Nothing says fall in New York more than the CMJ Music Marathon, an indoor antidote to the sweltering outdoor festivals of summer. From October 18-23, more than 80 venues will host more than 900 musicians, including several of our favorites (Twin Sister, Active Child, Cloud Nothings, Dum Dum Girls, and Michael Daves). Beyond the music, CMJ offers a annual chance to study the latest trends in band names. Like our 2010 awards, this year’s list ranges from clever to silly to downright offensive. And if you’re unsure about which shows to see, let our CMJ 2011 Band Name Awards be your guide.
Geekiest
Honorable Mentions: The Library is on Fire, Metronomy
Winner: Math, The Band
Best Inventive Spelling
Honorable Mentions: Inspector Cluzo, Smif-N-Wessun
Winner: Deathrow Tull
Best Gallic
Honorable Mentions: Hey Marseilles, You Say France & I Whistle, French Montana
Winner: French Horn Rebellion
Best Geographical Pun
Honorable Mentions: Yva Las Vegas, Majorleans
Winner: Hollerado
Most Offensive
Honorable Mentions: Mexicans with Guns, Wheelchair Sports Camp, Whore Paint
Winner: Cerebral Ballzy
Most Pretentious
Honorable Mentions: I, Synthesist, Western Civ
Winner: The Downtown Fiction
Best Repetition
Honorable Mentions: High Highs, Cinema, Cinema
Winner: Ghost Ghost
Best Smallness
Honorable Mentions: Little Anchor, Little Red
Winner: Little Racer
Best Literary Allusion
Honorable Mentions: Headless Horseman, Youngblood Hawke
Winner: Mutiny On The Bounty
Best Throwback
Honorable Mentions: My Girl Friday, 400 Blows
Winner: Machine Gun Kelly
Best Bridge and Tunnel
Honorable Mention: Freshkills, Jersey Klan
Winner: Hopewell
Hopewell, Island
Best Big
Honorable Mention: Big Sleep, Big Ups
Winner: Big Digits
Best Death
Honorable Mentions: Dead Sara, Dead To Me
Winner: Deathrow Tull
Most Sadisitic
Honorable Mentions: Fucking Wrath, Knife Party
Winner: Experimental Dental School (Free album download)
Best Greatness
Honorable Mention: Great Apes, Great Elk
Winner: Great Book of John
Best Young
Honorable Mentions: Young Buffalo, Young Prisms
Winner: Youngblood Hawke
Keith Meatto is co-editor of Frontier Psychiatrist. His recent reviews include new albums by Ryan Adams, Thundercat, Beirut, and Bon Iver, and the Ray Lamontagne concert at the Central Park Summerstage.