Musical iDentities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Are You Gonna Be My Girl?

"Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" was the first hit off of Jet's fun-filled rock album, "Get Born", which also spawned the hits "Cold Hard Bitch" and "Look What You've Done". Reaching #1 on the Australian charts, the album took itself to Europe and North America with the first single reaching #29 on the Billboard Charts. Regardless, the song was catchy and the tune (and CD) was a callback to rock and roll roots. The band's second album, "Shine On", was not as critically acclaimed, and failed to make as much of an impact as the band's first venture. Could their fame be attributed to the iPod advertisement?

Answer: Hey Mama

"Hey Mama" is a song with a genuinely catchy beat. With the three members of the Black Eyed Peas and newcomer, Fergie, the song takes rap and dance and makes a good hybrid song. This type of music is more evident in the group's next album, "Monkey Business", which went three-times-platinum in the United States, sending four singles to the Billboard Charts. "Elephunk" also released the hit song "Where is the Love?", a collaboration between the Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake, who would later be featured in "Monkey Business'" song "My Style". "Where is the Love?" later became the band's breakthrough hit. "Hey Mama" later appeared in the movies "Garfield" and "Along Came Polly", both times in its radio edited version.

Answer: Steriogram

Although the New Zealand band, Steriogram, didn't receive too much success in the North American market, the song "Walkie Talkie Man" is a popular one, and has been heard in numerous movies (from "Robots" to "Arthur and the Invisibles") and video games ("Elite Beat Agents" and "MVP Baseball 2004"). First appearing on their debut album, "Schmack!", the song "Walkie Talkie Man" was the most popular of six singles.

Its music video was directed by famed director, Michel Gondry. The Propellerheads, on the other hand, had a song used in advertisements for the first generation of iPods while The Vines' song "Ride" was used in the fourth generation as well.

Answer: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

Promoting both the fourth generation of iPod Classics and U2's eleventh studio album, this advertisement featured silhouettes of the band performing in their music video for the hit single "Vertigo" (the band's forty-eighth single). Coincidentally, the song became one of the band's biggest hits.
The song reached #1 in eight different countries as well as on the Billboard Charts, and along with the CD "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb", it won eight Grammy Awards.
The song "Original of the Species", from the same album, was used to promote the fifth generation of iPods.

Answer: Jerk It Out

Scandinavian pop/rock band, The Caesars, were responsible for this hit song. Although the band didn't continue to make a splash in the North American market after their fourth album, "39 Minutes of Bliss (In an Otherwise Meaningless World)", "Jerk It Out" has been a popular hit song.

After its debut in the first iPod Shuffle commercials (back in the first generation of the unit), the song appeared in many TV shows, movies, and video games; perhaps even moreso than most other iPod ad songs. The song "Who's Gonna Sing?", by The Prototypes, was used in the Shuffle's second generation advertisements while "Saturday Night" (by Ozomatli) and "Sparks" (by Wynton Marsalis) were in ads for the fourth and fifth generation of iPod Classic/Video, respectively.

Answer: The Fratellis

The Fratellis' first album, "Costello Music", was released in 2006 to great acclaim by fans and critics alike. After winning a BRIT Award the following year, the band became popular for numerous songs. "Chelsea Dagger" appeared in numerous movie trailers including "Shrek the Third" and "Knocked Up" while "Henrietta" appeared in the trailer for the film "Dan in Real Life". "Flathead", the band's break-out song, was their fourth single of six from their debut album.
The band's second album, "Here We Stand", did not fare as well in sales, but this was due in part to the simultaneous release of the Coldplay album "Viva la Vida". Regardless, the CD released to moderate reviews.
The Glasgow-based band is comprised of the 'Fratelli brothers', none of whom are actually related. Mogwai, Snow Patrol, and The Skids, despite being wrong answers, are all Scottish bands as well.

Answer: Leslie Feist

Feist released her first studio album, "Let It Die", in 2004 following a stint with Broken Social Scene, but her big break didn't come until her sophomore CD, "The Reminder". This release (along with the iPod commercial featuring her song "1, 2, 3, 4") was closely followed by her winning of the Canadian Polaris Award and five Junos in 2007. Feist went on to appear on "Saturday Night Live" and "Sesame Street" singing the same, infectious tune.
Regardless, her songs "My Moon My Man" and "I Feel It All" also received praise and a fair amount of airplay from the same CD.
The third generation of iPod Nanos introduced more colourful units which were in part accentuated by Feist's colourful music video featuring herself and numerous others in vibrant outfits of solid colours. Future generations of Nanos would become more vibrant and colourful.

Answer: iPod Touch

CSS (also known as Cansei de Ser Sexy) introduced their unique sounds in Brazil in 2003, and although their debut, self-titled album appeared on British dance charts, the featured single, "Music is My Hot, Hot Sex", was the only one from the release to break ground in other countries. CSS' second CD, "Donkey", was released in 2008.

While it wasn't as widely-purchased as their debut CD, it was highly-regarded by critics. The iPod Touch's first generation hit stores in late 2007, and the commercial featuring it was the first to be created by a fan. Ironically, the song was also played during a commercial for the Microsoft Zune MP3 player one year prior to the release of its iPod ad.

Answer: No

"Shut Up and Let Me Go" was the third single from The Ting Tings' first CD, "We Started Nothing" (along with "Great DJ", "That's Not My Name", and "Be the One"). After the airing of the "Shut Up and Let Me Go" commercial in April 2008, the Ting Tings released said album in North America and their popularity jumped. "Shut Up and Let Me Go" reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance chart, but only #55 in terms of the Hot 100.

The song was nominated for Best Music Video at the MTV music awards, but did not win.

Answer: Viva La Vida

The highly-anticipated fourth album "Viva La Vida (or Death and All his Friends)" was released in June 2008 to high critical acclaim despite being a slight departure from their earlier works. Becoming the top-selling album of 2008, the CD sold over five million copies within its first six months of release.

The second single, "Viva La Vida", peaked at #1 on numerous charts. Apple also debuted the music video for "Lovers in Japan" exclusively through iTunes before a wide release. The commercial in question was in support of both iTunes and iPods in 2008.

It was the final one to air in said generation. It was followed four months later by the promotion for the fourth generation of iPod Nanos (Chromatics) featuring the song "Bruises" by Chairlift.