# Most obvious/straightforward rock band name that does not have a notable representative. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299 "2010-03-12T21:59:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/1 "2010-03-12T21:59:03Z")
I was looking up whether there was a rock band named The Sandals (there was) when it hit me to ask: which rock band name is the most obvious, which rock band name would you think of really easily, that does not have a notable band to represent it? Here I’m thinking, say, of a band that has a Wikipedia page. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/2 "2010-03-12T22:44:05Z")
Can you reframe the OP differently? I will play along but I am not sure that I follow you. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/3 "2010-03-12T22:49:14Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > Can you reframe the OP differently? I will play along but I am not sure that I follow you. Suppose I were to just cook up a band name off the top of my head. The form “the X” comes to mind. And the most obvious Xs are things everybody knows. So, for example, The Beaches, The Bangs, The Hot Rods, etc, are all obvious ideas. What I’m asking is, are there really obvious band names that aren’t taken? Like, are there names like “The Moustaches” that have never been the names of notable bands? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/4 "2010-03-12T23:12:22Z")
Are you off your meds or something? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/5 "2010-03-12T23:18:43Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Are you off your meds or something? Yeah…why…? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/6 "2010-03-12T23:47:32Z")
Well, the most common word is “the”. But there’s already a band called The The. So the next most common words are “be”, “to” and “of”. I’m not aware of any bands called “The Be’s”, “The To’s” or “The Ofs”. That’s your answer, I guess. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/7 "2010-03-12T23:50:56Z")
The Nouns. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/8 "2010-03-12T23:59:46Z")
I thought the OP’s question was very clearly stated and a perfectly interesting question. Some rock band names seem so obvious that it seems inevitable SOMEONE would have taken them sooner or later: The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Police, The Government, etc. Some names aren’t so obvious but they’re not THAT original because they’re expressions you’ve heard elsewhere and maybe someone else would have come up with it - The Tragically Hip, Public Enemy, etc. Some names, however, might never have been used by any band ever if the people who came up with it that one time hadn’t formed a band - Toad the Wet Sprocket, UB40, Panic At The Disco!, Creedence Clearwater Revival. The question is, what really obvious band name HASN’T been taken? This is a hard question to answer because there’s a zillion rock bands that never made the big time so we don’t know for sure what names have been taken. One name I came up with in high school that I’ve never heard of being used was “The Children.” I’ve always been surprised no band took that name. I’d suspect, though, that the most obvious band name not yet taken would be an animal. We have lots of animal names, like The Eagles, Gorillaz, The Byrds (you have to roll with the spelling) The Black Crowes, Great White, the Scorpions, Modest Mouse, heck, even The Animals. I Googled for “The Tigers” and sure enough, there’s a band called that. I Googled Lion; sure enough. But I bet there’s some animal nobody’s taken yet. The Leopards? Nope, got Def Leppard. Surely some animal isn’t taken yet? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/9 "2010-03-13T00:09:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I thought the OP’s question was very clearly stated and a perfectly interesting question. Some rock band names seem so obvious that it seems inevitable SOMEONE would have taken them sooner or later: The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Police, The Government, etc. I thought it was an interesting and well stated question, too. It reminds me of that Futurama episode where the only reason they call their snack Popplers is because other than Tasticles it’s the only name not taken. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/10 "2010-03-13T00:38:14Z")
Never heard of the Why the When the What the Where ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/11 "2010-03-13T00:42:51Z")
Guess I am just an epic loser… jeez. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/12 "2010-03-13T00:58:43Z")
There was an article in the NY Times just a couple of weeks ago about this. Bands are having a lot of trouble coming up with names because all of the basic words are in use (they had some example of a band that came up with a great original name, googled it and found six other bands using it already). It reminded me of the SNL ad parody for a big law firm…“By the time we got a web site, all of the good domain names were taken, so you can find our firm at [ClownPenisFart.com](http://ClownPenisFart.com)”. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/13 "2010-03-13T01:04:16Z")
The People The Dudes The Humanoids Note: “Willie and the Poor Boys” and “Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions” are, in fact, taken. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/14 "2010-03-13T01:15:27Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > One name I came up with in high school that I’ve never heard of being used was “The Children.” I’ve always been surprised no band took that name. According to [allmusic.com](http://allmusic.com), there are twelve entries for bands with the name of Children or The Children. Some of these may be duplicates, but [Bruce Cockburn](http://www.brucecockburn.org/biography_1960s.htm) used to belong to a band called the Children, which appears to be different form this San Antonion outfit called [the Children](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3zfwxq90ld0e~T1) (at around the same time.) ---
**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:** [March 13, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/15 "2010-03-13T01:19:15Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > The People > The Dudes > The Humanoids All three exist (several examples of the first, there’s a current band with the second, and there’s a calypso band called “Humanoids” with the “the.”) Now, sure, I guess these bands won’t exactly pass for “notable.” ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/16 "2010-03-13T01:29:04Z")
The Computers- TAKEN The Assholes- TAKEN Tokyo Sex Whale- TAKEN (not obvious, just one I ran across while Googling) The Fuck You- Doesn’t seem to have been taken, but Lily Allen has a song with the same name (minus the “the”) The Band- TAKEN (duh) Band Name- Doesn’t seem to have been taken What’s Up- TAKEN Taken- TAKEN The Tight Bros from Way Back When- TAKEN ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/17 "2010-03-13T01:39:52Z")
The Asshats- Taken. The Fucktards- Taken. The teeming millions- Good to go! ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/18 "2010-03-13T01:43:03Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Surely some animal isn’t taken yet? The Tardigrades ( [Tardigrade - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade) ) Hey, Tardigrades are also known as water bears or moss piglets! So I’ll add The Water Bears The Moss Piglets ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/19 "2010-03-13T01:43:52Z")
Looking around my desk: The Felt-Tip Pens–Never heard of 'em. The Raisins–I hope it’s not taken. That would be an awful band name. The Coasters–Hey! TAKEN! The Telephones–Surprised if it wasn’t taken The Crumbs–There’s gotta be a band called The Crumbs! That would be an excellent band name. (Well, except for the fact that they’d automatically lose any battle of the bands where they were up against The Vacuums.) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299/20 "2010-03-13T01:44:09Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > Yeah…why…? Because I find the question you are asking to be ridiculous. Open a dictionary. Poke your finger at a word. Add “the” in front of it. There’s a band name. Oh look, there’s never been a big rock band named **The --------** ; wow. :rolleyes: There’s how many tens of thousands of words in the English language? And there’s been how many “notable” rock bands? A couple hundred? Do you really just want a freaking laundry list of words with “the” in front of them posted here? Is that what you’re curious about? The Aardvark The Aback The Abacus The Abaft The Abalone The Abandon The Abandoned The Abase The Abash The Abate The Abatement The Abbè The Abbess The Abbey The Abbot The Abbreviate The Abbreviation The Abdicate The Abdomen The Abduct That’s just the first page of my pocket dictionary. Odds are good (like, really fucking good) that none of those has been used by a “notable” rock band, because we only have had a couple, maybe a few, hundred “notable” bands in the 50 or 60 years of rock and roll history. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-obvious-straightforward-rock-band-name-that-does-not-have-a-notable-representative/532299.md?page=2)