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Quiz about I Shouldnt Write The Songs
Quiz about I Shouldnt Write The Songs

I Shouldn't Write The Songs Trivia Quiz


I have a collection of songs that I've written here, but I'm not sure where my ideas come from and I want to make sure I don't get slapped for plagiarism. Can you help me out?

A multiple-choice quiz by OddballJunior. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
402,518
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
242
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Question 1 of 10
1. I was feeling a little meta today, so I wrote a rock song about a local creole band; they're not super popular or into it for the music, they just do it for fun when they're not at their day jobs. It's kind of a character piece. Has anyone done a song like that before? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. I wrote this song as a period piece; it's an environmentalist protest folk song about the use of DDT and the impact of industrialization on people and the environment, with the idea in mind that we don't know what we have until it's gone. Is there a song like that already? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. A friend commissioned me to write a love song for them, but I didn't want to, so I wrote a song about not wanting to. Has that been done before? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. This song is a retelling of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," but with more electronic instruments and more of a dance-pop sound. Is there a song like that? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. I took another shot at the "song about a band" idea, except this time I wrote the lyrics to sound like a rumor, like someone talking to their friends about how cool this band is, reading about them in magazines, stuff like that. I'm gonna describe the lead singer as this rebellious figure, and I'm gonna record it so that it sounds like it's live, with echo and stuff. Has that been done? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. This one's a rock song with a samba influence and a prominently featured poly-rhythm - it's written from the perspective of a guy who meets a girl, they agree to meet again somewhere, and he finds out after waiting a while that he's gone to the wrong place. That doesn't exist already, does it? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This one rock song that I wrote is a character piece about an old man, and the verse and bridge give different perspectives on him - the verse is how the world sees him as this gross hobo, and the bridge is how he sees himself as this tragic, romantic figure. Is there a song like that already? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. This one's a story song, and I looked to real events for inspiration - turns out there was a semi truck going through Scranton, PA in 1965 when the driver lost control going down a long, steep hill into town and crashed his truck and dumped the entire load of bananas he was carrying. There's not a song about that already, is there? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. I'll bet you can't catch me plagiarizing a song without any lyrics! I wrote this rock instrumental for guitar, bass, and drums, and I put the title in the beginning of the song spelled out in Morse code. So - is there a song like that? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. I'll write a song right now to prove to you that I'm not plagiarizing on purpose! How about a pop song about, uh, three miners who get trapped after a cave in, and... and two of them eat the other one to survive. There's no way that song already exists! Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. I was feeling a little meta today, so I wrote a rock song about a local creole band; they're not super popular or into it for the music, they just do it for fun when they're not at their day jobs. It's kind of a character piece. Has anyone done a song like that before?

Answer: "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits

I remember now - that's from their 1978 debut album, and it's the single that put them on the map and paved the way for their other hits, like "Money for Nothing."
2. I wrote this song as a period piece; it's an environmentalist protest folk song about the use of DDT and the impact of industrialization on people and the environment, with the idea in mind that we don't know what we have until it's gone. Is there a song like that already?

Answer: "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell

That is what that song's about - Joni wrote it after making a trip to Hawaii and being disappointed by the contrast between the mountains and the wide parking lot she could see from her window; she released it initially in 1971 and it was a modest hit in her native Canada, but it was a later live version that entered the US top 40.
3. A friend commissioned me to write a love song for them, but I didn't want to, so I wrote a song about not wanting to. Has that been done before?

Answer: "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles

Oh, yeah! In Bareilles' case, it was her record label looking for a hit single that inspired her to write the tune; it was released in 2007 on her debut album and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
4. This song is a retelling of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," but with more electronic instruments and more of a dance-pop sound. Is there a song like that?

Answer: "Major Tom - Coming Home" by Peter Schilling

How could I have forgotten the song by German synthpop artist Peter Schilling, released as a single in 1983 and used to great comedic effect in an episode of "Breaking Bad?" The album on which it was released, "Error in the System," also features a sequel.
5. I took another shot at the "song about a band" idea, except this time I wrote the lyrics to sound like a rumor, like someone talking to their friends about how cool this band is, reading about them in magazines, stuff like that. I'm gonna describe the lead singer as this rebellious figure, and I'm gonna record it so that it sounds like it's live, with echo and stuff. Has that been done?

Answer: "Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John

That is what that song's about, isn't it? I can't believe I forgot all about Elton's 1973 double album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," which also featured "Candle in the Wind" and "Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding." My bad.
6. This one's a rock song with a samba influence and a prominently featured poly-rhythm - it's written from the perspective of a guy who meets a girl, they agree to meet again somewhere, and he finds out after waiting a while that he's gone to the wrong place. That doesn't exist already, does it?

Answer: "Fool in the Rain" by Led Zeppelin

Oh, yeah, that's on "In Through the Out Door" from 1979, the last Zeppelin album released before drummer John Bonham died in 1980. The aforementioned poly-rhythm involves Robert Plant singing in 4/4 time while Bonham and John Paul Jones kept time in 12/8.
7. This one rock song that I wrote is a character piece about an old man, and the verse and bridge give different perspectives on him - the verse is how the world sees him as this gross hobo, and the bridge is how he sees himself as this tragic, romantic figure. Is there a song like that already?

Answer: "Aqualung" by Jethro Tull

The first and titular track from Jethro Tull's 1971 album - the theming of the album as a whole led press and listeners to label it a concept album, though that wasn't what lyricist and singer Ian Anderson had in mind; his response was to write the follow-up "Thick as a Brick," whose title is also its complete tracklist. Thanks for the reminder!
8. This one's a story song, and I looked to real events for inspiration - turns out there was a semi truck going through Scranton, PA in 1965 when the driver lost control going down a long, steep hill into town and crashed his truck and dumped the entire load of bananas he was carrying. There's not a song about that already, is there?

Answer: "Thirty Thousand Pounds Of Bananas" by Harry Chapin

How could I have forgotten Chapin's song originally released on his 1974 album "Verities and Balderdash" but best remembered for its 1976 live version notable for the fact that it increases its tempo with every verse? Silly me.
9. I'll bet you can't catch me plagiarizing a song without any lyrics! I wrote this rock instrumental for guitar, bass, and drums, and I put the title in the beginning of the song spelled out in Morse code. So - is there a song like that?

Answer: "YYZ" by Rush

Of course Rush beat me to it. "YYZ" is the third track from their eighth album, "Moving Pictures," released in 1981. "YYZ" was nominated for a Grammy, and yeah, the title is played repeatedly through the first minute or so of the song in Morse code.
10. I'll write a song right now to prove to you that I'm not plagiarizing on purpose! How about a pop song about, uh, three miners who get trapped after a cave in, and... and two of them eat the other one to survive. There's no way that song already exists!

Answer: "Timothy" by The Buoys

Oh, yeah! "Timothy" was written for The Buoys, who were looking to drum up publicity through the release of a controversial single, by Rupert Holmes, who is now best remembered for his clever, story-driven songs such as "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"!
Source: Author OddballJunior

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