How well do you know your music? Let’s find out with a quiz that accompanies this week playlist.
The subjects du jour are : Gerry Cinnamon, Pet Shop Boys, The 1975, Steve Aoki, Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters And Men, Bring Me The Horizon, Coldplay, James Arthur, Imagine Dragons
They are the performers of twelve “live” music videos that were ranked in various charts, this week (47/52) BUT … in the Tens 2010s.
1. Which language style is prominently featured in “Sometimes” by Gerry Cinnamon?
- A Glaswegian dialect
- B Cockney rhyming slang
- C Yorkshire accent
2. Who was responsible for the production of Pet Shop Boys’ “Leaving”?
- A Trevor Horn
- B Stuart Price
- C Andrew Dawson
3. What music video inspired the visuals for The 1975’s “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not with You)”?
- A A-ha’s “Take On Me”
- B Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense”
- C Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”
4. “Waste It on Me,” featuring BTS, was what type of milestone for the band?
- A First song in German
- B First song in English
- C First instrumental track
5. Which public figure does NOT appear in the Maroon 5 music video featuring Cardi B?
- A Taylor Swift
- B Ellen DeGeneres
- C Jennifer Lopez
6. Two distinct music videos were produced for which Justin Bieber single from the album “Purpose”?
- A “Sorry”
- B “Company”
- C “Love Yourself”
7. Mumford & Sons’ “I Will Wait” was filmed at which iconic location?
- A Madison Square Garden
- B Red Rocks Amphitheatre
- C Hyde Park
8. “Mountain Sound” by Of Monsters and Men ranked highest on which US chart?
- A Billboard Hot 100
- B Billboard Hot Rock Songs
- C Billboard Adult Contemporary
9. For which video game soundtrack was “Ludens” by Bring Me the Horizon created?
- A Final Fantasy VII Remake
- B Death Stranding
- C The Witcher 3
10. A sample of whose speech concludes Coldplay’s song from “A Head Full of Dreams”?
- A Nelson Mandela
- B John F. Kennedy
- C Muhammad Ali
11. Which song was the best-selling single by an X Factor winner as of 2023?
- A “Impossible” by James Arthur
- B “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis
- C “Hallelujah” by Alexandra Burke
12. Imagine Dragons’ “Bad Liar” was performed live at what major event?
- A Super Bowl halftime show
- B Coachella
- C College Football Playoff National Championship
Tracklist
1 . Gerry Cinnamon – Sometimes |
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Featured on the 2017 album “Erratic Cinematic”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
2 . Pet Shop Boys – Leaving |
| In “Leaving,” Pet Shop Boys reflect on love’s afterlife and enduring bonds beyond death over haunting synths and Neil Tennant’s vocals. Directed by Pet Shop Boys, the music video’s black and white imagery, interspersed with rail travel, complements the track’s reflective mood, as background screens spotlight the contributing vocalists. |
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Featured on the 2012 album “Elysium”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
3 . The 1975 – It’s Not Living [If It’s Not With You] |
| The 1975’s “It’s Not Living” masks its dark heroin narrative with ’80s pop zest. Matt Healy’s lyrics “Collapse my veins wearing beautiful shoes” fuse addiction’s sting with love’s ache. The Warren Fu video throws back to Talking Heads, a retro nod mirroring the track’s deceptive cheer. |
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Featured on the 2018 album “A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
4 . Steve Aoki – Waste It On Me (w/ BTS) |
| Steve Aoki’s “Waste It On Me” featuring BTS mingles EDM with RnB vocals, exploring new sonic realms. The Joseph Hahn-directed video, starring Ken Jeong and Devon Aoki, turns love’s futility into a karaoke duel, sans BTS but with an all Asian-American cast. |
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Featured on the 2018 album “Neon Future III”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
5 . Maroon 5 – Girls Like You (w/ Cardi B) |
| Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” is enhanced by Cardi B’s distinctive verse towards the end. Directed by David Dobkin, the music video is a homage to notable women from various fields, making it a visual celebration of female empowerment. As Adam Levine performs center-stage with a rotating camera, each rotation reveals a different celebrity like Jennifer Lopez, Ellen DeGeneres, Millie Bobby Brown, activist Ilhan Omar, Olympian Aly Raisman, and actresses Gal Gadot and Tiffany Haddish. |
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Featured on the 2017 album “Red Pill Blues“.Red+Pill+Blues+vinyl+album&tag=radiovideom05-20′ target=’_blank’ rel=’noopener’> Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
6 . Justin Bieber – Company |
| Justin Bieber’s “Company” video offers a candid montage of tour life and personal moments, directed by Rory Kramer. It’s a blend of Bieber’s on-stage passion and off-stage escapades—snowboarding, skateboarding, serenading nature, and heartfelt onstage moments. |
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Featured on the 2015 album “Purpose”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
7 . Mumford & Sons – I Will Wait |
| Mumford & Sons’ “I Will Wait,” reverberating with fervent banjo strums and London-inflected vocals, is a rousing anthem of loyalty, mixing folk roots with country twang. Filmed at Red Rocks, the music video, directed by Fred & Nick, captures the band’s raw energy and a crowd lit by phones. |
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Featured on the 2012 album “Babel”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
8 . Of Monsters And Men – Mountain Sound |
| Directed by Benjamin Kutsko, the music video for “Mountain Sound” by Of Monsters And Men is filmed on location at a festival held at the Hljomskalagardurinn park in Reykjavík, Iceland. |
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Featured on the 2011 album “My Head Is an Animal”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
9 . Bring Me The Horizon – Ludens |
| Bring Me The Horizon’s “Ludens,” a recording done specificaly for Hideo Kojima’s PS4 videogame “Death Stranding,” emerged swiftly in a 5-day creative burst. Frontman Oli Sykes, diverging from their “amo” era, weaves the game’s themes into the music. The video—a Sykes-directed affair—juxtaposes the band’s raw performance with “Death Stranding” visuals. |
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Featured on the 2019 album “Death Stranding: Timefall”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
10 . Coldplay – Everglow |
| Coldplay’s “Everglow,” penned by Chris Martin for Gwyneth Paltrow post-divorce, captures the light in loss. The track, a raw piano-vocal piece, explores the end of love with both pain and gratitude. Gwyneth’s backing vocals and the video’s lone Martin before Ben Mor’s lens—plus an archival clip of Muhammad Ali—intensify the message of enduring warmth amidst heartache. |
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Featured on the 2015 album “A Head Full of Dreams“.A+Head+Full+of+Dreams+vinyl+album&tag=radiovideom05-20′ target=’_blank’ rel=’noopener’> Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
11 . James Arthur – Impossible |
| James Arthur’s gravelly rendition of Shontelle’s “Impossible” layers raw emotion over the 2010 hit. His X-Factor winning cover stays true to the original’s melody but deepens it with a rougher tone and a poignant key change. The music video is directed by Claudia Wass. |
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Featured on the 2013 album “James Arthur”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
12 . Imagine Dragons – Bad Liar |
| Imagine Dragons’ “Bad Liar,” co-written by Dan Reynolds and Aja Volkman, gets a Ryan Reichenfeld-directed video shot in Las Vegas. Choreographed by Marissa Osato and featuring dancer Autumn Miller, the video conveys the song’s emotional heft amid marital woes and captures the track’s essence of love and pain. |
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Featured on the 2018 album “Origins”. Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site |
And the correct answers (in case you missed one or two) are:
1. “Sometimes” by Gerry Cinnamon stands out for its authentic use of Glaswegian dialect, a nod to the artist’s roots. Its acoustic style complements the local tongue.
2. Andrew Dawson, along with the Pet Shop Boys, was the production mastermind behind “Leaving”. His touch is evident in the track’s polished synth-pop sound.
3. The 1975 drew inspiration from the surreal and iconic visuals of Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” for their music video. Expect an arty dreamscape.
4. “Waste It on Me” marked BTS’s first song sung entirely in English, expanding their global influence beyond their native Korean language tracks.
5. Despite numerous cameos in the Maroon 5 video, Taylor Swift was notably absent. The video is famous for featuring a medley of familiar faces.
6. Justin Bieber’s single “Company” was graced with two separate music videos, each narratively distinct yet harmoniously supporting the album’s theme.
7. The music video for “I Will Wait” by Mumford & Sons was shot at the scenic and majestic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, enhancing the song’s earthy vibe.
8. In the States, “Mountain Sound” found its highest chart ranking on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart, where it lingered for an impressive duration.
9. “Ludens” was created for the “Death Stranding” video game soundtrack. The urgency in its production mirrored the intense gaming environment.
10. Coldplay’s track ends with Muhammad Ali’s thoughtful words. The sample adds depth, linking historic eloquence to modern musical art.
11. As of 2023, James Arthur’s rendition of “Impossible” became the best-selling single by an X Factor winner, surpassing formidable predecessors.
12. “Bad Liar” by Imagine Dragons was performed at the College Football Playoff National Championship, bringing rock flair to the sports realm.
For THE FULL ‘ARE WE LIVE?’ COLLECTION click here
