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; Weclome Back | When "Email" is rolled over, Strong Bad is seen singing Dylan's song, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" before he falls through the clouds; the Freewheelin' Eh! Steve album cover is a reference to Bob Dylan's early album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. In addition, "Eh! Steve's Dream" is a reference to the Dylan song Bob Dylan's Dream. | 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." |
| 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 broke up. |
| 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. |
| The Furious Five | Homestarloween Party | Coach Z comments on the Furious Five, specifically either the original leader, Grandmaster Flash, or Flash's replacement, Grandmaster Melle Mel. | Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was a hip hop group comprised of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Kidd Creole, Cowboy, Scorpio/Mr. Ness and Rahiem. |
| House of Pain | A Jorb Well Done | At the beginning, to end the game, Coach Z says, "Pack it up, pack it in." The coach's line is a reference to lyrics from the band's song, "Jump Around". | House of Pain was an Irish-styled American hip-hop group who released three albums in the early to mid 90's before lead rapper Everlast decided to pursue his solo career again. The group is best known for its 1992 hit single "Jump Around". |
| 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. |
| Daft Punk | The Cheat Theme Song | The scene with the line "The Cheat is in the house" is reminiscent of the Daft Punk music video "One More Time." | Daft Punk is the collective name of Paris house musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. The duo is considered one of the most successful electronic music collaborations of all time, both in album sales and in critical acclaim. After Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France, other artists such as Air, Cassius and Dimitri from Paris began to receive a similar amount of attention. Daft Punk is also credited for producing songs that were considered essential in the French house scene. |
| Van Halen | The Cheat Theme Song; band names | When the lyric "Who's gonna start a rock and roll band?" is shown, it is accompanied by a "The Cheat" symbol that looks like the logo for this band; In "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. |
| OutKast | spring cleaning; Halloween Fairstival | At the end of "spring cleaning", Strong Bad speaks in lyrics from the band's song "So Fresh, So Clean". He says "I feel so fresh and so clean, clean..." He also says another of that song's lyrics at the very end: "Ain't nobody dope as me!"; At the end of "Halloween Fairstival", Coach Z thinks Pom Pom's Big Boy costume is actually Big Boi and he was considering going as the other half of the group, André 3000. | OutKast is a popular American Grammy award-winning hip hop duo based out of East Point, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Their original musical style was a mixture of Dirty South and G-Funk, but it quickly grew from there. Despite OutKast's commercial success, they have maintained an experimental approach in their music and are widely praised for their originality and artistic content. |
| Sex Pistols | sb_email 22 | Strong Bad's suggested email closing "Nevermind the Bullocks" refers to a lyric from the band's controversial album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, which, like this email, was banned in the U.K. | The Sex Pistols was an iconic and highly influential English punk rock band, formed in London in 1975. The band originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock (later replaced by Sid Vicious). Although their initial career lasted only three years and produced only four singles and one studio album, the Sex Pistols have been described by the BBC as "the definitive English punk rock band." The band is widely credited with initiating the punk movement in the U.K. and creating the first generation gap within rock and roll. |
| The Beatles | see The Beatles | see The Beatles | see The Beatles |
| Herbie Hancock | little animal (DVD version only) | On the DVD version of this email, during the Easter egg scene with Old-Timey Strong Bad, he says, "Dear feets. Stop. Don't fail me now. Stop." This is a reference to Hancock's disco album, Feets, Don't Fail Me Now. | Herbert Jeffrey Hancock is an award winning American jazz pianist and composer. Hancock is one of jazz music's most important and influential pianists and composers. He embraced elements of rock, funk, and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz. |
| Lionel Richie | 3 Wishes; Homestar Runner's Character Video | The "3 Wishes" intro is reference to a lyric to Richie's song, "Say You, Say Me"; "Lionel Richie" is one of the randomly-picked insults that Strong Bad calls Homestar during his character video. | Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr., professionally known as Lionel Richie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and occasional actor who has sold over fifty million records. |
| Iron Maiden | 3 Wishes | Strong Bad says that if he had horns, he would go on tour with a heavy metal band as their mascot and do battle with the lead singer, a reference to how the Iron Maiden mascot always fought with the band on stage. | Iron Maiden is a British heavy metal band from Leyton in the East End of London. The band were formed in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris, formerly a member of Gypsy's Kiss and Smiler. Iron Maiden are one of the most successful and influential bands in the heavy metal genre, having sold over 80 million albums worldwide. The band won the Ivor Novello Awards for international achievement in 2002. They were also inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk during their tour in the United States in 2005. |
| The Four Tops | sugarbob | Strong Bad says, "Sugarbob, funky bunch," a reference to The Four Tops' song, "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)". | The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet, who originated from Motown and whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, and showtunes. |
| Rick James | gimmicks | Strong Bad's intro song is a reference to James' song, "Super Freak". | Rick James was one of the most popular artists on the Motown label during the late 1970s and early 1980s. James was famous for his wild brand of funk music and his trademark braids, sporting them well before the style was popularized. As time went on, James was given the title of "The King of Punk-Funk". In later life, James's legal problems relating to drug abuse received much publicity. |
| AC/DC | Pumpkin Carve-nival; Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 7.0 | Homestar Runner and Strong Bad (disguised as Homestar) dress as the band's leader Angus Young; on the Easter egg of the answering machine, Homestar Back In Black and then comments on Angus' "schoolboy outfit". | 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Wu-Tang Clan | Pumpkin Carve-nival | The letter W in Coach Z's pumpkin entry is the symbol for the Wu-Tang Clan. | Wu-Tang Clan is a New York-based rap group, consisting of nine American rappers. Among its members are multi-platinum selling solo artists, multi-platinum record producers, Grammy winners, TV and film stars, screenwriters, product spokespersons, business owners and, most recently, major motion picture composers. The Clan featured nine MCs until the death of Ol' Dirty Bastard in 2004. One of the most critically and commercially successful hip hop groups of all time, Wu-Tang Clan shot to fame through their uncompromising brand of hardcore rap music. |
| Sonic Youth | comic; Cool Things | The "Teen Age Riot" single appears in the "comic" Easter egg; page title for "Cool Things" is taken from the lyrics for "Kool Thing". | New York-based Sonic Youth is considered one of the elder statesmen of indie rock. They formed in the early 1980s and built up a sizable following on independent record labels before finally signing to a major in the early 1990s. Of particular note is how the band melded punk rock with experimental instrumentation for a unique sound. |
| Mudhoney | comic; Sick Day | The single "Asshole" appears in the "comic" Easter egg; page title for "Sick Day" references the song "Here Comes The Sickness" | Mudhoney was one of the bands that at the core of the Seattle "grunge" scene in the late 1980s and 1990s. The band was known for their overcharged guitar sound which proved influential to other bands in the Seattle scene, such as Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam. |
| 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. |
| The Treacherous Three | 3 Times Halloween Funjob | Coach Z dresses as band member Kool Moe Dee. | The Treacherous Three, consisting of rappers Kool Moe Dee, Special K, L.A. Sunshine and DJ Easy Lee, was formed in the 1970s in the Bronx, New York, and was one of the pioneering old school hip hop groups. Theirs was also the first hip hop group to use guitars in the hip hop style of music. |
| El DeBarge | 3 Times Halloween Funjob | Homestar mistakes Strong Bad's costume as being El DeBarge. | Eldra Patrick DeBarge is an American R&B and soul falsetto singer, the focal point and lead singer of the DeBarge family group throughout the early 1980s. |
| Miami Sound Machine | 3 Times Halloween Funjob | Bubs mistakes Strong Bad's costume as being Miami Sound Machine. | Miami Sound Machine is a 1980s salsa band best known for their lead singer Gloria Estefan. |
| Terrence Trent D'Arby | 3 Times Halloween Funjob | Coach Z mistakes Strong Bad's costume as being Terrence Trent D'Arby. | Sananda Maitreya, most known by the stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer-songwriter. He is recognizable through his trademark voice resembling that of Sam Cooke, and the fact that, like such artists as Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren and Prince before him, he produces his own albums and plays most of the instruments. |
| The Cure | Fan Costume Commentary | In the final picture, Strong Bad claims the person dressed as Strong Sad to be a "dumpy Robert Smith". Smith is actually the lead singer and front man of The Cure. In addition, Strong Sad has a poster for the band's album Boy's Don't Cry on his wall. | The Cure are an English rock band that formed in Crawley, Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several lineup changes, with frontman, guitarist and main songwriter Robert Smith — known for his iconic wild hair, pale complexion, smudged lipstick and frequently gloomy and introspective lyrics — the only constant member. The members of The Cure were barely out of their teens when they first started releasing music in the late 1970s. |
| Gordon Lightfoot | army | When Strong Bad refuses to join Homestar's army, the latter threatens the former, "We'll see if those trees you're always hugging save you when Gordon Lightfoot's creeping round your back stair," referencing the song "Sundown". | Gordon Lightfoot is a Canadian folk singer who had his biggest international success in the 1970s with songs like "If You Could Read My Mind", "Sundown", and "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald". |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Willie Nelson | Halloween Fairstival | Marzipan dresses as Willie Nelson. | Willie Nelson is a legendary country music artist (and hippie) associated with the "outlaw country" movement of the 1970s and the Farm Aid project of 1985. |
| Tupac | Halloween Fairstival | Coach Z dresses as 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. |
| Mötley Crüe | Halloween Fairstival | Homestar's jars of witches' brüe is a reference to the pronunciation of the band's word "Crüe" instead "Crew". It also features a heavy metal umlaut done in the band's style. | Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Bass guitarist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee and lead guitarist Mick Mars have been with the band for its entire history, and for almost all of it they were joined by vocalist Vince Neil. |
| Devo | Halloween Potion-ma-jig | Strong Sad dresses as a member of Devo. | Devo is 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. |
| Pete Townshend | Weclome Back | Marzipan almost smashes Carol in the "Cool Tapes" scene, which is what Townshend made a habit of onstage. | Pete Townshend, is an award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Townshend made his name as the guitarist and principal songwriter for rock band The Who. His career with them spans more than 40 years, during which time the band grew to be considered one of the greatest and most influential rock bands of all time, in addition to being "possibly the greatest live band ever." |
| Queen Latifah | Happy Hallow-day | Coach Z dresses as 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. |
| M.I.A. | Happy Hallow-day | On the Toons menu, the description of this toon is "Ween night is M.I.A. Galang galang." Galang is the most famous single by M.I.A. | Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam is a British vocalist, songwriter, composer, record producer and visual artist of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. She is best known by her stage name, M.I.A.. Her music style contains elements of grime, hip-hop, ragga, dancehall and electro. |
| Bob Marley | Happy Hallow-day | Marzipan says, "We be jammin'!" This is a lyric sung by Marley in his song, "Jammin'". | Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley OM was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist, and activist. He is the most widely known performer of reggae music. A faithful Rastafari, Marley is regarded by many as a prophet of the religion. Marley is best known for his reggae songs, which include the hits, "I Shot the Sheriff", "No Woman, No Cry", "Three Little Birds", "Exodus", "Could You Be Loved", "Jammin'", "Redemption Song" and "One Love". His posthumous compilation album Legend is the best-selling reggae album ever, with sales of more than 12 million copies. |
