Ooh, good question. It was Jethro Tull, wasn't it?

My guess is wild but I'll take the Moody Blues as being the band.

i'm trying to imagine the crowd at a moody blues show rioting...

i have no idea which band might have been involved...

Correct as usual, King Friday!

Nice job, Martian. It took me a while to think that one up.

Bring it on!

Right. Let's take things in a whole new direction. Hip hop!

This man started his hip hop career under the name the Blastmaster, reportedly due to his lyrical skills during battle raps. However, early in his career something occurred which caused him to reject that persona in favour of the new moniker the Teacha, since as he's fond of stating "knowledge reigns supreme over nearly everybody."

Who is he and what happened?

i would guess krs-one
but i dont know the other answer.

It is KRS One. He went from Blastmaster to The Teacha when Scott La Rock got shot in '87, if I remember right. That was the end of Boogie Down productions.

There it is. Scott LaRock and KRS-One collectively made up BDP, joined occasionally by another MC whose name escapes me at the moment. LaRock was killed while mediating a gang dispute and his death greatly affected KRS-One, who has since advocated education and equality. Admittedly all of his temple of hip hop stuff is a bit over the top, but for the most part it's a pretty sound concept.

roachboy gets bonus points for knowing who it was, but Anxst gets the credit for knowing the full answer. You're up, my man.

I'm not sure I would have remembered that without Roachboy. Thanks for the assist, man!

What Pink Floyd album was named by Douglas Adams, and what did he demand in return for use of the name?

Alright now, wait a second. I've been away for a few days... Anxst, are you telling me that Nils Lofgren was a member of Crazy Horse? If that's true, This is exactly why I love this thread! I would have never known that! I'm a huge Springsteen fan, and I'm a huge Neil Young fan, but never knew this....

There was a time when I knew the answer to this question. I cannot now remember it for the life of me.

My educated guess is that the album is The Division Bell. That's my hunch, anyway. As to what Adams asked in return, I have no clue.

It's true. He played with Neil Young and with Crazy Horse, then used that connection to start Grin.

you know, if there's one factoid about krs that folk know about, it'd the murder of scott la rock. but for some reason, i didnt think that was what the question was looking for. go figure.

glad i was able to help, though, comrades.

It is The Division Bell. I'll throw credit to you for the partial answer.

Adams demanded that the band pay 25000 pounds sterling to the Save the Rhino foundation in return for naming the album, which they gladly did.

Whoops, I guess y'all want me to get my ass in gear. Sorry, I got distracted.

Many people (myself among them) think that the Allman Brothers lost their heart and soul with the deaths of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. Describe the odd bit of synchronicity in their deaths.

Another softball, I know. I'll try to come up with a real challenge for my next one.

They both died in motorcycle accidents, and I believe it was within a block or 2 of where the other had died, and within 2 months.

I love their music, but I'm sketchy on my history there. I'll wait for confirmation on this one for sure.

One of those three is wrong.

EDIT - Hell with it. I've decided that two out of three aint bad (I want youuuu, I need youuuu....)

Duane and Berry did both die due to motorcycle accidents in Macon Georgia and the sites of the two accidents were roughly a block from each other. Duane had his accident in late October of 1971 and Berry his in early November of 72, making them almost exactly a year a part.

Technically Berry didn't die in the accident, but he died later due to injuries caused by it. Me, I get hit by a bus I figure I'll get a doctor to check me out, but Mr. Oakley thought he was fine.

Wasn't there a peach truck involved in one of the crashes?

Hey, at least I sort of remembered what had gone on, right? :)

Everyone knows that February 3rd, 1959, a plane crash took the lives of Buddy holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper.

What later famous musician gave up his seat on that plane?

I believe that would be the 'Outlaw' Waylon Jennings.

Correctamundo!

You're up, MM. Hit meh!

Yay!

Well, this one's probably too easy, but I don't know a lot of obscure trivia:

Who are William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. and Carlton Douglas Ridenhour more popularly known as.

Flava Flav and Chuck D!

Not that easy of a question, I just happen to be a big fan.

Me, too. :)

And, of course, you are correct!

We'll go for a tough one.

What song, from the album Signals, is the only Rush song written by all 3 band members?

My gut tells me it's Subdivisions, but I'm not sure on that.

Well technically, you're right Martian. But, it's a trick question because all the songs on that album were written by all 3 of them.

Oh, hell. I had always been told by my old roommate (a huge Rush fan) that Chemistry was the only one written by all 3 of them.

I'm confused. Do I get the point for saying Subdivisions then, or does GoT for knowing the full story?

I hereby relinquish my turn to you Martian if I am deemed to have the correct answer.

So ask away.

Right. I'm drawing a blank. So how about this one...

Name the one original (ie, non-cover) track recorded by Nirvana that was not written by Kurt Cobain. For bonus points, also name who wrote it and where it appeared.

I seem to remember either reading or hearing somewhere that someone from R.E.M. had something to do with "Heart Shaped Box". I don't know if it has anything to do with the writing of the song though. Just my best guess.

Nope, Heart Shaped Box was a Cobain original.

Anyone? Anyone? Something d-o-o economics...

EDIT - Voodoo economics...

I'm two hours early, but I don't expect to be around this afternoon. So in the interests of keeping things moving, let's put this one to bed and move on.

I'm actually surprised that nobody knew that the only non-Cobain Nirvana song officially released was Marigold. It was written by Dave Grohl, who also performed guitar and vocals on the track. It was released as a b-side to Heart Shaped Box and has since been incorporated into the Foo Fighters catalogue.

Okay, 'nother random direction. This one is Beatles trivia, so it'll probably be nailed three minutes after I hit save, but whatever.

I think in a thread like this one we can take it as granted that we all know Paul McCartney was not the original bassist of the Beatles. When the man who held the position first left, Paul moved over to bass from rhythm guitar, and when selecting a bass to play with the band chose a Hoffner. What about that particular bass caused Paul to decide on it?

It was for a left hander, which Paul is. Up until that time he had always just taken his guitars and turned them upside down so he could play left handed.

Not 3 minutes, but 50. Nice catch, Pan.

The way I've always heard it was that Paul's original Hofner was still right handed, but due to it's violin shape, it simply looked better when flipped over.

I believe Hofner later made him a left-handed version.

This is the more accurate version. Paul's first Hofner was not a left-handed bass, strictly speaking, but as it was a symmetrical design it looked pretty much the same either way. He simply chose the instrument that looked best when flipped over.

Of course, then Jimi came along a few years later and made a statement by flipping his strat over, but that's neither here nor there.

I didn't know Hofner made him a left handed one later, but it wouldn't surprise me. Anyway, that's your question.

I've always wondered what instruments the Beatles used, and what influence it may have had on their music. Does anybody know?

It's a bit OT, but I do know to an extent. I know the guitars they used anyway, being a guitarist myself. Paul, as discussed, famously used a Hofner 'violin' bass; today these are sometimes known as Beatle basses because of it. He also used a Rickenbacker for the Beatles' later material. The Beatles as a whole made extensive use of Rickenbackers, which contributed mightily to their popularity today. George switched it up a lot, and used Gibsons, Fenders and Gretsch guitars as well; he used a Rickenbacker for a while, as did John (I've heard that John bought his as a result of his experience with George's, but I don't know if that's actually true) and used a Rickenbacker twelve string on a number of their albums. John is also famous for using an Epiphone Casino and Paul had an Epi acoustic; Epiphone makes signature replications of both instruments today. I have no idea what all went into Ringo's kit or what sort of pianos they used, as I'm not particularly knowledgeable regarding either instrument.

Of course, the Beatles were also fond of incorporating non-traditional instruments into their work, particularly the later stuff. George was quite an accomplished sitar player and his sitar can be heard Within You Without and, more famously, Across the Universe. John liked anything with a keyboard and used a mellotron and a harmonium for a number of their recordings. Some of these instruments (the sitar probably being the best example) played a big role in the Beatles sound, particularly late in their career when they started to really explore musically. As a result, they've become rather more common in rock.

So, yeah. That's about as much as I know about the instrumentation the Beatles used, although I'm sure someone can add to it. Maybe someone knows something about Ringo's drumming; aside from the fact that he played drums, I really can't say anymore on the matter.

OK, lets go with British Metal this time around.

What lead singer of a popular 80's British metal band is now a pilot for Astraeus Airlines?