Digitising my off-air cassette of 10,000 Maniacs at Sadler’s Wells* (31st July 1988) for a post-punk chum got me thinking**.
“10,000 Maniacs” – what were they thinking?
What other terrible names can the AW hive mind think of?
(*) PM me for ‘help’
(**) Surely it can’t be nearly 36 years ago, can it? Anyhow, well done to BASF for bucking the trend of their Chrome tapes either shedding magnetic material inside my deck, or sandpapering the heads off.
What’s wrong with it? OK, it is a bit random, but Cowboy Junkies, same era starting, given they are mainly noted for the quiet and space in their recordings, the name just conjures up hardcore/bleedcore strung out skinny leather jeans merchants. Which is why I enjoyed wearing a t shirt with the name on it, knowing they weren’t.
Didn’t 10,000 Maniacs get their name from a shlocky 60s George Romero/Russ Meyer slasher film?
They were at least five times better than the film you’re thinking of called 2000 Maniacs.
I came across it as a teenager at the video library. Incredibly badly made and with really nasty atmosphere. Not something I’d ever sit through again
It sounds like they should be a thrash-metal orchestra, or something, rather than “a bit like REM with a lady singer”.
“A bit like REM with a lady singer “ is EXACTLY how I thought of them at first @fentonsteve
For a couple of months they were my favourite band but I really can’t remember many of their songs now…I must give another chance
Well, my tape is 35+ years old and I could remember all but one of the songs. That one was from the Wishing Chair album, which I didn’t play much (I must give it another spin). The In My Tribe album was aces, though.
I saw them at the Corn Exchange the following May, supported by the Kevin McDermott Orchestra. What a great value night out that was.
They were better on record than live, I recall, with a tendency to lumpenly plod outside the producers strict ear. Best bit was when Natalie Marchant did a solo Verdi Cries, as the second encore.
I think you’re right, but the In My Tribe era recording is pretty good. Andy Kershaw recently played a track from the Wishing Chair, the universe is trying to send me a message.
I saw them 3 times in the late 80s and don’t remember them that way. Best gig was at the Town and Country when I was stood by the control booth and Natalie walked through the crowd while the support were on, in an old coat and hat, to deliver something in a carrier bag to the sound engineer. She saw that I recognised her but I didn’t say anything and she quickly disappeared backstage once her errand was complete.
I’ll rely on your greater knowledge. They were very muddy at Hippodrome, B’ham. Possibly why they so rarely book bands.
I had a girlfriend who liked 10,000 Maniacs (and Hootie and the Blowfish; and the soppier end of REM; and the Rembrandts; and Counting Crows).
I tried, I really tried to like them…but, egad, it was dull work. I gave up, in the end.
Ah, yes: another terrible band name! Hootie and the Blowfish!
Prefab Sprout, as mentioned by Hepworth and Ellen recently and included in your tags, is a terrible name. It isn’t just silly, it actually creates the impression that they must be pretty unpleasant.
And another terrible name is Throwing Muses. Coincidentally, or maybe not, they are name checked alongside the Maniacs (“Muses, Vega, 10,000 Maniacs”) in Sensitive Outsider by Half Man Half Biscuit.
I’ve never liked the band band Throwing Muses although they made some very good records. What are they throwing? Are they being thrown and by who? Or are they being sick? I’m not sure it’s ever been explained by the band
Aren’t all band names silly until repetition removes all other meanings from them? The Beatles, to start with. Name a sensible band name – that would be more of a challenge, I think.
The Sensibles.
As a German band name, that would literally get them classed as sensitive outsiders. In English, does calling yourself sensible make you sensible?
The Notsensibles.
The Police.
One of them was asked where they got their name from and he replied, “We saw it on the side of a car.”
Five minutes later, they could have been called Drain Jetting R Us
!!!
Bet they thought they were clever with this.
Also, see a*** c***. Oh, so edgy. Bet they didn’t tidy their bedroom OR do their homework. That’ll show them.
Bands who choose names which they believe will make them sound ‘edgy’ should be soundly beaten around the head with a large wet fish.
Limp Bizkit
Dogs Die In Hot Cars
I Watched A Man Die On Tiswas
Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head
Ben Benjaminsson and the Benjamins
Radiohead
Escape My Fists
Mudvayne
I Am The Wendigo
Cherry Poppin Daddies
Imagine Dragons
Embalmed In Yoghurt
The Poorly Translated
Dance! To The Light Of The Silvery Moon
Neil Young (when he’s blatantly not)
Radiohead wouldn’t escape my fists.
Oh I see, it’s a list of bands…
Any name with punctuation. Special mentions to Panic! At the Disco and !!!
Godspeed! You! Black! Emperor!
I can never remember where the ! goes, so I put them in everywhere.
Will.i.am
Knobhead.you.are
Elbow
I remember Mark Ellen pouring derision on the name Athlete. Quite rightly. I always thought Jo Boxers was a daft name.
Ace first album though.
Fuck Buttons.
Asking Alexandra
Bullet for my Valentine
The Style Council
Chumbawumba
Toe Fat
The The
Wet Leg
Haircut 100
It’s only silly with a u. ChumbawAmba. See? Perfectly straightforward now.
Per a.n. other thread – there was a band called Radio 4..
JLS – sound like an out of town shitty sportswear store or furniture outlet. Otherwise they’re great of course.
A House
I was never sure whether to pronounce it A House or A House.
Great band though.
Either way, they’re pretty much guaranteed a slot at the very start of any alphabeticised collection
(unless you admit to owning an album by Boy Band A1 – who were named after the Great North Road)
I think I used to have an album by A.
Edit – just googled it and I did. H-Fi Serious (that would also be a shit name for a band, but would at least be more Googleable)
I have several inches of Kallax devoted to A Certain Ratio, so A House are a bit to the right. I have a horrible feeling Abba come top left, before ACR. Yes, I know.
10,000 Maniacs are filed under T.
My first choice career as a librarian never really took off.
Graham Gouldman recently confirmed that 10CC should be alphabetized before the As
Someone’s already said that
So sorry. I don’t read every post
I’m shocked…
…and stunned…
But @fentonsteve, there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s exactly how it should be isn’t it?
Btw…Hey Jack Kerouac is lovely. She has a yearning voice.
It depends if you count a space as before or after a letter, and numbers before or after letters? Also first names before surnames, or surnames before first names? What about The, Le, Les, Los, and so on?
My computer chooses the former, my records are sorted by the latter. The important thing is I can find them whenever I want to play them, regardless of how Windows dictates I store them. Take that, Bill Gates!
Numbers are alphabetical as in your 10,000 Maniacs example. Ten..
10CC would come before them of course! I’m confused about your space comment though
“10CC would come before them ” ….hur hur hur
Where would you put The Lovin’ Spoonful then?
Tsk.
Under L obvs
No separate section for bands named after bodily fluids, then? (Along with the above and Blood Sweat and Tears and probably no others)?
I was in a “band” * that was briefly called Butter Is The Devil’s Spunk.
I say band, it was basically 4 teenagers sitting in a church hall eating chips, smoking, coming with band names, and trying to play more than the into to Teenage Kicks, Pretty Vacant, and the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath riff
(File under B)
A friend of mine was in a band called Seminal Jive. Wanky in more than one way I think.
@rigid-digit that appalling name is, I think, a quotation from one of Ade Edmondson’s reprehensible Bastard books. They made Viz look like PG Wodehouse
Diddley a play on Come Dancing perhaps?
You are correct @moose-the-mooche
That’s where I nicked it from and can claim no credit for original thought
With this example I’m not sure you would wish to…
To my annoyance, I have to type in De_La Soul in my WMP, or it will store it in the L section…
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Yes, it does.
Apparently it’s a quotation from Ricky Gervais, which information achieves the impossible feat of making the name even worse.
It is … they are from Reading * so chose a name based on the quote fron one if it’s most known sons
* being from Reading, and precious little of worth comes from this place, I should support them, but a combination of the music and THAT name puts the mockers on that
CO.UK
Probably not their fault though
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead.
No, we will ignore you with the shrugs of indifference.
I’ve always liked the name, and I had imagined that a band with such a mysterious/intriguing/dark name (“hmm, a trail of dead… what’s that all about?”) probably made music that was right up my goth/darkwave/industrial street.
Then I heard the music: it’s a bit rocky, bit Americana-ish, bit proggy. I have been let down, and demand that they change their name to something less interesting…
There’s a Half Man Half Biscuit album sleeve that includes an array of fake album covers, included among them is The Ducks – …and you will know us by the trail of bread.
Also includes Bed Blocking Beats.
As for the awful band names, I’m sure we’ve done this here before. My answer is usually the conspicuously caucasian West of Ireland 80s reggae band called Too Much For the White Man.
Squeeze.
Worked out OK though, as I am off to see them live on the 50th anniversary tour in November.
Suicide.
I think it was right for them and their act, once you know what that is.
Middle of The Road
The Knack
The Buggles
Toad The Wet Sprocket
Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts
And if you want to add deliberately offensive to terrible then the bloke who kept coming up with different band names with ‘foetus’ in the title.
But in a way that can be seen ‘good’ as you know you don’t need to see a band with the name ‘foetus’ in it.
There was also the many different varieties of Spizz and Wah!
Spizz seemed to have a new name for each year (or less) of existence
Computer age bands that choose a name that you can’t search – thanks to the word being ubiquitous.
There used to be a (very good) Swedish band called Samling, a word that means collection but also compilation…try searching for their albums in a Swedish online shop… you’ll scroll for days before finding what you searched for! 🙁
More importantly, where does one file 10,000 Maniacs – is it at the beginning with the “numbers” bands or under T for “Ten” (see also 10cc) ?
It’s a number!!!!
Graham Gouldman was asked this on a word podcast the other week and his authoritative instruction is at the start, numbers before letters.
Of course it’s numbers first.
Didn’t need instruction from Heppo, Ellen etc. to know that.
Look at how filnames are ordered in a computer folder. Punctuation marks, then numbers and then letters.
tUnE-yArDs up and down lettering. WHY!
Until I heard them, I assumed they were a tribute act to the fAmER’s bOys.
I wish they were.
Oxy and the Morons.
Terrible name.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, which is just stupid and annoying. All these sorts of names (esp Does It Offend You Yeah?) are the sort of thing Nathan Barley would have dreamed up.
The Beatles.
That’s just a shit pun isn’t it.
Liverpool Scene’s album Bread on the Night listed some made up band names on the cover (at least I hope they were) the only two I can remember are Bobby and the Helmets and the Spontaneous Rubbish Ensemble.
Presumably Spontaneous Rubbish Ensemble is a less than subtle comment on the Spontaneous Music Ensemble – John Stevens et al…
T’would appear so.
I must confess: I rather like that name. Next time I’m in a band, irrespective of the type of music we play, I’m going to push for us to be called the Spontaneous Rubbish Ensemble – it has something of the Bonzos about it, I think.
As there were links between Liverpool Scene and the Bonzos that’s not surprising.
John Gorman is the nearest thing to a member of the Bonzos without having actually been one.
(second Tiswas reference on this thread. Coincidence?……..yes)
In the late 80s there was an indie band who featured on Peel and in the inkies quite a lot called 1000 Violins. Each one fought over by 10 maniacs, no doubt.