Top 10 Weirdest Band Names

Some band names have a really surprising back story that, when you hear it, makes you go 'ooohhhh!'... Hoobastank is not one of those band names! The Californian four piece claim that their strange three syllables are entirely fabricated... They have no hidden meaning! The word is a high school in-joke that just kinda stuck! In another life, 'Hoobastank' could've been a kids' TV character or perhaps a professional wrestler, but band name it is and band name it will stay!

Now this name does have a satisfyingly convoluted story! Built around the Greek letter 'delta', 'Alt-J' is the keyboard command needed on an Apple computer in order to produce the said symbol. If you're on a Mac, then try it... It should make a small triangle... If your computer somehow breaks, then we accept no responsibility! Anyway, 'delta' is used as the scientific symbol for change, meaning that Alt-J are 'change'ing the music scene... with their experimental indie, folk and art rock: it's progressive perfection!

Another nonsense word next, but something that flows from the tongue like treacle! This particular band name origin is the stuff of myth and legend amongst their followers! Some say 'Chumbawamba' was the result of a monkey mashing at a typewriter... But others swear it came from a dream in which the gents and ladies bathrooms were labelled 'chumba' and 'wumba'... The name has also been explained as a "Star Wars" reference (although that's especially difficult to believe!)... Whatever the meaning, it's weird and wonderful!

If 'Chumbawamba' flows like well-rounded poetry, our next name is a little more of a mouthful! In all their rhyme-y weirdness, the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza have come from Tennessee and had us all questioning what we heard! Named after the much-loved American film and TV actor, this particular moniker has led to many a misunderstanding! On more than one occasion, a Tony Danza fan has turned up to an Extravaganza show expecting to see the man himself, and have instead been met something completely different: glorious grindcore!

This entry might well have been randomly selected out of a hat or something... There doesn't seem to be any relation between one word and the other two! However, the most popular consensus as to the 'Bowling For Soup origin' is that is a Steve Martin reference... The legendary Saturday Night Live star was actually 'bowling for sh**', but the band toned it down just a little! It might not be 'the band name all the bad guys want', but it's brilliant all the same!

As we delve further into the strange world of silly band names, the curious connections begin to become apparent, but none more so than with our next group! Death Cab for Cutie are named after a song by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band... And if you think that last sentence made absolutely no sense, then don't worry, you're not alone! 'Doo-Dah' were an Avant-Garde act of the '60s, 'Death Cab' are an American alt band of the late 90s and noughties... That's all you really need to know!

Some band names are so weird, they have to be acronym-ed! Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All are otherwise affectionately known as OFWGKTA... An abbreviation that really needs an extra vowel to work effectively! The hip hop collective are known for their nonchalance - to quote the lyrics of "Swag Me Out", they 'don't give a f***' - but they might have made their name a little more like normal speech! There are a lot of words here, but one is perhaps more appropriate than the others... And that's 'odd'!

The British comedy group 'Monty Python' can be a goldmine of oddity, and it's because of them that Toad the Wet Sprocket are titled as they are! Formed in 1986, the band entered into their first shows without a permanent name in place... They adopted this Eric Idle reference as a temporary solution, and the joke stuck! Idle created the name because he thought it would be 'so silly nobody would ever use it'... That guy was right about a lot of things, but he was wrong about this!

This Scottish outfit has had fans tongue-tied ever since they first formed! 'Dananananaykroyd' is basically a play on the name of Dan Aykroyd, the Canadian comedian... With a Batman-esque 'nanana' middle bit! The name may be a DJ's nightmare, but it's a clear podium placer today! You can count the 'a's and count the 'n's all you like, there's still no guarantee that you're pronouncing it correctly... And that's exactly the kind of confusion that picks up points on this countdown!

Gay for Johnny Depp

Paracoccidioidomicosisproctitissarcomucosis

!!!

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

The winner today is toilet humor! This band are well known and well reviewed within psychedelic rock circles, and their name is actually the last in a long line of crudeness! Before the 'Butthole Surfers' moniker stuck, they had performed under a new name for every live show... One night they were 'Ashtray Babyheads', the next they were 'Ed Asner is Gay', the next, 'Fred Astaire's Asshole'... Butthole Surfers is probably their simplest tag to date, and the weirdest name in all of music!

Do you agree with our list? Which weird band name is your favorite? For more strange top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.