The Thursday Quiz is an "Is It or Isn't It" game. From the list of twelve items, your job is to determine whether each IS or ISN'T a true example of the week's category.
Remember always the rock-solid foundation on which this Quiz rests:
No research, Googling, Wikiing, or use of reference books. The ThursdayThis Week's Category will rock!
Quiz is a POP quiz. Violators will have their heads bitten off by Ozzy.
Ostensibly Great Rock Albums
In 2003, Rolling Stone printed its list of the 500 greatest rock albums of all time. Some of the following were among the top twenty-five. Others didn't even make the list. For each album, IS IT or ISN'T IT an officially canonical rock album?
1. The Beatles, The Beatles ("The White Album")
2. Chuck Berry, The Great Twenty-Eight
3. David Bowie, Heroes
4. James Brown, Live at the Apollo (1963)
5. The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin
6. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
7. Michael Jackson, Thriller
8. John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band
9. Nirvana, Nevermind
10. The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground and Nico
11. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
12. Stevie Wonder, Innervisions
Post your answers in the comments.
28 comments:
hi! let's guess again:
1. yes, of course (if it isn't i lost all my faith in Rolling Stone Magazine)
2. no
3. i'm sure there's something by Bowie, so let's say: yes
4. no
5. no
6. don't know much about Fleetwood Mac, but they seem to be in every top list, so: yes
7. yes
8. yes
9. yes
10. yes
11. no
12. yes
1. yes
2. no
3. no
4. yes
5. i wish. but probably not
6. yes
7. yes
8. no
9. yes
10. yes
11. no
12. no
1. is
2. isn't
3. ins't
4. is
5. isn't
6. is
7. is
8. isn't
9. is
10. is
11. is
12. is
1y, 2n, 3n, 4y, 5y, 6y, 7y, 8n, 9y, 10y, 11y, 12y
my answers reflect more what i think rolling stone should've picked rather than what i think they did.
for instance, yankee hotel foxtrot only came out in '02, so i doubt rolling stone put it on their list in '03, but if they didn't they're as stupid as i've thought they were for a very long time.
also, i'm sure david bowie is on that list somewhere, but i doubt for heroes.
my answers stand.
Time to take a deep hit .... dude, here are my guesses. Remember, I listened to classical music and Elton John when I was growing up, thought the group "Chic" was uber-cool (freak out!), and stopped paying any attention to rock music whatever after I left Alaska in '86 to run for vice-president.
1. Well, yes, it's the Beatles, right?
2. I'll say no.
3. No.
4. Yes.
5. This was a band? No.
6. I remember Fleetwood Mac; really wanted to be Stevie Nicks. Stevie Nicks, right? And I think I even recognize the album name, so I'll say yes.
7. I'm going to say 'yes' because I think there were new/unique things about this album, though I also think his music is sucky.
8. No.
9. Yes?
10. No.
11. No. Never heard of these people and I object to the use of military referents in popular culture.
12. Yes. Why not.
Hey, watch the way my hand tracks ...
1. Yes
2. No
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. No
6. Yes
7. Yes
8. No
9. Yes
10. Yes
11. No
12. No
These evaluations are some kind of mishmash of what I think and what I think Rolling Stone might have thought 5 years ago. Granted, I don't have a very discriminating sense of either of those.
1. IS
2. Isn't
3. IS
4. Isn't
5. Isn't
6. IS
7. IS
8. Isn't
9. IS
10. IS
11. Isn't
12. IS
1 / yes
2 / yes
3 / no
4 / yes
5 / no
6 / yes
7 / yes
8 / no
9 / yes
10 / yes
11 / no
12 / yes
Mauritania! (Because it's fun to shout "Mauritania" while going down in flames.)
1 Well, I'm a Beatles fan from way back, and I wouldn't put this on a top 25 list. But hard to imagine it wouldn't make 500, and M5K does love to sneer at how overrated it is (IHHO) So yes, ostensibly.
2 Um, no.
3 Um, no. I might have said yes to Ziggy Stardust.
4 Sure, why not.
5 This one hasn't influenced me much. No.
6 Certainly.
7 Certainly. So I'm probably wrong on these two, but hey.
8 I have a fondness for this one. Lots of screaming for his mother.
No.
9 Well, there's probably some Nirvana on the list. And sad to say, I don't know my Nirvana albums. I'll say no.
10 Um, yes.
11 2003, this was still pretty fresh, critic's darling. I'll say yes.
12 It wouldn't be Songs in the Key of Life? How should I know! Yes.
1. Is
2. Isn't
3. Is
4. Is
5. Isn't
6. Is
7. Is
8. Isn't
9. Is
10. Isn't
11. Is
12. Is
(The answers given in this comment do not necessarily reflect the views held by the commenter on the actual greatness of these albums.)
1. Is
2. Is
3. Isn't
4. Isn't
5. Isn't
6. Isn't
7. Isn't
8. Isn't
9. Is
10. Is
11. Isn't
12. Is...okay, I'll stick with it.
Not sure about all the isn'ts but I am pretty certain about the ises. Going to have to look this up again now. I read it in the mag. Oops. That was a while ago. Shoot. I may be off by a ton by now.
1. Is
2. Is
3. Ain't. I bet Ziggy Stardust was, though.
4. Is
5. Ain't, though it shoulda been.
6. Probably was. Those RS folks have a soft spot for seventies stuff
7. Is
8. Is
9. Is
10. Is
11. Ain't
12. Is.
And, re: Elizabeth "That was a band" for #5?
Darn tootin'! Oklahoma's finest!
First of all, I am happy to concede that this is kind of a dumb quiz. It didn't test anything but your ability to second guess the people polled by Rolling Stone. On the other hand, I thought it might be kind of fun. Hopefully you were more or less entertained. I aim always to be more or less entertaining.
1. The Beatles, The Beatles ("The White Album") -- YES
2. Chuck Berry, The Great Twenty-Eight -- YES
3. David Bowie, Heroes -- NO
4. James Brown, Live at the Apollo (1963) -- YES
5. The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin -- NO
6. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours -- YES
7. Michael Jackson, Thriller -- YES
8. John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band -- YES
9. Nirvana, Nevermind -- YES
10. The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground and Nico -- YES
11. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot -- NO
12. Stevie Wonder, Innervisions -- YES
1. The Beatles, The Beatles ("The White Album") Is. Or damn well better be.
2. Chuck Berry, The Great Twenty-Eight. I'll say isn't. Seems like a 'greatest hits' title and I would think as such it would not be eligible.
3. David Bowie, Heroes. Is. Certainly ought to be on the list.
4. James Brown, Live at the Apollo (1963) Hmmmm.... I'll say is.
5. The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin. Isn't. A bit tempting, but not too tempting.
6. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours. Is. Surely the all-time number one 8-track tape!
7. Michael Jackson, Thriller. Yes again, Is. But if ever an album got too much radio play in my lifetime, this was it.
8. John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band. Isn't. I heard this one a time or two many years ago and didn't care for it back then, that's for sure.
9. Nirvana, Nevermind. Is, certainly.
10. The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground and Nico. Boy, this is a good one to tempt us with. I'll say isn't. I might guess Loaded rated in the top 25.
11. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Another good offering. I'll say Isn't.
12. Stevie Wonder, Innervisions. Tough one. Isn't. If you had gone with Talking Book I would have said "is". Could be my person tastes coming into it too much though.
Whoa! Do I qualify as a participant if I was drafting my response while you posted the answers?
An exciting conclusion this evening, as drschnell shows up late with a perfect list to grab the TQLV Gold Star! This puts him just one away from tieing the all-time Gold Star winnings list, and from tieing the all-time total Stars winnings list!
Just an old "Plastic Ono Band" record from victory, Karmasartre pulls down the Silver Star, his fourth. With 15 total Stars, Karma is a solid fourth on the all-time leaderboard.
Welcome to the Thursday Quiz's 41st ever winner: MJ, getting to the third-place score first to take the TQLV Blue Star!
Three Green Stars going out this week, to Cartophiliac, la gringissima, and Elizabeth. It is their third Green apiece.
Rules clarification: mhwitt qualifies as a participant! ...but in this instance, he fails to place.
And now some barnstorm analysis:
1. The Beatles, The Beatles ("The White Album") -- YES
This really tell you everything you need to know about the project. One passable side of music sprawled over both sides of two records through a massive infusion of shameless filler, the 10th album on the list is not only not really a great album, it is a frankly lame album. But it's by the Beatles.
6. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours -- YES
A perfectly likeable pop album from the 1970s.
7. Michael Jackson, Thriller -- YES
A perfectly likeable pop album from the 1980s.
8. John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band -- YES
Only two of you thought that this belonged on the list. As for the others, well, you were wrong... but you were kind of right too, weren't you.
@MJ: Your respect for Rolling Stone is going to go sooner or later. It's like a law of nature.
@Elizabeth: Sounds like you didn't need any more green tonight....
I GOT A STAR, I GOT A STAR, I GOT A STAR!!!! i must organize a party tonight
as for Rolling Stone, i'm more of a Q magazine reader, actually (i buy one every second year, aprox. hahaha)
and yes, i agree the white album shoudn't be number 10, but it had to be among the first 500, even if only for its artwork
rumors is actually one of the best albums ever produced on the planet.
and the beatles' white album can go suck it.
I always liked the White Album (though it's only my fourth or fifth-favorite Beatles album) for the same reason as I like Sandinista by the Clash. Sure, it's got a limited amount of brilliant stuff in amongst the plentiful failed experiments and noodlings. But I kinda like hearing the failed experiments and noodlings.
I'm feeling like a failure as a provacateur, here....
damn these thursday quizzes are always humbling, even if I feel like I should know the subject matter. Here goes:
1. Is
2. I can't imagine they would have dissed Chuck, but was this the album? I don't know their names. Isn't.
3. Is
4. Is
5. I doubt they would have thought so highly of it. Isn't.
6. Is
7. Is
8. Is
9. Is
10. God, I swear to god, if this wasn't even on the top 500 list, I'm I'm I'm going to write a letter to my congressman. This must have been top 25. Is.
11. I believe this came out in 02 and while it's definitely one of the best few albums of the last 10 years, I doubt Rolling Stone would have given it top 25 status so soon.
12. Ditto my analysis on 10. Is.
close. I was about to be outraged about heroes but then I looked at the track listing. Not his best.
What is an album? The record? "What album are we listening to?" Sounds right. If so, the white album was the black album. The sleeve was white. The jacket was white. All the albums were black except Dave Mason's "Alone Together" which was marbelized beige.
If it were up to me, mj would get a gold star for the comment "if only for its artwork". I GOL'd.
I think the black album had 16 (out of 30) good to great songs, fairly low key stuff (e g. Julia, Rocky, Bungalow, I WIll, Happiness, Glass Onion), as the heavy hitters (e.g. Birthday, Yer Blues) struck out for me, and that psychedelic thing was dirge-like.
"I wrote" for Rolling Stone (1969, one measly record review ($15 pay)). It was pretty inconsequential, but it allows me to claim "writer" as my livelihood in this life and any future ones. Or deadlihood. Something dreadful happened to that magazine, and I don't think it had to do with my tenure being limited to twenty seconds. It bought in.
...really, I just want dorkfest.
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