11-10-2016, 07:02
The subject heading of this thread amuses me.
I recall hearing a recording of a very early concert or radio show in which the announcer introduces the band with "Ladies and gentlemen, the Pink Floyd!" This would have been when every band name started with the definite article.
Later on, bands like Pink Floyd, Cream and Traffic started the trend away from the use of "The", and the use of unqualified names became a feature of the era of psychedelic, and later progressive, rock of the late 60's and early 70's. Then when the punk rock era arrived, suddenly once again every band was a "The" band, probably as a reaction against what punk fans liked to call the pretentiousness of prog.
The culmination of this was of course "The The".
Lately there is a phenomemon that I don't understand: I have heard of at least three bands where the first word of the band name is "Thee", apparently used in the same way as definite article. Is this supposed to be an archaic form of "The", and is it trying to sound cool in some way? .Whatever the reason, it's starting to annoy me bigtime.
I recall hearing a recording of a very early concert or radio show in which the announcer introduces the band with "Ladies and gentlemen, the Pink Floyd!" This would have been when every band name started with the definite article.
Later on, bands like Pink Floyd, Cream and Traffic started the trend away from the use of "The", and the use of unqualified names became a feature of the era of psychedelic, and later progressive, rock of the late 60's and early 70's. Then when the punk rock era arrived, suddenly once again every band was a "The" band, probably as a reaction against what punk fans liked to call the pretentiousness of prog.
The culmination of this was of course "The The".
Lately there is a phenomemon that I don't understand: I have heard of at least three bands where the first word of the band name is "Thee", apparently used in the same way as definite article. Is this supposed to be an archaic form of "The", and is it trying to sound cool in some way? .Whatever the reason, it's starting to annoy me bigtime.

