Soft Rock and Other Musical Oxymorons Quiz

Answer: Riot

Formed in California in the early 1970s, metal masters Quiet Riot originally featured Randy Rhoads on guitar, Kelly Garni on bass, Drew Forsyth on drums and Kevin DuBrow as lead singer. Their 1983 hit "Cum On Feel the Noize" peaked at number five in the U.S. In 2021, Rhoads was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Ultimately they were more Riot than Quiet.

Answer: Slim

Fatboy Slim is a stage name of British musician Norman Quentin Cook. He released the album "Better Living Through Chemistry" in 1996. A popular single from the album, "Going Out of My Head", showcased samples from various other songs, such as "I Can't Explain" and "The Crunge". Cook has other aliases, but the oxymoronicness of Fatboy Slim -- someone described as fat and slim at the same time -- is indisputable.

Answer: Goodbye

No Rock & Roll list is complete without The Beatles. "Hello Goodbye" was written by Paul McCartney and released in late 1967. The lyrics are full of contradictions -- stop and go, yes and no, high and low. It's an oxymoronic romp.

Answer: Pain

Written by Gene Simmons, "Sweet Pain" was featured on the 1976 Kiss studio album "Destroyer". It contains the ominous line: "My love will drive you insane". "Destroyer" was the first Kiss album to go platinum.

Answer: Angel

Released in 1954 by the Penguins, "Earth Angel" was a breakaway success, selling millions of copies. The Penguins were a doo-wop quartet from Los Angeles. Though "Earth Angel" rose to the Top Ten of Billboard's Bestsellers in Stores chart, it turned out to be the group's only hit.

Answer: Butterfly

Duh duh, duh duh duh, duh, duh duh duh duh. Known primarily for one song, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," the oxymoronically named group Iron Butterfly is assured a spot in Rock & Roll lore. The drum-driven psychedelic anthem, released in 1968, took up one whole side of an album -- which shared the multi-hyphenate name of the hit single -- lasting more than 17 minutes.

Answer: Horizon

Vertical Horizon was founded in Washington DC in the early 1990s by a couple of Georgetown University students. The band is maybe best known for its 2000 Billboard number one hit "Everything You Want".

Answer: Star

"Every man has a black star," sings Elvis Presley in this cowboy song recorded circa 1960. The song was written for a movie, starring the King himself. Along the way, the title of the movie -- and the song -- was changed to "Flaming Star", but you can still find Elvis singing the oxymoronically named "Black Star" on YouTube. Stars are emitters of light.

But an object that is black allows no light to escape. Therefore a "black star" is a contradiction in terms.

Answer: High

In the mid 1990s, Australian singer Ella Hooper got her musical start (at 13 years old) as a member of the band Killing Heidi, which she concocted with her brother, Jesse. Her first solo single, "Low High", was included on her 2014 album, "In Tongues". The word "low", of course, is the opposite of "high" and so a "low high" is an impossibility. And an oxymoron.

Answer: Up

"Falling" implies "headed down", so "up" is an unexpected direction. "Falling Up" is a 2021 song by Australian singer/songwriter Dean Lewis. The oxymoron-titled tune followed on the heels of Lewis's hit singles "Waves" and "Be Alright".