The music quiz of the year: from Lil Nas X’s shoes to Adele’s big comeback

1. 

   Before Glastonbury was officially cancelled, which 90s pop star claimed they knew it was off this year?

   1. Steps’ Lisa Scott-Lee

   2. Spice Girls’ Mel B

   3. All Saints’ Shaznay Lewis

   4. Take That’s Mark Owen

2. 

   In March, the Dutch engineer Lou Ottens died aged 94. Which physical audio format did he invent?

   1. MiniDisc

   2. CD

   3. Cassette tape

   4. Bluetooth speaker

3. 

   Spoilsports Nike sued Lil Nas X collaborator MSCHF in March, and blocked it from selling his “Satan Shoes”, made from modified Air Max 97s. What offending ingredient did they contain?

   1. Human blood

   2. Absinthe

   3. Black nail varnish

   4. Holy water

4. Which famous rock heritage site was named among the Top 10 most at-risk British buildings of the 20th century?

   1. John Lennon’s childhood home, Liverpool

   2. Salford Lads Club

   3. Abbey Road studios, London

   4. Oasis leisure centre, Swindon

5. 

   Adele named her record-breaking comeback single Easy on Me. Who was she asking to give her a break?

   1. Her personal trainer

   2. Her husband and young son

   3. The paparazzi

   4. Pop rival Ed Sheeran

6. 

   The Italian rock band Måneskin won the 65th Eurovision song contest with the song Zitti e Buoni. What’s the English translation of the title?

   1. Pasta Is Great

   2. Spotty But Beautiful

   3. My Beautiful City

   4. Shut Up and Behave

7. Winston Marshall, guitarist and banjoist with Mumford & Sons, quit the band after attracting controversy for doing what?

   1. Refusing to wear his little waistcoat onstage

   2. Committing lèse-majesté

   3. Endorsing a book by a rightwing author

   4. Being caught on camera slagging off the band’s back catalogue

8. 

   Which British rocker defended Olivia Rodrigo after the teenage singer was accused of ripping off him – as well as Paramore, Hole and Taylor Swift – on her debut album?

   1. Noel Gallagher

   2. Elvis Costello

   3. Ian Brown

   4. Chris Difford

9. 

   Kanye West was granted permission to legally change his name. What’s his new sobriquet?

   1. K Wizzle

   2. Lil Kanye

   3. Ye

   4. Yeezus

10. 

    Nicki Minaj caused an international incident when she claimed that the Covid-19 vaccine had caused a Trinidadian acquaintance’s testicles to swell up. What were the consequences of this alleged tumescence?

    1. A cancelled wedding

    2. A burst testicle

    3. Extreme chafing

    4. He was fired

Solutions

1:B - Mel B made the claims on BBC Radio 5 Live, prompting the festival’s co-organiser Emily Eavis to swiftly tweet that there was “no news this end”. Alas, 17 days later, it was to be bad news for Glasto lovers., 2:C - In 1963, the first tape was presented to the world at an electronics fair in Berlin with the tagline: “Smaller than a pack of cigarettes!” Ottens was also instrumental in developing the first CD., 3:A - Released as a tie-in with the single Montero (Call Me By Your Name), each pair of the shoes purportedly contained one drop of human blood., 4:D - Liam Gallagher renamed his fledgling band from the Rain to Oasis after he saw the space-age Swindon entertainment complex listed on an Inspiral Carpets tour poster. It has been slated for redevelopment and partial demolition., 5:B - Adele said her new album, 30, was written in part to explain her divorce to her son, Angelo, “and why I voluntarily chose to dismantle his entire life in the pursuit of my own happiness”., 6:D - The band said the song refers “to a cathartic anger, our anger transformed into something positive” which can inspire social change. It became the UK’s first Italian-language Top 20 hit in 29 years., 7:C - In March, Marshall called author Andy Ngo “a brave man” for writing the “important book” Unmasked. On quitting the band, he wrote: “I hope in distancing myself from them I am able to speak my mind without them suffering the consequences.”, 8:B - “It’s how rock’n’roll works,” said Costello, when asked about the similarities between Rodrigo’s song Brutal and his 1978 hit Pump It Up. “You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did.”, 9:C - Ye has officially attained mononym status, with no other first name or surname. He cited “personal reasons” as the basis for the change., 10:A - Minaj claimed “his girl called off the wedding”. Further, very real consequences abounded when the rapper’s claims were condemned by Chris Whitty, Trinidad and Tobago health officials and the White House.

Scores

1. 10 and above.

   So deeply immersed in music TikTok microtrends, you already know what 2025 will sound like.

2. 7 and above.

   Solid showing – we’ll put you on the reserve list for music news cover shifts.

3. 0 and above.

   You comment on every Guardian music article that music was better in the past. Rumbled.

4. 4 and above.

   No, Lil Nas X is not the name of Grimes and Elon Musk’s baby. Keep up.