A couple of Fridays ago I set a simple quiz for FT readers – name the most-played Last.FM tracks of these 20 acts. 13 people replied, and here are the answers!
MGMT: The answer is “Kids”. 9 out of 13 people got this, the rest said “Time To Pretend” (#2). Not a bad start!
Lady Gaga: The answer is “Poker Face”. 6 people got this. Other choices were “Bad Romance” (which HAS now topped it but at the time of the update was #2), “Alejandro” (#4), “Just Dance” (#6) and “Telephone” (down at #20, an obvious victim of the ‘featuring’ curse)
Vampire Weekend: The answer here is “A-Punk” – 3 people got it, but the most popular answer was “no idea”. Or “Cousins” (#3), “Oxford Comma” (#5), “White Sky” (#6) or “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” (#9).
The Smiths: Right answer – fan favourite “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”. Again, 3 people got it. Most popular alternatives were “This Charming Man” (#2) and “How Soon Is Now” down in 6th.
Lily Allen: Our first one that NOBODY got – it’s impotence-diss-track “Not Fair”. Responses pretty evenly distributed between “The Fear” (which is a close 2nd) and “Smile” in 5th. (Someone said “Fuck You” – it was #3).
Blur: Despite a rich and varied catalogue it’s “Song 2” that’s their primary legacy, as 9 people twigged. “Parklife” was a very poor 2nd.
Kanye West: Another one nobody got – “Heartless”. “Love Lockdown” was 3rd, “Stronger” 2nd, and people who picked “Gold Digger” were subject to the ‘featured’ curse but it would still barely have come in his top 10.
The Prodigy: It’s all about the current stuff with their fanbase – “Omen” was the winner here. 3 people got it right, most of the others said “Firestarter”, their 11th most popular track.
Beyonce: Surely it’s “Single Ladies”? Nope, that’s in 2nd. “Crazy In Love”? Don’t make me laugh – 10th. “Irreplacable”? “If I Were A Boy”? No – Beyonce’s most played track on LFM is “Halo“. No takers.
Radiohead: Ver ‘Head represented by “Karma Police”. Only Mike TD got it! Well done Mike! Huge spread of other answers: “Creep” is 3rd, “Paranoid Android” 2nd. Well done Steve M for “How To Disappear Completely”, there were a mere 36 better answers.
Rihanna: It’s not “Umbrella”! (Which is 10th). Lots of people realised that was too obvious, though nobody mentioned the #1 at the time, “Disturbia”. “Rude Boy” has taken over since, so I’ll use that as a tiebreaker.
Michael Jackson: It’s not “Billie Jean”! Oh, OK, it is. Only 4 people got it though. “Beat It” in 2nd, the other popular choice “Man In The Mirror” has faded post-death and lands in 6th.
Johnny Cash: “Hurt” by a fair distance. 8 people got it right, “Ring Of Fire” (3rd) its only real challenger.
Metallica: Well done KAT for getting “Nothing Else Matters” right, which noses it over “Enter Sandman” in 2nd and “One” in 3rd.
Britney Spears: Britney’s newest material is still what’s attracting fans – “Womanizer” was the right answer, and 4 people gave it. (Though nobody guessed the #2 track, “3”). “Toxic” is 4th, “Baby One More Time” is down in 15th.
The Kinks: It’s their debut, “You Really Got Me” – 3 people got it right. Most obvious other choice, “Waterloo Sunset”, is down in 6th.
12
The Beatles: Well done Birdseed who said “Come Together” – nobody else got this, most people plumping for “Hey Jude” (11th on the chart). The Beatles are weird.
Donna Summer: A few people thought “I Feel Love” was too obvious and they were right (WHY they were right I have no idea). It’s 2nd, well ahead of everything else but well BEHIND “Hot Stuff”. Pink Champale said “Hot Love” and I’ll give him a point for that.
Jay-Z: The ways of pop are strange. Well done Lex for saying “Big Pimpin‘”, nobody else did. “99 Problems” was a very close 2nd. “Empire State Of Mind” 3rd, but Lex is the only winner here.
Outkast: Now was not the time to avoid the obvious – yes, it’s “Hey Ya!“. “Ms Jackson” in 2nd is closer than you’d think. 11 easyish points picked up by people here.
And after all that – who won? Scores are as follows:
Pink Champale: 8
Birdseed, Steve M, Mike: 7
Roodle: 6
MV, Katstevens: 5
Lex, Crag: 4
Winner, Jeff W, Flahr, thefatgit: 3
So well done Mr Champale!