Tom Waits started out in the early 1970s as a piano-based barroom balladeer with a penchant for beat poetry and West Coast jazz. By the late '80s he had mutated into a brilliantly adventurous artist whose style suggested an amalgam of Howlin' Wolf, K…

Bob Dylan began as a Woody Guthrie acolyte, imitating the dust-bowl balladeer as faithfully as a baby boomer from Hibbing, Minnesota, could. It wasn't long before he found his own voice, spearheading the early-1960s folk revival as well as the singer…

Skit comedy, abstract rhyming, samples from pop's left field, and a self-consciously intellectual approach to rap became hip-hop staples after De La Soul's 1989 debut, 3 FEET HIGH AND RISING. But despite the group's widespread influence, no one ever …

Buffalo Tom were one of the sturdiest bands of the Massachusetts college rock scene of the late 1980s and early '90s. Offering a sound that encompassed the main sonic aspects of nearly the whole of alternative and underground rock during the era--jan…

Lou Reed is among the most literate wordsmiths in rock & roll history. His first decade of post-Velvet Underground work included some undeniable high points (BERLIN, the David Bowie-produced TRANSFORMER) but he was plagued by inconsistency. Reed came…

Renowned English folksinger Bob Davenport has been a leading voice in the revival since appearing with his Balladeers in the early 60s at Southamptons famed Focsle Folk Club He spent the majority of his career with the Rakes a quartet consisting of P…

An indie rock band from Spain Dover was formed in 1992 making their debut with the release of Sister in 1995 Soon they signed with local independent label Subterfuge Records participating in a compilation called Stereoparty 2 with the song Loli Jacks…

Liz Phair burst onto the indie rock scene in 1993, riding a wave of hype and acclaim that heralded her Matador Records debut, EXILE IN GUYVILLE. Conceived as a song-for-song response to the Rolling Stones' EXILE ON MAIN STREET, GUYVILLE boasted cleve…

Elvis Costello arrived at the tail end of punk with short, incendiary tunes about revenge and guilt, and a visual image to match, looking like a pissed-off Buddy Holly. But the pose belied his musical range and lyrical sophistication, and he came to …

When the dust clears, it's quite possible that Jawbreaker will be viewed as one of the most influential punk bands ever. Contemporaries of Green Day prior to that band's ascendency to mega-stardom, Jawbreaker and its enigmatic frontman Blake Schwarze…

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic began as a side project by Roger Miller and Martin Swope who were members of the Boston band Mission of Burma They were joined by Rick Scott and Erik Lindgren for their debut recording a self-titled EP in 1983 With Mission o…

This US crypto-punk band came from the active Philadelphian underground scene of the mid-80s and drew members who rejoiced in the unlikely names Joe Jack Talcum (b. Joe Genaro; guitar/vocals), Rodney Anonymous Melloncamp (b. Rodney Linderman; vocals)…

After leaving Dinosaur Jr. in 1989, guitarist/singer Lou Barlow pursued a more nuanced artistic direction in Sebadoh. Though the band's songwriting quality is variable, Barlow always puts his soul on the line with sometimes disturbing honesty. Sebado…

b. 16 January 1896, Hernando, Mississippi, USA, d. 30 May 1987, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Wilkins moved to Memphis during World War I, and by the 20s was playing his guitar and singing in the blues joints of Beale Street. Between 1928 and 1934, he mad…

Alternating between angst and cool melody, the Dismemberment Plan was one of the shining examples of the strength of the emo (emotional hardcore) genre. Hailing from Washington, DC, USA, the band was formed on New Year's Day 1993 by Joe Easley (drums…

Hazel was one of several groups including Elliot Smiths Heatmiser that sprung up in Portland Oregon in the early 90s just as grunge was reaching fever pitch in neighboring Seattle The trio of indie-poppers included vocalist-guitarist Pete Krebs bassi…

Robyn Hitchcock started out as the leader of late-1970s UK psychedelic revivalists the Soft Boys. After that band's disintegration at the turn of the decade, he became a solo artist, whose Bob Dylan-meets-Syd Barrett absurdist wordplay meshed perfect…

This spaced-out rap crew originally comprised Imani Wilcox, Bootie Brown (b. Romye Robinson), Slim Kid (b. Tré Hardson) and Fat Lip (b. Derrick Stewart). Based in Los Angeles, California, USA, their goofy, fast-talking style defied the early 90s rash…

Hum were formed in 1989 in Champaign, Illinois, USA, and consist of Jeff Dimpsey (b. 23 May 1967, Illinois, USA; bass), Tim Lash (b. 16 June 1974, Champaign, Illinois, USA; guitar), Bryan St. Pere (b. 2 April 1966, Evergreen Park, Illinois, USA; drum…