Popular Music References

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Many real bands and popular music are referenced in the Homestar Runner body of work.

Band/Artist	Appearance(s)	Context	Identity
Bob Dylan	Main Page 6	When "Email" is rolled over, Strong Bad is seen singing Dylan's song, Knockin' On Heaven's Door before he falls through the clouds.	Bob Dylan is an American song celebrity who was a major figure in the field of popular music for 50 years. Much of Dylan's most recognized work dates from the 1960s, when he became an informal chronicler and a reluctant figurehead of American unrest.
The Fifth Dimension	Main Page 8	When "Toons" is rolled over, Strong Bad is seen in a hot-air balloon done in his likeness as he sings the band's song, Up, Up and Away.	The Fifth Dimension, also known as The 5th Dimension, is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire also includes R&B, soul, and jazz. The band was best-known during the late 1960s and early 1970s for popularizing the hits "Up, Up and Away" and "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In."
Death Cab for Cutie	Main Page 21, alternate universe	In both mentioned appearances (and when "Games" is rolled over on Main Page 21), the drum riff heard appeared about four years earlier in the beginning of Death Cab For Cutie's song "Photobooth." The version that appears here, however, is slower than the band's version and lacks the reverb that the other version has.	Death Cab For Cutie is an American indie pop rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band takes its name from a satirical song of the same name, performed by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band on their 1967 album Gorilla and in The Beatles' experimental movie, Magical Mystery Tour.
Nirvana	Homestarloween Party	Homestar Runner dresses as Kurt Cobain.	Nirvana was an American grunge rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain (whom Homestar portrays in Homstarloween Party) and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, with the longest-lasting being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990. Following Cobain's death in 1994, the band was ended.
Public Enemy	Homestarloween Party	Coach Z dresses as Flavor Flav, the comic relief member of this group.	Public Enemy, also known as PE, is a hip-hop group from Long Island, New York, known for their politically-charged lyrics, criticism of the media, and active interest in the concerns of the African-American community. Flavor Flav in particular also starred on VH1's reality TV show "The Surreal Life". In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Public Enemy #44 on their list of "The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time". They will be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Peter Frampton	making out, The Best Decemberween Ever, Strong Bad's Room Main Page	see Peter Frampton	see Peter Frampton
The Ramones	The House That Gave Sucky Treats	Marzipan dresses as Joey Ramone.	Joey and Johnny Ramone formed the legendary punk rock band, The Ramones, and were the only two who stayed with the band until its retirement.
Digital Underground	The House That Gave Sucky Treats	Coach Z dresses as Humpty Hump, the band's leader.	Eddie Humphrey AKA "Humpty Hump" AKA "Gregory Jacobs" AKA "Shock-G" was a member and the leader of the alternative rap group Digital Underground, located in Oakland, California. This group was known for outrageous costumes and live shows, its music's humorous tone, and an endless parade of identities from Humphrey in particular. Heavily influenced by the various funk bands of the 1970s, the band sampled their music frequently, becoming a defining element of west-coast rap. Their status owes much to their spaced-out image, which lay in contrast to most other West Coast gangster rap acts.
Van Halen	band names	Strong Bad suggests this as a possible name for the email sender's band.	Van Halen is an American rock band from California, originating in 1972. The band's popularity was a runaway success and it survived until the band's lineup's infamous destabilization in the 1990s. Furthermore, in addition to being recognized for artistic contributions and success, the band is known for the drama surrounding its lead singer spot.
Dokken	band names	Strong Bad also suggests this as a possible name for the email sender's band.	Dokken is an American metal band, formed in 1976. It was a classic metal band from its era. Although their image was somewhat "glam," their music was traditionally heavy with technical expertise, and the band relied much less on a "glam" image than later glam metal bands such as Poison and Cinderella, focusing more on the musical aspect. Still, they failed to achieve the same commercial success as other glam metal bands of the day.
Enuff Z'nuff	band names	Again, Strong Bad mentions this as a possibility for a name for the email sender's band.	Enuff Z'nuff is an American rock band from Blue Island, Illinois. They had several influences on notable bands from the 1960s and '70s. Formed in 1984, the band soon grew a strong local following. By the following year, they had recorded their first demo songs, many of which would be released only much later in their careers.
Motörhead	band names	At the end, Strong Bad announces that on the next email, his guests stars would include the band's leader, Lemmy Kilmister.	Motörhead is a Grammy Award-winning British heavy metal band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, who remains the sole constant member. Motörhead had particular success in the 1980s with successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart. While the band is typically classified as heavy metal, speed metal or thrash metal; Lemmy dislikes such labels, preferring to describe the band's music simply as "rock and roll".
Krokus	band names	At the end, Strong Bad announces that on the next email, his guests stars would include the entire band.	Krokus is a Swiss hard rock/heavy metal band, founded in Solothurn in 1974 by Chris von Rohr, bassist (and original lead vocalist) and guitarist Tommy Kiefer. Originally playing the bar circuit with hit cover versions, they changed to metal because the rise of bands like AC/DC and Iron Maiden made them realize that the genre was catching up with people. The change was emphasized by Marc Storace joining the band as front-man. They enjoyed huge popularity in the 1980s in Europe and the USA through touring, MTV and videos.
TLC	Pumpkin Carve-nival	Marzipan dresses as Left-Eye Lopes.	Lopes was a member of TLC, an Atlanta-based R&B group, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Originally known as "2nd Nature", the group was formed in 1991 by Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and Crystal Jones. The band was renamed TLC while signing to a record company via a production deal and one of the band members was replaced. TLC sold over 33 million albums worldwide and 9 million singles, has been awarded four Grammy Awards and released four multi-platinum-selling albums.
AC/DC	Pumpkin Carve-nival, Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 7.0	Homestar Runner and Strong Bad (disguised as Homestar) dress as Angus Young.	AC/DC is a hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. The band is considered a pioneer of heavy metal, alongside bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.
Kid 'n Play	Pumpkin Carve-nival	Coach Z dresses as Kid from Kid 'n' Play.	Christopher "Kid" Reid was a member of the late 80s hiphop duo Kid-n-Play, who were one of the first rap groups to become kid-friendly. They also had a Saturday morning cartoon show and starred in the House Party series of movies. Besides their successful musical careers, Kid 'n Play are also notable for branching out into acting.
Talking Heads	3 Times Halloween Funjob	Strong Sad dresses as the band's leader David Byrne.	Talking Heads is a new wave band that got its start in the late 1970s, distinguishable from other bands of this type due to their lyrical and instrumental styles, plus Byrne's vocals emphasizing tense energy. In 2002, the band was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.
Guns N' Roses	3 Times Halloween Funjob	Homsar dresses as Slash, a former member of the band who later formed his own band, Slash's Snakepit.	Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in 1985. It had a musical style and bad-boy rock image that created a new epoch in the genres of hard rock and heavy metal. After a few years, however, culture clashes between the band members ended the original lineup. Today, the only surviving band member of the present-day band lineup is frontman Axl Rose.
Kool Moe Dee	3 Times Halloween Funjob	Coach Z dresses as the rapper Kool Moe Dee.	Kool Moe Dee or 'Mohandas Dewese' was a member of one of the pioneering old school hip hop groups of all time, The Treacherous Three, from the late 1970s to mid 1980s. This influential 'old-school rapper' released his first album in 1986. He has not released an album since 1994's "Interlude". In publicity photos, he always wore the cylindrical leather hat that Coach Z did not wear.
David Bowie	Halloween Fairstival	Strong Sad dresses as David Bowie, more specifically, as he appears on the cover of his album Aladdin Sane.	David Bowie is a British rock and roll musician, actor, and artist who has had a profound influence on rock and roll from the 1960s to the present. He is best known and regarded for his work with glam and experimentalism in the 1970s, although his commercial success was limited, and in the 1980s, Bowie had great success in releasing his music and made an unabashed bid for commercial success.
Tupac	Halloween Fairstival	Coach Z dresses as the rapper Tupac.	Tupac Shakur, also known as Pac, 2Pac, and Makaveli, was a best-selling rap artist. His first album, 2Pacalypse Now, was released in 1991. Near the end of his career and life, he was controversially sentenced to jail for four and a half years for sexual abuse. He was murdered in 1996 at the age of 25.
Devo	Halloween Potion-ma-jig	Strong Sad dresses as a member of the new age band, Devo.	Devo was a quirky American New Wave/Punk band. Their biggest hit was 1980's "Whip It", although are well known for other songs like "Girl U Want" and "Jocko Homo". Strong Sad is dressed as the band members dressed for the Freedom of Choice album cover and the "Whip It" music video, although they wore grey elephant skin jackets. His glasses indicate that he is probably Mark Mothersbaugh, or (less likely) Alan Myers.
Queen Latifah	Happy Hallow-day	Coach Z dresses as the female rapper Queen Latifah.	Queen Latifah (born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970) is a Grammy-winning American rapper/singer and Academy Award-nominated actress. Coach Z's costume specifically depicts Queen Latifah as she appeared as a guest on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which she played an actress who hired Hilary as an assistant and who took a liking to Will.

See Also

• They Might Be Giants
• Heavy Metal
• Hip Hop
• Professional Athlete References