Misc Monday, as a concept, was an avenue for our writers to write about anything, without the constraints of our “indie music” platform. I am now writing our second issue of Misc Monday, and I must be honest, I haven’t flown too far astray. It is music related, without question. In a way, it’s also specifically indie. But I think it’s insincere enough to warrant it’s place under this category. So here it is… 

The best Fictional Bands of all time

Let’s start with two honourable mentions. These have caused some internal debate, and I hope this isn’t viewed with too much controversy. 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS & TENACIOUS D.

Now, I did go back and forth in the inclusion of these two for a very real reason. Both of these acts, starting as a biproduct of a cinematic piece of fiction, have absolutely bridged the gap between art and reality to become very real bands. Flight of the Conchords, before both members experienced rapid growth in their fame, have toured the world performing songs from their HBO series, as well as other original pieces tailored for the stage. Tenacious D, of course, have seen Jack Black shoot to global superstar status – but also achieved multiple Headline tours of Festivals across the world. 

Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny is a beautiful film, balancing the hilarity of two grown men throwing themselves head-first into the world of independent music. They struggle financially to support their ventures, experience creative differences as musicians while balancing different egos, and of course, fight Dave Grohl dressed as the devil outside a bar.

Flight of the Conchords would fight hard on this list for the number one spot, not only because I love the music they create across all sorts of genres to service the moment, but also because of the very genuine and raw insight into the running of a small act. It’s a hilarious show, and every episode seems to have laugh out loud moments, but when you watch it as a musician, you’re constantly reminded of your own journey. There’s a funny balance between professionalism and taking yourself too seriously, which this show captures perfectly. From band meetings consisting of the two members and their manager, to their “groupies” being a single married woman with an almost parasocial relationship, only blurred by the band’s accessibility as an up-and-coming act, there’s a great truth behind the titular band’s constant attempts to gain success falling short. Anyone frequenting IAAS Music that hasn’t watched all of Flight of The Conchords, then I am very pleased to be the one who gets to recommend it to you! 

#03 – Mouse Rat / Scarecrow Boat / Fiveskin etc [Parks and Recreation]

There will be a running theme for me, where I find a particularly strong resonation in shows and films that offer an honest look at being a musician, particularly with limited successes. Mouse Rat, fronted by Andy Dwyer (played by Chris Pratt) is again a band struggling to be successful. Chris Pratt’s appearance in Parks and Recreation was only supposed to be a guest spot for the first season; however the dynamic of the show was very reliant on his appearances, and thankfully he was kept on for the rest of the shows running. 

There’s an unspoken struggle of being a small band that I know I’ve spoken about on the Indie and a Show Podcast (link to TV page?). In fact, Ian from The Hiker has discussed it many times too. Finding band mates and creating a consistent brand for your project is very difficult! It’s a great running joke throughout the show, where the lead singer ‘Andy’ has members dropping out and changes the name of the band over 30 times. 

Throughout the show, you root for the band massively. Every time they feature it’s a key part of the narrative, and you get these snippets of success, where they may play local festivals and events, which for me were incredibly relatable to the peaks of running an indie band. Despite being written with a clear focus on comedy and simple observational lyrics, there’s no escaping that the Mouse Rat songs are actually brilliant too. 

#02 – School of Rock

As a person with almost 20 years of experience involved in Indie Music, I can state with a high level of certainty that it doesn’t happen without the release of Jack Black’s School of Rock. It changed everything. Obviously, a huge part of that was about musical creation and collaboration. But from a much deeper level, School of Rock was a beautiful message for 8-year-old Rob that was greatly required. It doesn’t matter who you are, music will unite you with others and let you be anyone or anything you want. And honestly, it IS that deep. A failing rockstar played by Jack Black takes a substitute teacher role in a private school and uses his classroom to launch his latest musical project. 

The bands’ line up is completely non-discriminatory. It doesn’t matter if you’re a bit nerdy or have issues with your body confidence – you can contribute however you want to the band and nothing else matters. You watch the students gain not only a massive skill but also grow away from a fairly prescriptive architecture designed by their private educational setting and be able to express themselves how they want.

Now, I must state… Kidnapping children isn’t cool. But the school and parents losing their stress and angst due to the epic reveal of their rock band’s music was an awesome end. 

Also, if you haven’t seen the film, how on earth haven’t you seen the film? 

#01 – Jeffster [from TV Show ‘Chuck’] 

From a place of transparency as journalists, I must state, I am extremely biased here. Chuck is a show about a nerdy underachiever who ends up with a database of government secrets encrypted in his bed. I know. It sounds absolutely stupid. But beyond the slightly goofy premise, you end up with a cult classic that uses humour, nerdy references and phenomenal writing to create one of the most compelling shows I’ve ever watched. It’s a spy action/comedy, and I feel it changed me to my very core. 

One of my favourite things the show does is take very normal and realistic humans and empower them in this fictional world of espionage. This is where Jeffster come into play. Two grown men working a minimum wage retail job feature throughout the show, typically as comedic relief, but their character development is driven by their extra-curricular activities in their electronic duo called Jeffster. 

As I said at the top, I am very biased. But honestly, there’s something so great about Jeffster throughout Chuck. They have almost a blind confidence in their project, which you can argue was misplaced, particularly at the start. However, throughout the show they have these moments where their music is so significant to the plot that all their efforts get great reward. 

Now, they play only covers, so I cannot comment on their songwriting, and this possibly should have impacted their ranking on this list. But again there’s a realism in their endeavours and they grow from an annoying duet into two powerful musicians, occasionally saving the day. To pay my respect, I even covered a song they had a great rendition of in my busking session coming soon on IAAS.Tv – so keep an eye out and let me know who did it best! 

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