The FunTrivia Setlist [16] Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wooden Ships

Written while David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash were aboard Crosby's recently-purchased boat, the Mayan, before he sailed it through the Panama Canal on a route from Florida to his home in California, "Wooden Ships" was conceived in response to the then-ongoing Vietnam War, written with lyrics depicting the aftermath of an apocalypse in which survivors live out the nuclear holocaust on wooden sailboats.

At the time, the band's manager had handed the song over to Jefferson Airplane, who he also managed, and they released a similar song using the same melody. Both were performed at Woodstock when the bands took the stage in 1969. It was the CSNY version that made it to the official film soundtrack released a year later (along with "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "Sea of Madness"). The only Jefferson Airplane song that made the cut was "Volunteers".

LadyNym recommended this song for the Setlist this time around.

Answer: Nothing Comes Easy

Although Sons of the East released a handful of EPs starting in 2015, it took until after the COVID-19 pandemic before the trio, based in Sydney, launched their first full indie folk album, "Palomar Parade", in 2022. A comforting disc of country-inspired tracks, the record received modest reviews in the band's native Australia. They would follow it up with the wide international release of their sophomore album, "Sons", in 2025.

"Nothing Comes Easy" predates all of this though, appearing on the band's third LP, "Burn Right Through", which released in 2019. An unplugged version of the track, showcasing the band's raw blues sensibilities and harmonies, released online later that year.

Thanks to Lpez for the recommendation!

Answer: You're No Rock n' Roll Fun

With a catalogue of well-received albums, "All Hands on the Bad One" turned out to be another critical darling for Sleater-Kinney, then Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and Janet Weiss. While the band was known for a certain brand of Pacific Northwest punk-pop stylings, this fifth album was notably more mature in sound, a clear indication that the band was evolving from their garage rock sound. "You're No Rock n' Roll Fun", the only single from the release, still had that percussive rock beat. It was also the only track from the album to receive a music video, then the band's second.

Sleater-Kinney would make another two albums before going on a ten year hiatus during which Carrie Brownstein would costar on TV's "Portlandia" and Corin Tucker would form The Corin Tucker Band as a side-project. They returned in 2015 with their top-selling album to date, "No Cities to Love", which was considered by most outlets as one of the best albums of the year.

Kankurette queued this track up for our Setlist.

Answer: Your Smiling Face

Both James Taylor and Carly Simon had a strong tendency to write music about each other and, in some instances, perform together, and that may be the bedrock of a good relationship for only so long. The pair would divorce in 1983; at the time he would also start heading to a methadone clinic for his addiction.

"Your Smiling Face" depicts a better time in his life and relationship. He and Simon had been married since 1972, and their home life was allegedly quite a happy one. The song, appearing as the second single on James' eighth studio album, "JT", would peak at number twenty on the US Billboard Hot 100.

This track was CmdrK's suggestion for the Setlist.

Answer: Pretending

Clapton would top the Billboard U.S. Mainstream Rock Chart four times in the 1980s (with "I Can't Stand It", "Forever Man", "It's in the Way That You Use It", and "Pretending"), perhaps a reward for his sobriety journey that he started to undertake in 1982. It was during this decade that he would release a total of six different albums, all of which charted modestly in the UK and U.S.

"Pretending" was the first single off Clapton's "Journeyman" album, his eleventh to date, and it was very of-its-time, leveraging the classic late-80s/early-90s drum machine and synth horns as a backdrop for Clapton's guitar riffs. Clapton would find a subsequent number one with the next single, "Bad Love".

This track came to the FunTrivia Setlist from Cardsfan_027.

Answer: Chain Breaker

Originally the frontman for the southern rock band Zach Williams & The Reformation, Williams disbanded the group in 2012 and eventually went solo, transitioning into Christian rock. In 2016, that kicked off with his debut solo track, "Chain Breaker", which took itself to the top of three U.S. Billboard Christian charts upon its release, going platinum (and peaking at number nine on the US Hot Rock Songs chart).

The incorrect song choices here all came from Williams' second album, "Rescue Story", which released in late 2019. The song "There Was Jesus", which featured Dolly Parton as a guest vocalist, would go on to win a Grammy the following year.

Ilona_Ritter contributed this track.

Answer: Stuck in the Middle With You

In addition to creating culturally eccentric films of all sorts, Tarantino has been quite well-known for curating his soundtracks to best-fit the moods he's trying to evoke, sometimes doing so to great effect with the unlikeliest of songs. "Stuck in the Middle With You" plays during a key scene in "Reservoir Dogs" where Michael Madsen's character, singing along, cuts off a man's ear during a bloody torture scene. The incorrect answers also appeared in other films of Tarantino's (including "Pulp Fiction", "Kill Bill, Vol. 1", and "Death Proof") and he's used plenty more.

"Stuck in the Middle with You" was the debut single for Scottish band Stealers Wheel when they started releasing music in the early 1970s and it was their biggest hit, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart. Its inclusion in the "Reservoir Dogs" soundtrack would lead that release to be regarded by many critics as one of the top film soundtracks of all-time.

And thanks to Smpdit for making sure it came up in rotation this time.

Answer: Time Bomb

Fans might argue that Rancid's best tracks came from their 1995 album "...And Out Come the Wolves", their third disc release, which included ska touchstones like "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho", but the truth is that what the band lost in Billboard chart numbers song-to-song they made up for in album sales in their 2000s releases with Warner Bros., specifically the "Indestructible" and "Let the Dominoes Fall" albums. Across all of these were songs you'd commonly find in skateboarding and snowboarding video games that helped form a generation (or two!).

"Time Bomb" topped out at number eight on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and went even higher in Canada. It would be followed up by "Ruby Soho", which hit number thirteen a year later.

We've got Pollucci19 bringing us this time capsule track from the '90s.

Answer: A Heartbeat Away

Recorded in Winnipeg in 2020 along with duet singer Erin Propp, the lyrics of "A Heartbeat Away" were included in copies of "Am I Safe", a Canadian-made activity book published by Castle Quay Books. Written as part of the Compassion Series, a set of resources to help children through tough topics and feelings, it would be one of the later songs of Bell's long career in songwriting.

Bell, otherwise, started his career in the 1980s and created more than a dozen albums of Christian music both solo and as a member of Elias, Schritt and Bell. A member of the Order of Canada, he's a multiple-time Juno Award recipient and the topic of the 2014 documentary "Burning Ember", named after his third album.

This contribution to the Setlist came in from Reedy.

Answer: Made of Steel

"Made of Steel" is the odd one out here, appearing in 2002 on the band's fifth album, "Gravity", alongside singles like "Somewhere Out There" and "Innocent", both of which were the band's first top ten-charting Canadian hits since the "Clumsy" era back in 1997. Our Lady Peace has long been an alternative rock staple in Canada, going diamond with "Clumsy" and multi-platinum with another five of their albums from "Naveed" to "Healthy in Paranoid Times".

"Made of Steel" is indicative of their style and stands tall with mid-tempo tracks like "Is Anybody Home?". The "Gravity" album appeared to be a return to form after the band's more experimental and complex tracks from the earlier "Spiritual Machines".

Canadian author/editor Leodavinci made sure to add this to this FunTrivia Setlist.