7 Awesome Fictional Rock Bands in Movies

Movies can have this incredible ability to share a 90 minute story of a person who isn’t real and completely inspire the viewer to live their life as this person. Who didn’t watch The Sandlot and came out not wanting to play baseball? Didn’t everyone want to be as cool and daring as James Bond after watching one of his movies? Movies about musicians have the same ability, whether you play music or not. They can be inspiring tales of perseverance and raw talent or comedies about trying to make it big. It’s really exciting to see musicians perform in movies and it’s somehow more exciting when they’re performing rock and roll. Some rock bands played big roles in movies, some standing the test of time to becoming household names today. This list will include seven fictional rock bands that stuck with us and made us all want to rock out.

7. Pink Slip from Freaky Friday (2003)

 In 2003, Evanescence was playing on the radio and Avril Lavigne was in her heyday. Was there a cooler time for pop-rock music for girls? That bratty girl pop music blared throughout the soundtrack of the 2003 remake of Disney’s Freaky Friday starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. In the movie, Lohan’s character Anna is in a band called Pink Slip. This five-member band led by three girls was inspiring for girls watching at the time. And with lyrics like “Don’t wanna grow up/I wanna get out,” just about every tween audience member felt the urge to buy a Telecaster and scream into a microphone. High school rock bands, especially in the movies, often ride the line between fun and desperation to make it big, but either way, there is something infectious about the music. Pink Slip was a rock band that made you want to both cringe at the awkward teen-drama moments and secretly wish to form your own garage band with your friends. 

6. The Weird Sisters from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

There is so much lore in the Harry Potter universe, we often forget that there was a famous rock band in the wizarding world. Known as the Weird Sisters, the band was one of Harry Potter’s favorites and they played at the Yule Ball during his fourth year at Hogwarts. A wise directorial choice allowed real rock stars to write songs for and perform as the Weird Sisters in the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film. With all the dangerous situations and magic spells, this was one part of the movie that was truly relatable to the audience: teens dancing to a rock band performing at a school dance. All the band members wore black makeup and had dark costumes. The instruments even had interesting designs. The Weird Sisters were glam in all its glory. What is great about the Weird Sisters was that they were all played by real rock stars: Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey of Pulp, Johnny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead, Jason Buckle of All Seeing I, and Steven Claydon of Add N to (X). Cocker even wrote all the songs for the film, including the dance jam “Do the Hippogriff.” Seeing a glam rock band played by recognizable musicians in a Harry Potter movie was unique and fun. Who doesn’t want to picture Hermione Granger headbanging to rock and roll in a ball gown?

5. Sex Bob-omb from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, based off the graphic novel Scott Pilgrim, is an amazing film for so many reasons: the writing, the humor, the action, the visual effects. But music also plays a huge role in this film. There are several fictional bands that make appearances in the movie, including Crash and the Boys and the Clash at Demonhead. But this list needs to incorporate the band that plays the biggest part and includes the protagonist as its bassist: Sex Bob-omb. Named after the Super Mario character, the band consists of Scott Pilgrim and his two friends Stephen and Kim. The band is desperate to get gigs and is constantly competing with other bands in the movie. Although wanting to be successful, the band members realize towards the end it isn’t worth selling out and playing music they don’t want to play. The energy that comes from this band is amazing. And getting to know the characters throughout the film makes you vouch for this band even more. The songs are hilarious and raw at the same time; Sex-Bob-omb is just a band you would want to go see in real life. PS: Sex Bob-omb’s songs were written and performed by Beck in the film. Go Beck. 

4. Wyld Stallyns from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

This might be a strange choice for this list, because the audience never got to experience the band Wyld Stallyns being good in the movie. But the entire plot revolves around the fact that one day Wyld Stallyns’ music will cause world peace and be the foundation for a future utopian society. And that is reason enough for this band to be memorable and be a part of some of the best fictional rock bands that film has offered. Bill and Ted are two teenage idiots who have formed a band called Wyld Stallyns, regardless of lack of musical know-how. As they travel through time (to gather famous people for a report so they don’t fail history class), they even gain two more band members from medieval times. But this foursome, though talentless at first, eventually create music that is both inspiring and “excellent for dancing.” Plus, how many bands have a catchphrase accompanied by guitar music?

3. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem from The Muppet Movie (1979)

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem is the only band on this list that is not comprised of human beings. But that doesn’t stop them from rockin’ out. The band had been playing on The Muppet Show years before but made its film debut in The Movie Movie. They help Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear trick out a van while singing the amazing song “Can You Picture That?” This song was a jam and it had great lyrics, including “Fact is, there’s nothin’ out there you can’t do/Yeah, even Santa Claus believes in you.” Three distinct voices, a blaring organ, a smooth saxophone, and a crazed drummer - you can’t go wrong with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. Does it matter that they’re Muppets? That makes them even more impressive. This is a band that does everything from variety shows to rock concerts. There’s no stopping them.

2. Spinal Tap from This is Spinal Tap (1984)

The crowning jewel of mockumentaries, This is Spinal Tap offers probably the most famous fictional band ever created. They’re so amazing, that one could easily confuse the film’s soundtrack as an actual awful glam rock album. This is Spinal Tap tells the story of an aging rock band called Spinal Tap trying to make a comeback with an American tour. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer so perfectly capture the essence of glam rock: the oversexualization of rock stars, the huge production value of musical numbers, the fascination with magic or whimsy in lyrics, the crazy costumes and makeup, and constant balance between being edgy and being popular. Who can forget the laughable performances of “Rock and Roll Creation” and “Stonehenge?” Or the cringe-worthy lyrics of “Big Bottom” and “Sex Farm?” And who hasn’t guiltily jammed out to “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight?” The songs are as memorable as the performances and Spinal Tap truly gave us the inside look at the ups and downs of being a rock star (mostly downs if you’re the drummer, of course).

1.   School of Rock from School of Rock (2003)

It doesn’t matter if you were 11 or 91; when you left the theater after seeing School of Rock, you wanted to be in a rock band. Richard Linklater’s School of Rock is not only one of the funniest movies ever made, it’s also just one of the best movies about music, period. It was incredible enough that all these kids could play instruments so well, but that they could write and perform rock music that really rocked, well that was something else. Jack Black’s character, no matter how silly, was truly inspiring to these kids. Stick it to the man, stick up for yourself, do what you love. This movie made every part of being in a rock band look cool, from the lead guitarist to the business-minded band manager. This movie showed that anyone could rock. The kids in School of Rock were the coolest kids ever: they played instruments, they wrote music, they said stuff like “kick-ass.” And having Jack Black as the lead singer of your band is just the perfect ingredient for a good time. This movie surely inspired many kids to pick up a guitar or learn how to sing. And it also made everyone in the audience watching more mad about the results of a fictional Battle of the Bands contest than an actual sports game. The reason School of Rock is number one is because it’s a fun, influential, truly rock ‘n’ roll band that’s out to stick it to the man and prove that you’re never too young or too old to rock.