I think that Times New Viking have a sick, clever name. And also they are saving punk rock, but that's for another thread.

amen person!*

^and how is Times New Viking clever? Its just taking out Roman and putting in Viking......

and i wouldn't exactly say they are saving the punk scene. they are a decent shitgaze band, but that's about it

I wouldn't agree indie is the worst genre in poor band names... things like "And You Will Know Us.." etc are eye-catching, 65 Days Of Static, Yip Yip Coyote and The Mighty Lemon Drops are examples of names that have got my attention and hundreds more besides... IMO only the pop charts would reflect silly and unattractive band-names where the music is less inspiring also...

I don't mind the "pretentious" band names! Honestly, sometimes I tend to listen to a band because of their name. I like names like; Stardeath & White Dwarfs and Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin.

In my opinion, most terrible band names are found in the metal genre. Mostly because I don't see the need in being blasphemous or vulgar with your band name. And I am no religious person.

At least with really pretentious band names they're really easy to find.

My biggest pet hate is bands who use really generic one word names and then go on to record self titled debut albums.

Virtually impossible to find anything if you're looking for some obscure download.

I hear this. There's a really good band from Portland called The Standard who have pretty much Google-proofed their material from being found for download.

I hope not too many bands twig this or we're in for waves of bands with names like plug, book, gravel or chair.

The trend I've noticed a lot with hardcore bands is that they name their band after an (often odd) noun and then make it plural. Examples: Narrows, Daughters, Architects, Rabbits, Maths, Throats, among others.

Disagree. "Times New Roman" has a white-bread boringness to it that suggests docility and politeness. Swapping in "Viking" gives it exactly the opposite connotation: huge, brash and loud. It's probably also a way cooler font.

Incidentally, I have a problem with people using ****gaze as if it were a genre of music and not a recording/packaging choice. Nobody who's seen TNV live would label them "****gaze." As far as the actual music that this group is creating it's pretty straight-forward pop-punk with an acrobatic buzzsaw of a guitar sound and catchy boy-girl shout along vox. Dismissing them as "just another ****gaze band" seems like an awfully stuck-up reaction to people who seem to just want to write 2-minute pop bangers and play them as loud as they can.

It isn't just hardcore, underground bands from all walks of life are going this route. See LA's Baths, NYC's Cults, Austin's Stunts, etc.

The most obnoxious trend I've noticed is lo-fi electronic/ambient acts just using celebrity names. There are local bands around LA named Nicole Kidman, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Mickey Rourke, etc. Though I have to give props to Truman Peyote.