Scott Pilgrim Wiki
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The only thing in the series that's nearly as rampant as Video Games References is musical references. Whether to people, bands, items, or events, almost everything and everyone has some connection to music. There is also a great deal of music in the series that is used to convey different messages to people directly or covertly.

People[]

  • Scott Pilgrim's name is taken from the 'Plumtree' song, "Scott Pilgrim".
  • Ramona Flowers' name likely comes from the song "I heard Ramona Singer" by Black Francis. It could've also come from the song "Ramona" by the Ramones, which Bryan Lee O'Malley listened to a lot while writing the series.
  • Stephen Stills' name is taken from one of the main singers, songwriters and guitarists from the band "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young", of the same name.
  • Young Neil's name when reversed becomes the Canadian singer-songwriter "Neil Young" (who is friends with and has collaborated with the real Stephen Stills on several occasions).
  • Hollie Hawkes' name is a reference to the song "Holly Hox, Forget Me Nots" by Saves the Day. Graham Nash was in a band called The Hollies before he joined Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
  • In the movie, Gideon Graves is played by Jason Schwartzman, founder of the solo indie band Coconut Records.
  • Gideon's ex-girlfriend Sloane's name is possibly a reference to the Canadian band "Sloan", as 'Sloane' is the female version of the name.
  • Lynette Guycott the drummer from The Clash at Demonhead's first name is taken from Plumtree drummer Lynette Gillis.
  • Crash and the Boys is also almost an anagram of Crosby and Nash.
  • Lucas Lee stared in a movie called "You just don't exist" and “ Let’s hope there’s a heaven” which is a reference to the songs of the same name again, by Plumtree.

Clothing[]

  • In the volume 1, when Crash and the Boys are playing, Crash Wilson is seen wearing a shirt reading "The Kinks," an English classic rock band. Also in the same book, Scott directly wears a Plumtree T-shirt during Sex Bob-Omb's gig and throughout Matthew Patel's (failed) assault on Scott.
  • In the volume 2, in Kim's dream, Scott can be seen wearing a shirt reading "The New Pornographers," a Canadian indie rock band.
  • During the same battle, Young Neil wears a T-shirt with the name of the Canadian band "Sloan" on it, which Bryan Lee O'Malley is a fan of.
  • Young Neil also wears a T-shirt with the English rock band name New Order on it earlier in the same book.
  • In volume 3, a background character in Lee's Palace is seen wearing a "The Who" shirt.
  • Scott wears and shirt with the "Smashing Pumpkins" logo on it and a Zero shirt, the name of one of their singles, as well as a signature shirt for the band.
  • Once in volume 2 Young Neil is wearing a T-shirt with the American band name "The Shins" on it. Knives also has a The Shins poster on the wall in her room.
  • In volume 4, Tamara wears a Dropout Bear shirt based off the Kanye West album Graduation.
  • In volume 4, when Scott enters subspace while escaping Mr. Chau, Ramona is seen wearing a Merge Records t-shirt.

Bands[]

  • Sex Bob-omb's name is a play on both the Mario enemy "Bob-omb," and the group "The Sex Pistols." Also the Tom Jones song "Sex Bomb." There is also a song called "Sex Bomb" by Flipper.
  • Scott wrote a song back in university for Envy Adams which she failed to see the meaning in. It was "Angie" by The Rolling Stones, but Scott had replaced the name Angie with Envy. Bryan Lee O'Malley also stated in his volume 3 comments that one of the songs he listened to while working on Scott Pilgrim was "Borrowed Tune" by Neil Young (along with "every other Neil Young song") which was also inspired by a Rolling Stones song.
  • The name Scott Pilgrim and The Infinite Sadness is a reference to the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins
  • There is a chapter in the same volume with the name "Frail and Bedazzled," a reference to a song of the same name off of the album Pisces Iscariot by the Smashing Pumpkins.
  • Envy Adams was modeled after the lead singer of Metric, Emily Haines, in the movie.
  • In volume 2, Scott, Stills and Young Neil are listening to and commenting on the solo album of Gordon Downie, from the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. They call Downie "a totally sweet genius". Upon hearing the name of the band, Ramona comments "Eww, what?"
  • The restaurant mentioned at the end of Volume 2, The Gilded Palace of Flying Burritos, is a reference to the band the Flying Burrito Brothers whose first album was called The Gilded Palace of Sin.

Chapters[]

  • "As the Road Lacks Perspective" is a lyric from "Figment" by Gordon Downie of the Tragically Hip.
  • "The Glow Pt. 2" is a reference to the album, and song, The Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones.
  • "She Says What She Means" is the name of a song by Sloan.
  • "Don't Let It Get You Down" is a song by Spoon.
  • "Ramona Come Closer" is a lyric in Bob Dylan's "To Ramona".
  • "It's Only Divine Right" is a song by the New Pornographers.
  • "Music Sounds Better With You" is a song by Stardust.

Items[]

  • The Power Of Love, Scott's longsword, is named after the song "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News.
  • The cover of NOW featuring the Clash at Demonhead in Volume 2 has a subheading that reads, "Make headlines, believe them, come back", which are lyrics from the New Pornographers' song "The Fake Headlines".
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