Top 10 Fictional Bands

When AS contributor Stef and I planned our A-Camp music trivia session, we chose questions that closely align with our interests and expertise. As such, campers will be pitched a tonne of questions about fictional bands. (As well as ex-Disney child stars, but sadly I don’t have time to write two Top 10 lists).

Sometimes I like fictional bands more than I like real bands. My favourite is Mark’s totally psychedelic band Marc, however they didn’t make the cut because I never heard their demo. You know who else isn’t on here? Stillwater, because I don’t think I can talk about Almost Famous ever again, and Dingoes Ate My Baby, because I don’t like the band name. It’s my list and I can omit really obvious and popular contenders if I want to.

 

Top 10 Fictional Bands From Film & TV

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10. Zack Attack – Saved By The Bell

In the early nineties, high school dreamboat Zack Morris fronted a pop-rock band called Zack Attack, which comprised other members of the Saved By The Bell gang. If you don’t remember the nineties, you should probably watch this video of Zack Attack performing “Friends Forever” and thank me later.

Wikipedia just informed me that Zack was also the lead singer of a 1950s-style doo-wop group, The Five Aces, and played the trombone. The more you know.


9. Drive Shaft – Lost

The only information that my brain was capable of processing during my fleeting interest in Lost was that one of the passengers stranded on The Island was a rockstar named Charlie. I knew this because like so many of his fictional rockstar peers, Charlie was addicted to heroin, leather wrist-bands and black eye-liner.

Charlie’s band Drive Shaft were kind of a big deal thanks to their one and only hit, “All You Everybody”. Sadly due to Charlie’s *SPOILER ALERT* untimely demise, the band’s comeback hit, “Monster Ate The Pilot”, was never released. I think it would have been a winner.

 

8. The School of Rock – The School of Rock

If you’re one of those people who think films starring Jack Black are too lowbrow for consumption, that’s your loss because he’s been in some stellar fictional bands. Here’s the deal: after being booted from his adult band No Vacancy, Dewey (aka Mr Schneebly) fakes his way into a teaching job and forms a new band from members from his 5th grade music class, aptly titled School of Rock. Both No Vacancy and School of Rock were both admirable ensembles, but only the latter featured cute kids wearing Angus Young-inspired stage costumes.

“I pledge allegiance to the band of Mr. Schneebly… and will not fight him for creative control… and will defer to him on all issues related to the musical direction of the band.” – Dewey

An honorable Jack Black-related mention goes to Barry from High Fidelity for his fictional band Sonic Death Monkey aka Kathleen Turner Overdrive aka Barry Jive and The Uptown Five.

 

7. Wyld Stallyns – Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Some of you may not be old enough to have ever experienced the Wyld Stallyns, Bill & Ted‘s totally excellent rock band. So here’s the gist:

“The film opens in San Dimas, California in the year 2688 AD. Rufus prepares to use a time-traveling phone booth to travel back to 1988 to ensure the Two Great Ones– Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan –remain together to form the band “Wyld Stallyns”, whose music will become the core of the future’s Utopian society.”

In summary, the Wyld Stallyns save the future of mankind. What has your fictional band done lately?

“The truth is, Wyld Stallyns will never be a super band until we have Eddie Van Halen on guitar.” – Bill

 

6. Sex Bob-Omb – Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Did you know that Beck wrote the music for Sex Bob-Omb? I just learned that on the band’s wikipedia page, which you should read if you’ve never seen this movie because I don’t know how to describe it to you. Now excuse me while I be That Guy who quotes Scott Pilgrim on the internet.

“We are Sex Bob-Omb and we are here to make you think about death and get sad and stuff.” – Scott

 

5. Crucifictorious – Friday Night Lights

Just when I thought that Friday Night Lights could not possibly become a better show, the writers gave Landry Clark a fictional metal band. Admittedly Crucifictorious were a little shit at first, as evidenced by that time they put on a show and only Tim Riggins and his abs showed up. To be fair, they were initially terrible. To be even fairer, they got a lot better when my future girlfriend Devin joined the band.

“I’m thinking of starting a Christian speed metal band. You in?” – Landry

 

4. Frozen Embryos – My So-Called Life

In the email thread about this article, Riese and Laneia enthusiastically requested the inclusion of Jordan Catalano’s band, the Frozen Embryos. I’ve never seen My So-Called Life, however after some extensive youtube research I am of the belief that the Frozen Embryos are better than any real band that Jared Leto has been a member of.

 

3. The Blues Brothers – The Blues Brothers

When I was a child, my father played me The Blues Brothers soundtrack and told me that they were a real band, and I stayed under that impression for more years than I’m willing to admit. What I learned from this humiliation – besides the fact that my father was a jerk at times – is that you didn’t need to see The Blues Brothers film or Saturday Night Live skits to enjoy the Blues Brothers’ music, and that’s partly what makes the whole thing so goddamn wonderful.

In the film, brothers Jake and Elwood Blues are on a ‘mission from God’ to save the Catholic orphanage they grew up in. To do this they reform their R&B band and every moment is pure gold.

 

2. Josie & The Pussycats – Josie & The Pussycats

Obviously.

 

1. Spinal Tap – This is Spinal Tap

There will never be a better fictional band than Spinal Tap, and that’s because Spinal Tap are the most real fake band around. Not only did they release a rockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap and an accompanying soundtrack, they also released actual records and toured several times. REAL RECORDS AND TOURS. One of their hits, “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight” even appeared on Guitar Hero.

Rob Reiner and the actors have now kept Spinal Tap alive for over thirty years, an admirable level of commitment not shown by any other fictional band.

“It’s part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy I’m working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don’t know why… You know, just simple lines intertwining, you know, very much like – I’m really influenced by Mozart and Bach, and it’s sort of in between those, really. It’s like a Mach piece, really”. – Nigel Tufnel

 

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What is your favorite fictional band? Do you play in a fictional band? Mine’s a rockabilly outfit called The Dead Meat Schecters, we should jam sometime.

This post goes hand-in-hand with A-Camp’s Music Trivia with Crystal and Stef.

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Crystal

Founding member. Former writer. Still loves Autostraddle with her whole heart.

Crystal has written 320 articles for us.

102 Comments

  3. Not from TV, but The Hectic Glow from The Fault In Our Stars (by John Green) are my favourite.

    “The official genre of The Hectic Glow is a widely contested subject amongst longtime fans. It is most popularly known as a Swedish Hip-Hop band, but others have referred to it as “folk Irish/mad gangster rap” as well as “Alternative Folk-Jazz” and “Progressive Industrial Bollywood”.”

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  4. I was hoping you’d give a shout-out to Stillwater because we have the same hometown (Troy, MI) and I love that one of the few good things to come out of that shithole was fictional.

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  12. The Blues Brothers actually kinda are a real band, the movie was such a huge hit that they went on tour (during which they performed songs other than the ones from the OST) and released at least one live album and one or two LPs after that. Yeah I’m a bit of a fan – pleasantly surprised to see them on that list!

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  23. Definitely Wyld Stallyns, I’ve seen Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure so many times.

    As much as I like Friday Night Lights, not a big fan of Crucifictorious, Christian speed metal is just something I do not need in my life.

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  34. The Blues Brothers my favorite fictional or not band. I am changing my name to Jake, not just because of the movie, there are other reasons, but the movie is one. My brother’s middle name is Elwood. School of Rock, Wyld Stallyn, and Spinal Tap are great too.

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  39. I totally can’t believe that Munchausen by Proxy from “Yes Man” wasn’t on the list totally love Zooey Deschanel. It was so damned funny. Love her, and her quirkiness.

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  44. Nittle Grasper from Gravitation (also Bad Luck, but I liked Nittle Grasper’s music more).

    …Anybody?

    I can’t be the only one here whose journey to queer included problematic shonen ai.

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  52. My favorite is PoP! from Music and Lyrics. Also my dad totally did the same thing to me about the Blues Brothers, which led to a lot of confusion related to SNL later on in life…

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  53. Okay, this is showing my age but in the late ’90s when the whole boy band thing was all the rage because of ‘NSync and Backstreet Boys, David Letterman created a fake boy band and had them on his show a few times. The reason I remember this, or even cared at the time, was because the members of this boy band were guys from the Broadway cast of Footloose. The two who’s names I remember are Jeremy Kushnier (who played Ren) and a 20-year-old Matthew Morrison (aka Mr. Will Schuester). The name of the fake band was Fresh Step, like the kitty litter. I can’t remember the title of their 1st single but I sort of remember how it went, which scares me. Their 2nd single was supposedly from a movie starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Van Der Beek, in which one of them was deaf and they fall in love and blahblahblah; the title of the song was “Don’t Talk to the Hand (Baby Talk to the Heart).” I used to have all of the appearances on VHS but they got thrown away long ago, and I have SCOURED the internet for videos and have never found any. So you’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that it was hilarious/awesome.

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  55. josie and the pusssycats! i loved the songs in that film. they were so catchy. zack attack and “friends forever”, i loved that the hell out of that corny song! also mentioned upthread, i LOVED the wonders in “that thing you do”. and stillwater in “almost famous” seriously, that was music made well enough for a real band. i wish they had made the list.

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  57. Who remembers that show The Heights, starring Jamie Walters aka Donna’s abusive boyfriend from 90210? I loved that song “How Do You Talk to an Angel?” (In my defense, I was like 12.)

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  59. Although I am pleased by the inclusion of “The Blues Brothers” and “Wyld Stallyns” my queer heart is saddened by the lack of “Mystik Spiral”. I actually made myself some Mystik Spiral merchh, and will be forever upset that they never released a demo. Or finished a song. Or changed their name.

    Other Fictional bands I love include:
    Shallow Gravy – The Venture Bros
    Dethklok – Metalocalypse
    The Weird Sisters – Harry Potter
    Bad Luck – Gravitation
    Infant Sorrow (and Jackie Q) – Get Him to the Greek
    Hedwig and the Angry Inch
    Dr.Teeth and The Electric Mayhem – The Muppets

    You Queers have good taste in (fake) music.

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  61. Whatever that band from Welcome to The Dollhouse was. I can’t remember the name. However, I do remember making the connection between The L Word and that movie. weeeiirrdd.

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  63. just so everyone knows, I’m really upset because after reading this I attempted to buy Zack Attack – Friends Forever on Amazon.com, because i think I need to sing along to it in my car every day forever – however it is only available on the soundtrack, which is no longer in production, and is selling on Amazon used starting at $33 usd, and $119 usd Brand new.

    what a travesty. thats just too much money.

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  68. SHILOH PANIC

    no for real I am copyrighting this because I invented it

    Also last year we came up with Constance and the Alternaproms, though that was pretty topical at the time and may be a bit too obscure now

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  69. I can’t believe I only just now thought of this. But, Radiskull& Devil Doll!!!!! Technically it’s an AMAZING webcartoon, but there’s songs in all 8 episodes that were made. The animation isn’t the best(it was the late 90’s what can you expect) but the creativeness in it is worth it.

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  71. Whether I’m showing my age or (lack of) maturity….my vote has to go to Dethklok from the cartoon Metalocalypse. CDs, and even real life tribute bands abound. <3 me some metal.

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