Five Awful Band Names We Take for Granted: My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket: better as MMJ

Welcome to my week-long rant about band names, in which I'll be calling out five otherwise-good, iconic bands who, for one inexplicable reason or another, chose lame, nonsensical monikers to represent what is otherwise excellent music made by talented people who should've known better. I'll be counting down to the number one spot all week long.

4. My Morning Jacket

Nonsensical and completely inappropriate for an esoteric, versatile band like My Morning Jacket, MMJ's problem is similar to Death Cab for Cutie's: both bands chose names that incorrectly suggest you're about to be served a heaping helping of overcooked screamo. But what really burns my butter about My Morning Jacket is that this band is so badass, they could have chosen almost any bizarre name they wanted and made it work for them. This is a band that could have taken the weird route a la Black Moth Super Rainbow and made it work. And yet, these dudes managed to come up with the one phrase that doesn't fit their music at all. Fortunately, My Morning Jacket is so damn good that it doesn't matter (much), and anyway, the whole mess can be solved by reducing the name to MMJ. The nice thing about an acronym? It may not say much, but at least it doesn't distract from the main attraction, which is supposed to be the music.