Very Good Music Facts – Vol. 4
We’re back with a new edition of Very Good Music Facts! We have nixed the working title, “Now That’s What I Call Even More Very Good Music Facts,” and will now use the word “Volume” in the future to avoid confusion.
Volumes 1-3 can be found here. Please enjoy and share these latest nuggets.
Ska came before reggae. Emo came before screamo.
In the early 80s, Madonna played the drums in a band called The Breakfast Club. Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, and Ally Sheedy played high school students in “The Breakfast Club” and college graduates in “St. Elmo’s Fire” in the same year (1985).
Andrew Vowles of Massive Attack wanted Madonna to sing their future hit “Teardrop,” but was outvoted by the two other band members, who wanted Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins. In addition to the vocals, Fraser wrote the song’s lyrics, inspired by the works of French philosopher Gaston Bachelard and the death of her former boyfriend, musician Jeff Buckley.
The term “trip hop” was coined by music journalist Andy Pemberton to describe the hip hop instrumental “In/Flux”, a 1993 single by DJ Shadow.
The term “punk rock” was first used by Ed Sanders of The Fugs. He described his solo album as “punk rock—redneck sentimentality” in the Chicago Tribune on March 22, 1970.
The term “Paisley Underground” was first coined in 1982 by Michael Quercio, the front man for The Three O’Clock, in an LA Weekly interview as a joke to describe the psychedelic-tinged guitar bands like The Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, and The Bangles.
A hand puppet of Ernie from Sesame Street was originally featured in a crowd scene photo on the back cover of Green Day’s “Dookie” album. Ernie was airbrushed out of the photo from later pressings due to possible copyright infringement.
The “Dean of Science Fiction Artists,” Frank Kelly Freas, painted the iconic artwork for Queen’s album “News of the World.” It was a reworking (requested by Roger Taylor) of his October 1953 cover illustration for Tom Godwin’s “The Gulf Between” for “Astounding Science Fiction” magazine. Freas also created the cover art for numerous issues of MAD magazine.
For Those with an Iron Deficiency
Sam Beam’s stage name “Iron & Wine” is taken from a dietary supplement named “Beef, Iron & Wine” that he found in a general store.
3 out of the 4 Iron Maiden vocalists were named Paul.
– Paul Mario Day
– Paul Di’Anno
– Paul “Bruce” Dickinson
Radiohead wrote “My Iron Lung” in response to their record label asking for a single to repeat the success of “Creep.” The lyrics use an iron lung as a metaphor for the way “Creep” had both sustained and constrained them.
Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” had nothing to do with the Marvel superhero. When Ozzy Osbourne first heard Tony Iommi’s guitar riff, he said it sounded like a “big iron bloke walking around”. That comment inspired Geezer Butler to write the lyrics.
Karly Hartzman chose the band name Wednesday as a homage to the British band The Sundays. The band Taking Back Sunday took their name from a song by another Long Island band, The Waiting Process.
The Beths are named after the lead singer and songwriter Elizabeth Stokes. She was inspired by the character Lorelai Gilmore from the “Gilmore Girls” naming her daughter after herself.
The band name Minus the Bear comes from a joke about the 1970s TV show “B.J. and the Bear” where a friend described a bad date by saying it was “like that show… minus the bear.”
Joyce Manor was named after an apartment complex in Torrance, California.
The Lawrence Arms were named after an apartment complex in Chicago, Illinois.
The Fontaines, D.C. were originally called “The Fontaines.” They added “D.C.” (Dublin City) to avoid conflict with another band in Los Angeles.
The British punk band The Ruts renamed themselves The Ruts D.C. with “D.C.” standing for the Italian phrase da capo, meaning “from the beginning,” to signify a restart after their singer’s death.
Ernest Evans’ nickname was Chubby. While he was recording a demo for Dick Clark and doing a Fats Domino impression, Clark’s wife Barbara suggested that Chubby be called “Chubby Checker” as an homage.
Song Title Name Checks
Lots of musicians and bands name check other song titles in their songs. There are too many to list, especially in classic rock, but here are some fun ditties (with no classic rock references) that specifically mention “songs titles” (not the lyrics, again, too many to mention):
- “All of the Stars” by Ed Sheeran mentions “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol.
- “Hands Open” by Snow Patrol references Sufjan Stevens and his song “Chicago.”
- “Warbrain” by Chicago band Alkaline trio mentions “Trusty Chords” by Hot Water music and “Night on Earth” by the The Bouncing Souls.
- “Not Strong Enough” by Boygenius mentions “Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure.
- “Constructive Summer” by The Hold Steady mentions “Celebrated Summer” by Hüsker Dü.
- “Writing To Reach You” by Travis mentions “Wonderwall” by Oasis.
- “When The Sun Goes Down” by Arctic Monkeys references “Roxanne” by The Police.
The George Harrison classic “Got My Mind Set on You” is a cover of “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You” originally recorded by James Ray in 1962. Two music videos were released for the 1987 single. The first featured a young Alexis Denisof who played Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the television series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel.”
In 1983, three bands named Slayer released records. One Slayer was from the U.K., one from San Antonio, TX, and one was from L.A. In 1984, the two American Slayers played a gig together called “Slayer vs. Slayer.” U.K. Slayer became Dragonslayer, San Antonio Slayer became S.A. Slayer, and the Slayer from L.A. became legends.
System Of A Down changed their name from “Victim Of A Down” so their CDs would be stocked near Slayer.
Ready, Preset, Go!
The main opening riff for Gorillaz’s “Clint Eastwood” is taken directly from the “Rock 1″ preset on a 1980s Suzuki Omnichord synthesizer.
Daryl Hall & John Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” uses the “Rock 1″ pattern on the Roland CR-78. Phil Collin’s “In The Air Tonight” uses the CR-78’s “Disco 2” (in its A variation).
The iconic “orchestra hit” sample used on “Planet Rock,” “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” and many other 80s songs came from the preset called “ORCH5” on the Fairlight CMI synthesizer. It was sampled from the 1910 composition “The Firebird” by Igor Stravinsky.
That synth Ferris Bueller used in his bedroom to make puke noises is an E-mu Emulator II, which cost about $8,000 in 1986. He had the same exact pro-grade 8-bit sampler as Stevie Wonder and New Order.
“Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M. was considered for the theme song for the sitcom “Friends,” but the band rejected the offer. The song was inspired by a Chinese propaganda poster that read, “Shiny Happy People Holding Hands.”
“Stand” by R.E.M. was used as the theme song for Chris Elliott sitcom “Get a Life.”
Handsome Boy Modeling School (Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and Prince Paul) took their name from an episode of “Get a Life” where Chris attempts to become a model.
Prince Paul produced “3 Feet High and Rising,” the debut studio album by the De La Soul in 1989. The album title was inspired by the Johnny Cash song “Five Feet High and Rising.”
Love is All Around
The man who wrote the “Mary Tyler Moore” theme “Love Is All Around” (1970) also wrote “I Fought The Law.” Sonny Curtis he was a member of the Crickets and continued with the band after Buddy Holly’s death in 1959.
Hüsker Dü, Sammy Davis Jr., and Joan Jett all covered Curtis’s “Love is All Around.”
There is another popular song called “Love is All Around” written Reg Presley and performed by his band The Troggs in 1967. It has been covered by R.E.M. and Wet Wet Wet.
Beyoncé holds the record for the most Grammy nominations in history with a total of 99 (she has 35 wins as of early 2025). She surpassed her husband, Jay-Z, who previously held the record and now has 89 nominations.
Billie Eilish is the first artist born in the 2000s to have a number one album on the Billboard 200 chart with her 2019 debut studio album, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
Refused’s 1998 album “The Shape of Punk to Come” was a play on the 1959 avant-garde free-jazz record, “The Shape of Jazz to Come,” by Ornette Coleman.
The Police album titles meaning:
- “Outlandos d’Amour” (1978) – is a loose French translation of “Outlaws of Love”
- “Reggatta de Blanc” (1979) – loosely translates to “white reggae” or “white people’s reggae”
- “Zenyatta Mondatta” (1980) – Zenyatta and Mondatta are invented words
- “Ghost in the Machine” (1981) – refers to Arthur Koestler’s book of the same name, which argues that the “mind” is a “ghost” residing in the “machine” of the body.
- “Synchronicity” (1983) – the term “synchronicity” was coined by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, defining it as the occurrence of two or more events that are not causally related yet seem related in a meaningful way.
More Very Good Music Fun Facts >
Even More Very Good Music Facts >
Subscribe
Get good things in your mailbox every two weeks!
I enjoy being outside and running on trails and sometimes I enjoy being online. More >
