Koob Reviews “The Big Quiz Thing”

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On Tuesday night the World Cafe Live was the site of an event billed as “The Big Quiz Thing“, straight from New York. In other words, New York stole quizzo, glammed it up a bit, and returned to Philly to show it off. I appreciate the pluck of those New Yorkers, and though I had to work Tuesday night when it went down, I would have liked to have seen it. Fortunately, Koob went, and was gracious enough to return with a special report. In addition, the BQT website filed a report of the proceedings which can be read here.

It was supposed to be an epic triumph. A supergroup of Quizzo players the likes of which had never before been assembled were supposed to stroll into the World Cafe Live on Tuesday night, lay waste to the competition in the New York City import “The Big Quiz Thing” and show everyone how it was supposed to be done. Alas, it was not meant to be as we were foiled by some guy who could do anagrams really fast and the Ben Folds Five.

This version of “The Big Quiz Thing” was an all music version so we assembled a team of players from throughout the Johnny Goodtimes Quizzo circuit with a vast array of musical knowledge; myself and Nate from the Sofa Kingdom, John Kenny of the Hurtin’ Bombs (who now frequently plays under the Sofa Kingdom spinoff Steak ‘Em Up), Phil from The Jams, Mike Minion (quizzo host at the Westbury and a member of Satan’s Minions), Dave & Lisa of Group W (who have played with Sofa Kingdom during the last two Quizzo Bowls and are frequent winners at any of Quiz Master Chris’ quizzes), and Steve O of Lambda Lambda Lambda, aka one of only five people to ever win the car on VH1’s short lived game show “Name That Video” (one of the other five is none other than Noah Tarnow, the host of “The Big Quiz Thing”).

We pretty much breezed through the five rounds of questions including getting all of the Pop Music Thesaurus questions which were four part questions in which the first line of a song was given using synonyms of the words that are actually in the lyric. These were pretty clever but were no match for us. We tripped up a little in the music video round because they threw us through a loop by playing a video with the audio from a completely different song playing over the video and we had to name both the video and the song playing on the audio track. We also did really well in the slow song round where they played ten songs slowed down to half speed, but we were not able to recognize Roxanne by The Police.

Basically, the general consensus was that the questions were too easy for the most part meaning that it would be hard to separate ourselves from the pack. Going into the last round, we were actually down a point and another team was tied with us. We pretty much cruised through the last round, only missing how many of every ten reggae albums sold in the U.S. are Bob Marley albums (the answer is five by the way*). However, the kicker was that it didn’t matter where you finished as long as you made the top three.

For the finale, the top three teams had to select one representative to go up to the stage and they would have to answer questions Jeopardy style by being the first to ring in on a little bell that they were provided with. The first player to get two correct answers would be the winner. Naturally, we selected Steve O to be our representative because of his vast wealth of musical knowledge and because he already had experience handling these types of pressure situations as illustrated by the aforementioned appearance on “Name That Video”. It started out great as the first question was, “What duo had a best selling album in 1989 only to have it be recalled?” and Steve O quickly rang in and answered Milli Vanilli. We were only one question away from victory. The next question was, “What 80’s band had an album titled Spring Session M which is an anagram of their name?”

The answer was Missing Persons and the guy from the team who had been leading us by one point rang in and got it right.

So it came down to one question for all the marbles. What rock band, who reached their peak during the mid-90’s actually had two fewer members than their name suggests? The guy from the other team rang in first and blurted out “Ben Folds Five” thus ending the game and giving us all a pretty big ego check. Of course, it wasn’t all bad. I got a pretty cool Velvet Underground book as part of the 2nd place prize and our team was so upset at our performance at this quiz that we decided to take out our frustrations at Johnny Goodtimes’ Bard’s quiz (minus Steve O and the Group W folks) and proceeded to get a perfect score.

*ed. note: this is a bad trivia question. a) It is total guesswork, with each team having a 1 in 10 chance b) When? Annually? Total over the last 30 years? Does Sean Paul count as “reggae”? Is Shaggy “pop” or “reggae”?

Was Miami Vice the Citizen Kane of Television?


Yeah, I’m still tripping on Miami Vice. It acutally came on TV last night, so I watched it for the first time in 25 years. Does it hold up? Yes and no. The sets are awesome. The acting is decent, though it is at times laughably cheesy and melodramatic. The music is another story. It still sounds fresh, 25 years later. I often brush of 80s music as nostalgic but kind of lame. But this show was a reminder that there was some good stuff out there. The episode I saw was Smuggler’s Blues, which reaquainted me with a kickass song I hadn’t heard in years. Glenn Frey has plenty of cheesy songs, but this isn’t one of them. This song rocks (though the video is pretty bad.) Anyways, an article I came across from a few years ago talks about how influential Miami Vice was to television.

Mann favored neon and reflective surfaces for his night shots, even hosing down the streets so they shimmered like black glass. Combine that glossy look with striking camera angles, smash-cut editing, and dramatic use of freeze frames, and Mann had developed a powerful visual language that is still widely copied.

His ambitious accomplishment unleashed a once unthinkable exodus. In the two decades since “Miami Vice” first aired, more and more feature film talent – actors, writers, producers and directors – have moved over to work in television, resulting in a remarkable improvement in the quality of TV drama. Without “Miami Vice,” there is no “ER” or “The Sopranos” or “CSI.”

Just as important as the look of “Vice” was its sound. From the industrial-strength opening of Jan Hammer’s electronica theme, this was a show fueled by music. “If you remember what other TV show theme songs of that era sounded like, this was shock therapy,” says Hammer. Both the “Miami Vice Theme” and the “Miami Vice” soundtrack album would top the Billboard charts.

In addition to Hammer’s score, “Vice” also used a rich variety of contemporary pop and rock songs during episodes. Until that time, if a TV show wanted to employ a pop hit, it usually resorted to a sappy, elevator music version to avoid paying stiff rights fees. But “Vice” used the original recordings of artists from Eric Clapton to Depeche Mode, from U2 to Peter Gabriel.

Not only that, it often let these songs play out in their entirety over scenes without dialogue. The impact of these music video operettas, beginning with Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” in the two-hour pilot, was unusually powerful.

Toughest Questions from Last Week

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  1. The man who orchestrated the break in of Watergate actually appeared on two episodes of Miami Vice as a man named Captain Real Estate.
  2. When Blender magazine named this 1985 hit the worst song ever, editor Craig Marks said, “It purports to be anti-commerical but reeks of 80’s corporate rock commercialism. It’s a rea reflection of what practically killed rock music in the 80s.”
  3. What sports venue did Sun Myung Moon famously choose to marry 4000 of his followers in 1982?
  4. Shylocks daughter’s name in the Merchant of Venice was the #1 name for American girls born in the 1980s. What was it?
  5. A leak from a pesticide company killed thousands of people in Bhopal India in 1984. What chemical company ran the plant?
  6. Sonny Crockett’s alligator had the same name as a famous singer and entertainer. What was it?
  7. What 1988 James Michener epic had chapters titled Gold, Salmon, and Ring of Fire?
  8. The player who had the most hits during the 1980s played his entire career for the same team, won MVPs at SS and Centerfield, and was elected to the HOF in 1999.
  9. What beloved 80s movie character had a wizard companion named Akiro?
  10. The Russian word for rebuilding, Gorbachev first used it in the mid 1980s.

Continue reading “Toughest Questions from Last Week” →

Giving Away Philler Roller Girl Tix This Week at Quizzo!


King of the Philadelphia Underground Johnny Goodtimes* is joining forces with the Queens of the Underground. That’s right, all week long at quizzo I’m going to be giving away tickets as prizes to Sunday’s Philly Roller Girl doubleheader. I’m planning on going to the match this Sunday at 3 p.m., which will be my first live Roller Derby, and needless to say I will be rooting for whoever the bad guys girls are. (At some bars we’ll do Name that Tune for the tix, at some we’ll have a raffle.)

*self-proclaimed

O’Neals Ups Prizes to $50 and $25!

308391logoWow, just got off the phone with Spoonie. Seeing as we’ve been a little quiet the last two weeks, I thought we might up the prize money a few bucks. Spoonie said the heck with a few bucks…the O’Neals quiz just became the biggest purse on the JGT circuit! $50 gift certificate for First Place, $25 for 2nd Place, starting tonight at O’Neals! Things have been a little quiet lately, so I think you’ll probably score a table. $50 buys a lot of $3.50 margaritas. ALSO TONIGHT: Bards starts at 10:15 p.m. Tuesdays have been a lot of fun with Team Friendship bringing some real fellowship and smacktalking into the mix. $2.50 Lagers and Miller Lites. The prize money ain’t too shabby either. $40 for first and $20 for 2nd. And needless to say, Philly’s best questions. Oh, and if you have any suggestions for a 50-50 or speed round, shoot it to me on facebook. Hope to see you tonight!

Play Mark Twain’s Trivia Game

twain3Mark Twain tried his hand at trivia, and in the end he turned out a game that is interesting, but not near as fun as quizzo. Nonetheless, it’s a decent game called “Mark Twain’s Memory Builder” which might be more fun if you did it with sports. Basically, you name a year, and pick out an important event from that year. For example, if Player one picks the number 76, he can then say Declaration of Independence signed or Legionnaire’s tragedy in Philadelphia. Different types of events are worth different points. You go through the numbers, with players taking turns. Sounds like it could be kind of fun. I guess. Maybe.

JGT Power Rankings

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  1. Steak Em Up. Sort of weird week for them, as they played under three different names, but at least two members of what is now a glorified posse were in each win (including one at Westbury), so we’ll give them the benfit of the doubt. Three wins in a week propels them to #1. Last week: #3
  2. L. Ron Hubbard. Another week, another win, but perhaps they need to double up another one of these weeks like they did last week to get back in the top spot. Last week: #1
  3. Lambda. A two man win at the Vous, followed by a one man 2nd place finish at the UA. Yeah, Steve-O is an 80s freak, but still, mighty impressive. Last week: #5
  4. Duane’s World. A second place finish at the Westbury and a 3rd place finish at the Black Sheep (and Eschaton’s 3rd at UA) drop the World two notches. Last week: #4
  5. The Savage Ear. Get a week off due to the Flyers game. A bye week helps them nurse their injuries and return stronger than ever. Last week #4
  6. The Narcotyzing Dysfunktion. A 110 would have won at any quiz last week…except Tuesday night at the Bards, where they lost to the Plastic Paddies by one. Last week #8
  7. The Jams. A second place finish at the competitive Vous is enough to maintain the #7 ranking. Last week: #7
  8. The Plastic Paddies. This team is at a crossroads. They can either declare themselves an autonomous entity free of Steak Em Up influence and become a major player in the game, or they continue to be sort of an offshoot republic still under the power of the Steak (in which case they won’t be back on the power rankings). There is some serious realpolitik going on here. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. Last week: NR 
  9. Supple Cowbell of Maury Buford. An incredible performance at Black Sheep this past Wednesday rockets Buford onto the top 10. The very rare one man win begs the question: what could they achieve with teammates? Last week: NR
  10. Catdog. Good news: they’re back in the top 10 w/ a 2nd place finish at Black Sheep. The bad news: they lost to a one man team. Last week: NR

Others receiving votes: Tooth Wind and Fire; Inglorious Barristers; The Champs; Magnus ver Magnusson; The Four Cs

Tonight’s Quizzes, Hosted by Mike Minion


mikePlayed the quiz last Monday at Westbury. My squad ate it in the final round. Thinking about playing UA quiz tonight. Holler at me if you’re interested in playing. Here’s a few thoughts from Mike Minion.

Last Monday was a Tale of Two Bars. The UA was a little slow, so there was no quiz.  More on that later.  The story at The Westbury was quite the opposite, to say the least . A lively crowd and spirited competition made for an interesting evening.  Group W (a subsidiary of Steak ‘Em Up) came from behind with an impressve final round to win for the second week in a row.  JGT’s team imploded in the last round, and finished out of the money.  Big surprise.  This week, I’d like to see some new team step up and keep Group W from completing the hat trick.

Last week also marked the start of a new feature.  I let the team with the lowest score for the night pick the theme for this week’s wild card round.  They choose “Science”. Lest this scare you off, have no fears.  In my book, asking who recorded the song, “She Blinded Me With Science” counts as a science question.  The 2nd round should be amusing as well.

Re the UA quiz: The UA regulars (L. Ron, Lambda) have been conspicuously absent from Monday nights.  Maybe they only want to play when they know the topics are slanted in their favor.  Or perhaps the idea of facing The Champs is a little intimidating.  Just thinking out loud.

Beer specials at both venues. Dollar off all drafts at Ugly American, and Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter is on tap for $3 at Westbury, as well as a dollar off all Dogfish Head beers. Gonna be a fun quiz. Hope to see you tonight, and start studying your Thomas Dolby songs!