit-their-style/691576.md?page=5)