The Muslims have changed their name to The Soft Pack and will be playing an NME Brats gig next February in London. This means that they've been signed by a big label (I know Heavenly were interested...) who are sensitive about the commercial potential of a band called "The Muslims" and a safer bet is a cigarette-inspired name.
Controversial band names, of course, are the only reason why The Christians and Frank Black and the Catholics are no longer around.
5 comments:
There was once a (shit) band called Shihad in Melbourne, who changed their name to Pacifier after 9-11 because their name sounded too much like "jihad"(though this was why they'd chosen it, after mis-hearing the word in David Lynch's Dune).
A little later, another local band formed, named Jihad Against America (sharing members with Baseball and Love of Diagrams); they probably chose the name to thumb their noses at Shihad. There was a bit of minor media scandal, followed by letters of support from Chuck D and Fugazi's Ian Mackay.
Eventually, tail between legs, Pacifier changed their name back to Shihad. They admitted they should never have changed their name in the first place.
But they were still shit.
The End.
We all remember those dark days of September 2001 when I Am The World Trade Center had to change their name to I Am The World nearly bankrupting their record label, Track and Field (actually, I don't think the name change was a great financial inconvenience for T&F).
The Muslims is a much better name than The Soft Pack ('cigarettes! rock'n'roll!') but so long as they retain their blistering garage pop noise, they can call themselves what they like.
See, I disagree. Changing your name to achieve commercial success is bloody shit. I don't really like the Soft Muslims that much but that really killed it for me.
Disregarding commercial sensibilties (staying as "The Muslims" might in fact be beneficial from the media attention it would garner) the practical considerations of, for example, a European tour could see security costs rather high in places like Holland...
Post a Comment