Each year, The A.V. Club encounters thousands of bands, 97 percent of which we won’t remember. What makes a band memorable? A good sound? Sure, that helps. A persistent publicist? Also helpful (or harmful, depending on the number of messages we get). A bizarre name? Definitely. In the many years that we’ve been doing our annual “year in band names” story, we can still rattle off some of our favorites. Who could forget Here Comes Old Vodka Tits? Or Happy Mothers Day, I Can’t Read? Gay Witch Abortion also belongs in the hall of fame. No matter how good the music is, these bands make the world a more interesting place. Here are some more fighting the good fight.




Metal up your ass

Vomitchapel

Album: The House Of The Lord Despoiled, featuring songs “Lubrication Rites,” “Vaginal Sepulchre,” “Sacrificial Orifice,” “Gaping Perversion.” Says one guy on Rdio: “I’ve never played drums before, but I think I can play them better than the dude in this band.”


NecroWretch

Album: Putrid Death Sorcery, songs: “Ripping Souls Of Sinners,” “Impious Plague In Catacombs,” “Defiler Of Sacrality,” “The Anthropomancer,” “Soiled Into A Crypt,” “Repugnizer.”


Anatomy



CockSlap

“CockSlap. It’s not just what you want, it’s what you need.”

Chainsaw Penis

Proclaimed “the worst band in the world” by metalsucks.net facebook.com/TheWorstBandInTheUniverse

Among the band interests listed on its Facebook page: “Bickering hilariously unprofessionally over absolutely fucking nothing.” And “Nicolas Cage is pretty much our mascot.” So is Tommy Wiseau:


Shattered Hymen

If you guessed this band’s Facebook photo would be a black-and-white image of a vulva, you win!


Junglepussy

Perfect Pussy

Winner, Least Helpful Google Image Search

Umbilical Noose

Maybe a Nirvana reference


Legs Like Tree Trunks

“Pittsburgh indie rock working hard on debut LP, trying to eat healthy and smile lots.”


The Heads Are Zeros

Warboner

Song titles: “Building Corpses For Fun And Profit,” “Mt. Happy Is No More.”

The band recently played a show with Fucking Faggot and Gnarly Death.

High concept

Spears & Gears

Steampunk Britney Spears tribute band.

Landmine Marathon

Dada Trash Collage

The longer, the better?

South Jersey Seashore Lifeguard Convention Band

“At times relaxing, like sipping a margarita under a pink umbrella; at times playful like a game of volleyball with Maverick and Iceman.”

Night Terrors Of 1927

We Butter The Bread With Butter

Maybe it makes more sense in the band’s native German tongue?

The Last Ten Seconds Of Life

Exterminate All Rational Thought

Bio: “All of the members have attended various music schools and workshops, thus extending their appreciation of all styles and genres within and outside of the music industry.” Band bio or cover letter?


A Pale Horse Named Death

Album title: Lay My Soul To Waste

Bio: “On the surface, A Pale Horse Named Death is impressive. But you´ll want to dig deeper and immerse yourself in all the sonic and lyrical layers, because the band isn’t afraid to plume the depths of darkness that humanity is capable of.”

The band has everything covered: a page on its website for its endorsements timeline covers avatars banners


End Times Spasm Band

Bears In A Temple For Midgets

Looks like they may have since shortened to Bears.

Facebook post from 11/19: “any of you ever know you’re about to get stonie so you go and make a really involved snack right before you put chron on brain, but then you eat all of the snack before you’ve come up and so by the time you’re all wavvvy, your stomach has forgotten the last 5 minutes and you’re just totally incapable of another multi-phasic snackrifice? don’t do that shit on thursday.”


Still with the exclamation points?

Hey Ocean!

Its bio calls Hey Ocean! “leaders of the D.I.Y. generation,” apparently because it self-released its album.


Eeek!

Not to be confused with Eeek

About: “pulling a crystal rope from the void: Chapter 2; an incandescent light bulb in a black light store”


Snake! Snake! Snakes!

“Like The Village People but with more lights and smoke.”

Wildcat! Wildcat!

I Can Chase Dragons!

SUNBEARS!

“the forces of science and music combined!!!! yes!”

Bio: “Chief songwriter Jonathan Berlin preaches positivity, love and rainbows. The verses literally emanate radiant sunshine.” Whoa, literally?


Get Involved!

Futurecop!

Uh-huh Baby Yeah!

Debut album: Till Death Do Us Party

Its Facebook bio mentions that it’s “proudly representing” Selfmade Co, Let’s Rage Clothing, Whole Hearted Clothing, Milfam Nation, Git Fukt Clothing, and JBRD Apparel. Maybe its members are models?


TIMBER!!!

“BAND FROM FT. WAYNE FIGHTS ROCK MUSIC; WINS.”

Not to be confused with TIMBER!


It’s All Happening!

Team Light You On Fire!

Monsters

Goddamn Draculas

I Saw The Creature

Zombie Deathstench

Bio: “There is nothing flashy, nothing pretty and nothing about it is clean. It is metal in its purest rotting undead form. Nothing is sacred to them…only the undead.”

Its female fans are called “Stench Wenches.”

Hippies?

The Rugged Nuggets

Grooving In Green

Describes its sound as “Groove Goth.”

Harsh Vibes

Happy Jawbone Family Band

“we were all born in a bathtime suicide mission. nothing was left but a pair of sunglasses that are still bleeding to this day. at the stroke of midnight you can hear them sing out of desperation.”


Food & beverage

Seizure Salad

Freakjuice

The New Diet

Band interests: “meat sweats.”

Absynthe Minded

Bio: “ABSYNTHE MINDED is considered one of the most interesting Belgian pop/rock bands.”


The Bloody Beetroots

Rice Cultivation Society


The Electric Peanut Butter Co.

Lazercake

Asparagii

Genre, per the band’s EPK: “organic spaceship music.” “With their exceptional songcraft and propensity to cross genre boundaries, every show is incomparable to the next.”

“In addition to their Live Music Phenomena, the three piece has even been known to play games with their audience, such as Simon Says, including them as part of the show.” Only jam bands would think that’s a good idea.


Try The Pie

Maybe the band name is a reference to The 4400


The Parsnip Revolt



Creatures, great and small

MenoPaws

Not to be confused with menopaws.com

Description of its EP, Time To Grow Up And Get Real Jobs: “This EP was created by 4 dudes who suck. Download this shit so they feel good about themselves.”


Grazzhopper

Winner, Band Bio That Could Also Work On LinkedIn: “The band has high hopes in their ability to network a festive and cultural atmosphere in order to see the world and play with some of their major influences such as Avett Brothers, Fleet Foxes, Wilco and Bela Fleck.”


Butterfly In Traffic

“Friendly, Local, Upwardly Mobile, and above all else, Original.”

Powerdove

Bio: “Annie Lewandowski comes from Minnesota, a place full of things that are long and longer: church services, dinner tables, and worry lines, to name a few. Somebody said there are ten thousand lakes there; if that’s true, each of them shows up in some little way in Annie’s songs.” There are 32 recorded Powerdove songs, which means each contains 312.5 Minnesotan lakes.


Animals In Human Attire

Sad Baby Wolf

He Whose Ox Is Gored

“Your soundtrack to the end of the world.”

The Exploding Fishbowls

Dream Koala

Whales In Cubicles


Sharkmuffin

Insects Vs. Robots

From the band’s bio: “it is the sound of the heart beat, the earth, and of the sub-psychotic magnetic fields that lead the marches of insects and robots!”


The Skunkadelics

Fucking Panthers

Opening lines of “ Call Of The Panther


Vulture Shit

Website URL: msdos.biz

“Music for people who live in basements, by people who live in basements.”

The Bunny The Bear

Sharkpact

Fat Man Cat Bite

Such and such & the so-and-so’s

Whiskey Dick & The Hard-Ons

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats

Madame Freak & The Funky Fever

Simpleton & Cityfolk

Ugh.

Picture Me Broken

Bio: “Artistic vision, intricate musicianship, dark, poetic lyrics exploring heavy, controversial topics and a profound message are the very essence of Picture Me Broken, a breath of fresh air band that shatters any ‘young band’ or ‘female-fronted’ stereotypes.” Frontwoman Brooklyn Allman has been working on the band since she age 12, which the bio helpfully notes was all the way back in 2005.


Dreamers Of The Ghetto

Bio calls them “Indiana’s most promising and perhaps most eccentric group.” Yup, nothing’s more eccentric than emulating bands like U2 and Depeche Mode, as it notes later.


Wisdom In Chains

Farewell 2 Fear

Bio: “Farewell 2 Fear (F2F) was born out of the huge black hole that mainstream rock radio left during the absence of super rock stars like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Sound Garden [sic].” True, you never hear about Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, or Soundgarden anymore.


Imminent Sonic Destruction


Devour The Day

Set Fire To Reason

She Speaks In Tongues

Wrath Of Vesuvius

First album: Portals Through Ophiuchus

Of The Poet

Acoustic Truth

The “country pop and blue-eyed-soul duo” got together in 2011 “in the hopes of bringing back heartfelt music that has been lost over the years.” Apparently every other group in the world only performs ironically?


Quiet Out Loud

This band probably doesn’t exist anymore, as three members all quit simultaneously, because they apparently can’t stand the frontman


Tides From Nebula

Being As An Ocean

Solace In Nothing

Its profile on Goth social-networking site vampirefreaks.com suggests the band came up with “S.I.N.” first, then figured out words to go with it.


Scars We Bare

As We Watch Them Fall

Forever We’re Forgotten

Lost Land, Lost Love

The Sound Of Sincerity

Sykosis

This self-described “shock metal” band now sells Amish Smokehouse Beef Sticks and Grandpa’s Beef Jerky

Bio: “We’ve been told we incorporate epic death metal vocals, hardcore groove with epic guitar riffs and a sense of aggressive melody.” Maybe told by someone who writes band bios?


At War With The Inferior

Bio: “The band itself as an entirety is serious, our aggression and passion for music comes out on stage, the members who make up the band however are some of the chillest people you will ever know.” These are some pretty serious song titles: “I Will Massacre You,” “You Traitorous Swine,” “Imminent Catastrophe,” “By The Blood Of Our Fathers By The Blood Of Our Sons.”


Family ties

Grandma’s Boyfriend

Song titles: “ Jellyyyyyyyyyyy Pullllllllllllllllllll Thunderthyze

Gramps The Vamp

Drunk Dad

Describes its sound as “fuck you all” wave. The bio on its Bandcamp page describes it as “Ethical scumbaggery at its finest.”


Fuck

Fuck You Cop You Fucking Cop

Lotus Fucker

Fucking Invincible

The longest song on its Very Negative EP is 1:24, though “The Skeleton Fucker” is only 24 seconds.


Fuck Everlasting

Proper names

Ich Bin N!ntendo

JFK Didn’t Even See It Coming

The Harmonica Lewinskies

Not to be confused with “year in band names” alumnus Harmonica Lewinsky

Albums: Oval Orifice (2012), Octopus Wall Street (2012)

Iron Reagan


Salvia Plath

Formerly RUN DMT (featured in the 2012’s year in band names

Lance Herbstrong

Joanna Gruesome

Humfree Bug Art

Bio: “How can a band create an aural and visual, mind-altering and colorful experience that effortlessly tantalizes your senses and quite frankly; makes it impossible to stand still? Humfree Bug Art, emerging European pop group, has soulfully crafted graphics which infused with their mindful eclectic music manages to find a delicate balance between the two art forms.” Um, okay.


Tiger & Woods

Sheryl Crow And The Avengers

Jack Nicholson

Winner, Impossible To Google Award

Georgia O’Queef

Hawaiian Pünch

Broke up in September, R.I.P.

Douche Illington

Sports

Late In The Playoffs

Football, Etc.

Did a split 7-inch with “year in band names” alumnus


Coming to Jurassic Park 4

Velocicopter

Philoceraptor

Album: Stop Ruining Fun

Abortions for all!

Mandatory Abortions

“The name ‘Mandatory Abortions’ is a joke directed to those who are over political and judge n shun anyone who dose [sic] not follow them blindly. also to those who should of been aborted !!!”


Homesick Abortions

First person

Let’s Buy Happiness

We Are Loud Whispers

For We Are Only Human

My Remorse Code

I’m In You

“Apocalyptic disco and anhedonic pop songs against the dread of existence.”

Probably not a Peter Frampton reference

Tomorrow We Move To Hawaii

We Killed The Union

I Remember Burning

Movie, TV, and literary references

R3venge Of The Nerds

Boombox Saints

Shreddy Krueger

Racist Kramer

Fat Tony

Stands With Fists

Straight To VHS

My Sweet Lenore

“Ready to rock your faces off? We are! Sit down, get ready, open your ears, and fucking listen! We are going to explode in your face with a bunch of ooey- gooey goodness and you are going to fucking like it! Phoenix is going to change forever.” Get ready, Phoenix!


Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

Artists We Also Like: “’70s Ramones, ’80s Ramones, ’90s Ramones.”

Knuckleberry Finn

Old name: The Catdoors.

UrbanDictionary


Tyler Durden Says

Facebook post from last year (they may have since broken up): “Recorded some demos, prepare for utter dankness.”


The Droids We’re Looking For

Long Duk Dong

The band has rapidly “gained the attention of fans throughout the DC, Baltimore and surrounding areas for their ability to play ’80s music ‘with an edge.’”


Transcription Of Organ Music

Second Time Virgin

Also goes by Go Go Second Time Virgin, after a 1969 Japanese film.

The Oyster Murders

The name comes from the Lewis Carroll novella Through The Looking Glass.


Nude Massacre

It’s a 1976 film by Denis Héroux… or maybe it just sounded cool.

Obnoxious casing, spelling, or spacing

bEEdEEgEE

DyMe-A-DuZiN

Eagulls

SQÜRL

When you’re Jim Jarmusch’s band, you can spell your name any damn way you want.


S U R V I V E

(E)Motion Picture

Not to be confused with Toronto’s eMotion Picture Studios eMotion Pictures


Phony Ppl

Perfectly simple

My Dick


Whores.

Bio: “We were in other bands. Now we're in this band. Soon we will all be deaf. Commercially moribund, second wave, first class, good times, bad vibes.”

Songs: “ I Am Not A Goal Oriented Person I Am An Amateur At Everything


Musicband

Repetition repetition repetition

Like Like The The The Death

Bio: “LIKE LIKE THE THE THE DEATH (LLTTTD) is a post-punk/noise rock band from Milwaukee, WI, USA. They enjoy Canadian beer, Twerk Team videos, writing new themes to old board game commercials, and street daggering.”


The Popopopops

Odonis Odonis

Their / They’re / There

About: “THE APOCALYPSE IS STALLING”

Warnings

Captain, We’re Sinking

Beware Of Darkness

Don’t Be The Hero

Will never be pronounced or spelled correctly

Rohypnotise

Frontman describes band as “The BeeGees if they were really poor and on crack.”


Beataucue

JJUUJJUU

Bio: “JJUUJJUU is an astral union, an arcane ritual, and above all, a conversation.” Music isn’t high on the priority list, apparently.


Sexy times

Sensual Harassment

Something Like Seduction

Cuddle Magic

The Assless Chaps

Members: Dick Celsius, Han Yolo, Lorenzo Llamas, Kevin Sorbo.

Fornication Station

It also happens to be the name of a Twilight erotic fan-fiction group


Napervillian MILFs

For those who live outside of Chicagoland, Naperville is a tony suburb, and these guys describe themselves as “an anti cover band cover band, declaring war on crappy cover bands in the Chicago area.” In their repertoire: Bon Scott-era AC/DC, Nirvana (“non-overplayed tracks”), The Cult (Electric era), and a bunch of others.


Hand Job Academy


Eating Out

Hand Grenade Job

Bukkake Party Tonight

Songs: “Hans Gruber,” “My Body Is A Wasteland,” “Kid Touchin Clown,” “Live Fat, Die Young.”


Why use an S when you can use a Z?

Legend Haz It

Chinx Drugz

Nightmare Boyzzz

Beanz N Kornbread

Egadz

Children are our future

Kids On A Crime Spree

Butter The Children

Baby In Vain

We see what you did there

Shivering Timbers

Slow Down, Molasses

Jesus, Christ, etc.

Acid Baby Jesus

Christ, Lord

Snakes Of Christ

Danzig tribute band

Drugs and booze

The Relapse Symphony

If anything could sound less appealing than a combination of (the “emotive theatrics” of) My Chemical Romance, (the “unstoppably melodic but jagged punk hooks” of) Green Day, and (“the forceful, confident, and party-going atmosphere” of) Skid Row, we have yet to hear it. Judging by the band photo, its members are huge Mötley Crüe fans too:


Coke Weed

Larry And His Flask

Beard required:


Heaven’s Gateway Drugs

Good Times Cocaine

Apostles Of Ale

Drugs Of Faith

Weed Warlock

Pot culture is the worst

Harsh Toke

Bio: “Like a destructive wind bursting and shredding these six strings of space release some 5,000 notes circleing [sic] and oscillating around timelessly and unremittingly in and out of the beating heart and core groove of the drums, the banging the bashing allows the bass to seem far out as a cosmic buffet of pounding and pummeling and punishing and as if underneath the ocean came an atmospheric astral plane of sounds infinite and fuzzed down to the bone do these keyboard ivories tickle as if lost in space. But out with the bull and in with the real, these 4 music lovers and jam crazed heavy seekers search to get that sound aloud and and make a ton of fucking noise…” That’s 121 words, one period.


MellowHigh

Weed Is Weed

Its Facebook page has a lot of this:


Homosexuality

Gaytheist

Song: “Wisdom Of The Asshole”


Gaybomb

Fucking Faggot

Winner, Biggest Bummer To Google

Hobosexual

“2 Beards, 4 amps, mind of a scientist, and more raw talent than Jesus.”

That’s pun-tastic/portmanteauriffic

Power Windoze

Swaguerrilla

Heavy Dudey

The Avatards

Maybe the only band in the world to cite Avatar as an influence?

Sargasm

Just in time for the holiday season, here’s “Santa Fucked My Mom”:

Dadderall



Nuclear Santa Claust

Trashkanistan

Hey ladies

A Band Of Bitches

In its native Mexico, it’s known as Una Banda De Perras.

Whore Paint

Art Sorority For Girls

Slutvomit

This is now available as a T-shirt!


Death, killing, and murder

Thy Art Is Murder

Bang, You’re Dead

Another Dead Clown

Named by Spin as one of the six most ridiculous band names at CMJ

Ten Feet From Murder

Genocide Pact

Unlisted After Death

Gnarly Death

Genre: “Jewish Black Metal”

Premarital Death

Wookiees

WookieFoot

Obviously, all nerd cred is revoked for misspelling wookiee.

Bio: “WookieFoot is a high energy magical phenomenon sustained by a beautiful family of players and believers. We are ordinary people supporting each other to do extraordinary things. It’s a joy to have collaborated with sooo many of you kids, and we are proud of the love our tribe is creating. You have nurtured these seeds we planted and we thank you for that. We hope you enjoy the fruits of this community as we are.” Hippies.


Wookiee Rage

Bio: “We have traveled through time and space and landed here on this shit ridden planet. We have come for one thing only to wrestle your best wrestlers. We are calling out Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Stone Cold Motherfuckin Steve Austin. We challenge all of you come get some! We defeated our galaxies best now we want yours. We beat Lando Calrissian in the Deathstar Rage in the Cage. We dominated Han Solo and Chewbacca in the Extravaganza on Endor. We slammed and Pinned Luke Skywalker in the Tatooine Takerover no holds barred match.”


Misc.

Sea Of Shit

Whatever this is, it’s gross:


Shat Shorts

Playing its final shows next week and at the beginning of January. R.I.P.

XXYYXX

So Many Wizards

Yard Of Blondes

Purling Hiss

Pasadena Napalm Division

Summer Cannibals

Slonk Donkerson

2000 Tons Of TNT

The name comes from the skinhead reggae song by the G.G. All Stars

Husky Brunette

The Assortment Of Crayons

Petes Lost Luggage

Skulk, The Hulking

Bio: “Whether you like him or love him, eventually you will hate him. In the end it's all laughable.”


Pissbath

Cosmic Halitosis

Lyrics to “ Intergalactic Infidelity


Wet Nuns

Really Loud Hamburgers

Keep Shelly In Athens

Skank Bank

This, too, has an Urban Dictionary entry

Feral Conservatives

Male Pattern Baddness

Bio: “Their style has been described as a mix between the heavy blues rock of Led Zeppelin with the funk rock of the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” so naturally they identify with “NYC’s bustling indie rock scene.” This quote from frontman Jason Frazier might as well have come from Win Butler: “From the very outset of this band, we’ve always had a singular vision. Our songs will be dripping with sexy fun and our live shows be a party that’s buzzin’ and ready to pop.”


Star Spangled KGB

Radical Discharge

Band illustration by Kate OLeary.