Coming up with an original band name is a very difficult task, which is why so many musicians turn to cinema to find a suitable name for their band. Here are eleven band names that were taken from movies.
1. My Bloody Valentine
When My Bloody Valentine formed back in 1983, the band's original vocalist David Conway suggested the name. However, guitarist Kevin Shields claims that he only found out years later that My Bloody Valentine was taken from the title of a Canadian slasher film from 1981. I'm guessing these sort of things happened all the time before the Internet.
2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor
The name "Godspeed You! Black Emperor" is a fittingly sinister and monolithic name for the Montreal post-rock group, but they didn't come up with the name themselves. The name is actually the title of a 1976 documentary about a Japanese motorcycle gang known as the "Black Emperors."
3. They Might Be Giants
Though I had always assumed that They Might Be Giants took its name from some awful sci-fi B-movie from the '50s, the film They Might Be Giants is a actually a comedy starring George C. Scott from 1971, and not at all sci-fi.
4. Annoying Customer
It's very appropriate that a punk band from New Jersey would take its name from a film set in New Jersey. In Kevin Smith's Clerks, a customer asks one of the clerks what his cat's name is, to which he rudely replies, "Annoying Customer."
5. Misfits
Before the Misfits completely committed to its horror-punk aesthetic, its songs tackled more diverse subjects, including the JFK assassination and the death of Marilyn Monroe. In fact, the band's name itself is a reference to Monroe's film The Misfits, which was the last film she appeared in before her death in 1962.
6. Mogwai
The word "mogwai" is a Cantonese word that means "monster" or "devil," but this wasn't what led the band Mogwai to choose its name. Instead, the band got its name from the film Gremlins, whose creatures are known as "mogwais" before they evolve into gremlins.
7. Black Sabbath
When Black Sabbath formed in 1969, it was originally known as Earth. However, after writing the song "Black Sabbath," whose title was inspired by the Italian horror film of the same name, the band decided to change its name to Black Sabbath and continue writing similarly horror-influenced rock music.
8. Heatmiser
Singer/songwriter Elliott Smith originally rose to fame as the guitarist for Portland indie rock band Heatmiser, which took its name from the character Heat Miser from the animated Christmas special A Year Without A Santa Claus.
9. Vampire Weekend
Though Vampire Weekend took its name from the title of a movie, it's a movie that nobody's ever seen. While in college, guitarist Ezra Koenig worked on a film called Vampire Weekend, but abandoned the project after just two days. Koenig would recount the plot of the film in the lyrics to the song "Walcott."
10. Blue Velvet
This Austin, TX indie rock band took its name from the title of David Lynch's 1986 classic Blue Velvet, which in turn took its name from a song by Bobby Vinton, which is featured in the film.
11. The Wu-Tang Clan
One of the defining characteristics of the Wu-Tang Clan is its fascination with kung fu cinema. The group took its name from the 1983 Hong Kong film Shaolin and Wu Tang and even used samples from the film on its debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
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