The Age of Insanity Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anorexia

"Ana's Song" by Australian band Silverchair touches on the tough subject of eating disorders, specifically anorexia. In 1999, lead singer Daniel Johns had announced that he had been suffering from the disease and that the lyrics to the song were about the trying battle with the disease. In a 1999 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Johns stated "I wasn't eating and it went on for about six months to a year." The lyrics to the song cannot be mistaken:

"And you're my obsession
I love you to the bones
And Ana wrecks your life
Like an Anorexia life"

Answer: Depression

"Adam's Song" was inspired after Blink 182 member Mark Hoppus had read a magazine article. In an interview with Steve Hochman of the Los Angeles Times in 1999, Hoppus stated "I wrote 'Adam's Song' because I was reading a magazine where some teenage kid had killed himself and left a letter for his family. It's about how kids feel hopeless and like there's no other way out. But they're wrong. There's always something better on the other side of whatever you're going through."

Lyrics from the song include:

"I never thought I'd die alone
Another six months I'll be unknown
Give all my things to all my friends
You'll never step foot in my room again
You'll close it off, board it up
Remember the time that I spilled the cup
Of apple juice in the hall
Please tell mom this is not her fault"

Answer: Alcoholism

Written by Kris Kristofferson and recorded by Ray Stevens in 1969, Kristofferson once said that "Sunday Morning Coming Down" allowed him to "quit working for a living". When Johnny Cash released his version in 1970, the song went to the number one spot on the Billboard country charts. The song dealt with the issue of alcoholism and its effects. Right from the start, the song touches on this hard subject:

Opening lyrics:
"Well, I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled in my closet through my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
Then I washed my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day."

Answer: Missing Persons

Soul Asylum's 1993 track "Runaway Train" went to the number one spot on the Canadian RPM charts and the number five spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The song remains one of many emotional songs from the alternative music movement of the early 90s enriched with lyrics of a person at their breaking point and wanting to run away:

"Bought a ticket for a runaway train
Like a madman laughing at the rain
A little out of touch, a little insane
It's just easier than dealing with the pain

Runaway train never going back
Wrong way on a one-way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I'm neither here nor there"

The music video in particular struck a chord with many listeners and viewers as it showed various "milk carton" photos of teenage runaways and missing persons. In some cases, these missing persons were eventually found.

Answer: Drug Addiction

Ed Sheeran has stated that "The A Team" was inspired after a gig he had done at a homeless shelter. The song was inspired by a person he met at the shelter. In discussing the songs title with Billboard Magazine, Sheeran stated:

"A drug like crack cocaine is called a 'Class A drug'. That's in the same category as heroin. Instead of making it clear and just saying what the problem was, I'd say, 'She's in the 'Class A' team.' It was kind of my way of covering up "a person's addiction", I guess, making it a bit more subtle."

Answer: Bullying

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam went on record to say that the 1991 single "Jeremy" was inspired by two separate incidents involving bullying. The first involved the case of Jeremy Wade Delle, a 15-year old from Texas who shot himself in front of his teacher and classmates.

It is believed that he was a victim of bullying. The second incident inspiring the song stemmed from a near suicide involving a student Vedder knew while going to school in San Diego, California. In an interview with David Sadoff in 1991, Vedder stated "I actually knew somebody in junior high school, in San Diego, California, that did the same thing, just about, didn't take his life but ended up shooting up an oceanography room.".

Answer: Tragedy from the loss of a child

Perhaps the saddest of the songs in this quiz, "Tears in Heaven" was inspired following a spiral of events stemming in 1990 and 1991. In August 1990, Clapton's manager, two roadies and fellow musician Stevie Ray Vaughan were killed in a helicopter accident. Seven months later, Clapton's four year old son died after falling from a balcony.

After a period of isolation, Clapton would record the song which landed at the number one spot on the Canadian Top Singles chart and at number two on the US Billboard 100.

Answer: Gender

Lead singer Ray Davies of The Kinks said that the 1970 track "Lola" was inspired after he spent a night dancing with a transvestite while in Paris. Another explanation was suggested by drummer Mick Avory suggesting the song was inspired due to his frequenting of transvestite bars. Regardless of which inspiration the song was based upon, the lyrics tell a story of a person who appears to look like a woman but talks like a man.

"She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said, "Lola"
L-O-L-A Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola

Well, I'm not the world's most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola, lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo Lola
Well, I'm not dumb but I can't understand
Why she walks like a woman and talks like a man"

Answer: Cannibalism

Written by Rupert Holmes and recorded by The Buoys, "Timothy" is an unusual song that deals with the taboo subject of cannibalism. At first, the song went under the radar and received plenty of airtime and reached the Billboard Top 20 in the United States and cracked the Top 10 in Canada peaking in at number nine. As listeners took a closer lyrics to the track, however, controversy began to arise. As cannibalism was, and often continues to be a controversial subject, the song was banned outright in many locations across the United States and lost airtime. What was a "kiss of death" for many records turned into a positive result for The Buoys as it landed them their only top 20 hit in the United States.

"Hungry as hell no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat

Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, 'I'll take a swig
And then there's some for you.'

Timothy, Timothy
Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy
God, what did we do?"

Answer: Racial Inequality

In 2007, "A Change Is Gonna Come" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" by the National Recording Registry. It was written and recorded during the Civil Rights Movement that spanned the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. Sam Cooke felt compelled to record the song based on many issues that were going on in the United States. He was inspired to write the song after hearing Bob Dylan's "Blowing In The Wind", a song about racism by someone who was not black. The third verse to the song in particular dealt with the segregation occurring during these trying times:

"I go to the movie
And I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me don't hang around

It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will"