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FIVE questions to provide a high-scoring response,
FIVE questions to provide a low-scoring response, and
TWO questions to provide no score!
https://youtu.be/1kIQT7uUiME
1: Land of Talk - "Some Are Lakes"
Land of Talk is (or was, or may someday again be; the band's status has been a mystery for several years) a Montreal-based band led by singer/guitarist Elizabeth Powell. "Some Are Lakes" was written as a love song from the perspective of Powell's parents.
Identify a body of water with "sea" in its name from the satellite images pictured below. (Some are lakes.) Include the letter of the clue in your response. (11 possible answers)
- D, E, and F require responses more specific than "Mediterranean."
https://youtu.be/wF7sAjVcFJM
2: Wye Oak - "For Prayer"
This indie rock duo is named for the Wye Oak, which until being felled by a thunderstorm in 2002 was the official state tree of their native Maryland.
Name a university in either Maryland or Washington, DC, whose athletics program competes at the NCAA Division I level in any sport. Note: the pool of answers includes three University of Maryland schools; a campus location is required for those responses. (14 possible answers)
https://youtu.be/cyQ0-XFAaIE
3: Manchester Orchestra - "Girl Harbor"
Manchester Orchestra's name comes from frontman Andy Hull's love of music originating from the British city of Manchester. While the UK's most famous band hailed from Liverpool, and London is undoubtedly the center of British culture, Manchester makes a serious claim as the heart of British popular music based on the broad array of successful and influential artists the city has fostered over the decades.
Identify an artist associated with the Manchester music scene pictured below. Please include the letter of the clue in your response. (12 possible answers)
- E is also the lead singer of A; the response to A must be the group, and the response to E must be the soloist.
- J was formed by the members of D, minus D's lead singer; the response to D must be the earlier group, and the response to J must be the later group.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
https://youtu.be/HMfprvLp-t8
4: Franz Ferdinand - "All for You, Sophia"
Franz Ferdinand's name was derived from a racehorse members of the band had watched on television. That fact may be lost on listeners first exposed to the band through their debut EP, which features this song about the assassination of the band's namesake (the archduke, not the horse).
Name a member of the Central Powers during World War I, or a European country founded in the aftermath of World War I. Note: direct successor states of a Central Power will be counted in the former category. (11 possible answers)
https://youtu.be/xnBjwrRmo2U
5: Sylvan Esso - "Play It Right"
The two members of Sylvan Esso (Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn) trace their roots to the indie folk scene; naturally, their collaboration would yield an electronic sound. The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (Esso) renamed itself the Exxon Corporation in 1973, but still uses the Esso brand name in international markets.
Identify a brand of gasoline whose logo is pictured below. Please include the letter of the clue in your response. Note: brand names have been removed. (12 possible answers)
- D and G both have more than one acceptable answer; all correct responses to those logos will count as the same.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
https://youtu.be/49eGjbN79W4
6: The Joy Formidable - "Chapter 2"
The Joy Formidable is a power trio from Wales. The only Welsh author I can think of is Dylan Thomas; he was a poet, so he doesn't make a good transition into this question.
Identify a well-known novel from the first sentence from the Sparknotes summary of its second chapter. Please include the letter of the clue in your response. (12 possible answers)
- "September arrives, and Dill leaves Maycomb to return to the town of Meridian."
- "Halfway between West Egg and New York City sprawls a desolate plain, a gray valley where New York’s ashes are dumped."
- "Distressed by the news of Ashley’s engagement, Scarlett hurries to the road to wait for her father, who has gone visiting at Twelve Oaks."
- "Poirot arrives in Stamboul and checks in at the Tokatlian Hotel."
- "En route to Augustus’s house to watch “V for Vendetta,” Hazel comments on the jolting quality of Augustus’s driving."
- "When the explorers return, Ralph sounds the conch shell, summoning the boys to another meeting on the beach."
- "As the crowd watches, Hester Prynne, a young woman holding an infant, emerges from the prison door and makes her way to a scaffold (a raised platform), where she is to be publicly condemned."
- "Ishmael travels from New York to New Bedford, Massachusetts, the whaling capital of the United States."
- "Authorities at the workhouse send Oliver to a branch-workhouse for 'juvenile offenders against the poor-laws.'"
- "The narrator bids us listen and declares that 'Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.'”
- "When he leaves the hospital, Yossarian feels that he is the only one concerned about the senseless war in which millions of young men are bombing each other."
- "Winston opens the door fearfully, assuming that the Thought Police have arrived to arrest him for writing in the diary."
https://youtu.be/shYCwb8pu2U
7: Courtney Barnett - "Debbie Downer"
Courtney Barnett was a teenager in Melbourne, Australia, when Rachel Dratch's "Debbie Downer" character first appeared on
Saturday Night Live in 2004. That particular sketch, also featuring guest host Lindsay Lohan, gained infamy for the cast members' inability to stay in character.
Name a woman who has appeared as a repertory player on Saturday Night Live since the beginning of the 2005-2006 season, Rachel Dratch's last as a cast member. (11 possible responses)
https://youtu.be/B8zqDVaNg6w
8: The Clash - "Koka Kola"
Punk rock's popularity beginning in the late 1970s stemmed from the genre's ability to make politically-charged statements in a short amount of time. In less than two minutes here, the Clash take on corporate culture, the rise of cocaine as the drug of the upper class, and the pervasiveness of soft drink advertising.
Name one of the ten best-selling carbonated soft drinks in the United States in 2014, according to the industry journal Beverage Digest. Zero-calorie (or diet) versions of soft drinks are considered separate from their full-calorie counterparts. (10 possible answers)
https://youtu.be/AVYYpNaSs2Y
9: Toad the Wet Sprocket - "All I Want"
The origin of the name of alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket was a Monty Python audio sketch: writer Eric Idle sought to create a band name "...that would be so silly nobody would ever use it," and claims to have nearly driven off the road the first time he heard the band on the radio.
Name a theatrically-released film by the Monty Python comedy group, or an album of original material (not compilations) recorded by Monty Python. Note: three Monty Python albums are soundtracks for Monty Python films; the soundtrack album and film will count as the same answer. Live performances are included. (12 possible answers)
https://youtu.be/daa9pZDxfIY
10: Dada - "Dizz Knee Land"
The members of Dada claim their biggest hit song was not inspired by the theme park itself, but by seeing a commercial of Joe Montana saying, "I'm going to Disneyland!" while flipping through television channels.
Name a theme park located at any Walt Disney resort property. Note: four Disney parks go by the name "Disneyland" or "Disneyland Park;" any Disneyland response must include the city the resort is identified with. (11 possible answers)
https://youtu.be/BE2zf4-qbG4
11: Beck - "Sissyneck"
Beck's
Odelay won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1997; he would win the award again three years later for
Midnite Vultures. First awarded in 1991, the Best Alternative Album category spent the middle third of its history to date dominated by four artists. Beck, Radiohead, Coldplay, and the White Stripes combined to win the Grammy ten out of thirteen years between 1997 and 2009; they are also the only artists to have won the award multiple times.
Name an artist who has won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album once, and only once. Incuded below is a cheat sheet providing the following for each applicable year: whether the winning artist was a solo artist, a duo, or a group of three or more members; the artist's city of origin; and any genres (besides alternative rock or indie rock, which applies to nearly all of them) listed on the winning album's Wikipedia page. You do not need to include the year in your response. (15 possible answers)
1991: Solo (F); Dublin; pop rock
1992: Group; Athens, Georgia; none
1993: Solo (M); Los Angeles; experimental rock, blues rock, industrial rock, folk rock
1994: Group; Dublin; none
1995: Group; Berkeley, California; punk rock, pop punk
1996: Group; Aberdeen, Washington; acoustic rock
1999: Group; New York City; alternative hip hop, rap rock
2005: Group; Chicago; none
2007: Duo; Atlanta; soul, electronic
2010: Group; Paris; synthpop, new wave
2011: Duo; Akron, Ohio; garage rock, blues rock
2012: Group; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; indie folk, baroque pop
2013: Solo (M); Melbourne, Australia; indie pop
2014: Group; New York City; none
2015: Solo (F); Dallas; art rock, art pop, noise pop
https://youtu.be/ZBixa08BPQA
12: Interpol - "NYC"
New York definitely cares about its sports teams. While several other cities have teams in all five major professional leagues (MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLS), New York is the only one that is home to multiple teams in each league.
Name a team in any of the five major North American professional sports leagues based in the New York metropolitan area. (11 possible answers)