Originally Posted by Martian

Neutral Milk Hotel

Most indie bands have kind of odd names. Modest Mouse is a prominent indie band (ironically now unpopular with the indie crowd because they went 'mainstream') that's relatively tame compared to a lot of what's out there.

I think it has to do with the thoery of indie relativity. In Indie circles the more obscure a band is, the better it is. A strange name protects the band's obscurity.

There are those out there searching for the perfect indie band, the one band that has achieved perfection by not being known to anyone. The problem is that it's a quest doomed to failure because as soon as the questor finds the band they're no longer completely unheard of and instantly fall from grace.