Indie Music for Non-Hipsters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arcade Fire

The Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire formed in 2001 and released their first album, "Funeral", in 2004, which was critically acclaimed, ranking number six on "Rolling Stone"'s list of the Best Albums of the Decade. In 2010 they released their third studio album "The Suburbs", which won the Grammy and Juno Award for Album of the Year and the 2011 Brit Award for Best International Album. It peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, one on the UK Albums Chart, one on the Canadian Albums Chart and six on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and it received much critical acclaim. "Rolling Stone" Magazine named it number four on their list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010. The band also contributed the song "Abraham's Daughter" to "The Hunger Games" soundtrack and "Lenin" to the AIDS benefit album "Dark Was the Night".

The other three bands are notable American indie rock bands.

Answer: Florence + The Machine

"Lungs" was the debut album for English indie band Florence + The Machine, fronted by Florence Welch. It was shortlisted for the Mercury Award and at the BRIT Awards in 2010 it won the Mastercard British Album. "You've Got the Love" (a cover of The Source) was the fifth single from the album, released as a single after a positive response as a B-Side to "Dog Days Are Over", which wa named in the book "1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die" (edited by Robert Dimery). Florence + the Machine performed a spin-off to this song titled "You've Got the Dirtee Love" with Dizziee Rascal at the 2010 BRIT Awards.

The others are also female led indie bands except Feist, who is a female solo indie singer.

Answer: MGMT

MGMT (Management) formed at Wesleyan University by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. Their first album, "Oracular Spectacular", was a commercial and critical success, peaking at number thirty-eight on the Billboard 200, six on the Australian ARIA Album charts and eight on the UK Albums chart. "Rolling Stone" ranked it as the 494th Greatest Album of All Time (out of 500) and the 18th Best Album of the Decade. The first single "Time to Pretend" was named the 493 on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by "Rolling Stone" and was one of the songs named in the book "1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die" (edited by Robert Dimery). Other major singles include "Kids" and "Electric Feel", which both peaked high on charts around the globe.

The other musicians are also notable indie pop/electronic musicians.

Answer: The White Stripes

Married couple Jack and Meg White made up the indie/alternative rock band The White Stripes. "Seven Nation Army" was their largest hit, winning the Grammy for Best Rock Song in 2004. It made number six on "Rolling Stone"'s list of the 50 Best Songs of the Decade.

Its famous riff also caused it to rank on many magazines' lists of the Best Guitar Songs Ever, including "Rolling Stone" and "Q Magazine". The track came from their fourth album "Elephant", which also included the hit "The Hardest Button to Button".

This album received widespread critical acclaim and peaked at number six on the Billboard 200, four on the Australian ARIA Albums chart and one on the UK Albums chart. It won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album and number 390 on "Rolling Stone's" 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and five on their list of the Best Albums of the Decade.

The band split after the couple divorced in 2011.

Answer: OK Go

OK Go, an indie rock/pop band from Chicago, Illinois, are known for their music videos, and "Here it Goes Again" is perhaps the most popular. The video, which shows the band doing tricks and dancing on treadmills, was one of YouTube's first viral videos and won the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. It has been parodied by television shows such as "Fairly Odd Parents" and "The Simpsons" and was a playable song on the "Rock Band" video game. The track peaked at number thirty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

The other three bands are also famous indie pop bands.

Answer: Gotye

Wally De Backer, better known by his stage name Gotye, is an Australian musician who released his first album, "Boardface", in 2003. In 2011 he released the album "Making Mirrors" and hit international success, especially with the track "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring New Zealand artist Kimbra). This track hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first Australian song to do so since Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You" in the year 2000. "Glee" covered the song in the episode "Big Brother", which Gotye allowed but later expressed disappointment over.

Sufjan Stevens is an American artist and, believe it or not, that is his actual name. Bright Eyes and Bon Iver are both bands which consist of one member predominantly (Conor Oberst and Justin Vernon, respectively) and then more members when performing live and occasionally in the studio.

Answer: The Decemberists

The Decemberists are an indie folk band from Portland, Oregon. They released their debut album, "Castaways and Cutouts", in May 2002. "The King is Dead", their sixth studio album, was released in January 2011 and hit number one on the Billboard 200. "Down By the Water", the first single from the album, was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 54th Grammy Awards but lost to "Walk" by Foo Fighters. The band contributed the song "Sleepless" for the album "Dark Was the Night", an AIDS benefit album, and "One Engine" for the soundtrack to "The Hunger Games". The Decemberists even appeared on "The Simpsons" in an episode of season 24.

The other three bands are also notable indie folk bands.

Answer: Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós prove that the indie genre comes in all different shapes and sizes. Their music is very ambient and ethereal in style and features string orchestras and an electric guitar played with a cello bow. The lead singer, Jónsi Birgisson, sings in falsetto and in Icelandic and occasionally in a made-up language known as "Vonlenska", or "Hopelandic". This language has no real words, meaning or grammatical structure.

The other bands and singers mentioned are also from Iceland.

Answer: Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie gained commercial attention from their fourth album "Transatlanticism" in 2003, which was ranked as the 54th Best Album of the Decade by "Rolling Stone". They have received Grammy nominations in the Best Alternative Music Album category for "Plans", "Narrow Stairs", "The Open Door EP" and "Codes and Keys" and the Best Rock Song category for "I Will Possess Your Heart". They are notable for their emotional lyrics and musical style (which has caused some people to label them as "emo").

The other bands are also notable indie rock bands.

Answer: Radiohead

Radiohead had early success with albums like "Pablo Honey" and "The Bends". "Creep", their debut single, didn't have much success until they re-released it on their debut album "Pablo Honey", where it soon became a big hit for them, despite the BBC's Radio 1 refusing to give it air time because it was "too depressing". It has been covered by artists such as Korn and Damien Rice. "Kid A", released in 2000, was one of their most successful albums, winning the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album and being nominated for Album of the Year. "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked it as the Best Album of the Decade. Other major albums include "OK Computer", "Hail to the Thief" and "In Rainbows" and major songs include "High and Dry", "Karma Police", "No Surprises" and "Lotus Flower".

The other musicians are also notable British indie alternative bands similar in style to Radiohead.