Friday, March 16, 2018

Top ten fictional bands

The Carrie Nations
1. Spinal Tap
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
As mentioned some years ago, a fictional band who then released an album and toured in real life.

2. The Carrie Nations
Beyond The Valley of the Dolls (1970)

3. Autobahn
The Big Lebowski (1998)

4. Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes
Star Wars (1977)

5. Wyld Stallyns
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

6. The Folksmen
A Mighty Wind (2003)

7. Stillwater
Almost Famous (2000)

8. Marvin Berry and the Starlighters
Back to the Future (1985)

9. The Paranoids*
The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon (1966)

10. The Fool*
Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon (1973)
An English rock group who has Tyrone Slothrop appearing on one of their album covers.

*Yes, two Pynchon bands make it in the top ten. And yes, I know it's difficult to gauge how good a fictional band is in a novel, as you can't actually hear them, but imagination is a powerful tool.

Previously on Barnflakes:
Anvil vs. Spinal Tap
Top 10 Films about Musicians

5 comments :

Caspar said...

The Heaven 17 who got a passing mention in A Clockwork Orange were miles better than the actual Heaven 17 by virtue of not having made all those awful records.

Barnaby said...

Nice one. Yes I remember the real band were named after the fictional one in A Clockwork Orange. I think they're okay – Temptation is a great song.

Anonymous said...

The Stray Cats - Stardust (1974) - not the early 80s rockabilly band. R

Anonymous said...

The Bail Jumpers - Under Siege (1992) R

Anonymous said...

There is actually a 1968 psychedelic folk album by the famous 1960s designers’ collective The Fool, called The Fool. Smashing record.