80's Trivia Questions

Your source for weekly 80's trivia questions. You will find 80s trivia questions ranging from clothing and hair to TV and movies and, of course, 80's music. If you think you have the answer, post it in the comments section.

80th Annual Academy Awards Trivia

The 80th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony was broadcast this past Sunday, and although much has been made about the low ratings, the Oscars are still the pinnacle of the entertainment industry's awards shows. Of course, we're only to eager to scan the nominations/winners list for anything 80's related that can inspire some trivia.

This year its easy: the Oscar for Best Picture went to "No Country For Old Men," along with the Oscars for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. "No Country For Old Men" is a film by Joel and Ethan Coen, and is the latest inclusion in an influential and acclaimed body of work that the brothers have been responsible for both writing and directing over the last 24 years. Some of their best works include "Fargo" (which also won an Oscar for Best Screenplay), "The Big Lebowski," "Barton Fink," and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Here's where the 80's connection comes in: The Coen Brothers debut feature film came out in 1984. What was the title?

Bonus Question: The 50th Annual Grammy Awards hit the airwaves a couple of weeks ago, and there's a few names from the 80's on their nominations/winners list as well. Some of the artists on the Grammies list who got their start in the 80's include Bon Jovi, The Beastie Boys, Sly & Robbie, Suzanne Vega, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Brave Combo, Metallica, King Diamond, Slayer, and Bjork. It's almost a foregone conclusion that U2 will show up on the list somewhere (this year was no exception), and both Prince and Madonna scored Grammies (Madonna's was way down the list, "Best Longform Video," but its there). And then there was the numerous artists who were around before the 80's, but had their biggest hits in the 80's. This group includes Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Patti Austin, and the winner for Album Of The Year, Herbie Hancock.

Hancock has had a long history in the jazz world, but has also received recognition (as well as some criticism) for lending his considerable talent to other genres. The song "Rockit" is probably the best example, a synth heavy dance track that became the signature tune of the break dance scene. The video was all over MTV, and won Best Video at the first MTV awards. And the song won Herbie Hancock his first Grammy Award. Hancock performed a synth medly that included "Rockit" at the 1985 Grammy awards ceremony with three other noted keyboardists. Who were they?

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1 Comments:

At April 07, 2008, Blogger Bill Cook said...

The answer to the Trivia Question for (The Coen Brothers' debut feature film came out in 1984. What was the title?) was "Blood Simple."

The answer to the Bonus Question (Herbie Hancock performed a synth medley that included "Rockit" at the 1985 Grammy awards ceremony with three other noted keyboardists. Who were they?) was Stevie Wonder, Thomas Dolby, and Howard Jones.

 

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