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"Offensive" band names

#81
BIGEJ2 said:
Anyone recall "The Meat Men"? Everything about them was offensive.
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When I was in high school, I did a printing project involving the cover of the Meatmen's "Crippled Children Suck" record.

The teacher was horrified, but willing to compromise if I at least deleted the words. He even hung it up in the display, albeit towards the back and facing the walls. :)
 
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#84
If it was on a bad xerox copy stapled to a telephone pole, heck yeah. I'd be there to watch the fights break out.

They're getting press for being rejected and not even playing. I'd say they're reaping the benefits of the name right now. I mean, "White Bread Long Haired Dudes Being Flippant" just doesn't, really... do anything. But hey, in this world of instant protest.. BINGO!

Apparently, they can play, so they should ride the wave. Next move should be changing their name to Politically Correct Black Pussy. PCBP. Would look pretty cool on a t-shirt with a cat logo... pretty sure that's not what they're going for though.
 
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#85
AaronVonRock said:
Just read an article about the stoner rock band Black Pussy having to cancel a show due to threats of violence against the venue and promoter hosting their show because an online petition against the band is making the rounds on the internet.
Exclusive: Black Pussy Forced to Cancel Show Because of Serious Threats of Violence and Vandalism - MetalSucks

I remember in the 80s when Butthole Surfers was considered so offensive that magazines wouldn't even spell out the word Butthole. It would look like B#tth*le or something like that. The name wouldn't really raise many eyebrows today. Dead Kennedy's also upset a lot of people when they came out. Again, the name wouldn't make the same kind of waves today.

I'm not asking if you find these names offensive (for the record, I don't at all), but would you name your band something that you know is potentially going to cause problems down the line? This is mainly for guys in punk and metal bands since those are the genres that are more often apt to do this and where an "offensive" name can sometimes actually be an asset.
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There's no hard and fast rule.

Just... there are social consequences. And free speech only protects you from legal consequences.

Whether you are prepared for the social consequences of your band name really is what determines if that name is a good idea or not.

Now, I'm in the same or at least similar genre as Black Pussy... their music isn't bad. But the name, to be honest, does kinda ruin it for me. I don't need to take music super seriously to like it, nor am I just not down with dumb or offensive names overall... there's just a point at which it's too much. For me that's "Black Pussy." Largely because it is kind of a stupid name, and also seems a bit "try-hard" (in that it seems like the group was trying to be edgy by seeking to offend two groups at once... two groups that already get picked on all the damn time... so to me that kinda goes against the "comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable" and "punch up" adages).

That is a social consequence. I am not censoring them by not listening to them or being interested due to their name. An offensive name can be a draw, too, but any band considering using one should be aware that they will turn people off their music who otherwise may have been interested, too.

The social costs extend beyond a band, as well. There is a local festival coming up. One of the bands on it is named "Cemetery Rapist." Not only does the name make me instantly uninterested in their music... it also makes me a bit less likely to attend the fest because they're on the bill. That is a small social consequence as well.
 
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#88
A lot of truly ... I wouldn't say offensive, but repugnant ... band names being presented here, but Black Pussy?? I don't see how that is racist or offensive.

Geez, if it ain't censored by TB it's pretty tame.

Some folks just look for stuff to whine about...
 
#90
Korladis said:
There's no hard and fast rule.

Just... there are social consequences. And free speech only protects you from legal consequences.

Whether you are prepared for the social consequences of your band name really is what determines if that name is a good idea or not.

The social costs extend beyond a band, as well. There is a local festival coming up. One of the bands on it is named "Cemetery Rapist." Not only does the name make me instantly uninterested in their music... it also makes me a bit less likely to attend the fest because they're on the bill. That is a small social consequence as well.
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To each his own, but It sounds like you do offend kind of easily. Avoiding an entire festival because of 'Cemetery Rapist'? That sounds like some name the local news station would dub a perp who was prowling cemeteries. Would you have issue with them using it on the 6pm news?

Maybe it's because I'm not a part of either of those 2 (or any) marginalized groups, being a white (Italian) male, but I personally am in no way offended by the band name that started this whole thread. I mean, it's not like it starts with 'Stinking' or ends in 'kills' or something gross. As far as I've ever known the 'P' holds a lot of power, so I certainly don't think of it as a negative thing. And if it was called 'Wop P...' it still wouldn't offend me. I would just think a stupid name is a stupid name and move on without ever thinking of them again.

I sincerely hope my post isn't offensive to anyone :ninja: cuz it's not my intent
 
#91
I wouldn't give my band a blatantly offensive name to provoke reactions, but I think you can name a band how you see fit.

I think everyone is WAY too offended nowadays. Everybody starts crying when they hear the word 'Black' anywhere, even if it's nothing to do with race/colour/country. In the UK we can't use the 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' nursery rhyme any more, even though it's about sheep, not people...

Why doesn't everybody just lighten up? My closest friend is lesbian, she still thinks homosexual jokes are great. I'm have nothing against any colour/race/religion but if somebody makes a funny 'n***** joke' or something, I would laugh. I'm a vegetarian but I don't get upset when somebody eats a sausage. I hate violence in relationships, but if somebody cracks a joke about 'hitting their woman' or whatever, I don't burst into tears (although if they actually did hit their partner, I would be on the phone to the police). I'm English and although the stereotype of 'eating scones while drinking tea with the Queen' is not accurate, do I get offended? Of course not.

IMO, nothing is offensive. But there will be somebody, somewhere who is offended by it.

All we need in the world is a good supply of:

taschentuecher_kleenex_balsam,p-06611_2,s-700.jpg
 
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#92
RoadRanger said:
A super popular classic rock band hereabouts:
Flock of ******** - New Englands Premier Cover Band

These guys date back to when metal bands tried to outdo one another in the quest for most offensive name:
Anal **** - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I think they won ;) !
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I went to see the latter at Sir Morgan's Cove in Wuhstah years ago just because of their name. Even as a young gross loser I was kinda horrified by the name, and impressed by their commitment to being offensive. They rocked.
 
#95
It really depends. Sometimes it seems like some bands name their band a super offensive or vulgar word simply for shock value and attention grabbing. I guess theres a fine line. It really shouldn't matter much. I was always the type of person who liked cool sounding band names or a name that was special or relative to what the band was doing and what they are about. I mean, when I first heard the band name of the band I joined, Killing gods, I immediately thought of something else completely different from what, it seems to me anyway, most people think of first.

I made it very clear to the rest of the band that when we were making the logo that gods had to be lowercase and plural. I would not stand for or be a part of a band with a name that implied the killing of God. That was were I stood and I was fortunate enough to have the rest of the band feel the same. Some find it offensive. I dont in the least. As long as you know what it means and what it stands for, its actually a positive thing. But there are a lot of close minded people out there. Thats all I will say on that.
 
#96
the_stoot64 said:
Tom Petty's band Mudcrutch always seemed like it would upset some old people.
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Well I'm going to turn 60 this year, and it doesn't offend me...perhaps I'm not old enough?

Younger people didn't invent offensive language, this sort of language evolves over time and the most offensive words always reflect the greatest taboos, that which society is most afraid of, or words that are used to demean innocent people simply because they have some difference from societies norms.

Examples? Well, back in our parents or grandparents time, some commonplace words would not be considered offensive but judged by today's standards would be extremely racist and totally outrageous.

Going back further still, to the times when housing was overcrowded and a general lack of privacy meant that bodily functions and sexual activity was much more public than it is now, those things had much less 'taboo' asociated with them - simply because they were going on all around you and were relatively normal. If the purpose of a swearword is to shock, then they lose much of their power if the actual things they describe are just a normal part of everyday life. Consequently, the most offensive swearwords we have now, such as the 'C' word and the 'F' bomb were just ordinary harmless little words (even then the 'F' bomb is so overused these days that it's lost it's ability to shock and is more of a wet fart than a bomb).

By contrast, words that we wouldn't consider inflammatory today were absolutely incendiary back when they described some of societies greatest fears...calling somebody 'pox ridden' would be scandalous at a time when you could die of it.

So if you want a really offensive name, better off trying to predict the next big taboo or societal bogieman and call your band after that rather than using the hackneyed old clichés.
 
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#97
gregmon79 said:
I made it very clear to the rest of the band that when we were making the logo that gods had to be lowercase and plural. I would not stand for or be a part of a band with a name that implied the killing of God. That was were I stood and I was fortunate enough to have the rest of the band feel the same. Some find it offensive. I dont in the least. As long as you know what it means and what it stands for, its actually a positive thing. But there are a lot of close minded people out there. Thats all I will say on that.
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you lost me. wouldn't god be included in gods? what does the band name mean. honestly curious.
 
#98
Well, for starters, the band in question just got LOTS of free publicity due to the morons that decided to threaten and boycott them. Kudos...

I remember back in the 90s, there was a movie, "The Last Temptation of Christ" that the religious types stomped their feet about, and generally threw a hissy fit over. Being a young college student, I HAD to see what the fuss was all about. I really wish I could have gotten those hours of my life back to have done something better with my college youth... That movie was beyond awful.

My point is, sometimes, when we find something offensive, and we make a big stink about it, we draw attention to the thing that it wouldn't have otherwise had. Just like that truly dreadful waste of time movie, this little indie band with the offensive name would have undoubtedly never achieved much if any recognition were it not for the attention brought to it by the people that are trying to silence anything they find offensive. Their tactics time, and time, and time again prove counter productive. They fall under the category of "useful idiots".

For what it's worth, until I actually SAW the band, I wasn't entirely certain if they were an all girl band of African heritage, or a band of young European heritage men (or women, or both) that appreciate physical relationships with women unlike themselves, or just a bunch of folks that like black cats... Come to think of it, I still don't fully get it. Then again, I don't really care either.
 
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