The Greatest Fictional Bands of All Time

by Matt B

In reverse order.

10) Wyld Stallyns (Bill S. Preston, Esq., and Ted “Theodore” Logan)

9) The Soggy Bottom Boys (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

8 ) The Monkees (The Monkees)

7) The Commitments (The Commitments)

6) Bleeding Gums Murphy (The Simpsons)

5) Mitch & Mickey (A Mighty Wind)

4) Stillwater (Almost Famous)

3)The Blues Brothers (The Blues Brothers) (I saw it last week.)

2) Dewey Cox (Walk Hard)

1) Spinal Tap (This Is Spinal Tap)

Also Considered: Jem and the Holograms; Hedwig and the Angry Inch; Zack Attack; Jimmy Thudpucker; Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem; Johnny Fontane; Barry Jive and His Uptown Five; Josie and the Pussycats; The Rutles; The School of Rock.

Criteria:

1)The band must have been brought into existence for the purposes of a fictional narrative, not as a recording gimmick. Goodbye, Sgt. Pepper, Gorillaz, and Alvin and the Chipmunks (1958’s Let’s All Sing with the Chipmunks predated the TV show). The Monkees, however, squeak through; they didn’t tour until the show had been on for a year.

2)The band will be judged partly upon the breadth and quality of its fake music. This benefits Dewey Cox; it hurts Wyld Stallyns (whose “In Time,” however, does rock (courtesy of Robbie Robb)).

3)However, simple awesomeness can fill such a gap. This benefits Wyld Stallyns and Barry Jive and His Uptown Five; it hurts Josie and the Pussycats.

29 Comments

  1. Partridge Family? That band the Brady Bunch was in? OK, I didn’t like any of them either.

    But how about Billy and the Boingers. (I looked and looked but couldn’t find a single image of the back cover which is a great sendup of Joshua Tree)

    Comment by Clark — December 26, 2007 @ 12:27 am

  2. Found one. Billy and the Boingers Bootleg

    Comment by Clark — December 26, 2007 @ 12:29 am

  3. BTW - how about the “band” from Pink Floyd’s The Wall?

    Comment by Clark — December 26, 2007 @ 12:30 am

  4. Mitch and Mickey are great.

    Comment by ed — December 26, 2007 @ 2:22 am

  5. Not one of the great ones yet but has potential based on the popularity of the show.

    Drive Shaft from Lost

    Comment by Jared — December 26, 2007 @ 9:59 am

  6. Missing (in no particular order):

    The Wonders — That Thing You Do
    Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar
    Stinky Wizzleteats — Ren and Stimpy
    Barry Jive & The Uptown Five — High Fidelity
    Billy Mack — Love Actually
    David Brent — The Office
    Eddie and the Cruisers
    Dr. Fünke’s 100% Natural Good Time Family Band Solution — Arrested Development
    Death Lurks — The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy

    Milli Vanilli

    Comment by Scudworth — December 26, 2007 @ 10:57 am

  7. Oh, and Larry Hardcore from Clone High.

    Comment by Scudworth — December 26, 2007 @ 11:05 am

  8. No love for the Banana Splits? Pebbles and Bam-Bam? Great list, though. I do think Dr. Funke’s 100% Natural Good Time Family Band Solution should be on the list.

    Comment by Supergenius — December 26, 2007 @ 11:11 am

  9. Crucifictorius

    Comment by John C. — December 26, 2007 @ 11:25 am

  10. Let’s not forget The Archies

    Comment by Geoff J — December 26, 2007 @ 1:50 pm

  11. I guess “The Shitty Beatles” from Wayne’s World doesn’t fit the criteria (except for #3), but I mention it here only for its sheer awesomeness of name.

    Comment by David J — December 26, 2007 @ 1:55 pm

  12. Banana Splits, if they count.

    Comment by Brian V — December 26, 2007 @ 4:30 pm

  13. More love for the Rutles, please.

    Comment by Last Lemming — December 26, 2007 @ 4:38 pm

  14. The Bugaloos.

    Comment by Susan M — December 26, 2007 @ 4:45 pm

  15. I don’t know if The Goodies counts. Since they were a real comedy troup.

    Comment by clark — December 26, 2007 @ 5:11 pm

  16. BTW - Eddie and the Cruisers is a good one. Very good album too. A movie that bombed when it came out but was one of the early successes of alternative media. (Then HBO and video tape)

    Comment by clark — December 26, 2007 @ 5:29 pm

  17. I find myself, perhaps inexplicably, taking umbrage at the placing of Stillwater at #4 on the list. Surely they deserve better. Not to disparage the comic stylings and genuine musical value of the Blues Brothers or Dewey Cox, but Stillwater seems a cut above.

    Seriously.

    I formally move to have them stricken from the list as now stands and to forthwith reconstitute said list with Stillwater occupying slot #2, squarely and appropriately behind the immortal offerings of Spinal Tap.

    Comment by Scudworth — December 26, 2007 @ 7:03 pm

  18. What do we do with these chaps?

    Comment by Scudworth — December 26, 2007 @ 7:08 pm

  19. Frozen Embryos (Jordan Catellano’s band on My So-Called Life — which totally screws Jared Leto’s chances of ever being taken seriously in his real band)

    Jesse and the Rippers (Uncle Jesse’s band on Full House — He later, of course, became a member of the Beach Boys both on and off the show)

    Comment by Jeremy — December 26, 2007 @ 10:20 pm

  20. Hmm. Only a couple of forehead-slapping I-can’t-believe-I-forgots, which is pretty good. Banana Splits, Dr Funke’s, and particularly Billy and the Boingers. But who to drop?

    I’d be open to flipping Stillwater with the Brothers, I think, but for 1)We don’t have a great sense of Stillwater’s music - nothing close to what Walk Hard gives us of the work of Dewey Cox. There’s only one extended performance in the theatrical cut of Almost Famous (Fever Dog). The Untitled edition of the DVD contains an extended concert scene, though. Perhaps that version of the band belongs higher. 2)The fictional universe of Almost Famous, poignantly, deems the band midlevel. Who am I to argue?

    Comment by Matt B — December 27, 2007 @ 2:06 am

  21. You forgot “Ruckus” from Elizabethtown, one of my favorite movies. If you mention Stillwater, you must mention Ruckus, because they were created by the same guy.

    Comment by MCQ — December 27, 2007 @ 3:22 am

  22. Geeze, how could I forget:

    Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains

    Breaking Glass

    Comment by Susan M — December 27, 2007 @ 10:07 am

  23. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, anybody? Of course, I’d put Blues Brothers first, as all of the band except the singers played with everyone important in the R&B world in real life.

    Comment by Sam B. — December 27, 2007 @ 12:32 pm

  24. (Oh, I see that was in the runners-up. Sorry. But Blues Brothers deserves top billing, nonetheless.)

    Comment by Sam B. — December 27, 2007 @ 12:33 pm

  25. I had the Billy and the Boingers album at some point. It came as a very floppy record in one of the Bloom County books. Probably still at my parent’s house on a bookshelf.

    Comment by a random John — December 27, 2007 @ 4:05 pm

  26. I remember that floppy little album. The song: “You Stink But I Love You” or something like that.

    Comment by danithew — December 27, 2007 @ 7:01 pm

  27. Billy and the Boingers have a myspace page, which I linked to in the Joshua Tree thread. It has both songs that were allegedly performed by the band. Here it is again.

    Comment by MCQ — December 27, 2007 @ 8:56 pm

  28. Does Sexual Chocolate, from Coming to America count?

    Comment by Kneigt — December 28, 2007 @ 11:31 am

  29. What about Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem from the Muppets? Didn’t they play with John Denver? What more could you want?

    Comment by Brock — December 28, 2007 @ 1:18 pm