Answers are at the end.

A duo of a couple of Gen-X gals – myself and a longtime trivia collaborator slash friend Kim S. – really put our ears – and brains – to the test in a recent music trivia game!

The skinny? We finished with 55 points and a third place/$20 prize.

The scene? A bar called The New Jester’s in the city of Flint, MI. A bar that if a nearby memorial mural – and adjacent motorcycle-only parking area – is any indication, has had a rich biker history:

It was a little more than an hour-long drive for us. But since it’s technically the closest weekly music trivia scene the My Trivia Live league has to offer at the moment…

Road trip time!

Like many “rust belt” towns, Flint has seen better days. We’ve all read the stories and some of us have seen the controversial Michael Moore documentary film “Roger and Me.” So I’ll just leave things where they are and move on!

I grew up in the area, so it wasn’t surprising to find out the server we had hails from Mount Morris, a town a few miles from Clio, where I grew up. The last time I stopped at a Fenton restaurant last year, our server turned out to be a graduate of my high school!

On the way to this bar, I joked with Kim about how funny it might be if I bumped into someone I knew from high school! Sadly, a friend from high school I’d invited to join us couldn’t make it to join us 😢.

No, I didn’t run into anyone I knew this time. Though there was a guy playing by himself who bore a very close resemblance to one of my cousins! I didn’t talk to him, since I didn’t want to be creepy.

But it was really uncanny – he even wore his long hair similarly to my cousin did when he was young, his overall quiet demeanor was similar, he even had a similar nose shape…could it be?

Even if I asked my cousin about him… let’s just say sometimes there are answers to questions that you just don’t need to know 😉 Maybe even SHOULDN’T know. And questions that might raise questions for my cousin himself. Let sleeping genetic dogs lie? 🤔

Speaking of things unknown, how about some abbreviated questions from the music trivia game?

Round One – “Houston, We Have a Problem!”

What American country singer born in North Carolina in 1990 released a song called “Houston, We Got a Problem” on his debut album in 2017? Not off to a good start, miss.

Singer Whitney Houston collaborated with what New Edition singer on the song “Something in Common?” We almost thought that this was too easy to be an actual question, thankfully we didn’t overthink it.

What Houston-based singer performed the Oscar winning song “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head?’ Miss, we incorrectly guessed Neil Sedaka (totally my bad) 😞 ☔ 🚲 🤠

Round Two “Pet Peeves”

What band’s debut single was “I Wanna Be Your Dog?” I was up to bat here, and the bases were loaded (metaphorically speaking) ⚾ – and this was definitely a curve ball for me…but I took a swing…and it went…out of the park! Woot! Special thanks to my dear friend Brad, whom is much more of a fan of this genre/era of music than I am. It can pay off to pay attention when your friends talk about the music that they love!

My dad lived next door to one of the members of this band too (who is from Ann Arbor originally), so this helped out too! It’s always a fun story to share!

What was the name of Michael Jackson’s pet chimpanzee?

Next up was a question that was definitely “too old” for us!

What type of animal was Pepino in a 1962 song by Lou Monte? Miss. I’ll have to consult my mom about this one (I’ll bet she would know the answer).

Round Three – “1970s Theme Songs

What song performed by Pratt & McClain was used as the theme song for a sitcom that ran from 1974-1984? We incorrectly guessed a spinoff from that series. No, the actual song was not played.

What TV theme song reimagined in 2004 (which was played for us) was for what Gabe Kaplan sitcom?

What sitcom theme song had the lyrics “Where the kisses are hers and hers and his?”

Halftime – “Movie Songs”

Name the artists who recorded the following movie songs:

1 Footloose

2 My Girl

3 Stand By Me

4 Ghostbusters

Got all of these.

Halftime Scores

Extras, 11: Combat Wombats, 19; T&A, 21; Gen X Strikes Back (us) tied with Lions, 29 and Here for the Beer, 35.

Round Four – Sports

What tennis star did Elton John sing about in the 1975 song Philadelphia Freedom?

What 1982 song by Survivor is commonly used as a sports anthem?

What 1999 Zombie Nation song is commonly played at sporting events? This track was played for us, but zero teams got this correct.

Round Five “Duets”

Who did Johnny Mathis sing with in the song “Too Much Too Little Too Late?” Yup “too old” for us two! I remembered hearing the song before, but didn’t know the singer. A hint was given that the female singer had a solo hit in the 1970s called “Free.” Obviously this hint didn’t help us! 😆

Who did Tammy Tyrell sing with on the 1967 single “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough?” Yay I remembered this one, maybe our game was “healing” at this point (yes this is a hint). If you get it, then you definitely know “What’s Going On” when it comes to music!🧠 🎵🎶

What English singer sang with Normani on a 2019 duet called “Dancing with a Stranger?” The song was even played for us, still a nope for both of us 😔

Round Six

What was the band behind the song “Rock Around the Clock?”

In what coming-of-age 1982 film would you hear the song “Somebody’s Baby?”

What 1995 film features the song by the Gin Blossoms called “Til I Hear it from You?” Nice hit from Kim to end the regular rounds, so glad she was all over this one! ✊

Scores heading into the final:

Extras, 21; Combat Wombats, 29; T&A, 37; Gen X Strikes Back (us), 55; Lions, 57 and Here for the Beer, 63.

Final Category – Best of the Worst

What well-known West Coast band released a “Worst Of” compilation album in 1970 which includes tracks such as “It’s No Secret,” “Embryonic Journey” and “We Can Be Together?”

If these were any songs we’d ever heard from that album, then it would not be a good final question, would it?

No teams got this correct, zero betters took the prizes.

Third/$20, Gen X Strikes Back (us); Lions, second/$30 and Here for the Beer, first/$40.

We have unused prize money, so we’ll be back when our schedules mesh!

As always, Go Pods (even it’s just one doing music trivia battle with a buddy) and stay classy, Pepino the Mouse! Alvin and his Chipmunks called and said you stole their act! 🐭🐿️ 🎵

R1 Luke Combs, Bobby Brown, BJ Thomas

R2 stooges, bubbles, mouse

R3 happy days, welcome back kotter, threes company

H k loggins, temptations, Ben e king, Ray Parker Jr

R4 bj king, eye of the tiger, Kern craft 400

R5 deniece Williams, m gaye, Sam Smith

R6 bill haley and his comets, ft at ridgemont high empire records

F Jefferson airplane