The Beatles. The Monkeys. The Smiths. The Shins.
The article,”the” was once a popular choice of inclusion when selecting band names. But lately, it seems as though “the” has gone out of style. With bands like Of Montreal, You Me & Iowa, and A Tribe Called Quest coming into fame, this definite article seems to be waning, suggesting a loss of hipness.
I for one, am a huge fan of articles. Being a Speech Language Pathology Masters-hopeful, has nothing to do with it. Leisurely, whenever possible, I enjoy adding a definite or indefinite article to any noun. I feel this addition gives a higher importance to nouns and can even highlight upon its mightiness. Much like a handlebar mustache does for one’s morality.
For example, you may call me by name, “Cherie,” or you can call me “The Cherie.” And although the latter has been dubbed before in a phenomena we like to use to explain the concentration of a flatus, it still rings with much more authority than its former counterpart.
So why not add this empowering ring to your name if given the opportunity? “Stars” can become “The Stars”, “LCD Soundsystem”, “The LCD Soundsystem”. And what if by chance you came up with a cool band name like our friends, “Limozine” and some other band thinks it’s a cool name and adds an article to be “The Limozine”? You just might be stuck having the latter band fooling everyone into thinking they were the original name-makers and are thusly cooler than just “Limozine.”
That would be a shame and a really bad day for everyone.