For many new bands, choosing a proper name can be more challenging than making good music. To finally arrive at that revelatory moment and settle on the perfect moniker, many groups go for a boring but memorable one-word brand (Nirvana), others choose a downright ridiculous title (Limp Bizkit, Diarrhea Planet) and some, who strive for shock value, get mired in controversy right away. Case in point—the band formerly known as Viet Cong, who today announced it will henceforth be called Preoccupations. Here are five bands that should take Viet Cong’s cue and change their controversial names.
1. The Queers
Pissing people off is a major part of being a good punk rocker, but there’s a way to do it constructively. The Queers don’t really understand this. The longtime New Jersey punk rock band, led by Joe King (aka Joe Queer), has made it a point to publicly provoke certain sects of the punk subculture they should be harmoniously rocking out with. Obviously, certain songs irk people. “Ursula Finally Has Tits” is about wanting to have sex with an underage girl. “My Cunt’s a Cunt” off last year’s Beyond the Valley Revisited needs no explanation. But King’s comments supporting Darren Wilson, the cop who shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., have basically exiled him and his band from the punk rock community. It’s about time for some heartfelt apologies and a name change, eh Joe?
2. Black Pussy
Why would an all-white, all-male band call itself “Black Pussy?” Let’s just say it’s not because the band loves black cats. Rather, its hybrid of psychedelia and stoner rock is so boring, it requires a wild name just to spark interest (or outrage, for that matter). Last March, feminist activists, especially African-American ones, lashed out at the Portland, Ore. quintet for its rude name, saying they were racist and sexist. A petition was even started to force the group to change its moniker or face a boycott. It got just under 2,500 signatures. Black Pussy defended itself with a video of stand-up comedian Doug Stanhope, of all things. In it, the comic basically tells anyone who is offended by words (or distasteful band names) that they’re idiots. Nice comeback, Black Pussy.
3. Fuck Buttons
Fuck Buttons are a badass British electronica duo, but its name isn’t as cool as its music. The name sounds like a phrase some randy middle school boy might utter to his friends during their sex education class for a cheap laugh. Like other artists who drop the f-bomb in their name (like Holy Fuck and Fucked Up), Fuck Buttons has to deal with a lot of censorship. On Facebook, for example, Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power actually have to list themselves as “F Buttons.” Changing the name after 12 years would surely be a hassle for the band, but they can always think about what could have been—a moniker that doesn’t push so many buttons.