.2010: The Music Quiz

How well do you know this year's popular music?

12.29.10

1. Antoine Dobson’s “Bed Intruder Song,” based on a TV interview about an attempted rape of his sister in the projects, became a massive hit in 2010. With money from sales of the song on iTunes, Dobson was able to do what?

a) Pay a private investigator to successfully find the man who tried to rape his sister

b) Market his own line of red bandanas

c) Record an album called Go and Tell That

d) Buy a new house for his family

2. In November, the Beatles’ catalogue was finally made available on iTunes. In the first week, what was their top-selling song?

a) “Yesterday”

b) “Something”

c) “Here Comes the Sun”

d) “Let It Be”

3. In May, while serving jail time at Rikers Island, Lil’ Wayne was placed into solitary confinement for what offense?

a) Telling a correctional officer that his wife resembled a martian

b) Wearing brand-name briefs instead of prison-issued briefs

c) Having a contraband mp3 player disguised as a watch

d) Urinating on his food and then sending it back

4. At the MTV Video Music Awards in September, Lady Gaga gave an acceptance speech while wearing a dress made entirely of what?

a) Dog food

b) Meat

c) Live snakes

d) Tortillas

5. In November, the website Pitchfork awarded Kanye West’s album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy a perfect rating of 10.0. The last time the site gave a 10.0 rating to a new album was in 2002. Which album was it?

a) You Forgot It in People by Broken Social Scene

b) Sea Change by Beck

c) Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco

d) Lifted by Bright Eyes

6. In August, Erykah Badu was sentenced to six months’ probation for disrobing in public as part of a video shoot. Where was the video filmed?

a) Independence Hall

b) the Grand Canyon

c) Dealy Plaza

d) the Washington Monument

7. In September, producers for Sesame Street pulled a music segment featuring Katy Perry, explaining that:

a) She is a talentless hack

b) Her breasts were too exposed

c) The song was discovered to be satanic

d) The segment’s editing caused seizures

8. In February, the Arcade Fire agreed to license their song “Wake Up” to the NFL for use at the Superbowl in order to donate the money to:

a) Lindsay Lohan’s rehab bill

b) Wildlife rescue

c) Canadian healthcare

d) Haiti earthquake relief

9. In an interview, the singer of an acclaimed Brooklyn band confessed he’d “literally never heard of” the band Train, who had the number-one selling single of 2010. Who was it?

a) Avey Tare of Animal Collective

b) James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem

c) David Longstreth of Dirty Projectors

d) Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend

10. Which seminal indie-rock band did not reunite in 2010?

a) Pavement

b) Guided by Voices

c) Cap’n Jazz

d) Fugazi

11. In November, George W. Bush said that “one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency” was what?

a) His failure to visit New Orleans until five days after Hurricane Katrina

b) His statement that “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees,” when in fact officials had warned him the levees were in grave danger of failing

c) His administration ordering power crews to stop repairing hurricane-ravaged New Orleans hospitals in order to fix a Texas-based gas pipeline in Mississippi instead

d) Kanye West saying, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people”

12. Former Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein announced in August that she’d soon star in a television show about Portland, Ore., called:

a) Portlandia

b) Fixed Gear Fantasies

c) The ’90s Are Now!

d) This Coffee Sucks

13. After the Haiti earthquake, millions of dollars were donated to Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti organization. Yet tax documents published by the Smoking Gun website evinced distressing activity by the charity. Which of the following is not true?

a) In 2006, Yele Haiti paid $100,000 to Jean’s production company for his performance at a “benefit”

b) In 2007, Yele Haiti paid $31,000 to Jean’s recording studio for “office space”

c) In 2008, Yele Haiti paid $105,000 to Jean’s mistress, Zakiya Khatou-Chevassus, for “program development”

d) In 2009, Yele Haiti paid $50,000 to Jean’s former Fugees bandmate Lauryn Hill for “consultation”

14. In 1984, the first line of “We are the World” was sung by Lionel Richie. In 2010, a remake was recorded to benefit Haiti. Who sang the first line?

a) Jamie Foxx

b) T-Pain

c) Miley Cyrus

d) Justin Beiber

15. In September, Susan Boyle was reportedly “in tears” after she was refused permission to sing a Lou Reed song on the television show America’s Got Talent. What song was it?

a) “Femme Fatale”

b) “I Wanna Be Black”

c) “Perfect Day”

d) “Metal Machine Music, Part 3”

16. At the Grammy awards ceremony, a tribute to Michael Jackson was unwatchable to most viewers because:

a) It was a pay-per-view segment

b) It could only be viewed on the iPad

c) It required 3D glasses

d) Celine Dion was part of it

17. In August, Cee-Lo’s hit single was censored, for television and radio, under what title?

a) “Screw You”

b) “Hump You”

c) “Forget You”

d) “Intercourse You”

18. In October, a federal court shut down music file-sharing site LimeWire, also ordering the company to “use all reasonable technological means” to do what?

a) Transfer money from its users’ Paypal accounts to the record companies

b) Stop its users from illegally downloading music even after LimeWire is shut down

c) Delete mp3s downloaded via LimeWire from its users’ computers

d) Report its users’ IP addresses to the FBI

19. Which R&B singer did not die in 2010?

a) Bill Withers

b) Teena Marie

c) Solomon Burke

d) Teddy Pendergrass

20. In a guest verse on Trey Songz’ “Bottoms Up,” which deceased celebrity does Nicki Minaj rap a “rest in peace” to?

a) Martin Luther King, Jr.

b) Thomas Edison

c) Anna Nicole Smith

d) Tupac Shakur

21. Who is Kirsten Kennis?

a) The New York Times reporter who wrote about M.I.A. eating a truffle fry

b) The Contra cover model who sued Vampire Weekend for $2 million

c) The ghostwriter for Taylor Swift’s Twitter account

d) The newscaster who found and interviewed the Velvet Underground’s Mo Tucker at a Tea Party rally

22. At the end of Conan O’Brien’s last show on NBC, the guitar-playing host was joined by Will Ferrell, Beck and Ben Harper for a live performance of what song?

a) “The Long and Winding Road”

b) “Stairway to Heaven”

c) “Freebird”

d) “Bad Romance”

23. In July, Kings of Leon stopped a show at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis after just three songs because:

a) Pigeons were defecating on the band

b) A cord electrocuted the lead singer

c) The venue caught on fire

d) Their drummer needed to watch Glee

Answers to Music Quiz:
1. d    2. c    3. c    4. b    5. c    6. c    7. b    8. d    9. b    10. d    11. d    12. a    13. d    14. d    15. c    16. c    17. c    18. b    19. a   20. c    21. b    22. c    23. a


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