Playlouder - Music is the Network

One could hang around debating all day the worst band name: there are so many to chose from. Almost every band with a two word name, the first being 'The' is elligible, except perhaps The The, The Who and... erm... The Corrs.

But the best? What makes a good band name? Should it be clever? Should it be open to interpretation? Should it be an umbrella term for everything you do? Should it truly sum you up?

Let's have a look at some of the names of Hot New Bands from this year, shall we?

Vampire Weekend - unforgiveably bland and nonsensical. Just shit. I bet there's a (shit) story behind this.

Ipso Facto - this is the name of a band who enjoys explaining its name to people. Pointless.

Glasvegas - shows identity but a distinct lack of imagination, the term being in use locally (not to mention in Skegvegas) for decades.

Wild Beasts - actually pretty good.

The Ting Tings - utterly vapid and without meaning or even association. Funny that, when they're such a great band, eh?

White Lies - generically okay and mercifully lacking an article.

Those Dancing Days - actually pretty good.

Black Kids - aren't most of them white? 

Late of The Pier - maybe I need this one explaining to me but it seems a bit spooky what with that thing in Weston-Super-Mare... Acronym is worryingly close to LOTR.

Friendly Fires - utterly shite unforgivable soundbite of a name that won't mean anything in a year or two - just like the band.

A Place To Bury Strangers - overthought/overwrought.

The Wombats - utterly vapid, free of the constraints of imagination - it's not even that good of an animal, out of all the animals you could choose. This band lets you know long before they've arrived in your town how few ideas they have and how seriously they don't take their job. Wankers? Or just nice guys? Either way, not likely to set your world on fire are they? The Wombats? I mean... for God's sake!

Alphabeat - kind of average. Not totally crap. I haven't even heard their music, but the name's annoyingly like a mis-spelled 'alphabet'.

Mink - earlier this year a PR person asked me to check out a band called Mink. Guess how they sounded? You're right - utterly, unforgivably dull. SHOCK.

Anyway, the best band name ever? Well, at the very least the best band name I've heard this year is At The Funeral Of My Violet Rabbit.

They're an ambient band from Trieste Italy.

The thing is it was even better when I misread it as 'violent rabbit'.

Hah!

What's the best band name you've heard lately? Why not tell the world - using the 'chat' function.