Rules stay plain. A song title appears. Four single-word band names sit beneath it. Only one is the real band. Decide without fuss, then check your answer. Keep the flow steady and the clicks honest.
Selection is balanced for replay. Decades and textures rotate so attention doesn’t stall, yet nothing leans on trivia deep cuts. Recognition is all you need; that is the point.
Set house rules if you want. Ten steady cards, short pause. Rotate seats between rounds for groups. End by sorting correct picks by decade, just for fun. Light lift, repeatable rhythm.
[B] Nickelback | Chad Kroeger wrote this anthem after his girlfriend left him, becoming their biggest hit and topping charts in eight countries simultaneously.
2/20
My Own Prison?
[C] Creed | Scott Stapp recorded vocals for this breakthrough single in just one take, launching their career from Florida dive bars to platinum status.
3/20
I Alone?
[D] Live | Ed Kowalczyk's spiritual awakening inspired these lyrics about finding inner peace, while the music video featured innovative stop-motion techniques for 1994.
4/20
Father of Mine?
[B] Everclear | Art Alexakis channeled childhood abandonment into this track, which surprisingly became a Father's Day radio staple despite its painful subject matter.
5/20
Sweet Emotion?
[A] Aerosmith | That iconic bass line uses a talk box effect, while Steven Tyler's lyrics secretly targeted their former manager's romantic interference.
6/20
Smells Like Teen Spirit?
[C] Nirvana | Kurt Cobain intended this as a joke about teen deodorant, never expecting it would accidentally revolutionize rock music forever.
7/20
Black Hole Sun?
[D] Soundgarden | Chris Cornell wrote this surreal masterpiece in fifteen minutes, inspired by a misheard news report about weather patterns.
8/20
Drops of Jupiter?
[A] Train | Pat Monahan penned these cosmic metaphors after his mother's death, imagining her exploring the universe beyond earthly constraints.
9/20
Dust In The Wind?
[C] Kansas | Kerry Livgren's wife inspired this existential acoustic ballad when she mentioned everything they owned would eventually mean nothing.
10/20
Don't Stop Believin'?
[B] Journey | Originally flopping in 1981, this anthem gained immortality through The Sopranos finale and countless karaoke nights worldwide.
11/20
Magic Carpet Ride?
[D] Steppenwolf | John Kay's psychedelic journey began with an actual Persian rug purchase that sparked this counterculture anthem's fantastical imagery.
12/20
Hanging by a Moment?
[A] Lifehouse | Jason Wade wrote this at seventeen about his future wife, creating 2001's most played radio song without realizing it.
13/20
White Room?
[B] Cream | Poet Pete Brown supplied these mysterious lyrics after waking up in an actual white room following a party blackout.
14/20
Invisible Touch?
[D] Genesis | Phil Collins embraced drum machines fully here, marking their complete transformation from progressive epics to infectious pop perfection.
15/20
Hot Blooded?
[C] Foreigner | Mick Jones deliberately crafted this as their sexiest song, using a metronome clicking throughout to create subliminal tension.
16/20
More Than a Feeling?
[A] Boston | Tom Scholz spent six years perfecting this in his basement studio, creating rock's most pristine production using homemade equipment.
17/20
Enter Sandman?
[B] Metallica | James Hetfield's riff about nightmares came from watching his child sleep, transforming metal into mainstream radio gold overnight.
18/20
Karma Police?
[C] Radiohead | Thom Yorke based these paranoid lyrics on an inside joke about band meetings where they'd arrest each other for minor infractions.
19/20
Come Sail Away?
[A] Styx | Dennis DeYoung tricked rock fans with a gentle piano ballad that explodes into spaceship prog rock halfway through.
20/20
Tell Me Something Good?
[D] Rufus | Stevie Wonder wrote and produced this funk masterpiece, introducing the talk box that would influence generations of musicians.