Extreme Listening Mode!

I have seen (but not yet heard) of a newish band called Dananananakroyd. And, I have to say, I am impressed. My immediate reaction to said name was one of unstinting admiration; it’s impossible to say, it’s quite funny and very difficult to spell the same way twice. It speaks of a band with a sense of humour and no real careerist plan to make it. After all, it means absolutely nothing. And can you ever imagine anyone with  it sewn into their denim jacket?

Well, right now, it seems strange and daft, but will repetition or ubiquity make it just another handle? How important is it to get the name right anyway?

There are some great names in the history of rock’n'roll – I am particularly gutted Strawberry Alarm Clock got to their moniker before I did. But can it alter your chances of success significantly? Noel Gallagher famously said a band called ‘Arctic Monkeys’ would never get anywhere. Now, after two years of headlines and success, it just seems another name, no more strange or exotic than Coldplay.

Certain bands, it must be said, shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to Brit Awards, however. It is unlikely that Holy Fuck or Fuck Buttons are going to be invited on Later…With Jools Holland any time soon. But who are the biggest new band in Britain right now? Glasvegas. A name ripped off from a cheesey Glasgow club night, it sets my teeth on edge every time I hear it because of its sheer undiluted clunkiness.

In 90′s British music, we were awash with one-word meaningless band names – Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Suede, Verve (before the titular ‘the’ was added after a lost legal case with Verve Records.)  Complete and utter nothingness, yet household names today, ingrained onto the nation’s consciousness and never likely to be expunged.

In a strange way, bands become brands fairly quickly. It stops being about any clever idea, or purpose or band ethos. The most famous band whoever strode our planet ere named as a punning tribute to Buddy Holly’s backing band. But it doesn’t make you think of that, and it never will; it is synonymous with a thousand and one other things and nothing will change that.

Maybe all the cool names have gone. I’d kill to be in a band called The Fall, or The Afghan Whigs or Mission of Burma. But it doesn’t matter – when you can call yourself Keane or the Kooks and sell millions of records, it’s apparent that no-one gives a Donald Duck anyway. It’s the noise that counts, not the package it comes in.

So, who knows, maybe Danananananakroyd will turn out to be the most influential act of the early 21st Century……

Filed under: General Stuff Tagged: | music