Quiz recap: The Countdown of the Top 40 Music Trivia Questions of All Time

And that's how it's done: In one of the flat-out most fun Big Quiz Thing events ever, last night at Brooklyn's Littlefield we started at 40 and went all the way to No. 1 with the very best of the very best of music trivia queries (as chosen by—and written by—me, naturally). But what everyone who wasn't there has been asking me is what the No. 1 question was. And it is…well, I apologize, but I shan't reveal it here, at least not now. The event was such a success that we're angling to replicate it in other BQT cities. Maybe if you ask me nicely I'll think about it.

In the meantime, enjoy this Pop Music Thesaurus example from last night, why don't you.

Lest we forget, which is impossible, punctuating the quiz action, and amping up the raucousness factor, was the magic of Rock Star Karaoke. Our goal for the evening was the make the whole evening a little more of a party than a typical BQT event, and damn, did we succeed. From Incontinental Congressman Michael burning Littlefield down with "House of the Rising Sun"…

…to BQT and RSK newbie Hernease maxing out the drama with her rendition of "Pride (In the Name of Love)"…

…to birthday girl Miriam and her team of Tinas blasting out an epic "Proud Mary"…

 

…plus everyone else whom I neglected to photograph. Brav to the mother-effin' O. Will we team with RSK again? Time will tell. But probably, if it means another super-enthusiastic crowd like we had last night, with tons of great Smart-Ass Points (e.g., the three things that Joni Mitchell really doesn't know at all in "Both Sides Now" are "history, biology, and science book"; ironically, the song Barry Manilow sang but did not write was "Barry's Song [Movin' Out]).

Big props to BQT regulars Incontinental Congress, who not only karaoked and danced their hearts out, they also claimed victory with an absolutely perfect score. But just as many props to I Pity the April Fool, who missed perfection by a mere half point! A debated half point at that, though I maintain that my interpretation was correct. The question was (yeah, giving this one away), "At the end of 'We Didn’t Start the Fire,' what kind of wars could Billy Joel not take anymore?" The answer: Rock & roller cola wars (see this website for the online consensus—and my—interpretation of the lyric). Thus, I gave just "cola" a half point. Disagree? Fair enough, but hey, it's all a game.

Our nation's foremost historian

Besides, we shared the prize love last night, and all the top teams got goodies from our sponsors (plus CDs for every single team in attendance). Thanks again to Heathers the Musical, La Soirée, The Rubin Museum of Art, I Remember Mama, The Accidental Pervert, Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man, Stomp, The Women's Project Theater, and of course, Littlefield. Stay tuned for big news about the prize partners for our next NYC show, May 6 at SubCulture. See you all there, rock stars.