Besides being hobbled by a wannabe-cool name* and a logo that horrifyingly depicts something plummeting from the sky, Song Airlines has often been described as a JetBlue wannabe. In an apparent move to change that perception, they are now repositioning themselves as a Virgin Airlines wannabe.

Awkwardly mimicking Virgin’s marketing moves, Song has opened a retail store and is attempting to replicate Virgin’s “rock and roll” image. The New York Times reports:

Officials at Song insist, of course, that their airline is not simply a JetBlue knockoff. They have added an extra inch of legroom and will offer amenities like video games, MP3 playlists and pay-per-view movies. In an effort at one-upmanship, they will sell entrees like “rock and roll veggie sushi” and “shaved turkey on focaccia,” for about $8.

So, aside from the traditional billboards and print ads, how to communicate the message? Taking a page from Prada and Apple Computer, the airline is opening a store in SoHo for six weeks starting tomorrow.

Featuring sleek electronics and installation art, Song, whose biggest market is New York, with 35 daily flights, is clearly courting what they hope will be a glamorous following. “We want people to say, ‘An airline is doing that? I thought it was a clothing store’ or ‘I thought it was a gallery,’ ” said Stacy Geagan, Song’s communications director.

The airline is giving an invitation-only party at the store tonight, where, publicists promised, Grace Jones would serve as D.J. and Moby, Drew Barrymore and her boyfriend, Fabrizio Moretti of the Strokes, would drop by.

Coffee, tea, or Vanilla Ice? One of the reasons this will become an ugly mess is that Song is merely executing a quiver of tactics that some tin-eared mega branding consultancy has identified as “cool.” Or to put it more obtusely:

Michael Rock, a partner at 2×4, a firm that helped design the Prada store in SoHo, said Song was just following the current trend of using retail space to sell an image. “You don’t really change the function of the thing itself,” Mr. Rock said, “but you change the perception of the function of the thing and you differentiate the surface of it.”

Watch for Song’s financials to follow the same trajectory as its logo.

* How do you know it’s a bad name? Because, like all bad names, the company feels the need to explain it. Good names stand on their own–they don’t need explanation or justification.