# Bands that don't sound like their name **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927 "2019-06-23T13:20:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/1 "2019-06-23T13:20:13Z")
A few days ago I was driving in my car when a song by Vampire Weekend came on the radio, and I realized how much – at least to me – the band name just didn’t go with the music they make. A band called Vampire Weekend obviously sounds like it should be a goth band or a heavy rock band, not the breezy indie pop band that it is. Similarly, I had avoided checking out My Bloody Valentine for the longest time with a similar misapprehension about the genre of music they played. This one was probably not as far off the mark but, once again, I expected either goth or a heavy metal type band, not the (great) shoegazing noise-rock/pop band that it is. I’m sure there are heaps of these examples, so what have the Dopers got? ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/2 "2019-06-23T13:28:08Z")
When I first heard of the Black Eyed Peas I thought they would be a country group. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/3 "2019-06-23T13:36:28Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Similarly, I had avoided checking out My Bloody Valentine for the longest time with a similar misapprehension about the genre of music they played. This one was probably not as far off the mark but, once again, I expected either goth or a heavy metal type band, not the (great) shoegazing noise-rock/pop band that it is. Their earliest stuff was much closer to goth that the later shoegaze stuff. I’d have expected Death Cab For Cutie to be more gothic. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/4 "2019-06-23T13:42:23Z")
I was at an outdoor concert last night and saw the 70s band **War**. Not sure what “war” should sound like, but definitely not like **War**. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/5 "2019-06-23T13:46:50Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I was at an outdoor concert last night and saw the 70s band **War**. Not sure what “war” should sound like, but definitely not like **War**. **KISS** ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/6 "2019-06-23T13:48:47Z")
Eagles of Death Metal, the band playing the Bataclan when it was attached in Paris, do not play death metal. Rather, they’re a more traditional rock band,. The name is meant to be humorous. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/7 "2019-06-23T13:51:12Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Their earliest stuff was much closer to goth that the later shoegaze stuff. Huh. Never heard anything pre-_Isn’t Anything_, but I did just find the _Geek!_ EP on Youtube, which actually has kind of gothy-sounding (and understandable) vocals on it, and that is closer to what I thought My Bloody Valentine might sound like. Still, not quite as “dark” as I’d imagine with the name, but closer. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/8 "2019-06-23T14:02:01Z")
The Pixies Grateful Dead Skinny Puppy The New Pornographers Widespread Panic Panic! At the Disco Cinderella ---
**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 23, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/9 "2019-06-23T14:13:44Z")
Squirrel Nut Zippers? Not a clue. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/10 "2019-06-23T14:31:39Z")
Alice Cooper sounds like a female folk singer, but the name was deliberately misleading. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/11 "2019-06-23T14:38:16Z")
The Darkness. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/12 "2019-06-23T15:09:15Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > I’d have expected Death Cab For Cutie to be more gothic. I would have expected them to be [Elvis impersonators](https://rutlesriki.fandom.com/wiki/File:Bonzo_Dog_Doo-Dah_Band_-_Death_Cab_For_Cutie). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/13 "2019-06-23T15:15:09Z")
When I first heard of the Average White Band, I had no idea they performed funk and R&B. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/14 "2019-06-23T15:28:26Z")
The Presidents of the United States of America Pearl Jam The Police Sting Cream ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/15 "2019-06-23T15:30:56Z")
**The Old 97s** are an alt-country band, but for me the name always conjures up something like “The Good Old Boys” from the Blues Brothers, a bunch of fat old guys in matching western shirts. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/16 "2019-06-23T16:58:14Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > **The Old 97s** are an alt-country band, but for me the name always conjures up something like “The Good Old Boys” from the Blues Brothers, a bunch of fat old guys in matching western shirts. Never heard of them – to me the name comes across as maybe some old timey throwback rock and roll band or a rockabilly band. Alt-country band, though sounds close enough to me. I appreciate the explanation, though. A lot of the bands listed, for me, do not conjure up a strong vision of their sound in the first place. For example, The Police sound like it could be any of a wide range of bands. It could be a modern-day indie rock band, or it could be the reggae-and-punk influenced rock band they were. So I’m also curious about what kind of music you expect, given the name. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/17 "2019-06-23T17:02:20Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Alice Cooper sounds like a female folk singer, but the name was deliberately misleading. That’s a good one. I recorded and toured briefly with a Hungarian indie rock/indie pop band named “Amber Smith” that was named because the Hungarian singer thought it sounded like the name of a singer-songwriter “woman and a guitar” type of artist, and wanted the name to subvert expectations. (Turned out there actually was a semi-famous soft porn actress named “Amber Smith” in the US, as well, but that is just coincidence. He did not name it after her.) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/18 "2019-06-23T17:02:36Z")
**The Ramones** doesn’t tell you anything about the band. If you had been judging from recent history, you would have been thinking Partridge Family, Osmonds, Jacksons… j ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/19 "2019-06-23T17:05:34Z")
Incubus sounds like they should be a metal band. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-dont-sound-like-their-name/835927/20 "2019-06-23T18:13:54Z")
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