He Said She Said: Our 10 Favorite Fictional Bands

What? No Sexual Chocolate?

My original list was twice as long as this. There was only room for so many!

We Love The Swanky Modes.
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096223/)

Outstanding...I even owned the Rutles album. Thanks for not including Spinal Tap, but my personal list would include The Fabulous Stains (from the movie, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains") and Lenny and the Squigtones.

I am still kicking myself in the ass for getting rid of all my Jem tapes. I still have the dolls! But not the tapes. :(

The crunchiest Alice Cooper riffs come from The Riverbottom Nightmare Band in "Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas." They even had a spitting fish on stage and won the Frogtown Hollow Talent Jubilee with their self-titled theme song!

Sample lyrics:

We take what we want
We do anything that we wish
We got no respect
For animal birdy or fish

The grass does not grow
On the places where we stop and stand
River Bottom Nightmare Band

We know we're a mess
But I does not like to be clean
We don't brush our teeth
'Cause our toothache can help us stay mean

We don't wish to learn
But we hate what we don't understand
River Bottom

maybe it's just because i love assholes, a la ethan hawke, but reality bites' 'hey that's my bike' still gets to me. i mean they cover the femmes' "add it up"

awesome.

I'm partial to Steel Dragon from the 2001 movie, Rock Star.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202470/

Uhhhh. Hello? Free Credit Report Dot Com Band? You guys totally blew it.

Uh...

Stillwater? Remember that band from ALMOST FAMOUS? Yeah. Perfect amalgamation of actual bands of the 70s. Stillwater should not only be on the list, but at the top.

Uhm, Spinal Tap?

Yeah, we were trying to go with not the most obvious fictional band everyone first think of the moment you say "fake bands."

Andy — Craig called dibs on Stillwater.

My fav would have to be...
THE ONEDERS!

or

DuJour-

Just cause I slip in your backdoor girl that doesn't make me...hey!

Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Donald Faison (AKA Turk) and random dude as a boy band?? And they sing a song called BACKDOOR LOVER???

What is more awesome?

Oneders was my #11, seriously. I just realized that neither Craig nor I put any rap on our lists. How could I neglect "Straight Outta Lowcash"?

Citizen Dick from Singles. Pearl Jam plus Matt Dillon. They were awesome.

What about "Armada" from The Kids In The Hall? Or the Shitty Beatles, or the Jolly Green Giants (albeit band names from Wayne's World, clever or not... ;) ).

STILLWATER, Dingos ate my baby, the wonders,

I immediately thought of the Oneders and not to be forgotten is Hep Alien from the Gilmore Girls!

The Wild Stallions? - Bill & Ted's?
Fingerbang - South Park?
The Beets - Doug?
List can keep on growing.....

some of you youngin's may have to break out that google thingy on some of these:

the impossibles
the mosquitos
future villain band
dethklok
drimble wedge and the vegetations
the banana splits
the way outs
guy terrifico
haven hamilton
bad news
u2

What about The Pecan Sandies? They were responsible, albeit indirectly, for the classic, "Day Man".

I'm going to have to add The Exits from Boy Meets World even though they didn't actually play a song..... and whatever Uncle Jessie's former band was called on Full House

Dr Funke's 100 Natural Good Time Family Band Solution

I don't remember Bowie being in on the Rutles joke, but don't forget that George Harrison was in the joke too.

Jesse and the Rippers

The BEETS from Doug!!! Killer Tofu!

The Fabulous Stains

No StillWater from Almost Famous? Are you kidding me!?

Where is Steel Dragon? They are awesome, LONG LIVE ROCK N' Roll.

2Gether- that band from that MTV movie... glorious hits like "Calculus" and "Say it, don't spray it"

Classic Rock Bob--

You are a great American. I remember loving Emmit Otter's Jugband Xmas when I was a kid. The Riverbottom Nightmare Band with its spitting fish was an absolute classic! Thanks for bringing me down memory lane.

Hibbelton from Scrubs. Genius

Moveis:
The Wonders from That Thing You Do
Wyld Stalyon from the Bill and Ted films

TV:
Jessie and the Rippers from Full House
The band from California Dreams

Of course:
Spinal Tap!

With respect, I would submit that The Blues Brothers and The Lone Rangers (from Airheads) should be on this list.

What about Hard Core Logo?

Deathklok, Stillwater, what about the freaking Partridge Family?

Where's TENACIOUS D!!!!!

Where's The Dan Band....from Old School?

Hey, as long as we're in fictional bands, what about that one that actually won a Grammy: Milli Vanilli (or however they spelled it)?

Forgot the Wonders (Oneders) and The Commitments!

I loved The Soggy Bottom Boys from "O' Brother Where Art Thou?"

The Bill Nighy-fronted band Strange Fruit from "Still Crazy"…and let's not forget The Commitments! Best white Irish blues band ever to never exist!

Also, yeah, I don't remember Bowie being in "All You Need is Cash" (The Rutles) either, but Paul Simon sure was.

Bowie was in the "All You Need is Cash" sequel, "Can't Buy Me Lunch," released in 2002. He's interviewed about the Rutles' influence on his music.

Robofudd says:

With respect, I would submit that The Blues Brothers and The Lone Rangers (from Airheads) should be on this list.

I concur.

Tenacious D are a real band (duo).
School Of Rock are not.
How can you leave out, The Archies, Gorillaz, Spinal Tap, or The Monkees?
Before anyone tries The Archies, and Gorillaz are not real, their Animated (Cartoons) so they, The Monkees started out as actors portraying a band on a sit com.
Oh, and if you liked Headwig, then "This Is Spinal Tap" is up your alley.
One of The Funniest Movies Of All Time.

Booo....no "Dingoes at my Baby" from Buffy.

N.W.H from Fear of a Black Hat!

Sonic Death Monkey from High Fidelity.

Strange Fruit - "Still Crazy"
The Reggie Wanker Band (with Malcolm Mcdowell - doing his own vocals - as Reggie Wanker) - "Get Crazy". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjy3rr7J_yQ (Omits the reprise of "Hot Shot" that really makes the point, though...)
The Commitments
Jim McClain and the Stary Cats ("That'll Be the Day"/"Stardust") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_4e5VtKxKA
The Barbusters ("Light of Day") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTVCBU0zCCQ
Max Frost and the Troopers ("Wild in the Streets")

(Incidentally - what's wrong with the Muppet still you used as the column head? Watch the video; it has to do with the way that Muppets play guitar. Oh - and it's "Janis"...)

what about "the carrie nations" from "beyond the valley of the dolls"?

JEFFSTER on "Chuck"

The Commitments!

What about the original Star Wars Cantina Bith Band -- The Modal Nodes or even the Max Rebo Band!

One more vote for Strange Fruit from "Still Crazy". Bill Nighy rocks!

what about the soggy bottom boys...and of course the Tap! as in Spinal!

...And what about the Darlings on Andy Griffith? They were the Dillards in real life. I almost forgot Lancelot Link & the Evolution Revolution. ("What's your theory, Darwin?")

I have to go with the majority here...the lack of Stillwater, Spinal Tap and The Wonders is just shameful. Shameful, I tell you!

Your band from "Harvey Birdman" is really "The Chan Clan" from the old cartoon "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" - they could make this list too!

Seconding The Beets and the Commitments. Adding Jet Screamer from the Jetsons. Eep op ork, ah-ah.

Let me get this straight:

You. Forgot. The Commitments.

And the Blues Brothers.

And Spinal Tap?

What kind of list is this?!

You say obvious, I say essential. There is no good reason for omitting Spinal Tap.

I also love Dethklok, The River Bottom Nightmare Band, and the one nobody ever shows any love for...

Mystic Spiral, from Daria (They're thinking about changing their name). Trent even had his MS forearm tattoo. Come on, people!

richard —

Except the headline isn't "Top 10 Essential Fictional Bands," it's MY top 10 favorite fictional bands. Mine.

Oddly, no one has commented on He Said's faves. He's got all those bands the commenters are clamoring for here.

Billy and the Boingers. Hello?

The Lone Rangers from Airheads

"The Lone Rangers? Yeah, that's original. How can you be the Lone Rangers, there's THREE of you. You're not exactly lone." / "What's he talking about?" / "I don't know, you lost me."

Drive Shaft, Charlie's band from Lost?
"You all Everybody!"

Or Geronimo Jackson from Lost. They aren't seen but they had a viral song on itunes called Dharma Lady.

No love for Stillwater from Almost Famous? Shame on you.

Aggh. Knew i was forgetting someone i meant to mention - the Soggy Bottom Boys!

Then, out there in what we laughingly like to call Real Life - there was Dove, which opened for Devo on one tour ... which was Devo in suits and the like pretending to be a corporate band.

And Dr Hook and the Medicine Show used to dress up as a hippie band (think the cover of "Satanic Majesties", apparently), with Ray wearing a HUGE pair of shades to cover up his patch, to do the same.

Or, similarly, "Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers" (http://tinyurl.com/ybo9pn5) - Hot Rize in disguise.

Anybody spotted what's wrong with the column-head still yet?

Yay, Mystic Spiral!

The Zit Rememedy (or The Zits) from the original Degrassi TV series

Everybody wants something!

Lebowski's Autobahn, also known as the Nihilists, are missing...

No Lone Rangers??

No Orange Organics from Pugwall??

Thank you Bez - may i second your call for Hard Core Logo

Scrantonicity from The Office??

How about the Murph and the Magictones gig that that The Blues Brothers Band did in The Blues Brothers? The perfect lounge lizard group parody.

i second sexual chocolate and steel dragon is a must add

How about 'The Dregs Of Humanity' from the short lived sitcom 'It's Your Move'?

They were the ultimate fictional band, as they were meant to be fictional within the show!

Without the Partridge Family, this list is a joke.

Right on Mookie!

Banana Splits, Impossibles and Way-Outs rule!

I have the Ruttles' movie DVD and the soundtrack on CD, still play it occasionally. Hah!

I call mega-Shaningans on no Spinal Tap. WTF?

Sweetwater from Almost Famous.

Eddie and the Cruisers.

What about three times one minus one from Mr. Show?

I don't remember the name of the band, but the all monkey band from Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp was a good one.

Speaking of Mr Show, don't forget Titannica and Wicked Septor.

I was going to bitch about no Spinal Tap, but honestly the list is better for not including it. I see them as sort of the Citizen Kane of fake music, i.e. Real Official Serious Business Number One, and giving them the near-obligatory honors is just plain boring. More fun to hear about the less ubiquitous ones.

No Spinal Tap? DENIED!

Gulftastic, you and I are probably the only two people on Earth who even WATCHED "It's your move", let alone remember "The Dregs of Humanity" (WE ARE THE DREGS!!!!). That was my all time favorite episode of that series... not that there were many others aired. What did it last, like... 9 or 10 episodes? And Mike... At least someone else has taste in music. Eddie and the Cruisers deserve to be mentioned. I wish they'd re-release the soundtrack without the crappy backwards masking on "A Season in Hell: Fire Suite". One of the all time best straight rock soundtracks. That and Christine.

Brittanie:

Not to make a big deal or anything, but the reason I phrased my comment the way I did was because i read this comment of yours..

'Yeah, we were trying to go with not the most obvious fictional band everyone first think of the moment you say "fake bands."'

So, you know, i feel like you can't have your cake and eat it, too. Also, since you specifically referenced the great David St. Hubbins in your intro to this article, I'm skeptical about your alleged indifference toward The Tap.

I'm posting from a HELL HOLE!!!

(and really, otherwise it's a fine list. i like your site.)

Brittanie:

Not to make a big deal or anything, but the reason I phrased my comment the way I did was because i read this comment of yours..

'Yeah, we were trying to go with not the most obvious fictional band everyone first think of the moment you say "fake bands."'

So, you know, i feel like you can't have your cake and eat it, too. Also, since you specifically referenced the great David St. Hubbins in your intro to this article, I'm skeptical about your alleged indifference toward The Tap.

I'm posting from a HELL HOLE!!!

(and really, otherwise it's a fine list. i like your site.)

oh crap, it posted twice. sorry.

What about the Zack Attack?

Fictional bands favourite fictional band for the win:

Cap'n Geech and The Shrimp Shack Shooters!

There are definitely a LOT of gems left off this list! I second Stillwater, The Wonders, Jeffster, Scratonicity, and Zack Attack, but has everyone forgotten about Infant Sorrow from Forgetting Sarah Marshall? I mean, who doesn't want to be a Sorrow Sucker?

wyld stallyons :)

Seriously? No Stillwater? Ridiculous doesn't even describe it.

The band from Subway

Rogers and Clark

While I have a lot of favorite bands (The Wonders, California Dreams, Zack Attack) that were not included on this list, I absolutely cannot believe that SPINAL TAP was left out! Seriously, who made this list and why are Spinal Tap not at number one for them?? (or, at the very least, number five)

I was always a fan of the Beets from Doug.

KILLER TOFU!!!

Terrible list just terrible.....

The list is fine. But should be there more movie bands, instead of cartoon bands?

You all realize there is a whole other list of these right here, right?

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2009/12/he_said_she_said_our_favorite.php

How about "DEATHKLOCK"?

Desmond Manchester doesnt even play any fricking songs...they dont deserve to be on this list and I love TRT.

Dethklock, Spinal Tap not being on this list is dumb...

Naja, das muss ich mir sp