Q 01/05

Which Bolton band, formed in 1976 by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto, laid the groundwork for pop punk?

A) The Undertones

B) The Jam

C) Stiff Little Fingers

D) Buzzcocks

Answer · why

D) Buzzcocks

Buzzcocks lost Howard Devoto within a year, when he quit to form Magazine, so Pete Shelley took over the singing and wrote the band's best-known songs...

Q 02/05

The Ramones all took the surname Ramone in tribute to a pseudonym once used by which musician?

A) John Lennon

B) Iggy Pop

C) David Bowie

D) Paul McCartney

Answer · why

D) Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney billed himself as Paul Ramon on an early Beatles tour of Scotland; bassist Dee Dee, a fan, took the surname first and talked his unrela...

Q 03/05

Which Milo Aukerman-fronted band from Manhattan Beach, California, is a key influence on pop punk?

A) Bad Religion

B) Social Distortion

C) The Vandals

D) Descendents

Answer · why

D) Descendents

Descendents named their debut album Milo Goes to College after their singer's plan to quit for university; he went on to juggle the band with a career...

Q 04/05

Which acoustic Green Day ballad, released on 1997's Nimrod, became a staple of graduations?

A) Wake Me Up When September Ends

B) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

C) Boulevard of Broken Dreams

D) When I Come Around

Answer · why

B) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) began as a kiss-off: Billie Joe Armstrong wrote it when his girlfriend moved to Ecuador and put his anger in the tit...

Q 05/05

What was Green Day called before adopting the Green Day name in 1989?

A) Crimpshrine

B) Operation Ivy

C) Pinhead Gunpowder

D) Sweet Children

Answer · why

D) Sweet Children

Sweet Children took their new name from Bay Area slang: a 'green day' was a day spent doing nothing but smoking pot.