Opposites definitely attract, and not just for a roguish cartoon cat and singer Paula Abdul! Some of you old fogies out there might remember a 1989 music video for “Opposites Attract” by Paula Abdul and MC Scat Cat where she sings about all of the ways she’s different from Emilio Estevez…I mean the cartoon cat! What am I SAYING? That the song was about her relationship with Emilio Estevez? Honestly I have NO idea what that song’s really about! And if Paula Abdul had a thing for animated cats, I ain’t gonna judge her (you go, girl)!

The song “Opposites Attract” was number one the week of my 18th birthday! Gotta love those online generator thingies! This video was…OK, but I liked “Cold Hearted” better…

A clip from the Bob Fosse-inspired “Cold Hearted”

The “oppositeness” of the players involved in this game was a boon, too! Our differing tastes in music when we were in high school/college proved to help us on multiple questions!

Four of us played a ’90s music theme night at JT’s Pub and Grub in Belleville, which is a bar I’ve never visited before, though the other players Kimberly and Kirsten and David said they’d all been there before. To me, it had what I’d call an “Up North” vibe to it, and resembled many of the restaurants/bars I’ve visited on my travels in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Wood paneled walls, lots of sports decorations on the walls, a pool table or two in the vicinity and a vibrant selection of “regulars.” The pints of Labatt I had were VERY cheap ($2 each)! I usually do not eat on trivia nights, but others at the table did order food, and the servings looked generous. David’s only bickering with his meal was his salad with grilled chicken wasn’t mixed up very well (the chicken was just kind of plopped on top). I didn’t hear him complaining about how it tasted! The fries the came with Kim and Kirsten’s meals did look kind of yummy, and I had to hold myself back from asking if they were finished with them (lol)!

One notable observation was that the female wait staff were all wearing very short skirts and novelty nylons (fishnets, textured, embellished, etc.). I’m not sure if this is the “normal” dress code for servers at this bar, or was part of some kind of “theme night.” Meh, if you’ve got it, flaunt it…I guess? Maybe it’s good for tips? Hey, if you have the body to pull off wearing what is essentially a glorified Band-Aid around your hips, more power to ya!

My only experience with “dress codes” was in high school. A group of boys in my class challenged the dress code, which allowed girls to wear skirts of any length, but forbade the wearing of shorts. Since my school was not air conditioned, let’s say this was a “hot button” issue! I myself may have flaunted this dress code a bit in my sophomore/junior year, when I would occasionally wear miniskirts without tights/socks/nylons. It was a fashion thing, you just DIDN’T wear socks! Yes, I even did this in the dead of winter (the things I did for fashion). So anyway…the boys in my class decided to challenge the dress code by…wearing skirts to school! I am NOT making this up! Their little act of rebellion did effect change! Shorts were allowed after this for both boys and girls, but they had to hit the knee (I had some pairs of “long” shorts, and to this day, I still don’t care for “long” shorts  (on me, anyway).  I am not sure if the dress code policy changed for skirts, but by then, I wasn’t really wearing skirts to school much, anyway. Though I did wear the dorky long shorts on hot days! Oy, my own mother says she was sent home from high school for wearing a skirt they deemed too short. What ELSE were teenage girls supposed to wear in the late 1960s?

And thus concludes this little dress code digression!

As for the game, our team wound up winning second place/$25 for our efforts.
And here are the questions…
1. Other than Milli Vanilli, who had to give up their Grammy Award for best new artist, only two artists/groups in the 1990s won the Grammy for best new artist. Name one of those two. Miss.
2. What song was covered by Lenny Kravitz for the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me?”
3. Four country artists headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004. Name any one of those artists. Miss.
4. What product was parodied in the Foo Fighters video for “Big Me?”
5. Released in late 1991, what single by George Michael was his last to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and was a live recording of a duet with another artist? My first big “hit” on the night’s charts, lol…
6. Audio clue of an electronic/dance song by a British band that we missed…
7. “Gordon” was the debut studio album by the Barenaked Ladies that references two real-life people who are also recording artists. Name both of those people. Got one, but not both.
8. What musician appeared posthumously in the films “Gridlock,” “Gang Related,” and “Bullet?”
9. For an album released in 1995, who was the youngest artist certified diamond in terms of sales before being passed by Britney Spears later? Miss.
10. The Smashmouth song “Walking on the Sun” references what persona of Don Herbert?
Mystery – ALL AUDIO…got six points out of this.
We also had an “intermission” round on paper that I’m not going to type up! But Kim pretty much took that away on her own, or at least with NO help from me (I love it when she knows things I don’t need to know). Hey…it’s a BYE week, people! 🙂
Game Two
1. Which performer did not perform at Woodstock 1994 – Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, Green Day, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers?
2. What 1992 single’s cover features a cracked globe with a Band Aid bridging the gaps? Another “hit” for me, which I knew for a very, very strange reason….(pssst…because of a 1993 movie featuring Christina Ricci).
3. Sandra Denton Deidra Roper and Cheryl James are the real names of the women in what six-time Grammy nominated group?
4. Audio clue of a clip of “Behind the Music,” had to identify the artist. And the host editorialized on the mic about this artist, which the crowd kind of strongly hinted was…inappropriate given the circumstances. But I don’t want to give away the answer…not that anyone can figure it out since it was audio! Seriously, if anyone wants to know more about this…ask!
5. What indie rock band released a 1998 album called “In the Airplane Over The Sea?” A whole lotta nope…I don’t think any teams got this one.
6. Country Music – What is the name of the first country album to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts? Kirsten and David all over this…
7. Give the first names of the brothers who recorded a single that was #1 from late May to early June in 1997? God how does Kim KNOW this stuff? All I know is I’m glad I didn’t have to know it!
8. Metallica, Spinal Tap, Elizabeth Taylor and U2 all performed in what 1992 tribute concert held in whose honor? I was thankful for Kim knowing the last one, and I think she was thankful for me knowing this one. “I videotaped this concert,” I said. Hell, I probably even still have that VHS tape in the garage and I have no means of playing it. Why? Who knows!
9. Stone Temple Pilots had two consecutive number one hits in September, 1994. Name both of those songs. Got one, not both.
10. Sorry…my notes are just not good here!
Mystery (audio) – Cover songs
Name the artist performing the cover songs.
Got six points on this.
Scores: Out of 10 teams playing, were in second with 104 points using the name Never Trust A Big Butt and a Smile. Whatever this reference is, it went TOTALLY over my head. My ’90s themed team name suggestions were “Mmm Not” and “My Fart Will Go On,” neither of which were accepted. Hey…can’t win ”em all!
Final Category – Early 1990s Hits
I’m going to go right out there and say that I’m pretty much hit or miss with most 1990s music. I’m “kind of” strong with the stuff from the earlier part of the decade, but virtually clueless about most ’90s songs after 1994 or so. I did tell the rest of the team that with this timeframe, I might have a chance!
In 1990, eight different women solo artist had #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts besides Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. Name three of the six other women.
This is when I had a flashback to my high school art class, which was largely of the “blowoff” variety, since I was only taking it because there weren’t enough students to fill a jazz ensemble class. Looking back, that class was 10 times more fun than jazz ensemble would have been, anyway! That said, my instructor of that class, Mr. Stoutenberg, always let the students listen to a top 40 station during class. So I started remembering some of the songs that might have been playing on this station a lot. Which paid off.

This was the first female artist I thought of…

I came up with two suggestions right away, but then I also thought about the woman who won a Grammy around that time. And we almost went with her. Then we thought of the woman who appeared in a popular movie released in June, 1990. I was like, “Hey, this movie came out around when I had my high school open house and we even went to go see it that night.” The thinking was starting to lean toward the Grammy woman, but I had second thoughts. Just because she was Grammy gold, doesn’t mean she sold enough records to have a #1 single. And I honestly couldn’t think of any songs of hers that might’ve played in my art class. So I pushed at the last second for us to erase the Grammy woman’s name and put down the one-hit wonder Canadian female artist (photo tie in) instead. I didn’t like being that pushy, but I just didn’t feel good about that…redhead (is that a hint)? Good thing we did that because we got all three of them correct! But I would’ve felt like shit if “Grammy Woman” had been correct!
So that was the story of the ’90s music trivia game. Our next trivia outing will be tonight, look for a recap of that on Friday! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, Rob and Fab! Uh, which one of those guys is dead now?