Dire Straits emerged at the height of punk in the UK, where Mark Knopfler’s smooth and accomplished guitar playing was at odds with the prevailing trends. Coupled with Mark Freuder Knopfler’s questionable taste in sweatbands, Dire Straits were never cool.…
Congratulations to Eclectic Music Lover, whose love of eclectic music helped him to score 24/24 in last week’s overlap quiz. This week you need to identify which musical “facts” are true and which are imagined. They forgot to include the…
Coincidentally this week, I review two 7th studio albums by New Zealand bands starting with C. As well as Porter Robinson’s electro-pop album Nurture. Crowded House Dreamers Are Waiting 2021, 6.5/10It’s increasingly difficult to differentiate Crowded House from Neil Finn’s…
The Beach Boys spent the first half of the 1960s becoming more sophisticated. Under the leadership of Brian Wilson, they grew from emulating Chuck Berry on ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’ to creating masterpieces like Pet Sounds. When Brian Wilson’s mental health suffered…
Welcome back to weekly music quiz. Congratulations to Sheik Yerbouti, who just pipped Jim for the fastest time in last week’s quiz. This week you need to name the missing words in song title pairs. I scored 22 The…
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years from 1965-1968 and…
Congratulations to jprobichaud, who recorded the fastest time in last week’s quiz. This week is a single-artist quiz, about The Beatles. You need to identify the four Beatles, an iconic album cover, and fill in the gaps in some…
This week we look at three releases from contemporary female American artists – R&B artists Jazmine Sullivan and Dawn Richard, and actor Olivia Rodrigo, who’s rapidly become a pop superstar in 2021. Olivia Rodrigo Sour 2021, 7.5/10Olivia Rodrigo came to…
Before going solo, Peter Gabriel fronted the progressive rock band Genesis for six albums. His theatrical flair, croaky voice, and creative wordplay were all important ingredients in the the group’s artistic success. Only 25 years old, Gabriel announced his departure…
Congratulations to Tony, who top-scored with 15/16 in last week’s badly drawn sexy album covers quiz. This week we’re up to the 1990s – can you match the title to the badly drawn image? I scored 19/20 – I…
