Hey all, Steve here.
This is our first official Pop Culture Pros Top 10 list! Yes, we have the top 10 Seth Rogan flicks of all-time, but that was done before this site was launched so it doesn’t count! Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, we can move on to this list! For this one, we have 8 different lists from 8 different Pros from the site. Kyle typically handles the write-ups for the lists, so he will know better than I would, but it sure seems as though there were a TON of different bands listed in this one. That being said, let’s get to the PCP Top 10 – make sure to let us know what you think and what your list looks like! As always, first our individual lists and then the consensus countdown below!
10. Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes
What a way to get this list kicked-off! If we did this list a year ago, I would have had absolutely no idea what this nonsense was. Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes was a seven-member band that performed at Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina on the planet Tatooine around the time of the Battle of Yavin. The band was known to play the song “Mad About Me. Worthy of the top 10? Sure.
9. Jackson Maine
Jackson Maine’s (and the band that plays behind him) story was told in the latest (4th) version of A Star Is Born. Played by Bradley Cooper, Maine’s charm (and alcoholism) shines through on the big screen alongside the great Lady Gaga. Great movie, great fake band, great soundtrack.
8. Sex Bob-Omb
Sex Bob-omb is Scott’s indie rock band from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. The band was comprised of Stephen Stills (vocals and guitar), Scott Pilgrim (bass), Kim Pine (drums), and Young Neil (biggest fan and understudy bass). They’re the band that’s here to make you “think about death and get sad and stuff,” but they also low-key rock.
7. Marvin Berry and the Starlighters
This band should be renamed Marty McFly and the Starlighters as Marty is the one that really entertained that high-school crowd! Does that make Marty the true pioneer of rock & roll? Hey, I can dig that. This was a great band that was playing during a critical point in what I consider one of the best movies ever.
6. The Barden Bellas
Ok, I will admit that even though I never had a desire to see Pitch Perfect, I had a lot of fun watching it. The Bellas brought instrument-less art to the big screen in 2012 and then outdid themselves in coming back for a sequel in 2015, which holds the record for highest-grossing musical comedy of all-time. #TeamBellas
5. The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers were born on Saturday Night Live about 40 years ago! They’re on a mission from God, and they have the perfect soundtrack to accompany them. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd play Jake and Elwood Blues, The Blues Brothers. As the two brothers try to save the orphanage they were raised in, the movie features legendary blues artists like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. It helps that The Blues Brothers themselves can also bring the house down. The fellas recorded many more songs than are in the movie, so check it out if you enjoyed this one. RIP John Belushi.
4. The Dan Band
The Dan Band has been around the block if ya know what I’m sayin’. You may have caught them in Old School, The Terminal, Starsky & Hutch, or The Hangover. If you saw Old School – and SHAME on you if you haven’t then you’ve never heard Total Eclipse of the Heart the same way ever again. Can you believe I almost forgot about this one? Credit to Ed and Jader for the reminder!
3. Steel Dragon
We are down to the final 3! In the mid-1980s, Pittsburgh resident Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) is a fanatical admirer of a heavy metal band called Steel Dragon. By day, Chris is a photocopier technician and by night, he is the lead singer of a Steel Dragon tribute band called Blood Pollution (the name is taken from a Steel Dragon song). Internal struggles among the actual Steel Dragon band members culminate with the firing of their lead singer, Bobby Beers (Jason Flemyng), and the rest, as they say, is history.
2. Spinal Tap
Ohhhh Spinal Tap – so close! Spinal Tap didn’t invent the concept of the parody band — but for many, they’re the still standard. While we all laughed at their funny song titles and lyrics — “My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo / I love to sink her with my pink torpedo” — dozens of famous musicians have been frank about just how accurately the movie depicts the life of a career musician. I was today years old when I learned that fact. Even after you’ve turned 40, you can still learn something new every day!
1.Stillwater
Oh, my! Coming in at #1 is Stillwater from Almost Famous! Cameron Crowe wrote and directed Almost Famous, basing it partly on his own experiences as a young, aspiring music journalist who spent three weeks on the road with The Allman Brothers Band to write Rolling Stone’s December 1973 cover story. With Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready on lead guitar, the band was well set up for all of their fake success.
Well, how much fun was that? I had a blast and whether you want to admit it or not you did, too! As I said earlier, let us know what you think we screwed up or what we got right! We will be back soon with another PCP Top 10! Love you all!