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…
1982’s Toto IV was the best known record by collective of LA studio musicians known as Toto. The record spawned three top ten singles, ‘Africa’, ‘Rosanna’, and ‘I Won’t Hold You Back’. ‘Africa’ in particular is well-loved, with a recent…
