Rock chameleon David Bowie experienced two separate career peaks. Most artists improve with experience then run out of ideas, but Bowie reversed his decline and returned with a second set of excellent releases. In the early 1970s his career took…
Happy ANZAC day in New Zealand (and happy 75th birthday to my dad). Congratulations to Enthusiastic Music fan Jim S, who scored 29/29 in last week’s 1960s flop singles quiz. This week, I’ve purposely chosen a quiz that favours a…
Ariana Grande is currently the world’s biggest pop star. She headlined Coachella the past two weekends and she’s broken numerous records; most notably, with the release of thank u, next, she’s joined The Beatles as the only act to monopolise…
I spent many happy hours in my late teens and twenties trawling used bins for CD bargains. I gained a lot of great music this way, and it became even easier as people converted their music collections to mp3. It…
Greetings from Lower Hutt, New Zealand, where we are currently experiencing a bumper feijoa crop. Congratulations to Tony, proprietor , who scored an impeccable 20/20, while many of us were stranded on 14 – good work to everyone who…
The b-side is largely a 20th century commodity – from around 2005, singles charts began to count digital downloads, and the physical single is now obsolete. But there are still 21st century equivalents to the b-side – for example I…
Last week’s quiz was general knowledge oriented and a little tough. Two players joined me on 12/14 – congratulations WDEOD and Rich Kamerman. This week’s quiz requires some imagination. You need to name songs based on what their prequels could…
Cat Stevens launched his career as a teen idol, scoring hits with heavily arranged songs like ‘I Love My Dog’ and ‘Matthew and Son’ in the 1960s. A near-fatal case of tuberculosis and a collapsed lung left him hospitalised, with…
It’s counter-intuitive to include The Smiths‘ most iconic song in a b-side series, but it was first released as the flip side of a single. Recorded in a four day burst of creativity that also yielded ‘William, It Was Really…
Congratulations to all of our participants in last week’s quiz. We had a lot of perfect scores, and a lot of interesting trivia about Tommy Tutone’s ‘867-5309/Jenny’. Tony recorded the fastest time, only taking just over a minute. This week’s…
So far, in this b-sides series, there have been four scenarios in which good songs find themselves languishing on the flip-side of a single. These are: i) When a great song should have been featured on an album, but is…
Welcome back to this week’s quiz. Last week we looked at the covers of the Rolling Stone, and everyone pummelled my meagre score. Several contestants went as far as to score 40/40 – good work Jim S., Rich Kamerman, 2loud2old,…
It’s tempting to conclude that, in the era of streaming, the album is merely a mechanism to garner extra plays on Spotify. But records like Julia Holter’s Aviary demonstrate that the long player is still the prestige format. Julia Holter…
As much as I love The Beatles, their solo careers have always mildly disappointed me. If you put ten years of your life into a burst of creativity, it makes sense that you don’t have much left in the tank…
Hi everyone! Occasionally my blog receives requests asking me to review albums from emerging artists. The rhythm of my blog isn’t really set up for this at the moment, so I’m wondering if any fellow bloggers would like to be…
Congratulations to Jim S. and Rich, who both scored 100% in last week’s Rock song quiz. Rich scored the fastest time, and I think it’s appropriate to quote a line from the Billy Joel album that he recently re-enacted the…
With its dual functions of rhythm and melody, the electric bass guitar is a staple in most genres of popular music. Its role varies between different acts – sometimes the bass is buried deep in the mix, the glue holding…
The Replacements started as a bratty punk band, but as the 1980s wore on they lost their rough edges. They signed to a major label and shot for mainstream success. Their best years are generally reckoned to be the mid…
Congratulations to Tony and Geoff, who both scored 32/32 in last week’s 1990s quiz, with Tony scoring the faster time. This week you need to complete song titles with “rock” in them. I scored 49/50 – I was tricked…
Adult contemporary superstar and Hebrew Hunk Neil Diamond is a fascinating figure to me. His music is an uncomfortable blend of Brill Building pop, gospel, and confessional writing, like he can’t make up his mind whether he wants to be…
The late Tom Petty was a brilliant singles artist – he wrote hit after hit of likeable, jangly rock. Contemporaries like Bob Seger and John Mellencamp were popular in America, but didn’t translate to New Zealand radio as easily; Petty’s…
Congratulations to all of our quiz participants last week. But a special mention goes to Jim, Rich, Aaron, 2Loud, J., and Tony, who all scored 100%, with Tony finishing at a blistering pace with 5:23 to spare. This week’s quiz…
The untimely passing of Talk Talk mastermind Mark Hollis this week has sent many fans back to re-examine his masterpieces. Many Talk Talk fans opt for the group’s final two records, the spacious and experimental Spirit of Eden and Laughing…
Noone managed to score 22 out of 22 in last week’s pictograph puzzle, but lots of people scored 21. Congratulations to Rich, Jim, 2loud2old, and wdeod who all joined me. This week’s quiz requires you to recognise 20 recognisable guitar…
Mitski Miyawaki was born in Japan to an American father and Japanese mother. She studied at Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music, during which she self-released her first two albums, and served a short stint as a vocalist in a prog-metal…
Kate Bush‘s 1982 album The Dreaming was excellent, but it wasn’t especially commercially successful. She’d previously enjoyed ground-breaking UK success; her debut single ‘Wuthering Heights’ made her the first female artist to hit UK number one with a self-penned song.…
Congratulations to Geoff, Tony, and Murphy’s Law, who all scored 24/24 in what I thought was a tricky Jump, Run, or Walk Quiz. This week’s challenge requires you to recognise bands from pictograms. There are a few tricky ones –…
Charlotte Aitchison christened herself Charli XCX after her MSN Messenger handle. She broke through early as a songwriter, penning ‘I Love It’ for Icona Pop while still a teenager With an ear for pop hooks and a devoted Instagram following,…
B-sides are a relatively rare commodity for progressive rock bands. They often refused to stoop to the level of those pop proletarians, issuing singles. Additionally, if they had spare song fragments lying around, they could simply incorporate them into epic…
Happy Valentines day (it’s already February 14 in New Zealand). Congratulations to hanspostcard from , who high scored with 27/30 in last week’s Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper. This week’s quiz requires you to figure out whether…
Remember the 1990s, when physical albums sold by the truckload? Manchester band Oasis had their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, sell more than 22 million copies, and this volume of sales allowed them to lavish even their b-sides with…
Last week’s quiz had a couple of tough questions, especially Temple of the Dog. Congratulations to the 1990s kids (mostly), J., Geoff, StevefortheDeaf, 2loud2old, Tony, and Murphy’s Law, who all scored 100%. It looks like Murphy’s Law scored the fastest…
Some musical careers revolve around doing one thing expertly – Billie Holiday sang, Burt Bacharach wrote songs. Other musical careers showcase a smorgasbord of talents – here are ten musicians with impressively wide skill-sets: Beck Mr Postmodern music is a…
In hindsight, The Flirtations’ best known song, ‘Nothing But A Heartache’, sounds like a girl group classic from the early 1960s. It’s a terrific piece, with a pounding back-beat and a strident lead vocal punctuated by horns. But at the…
Congratulations to Chris, Geoff, Murphy’s Law, and Tony, who all scored 22/22 in last week’s quiz, with Tony logging the fastest time. This week’s quiz requires you to identify bands from sensational headlines revolving around well known songs. I…
One goal for this blog this year is to engage with new music more regularly, and I’m planning to feature a feature length review of a recent release each month. The Beths are from Auckland, New Zealand, and Future Me…
Last week’s great b-side was a 1980s college rock band with folk-rock inclinations covering a folkie from the previous generation – 10,000 Maniacs covering John Prine’s ‘Hello in There’. This week’s pick is very similar – R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs…
It’s school holidays, and there’s been less time than usual to listen to music as my two daughters have commandeered the stereo. They’ve always enjoyed musicals like The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. We recently watched Mary Poppins Returns…
Congratulations to last week’s entrants – all reported scores were 100%, with the fastest times from Tony, Rich, Murphy’s Law, and Aaron. This week’s quiz requires you to identify musicians from some clues that show that the struggle is real.…
The Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There is a fascinating film, portraying different aspects of Dylan using six different actors, including a woman; Cate Blanchett steals the show with her portrayal of Bob Dylan’s twitchy peak in the mid-1960s. I…
Folk-rock band 10,000 Maniacs often recorded covers for their b-sides; a smart move, as they showcased how cool their record collections were, and Natalie Merchant’s affected accent always gave their versions a point of difference. ‘Hello In There’ was featured…
Congratulations to perennial champions Rich and Tony, who both scored 30/30 in last week’s Famous People in Lyrics Challenge. You need to complete amusing missing word puzzles. I did take umbrage at the prune disparagement – I enjoy plums in…
I recently decided that this site needs a lists page, so over the next few months, I’m planning to publish lists one at a time. I’m not trying to be objective with these – I regard them as a list…
After Ian Curtis’ passing, Joy Division transitioned into New Order, with Bernard Sumner taking over the front-man role, and Gillian Gilbert joining on keyboards. It’s hard to be too critical of Sumner as a wordsmith, given that he only accidentally…
We have two weeks of results to catch up on. For Music Quiz: Click the Rock Stars A-Z, congratulations to Jim, badfinger20, 2loud2oldmusic, Tony, and Rich, who all scored 25 In last week’s UK Annual Best seller quiz, congratulations to Chris,…
New Zealand singer-songwriter Anika Moa was a curious choice to bid for stardom in the US market. She’s now a tattooed, coarse-mouthed entertainer, who has branched into TV presenting and children’s music. Moa moved into making children’s music after having…
I mean, Led Zeppelin didn’t write tunes that every one liked. They left that to the Bee Gees. Wayne Campbell As noted in the movie Wayne’s World, Led Zeppelin didn’t play the pop game. They avoided releasing singles, instead preferring…
Often this site and Sporcle quizzes in general, concentrate on the “canon” – albums that are critically acclaimed and have stood the test of time. These, however, are not always the highest sellers. Can you link the artist to the…
