Sage was the guitarist and songwriter for the metal/punk band the Wipers. He recorded a solo album in 1985 while the Wipers were searching for a new label, which consists of half typical Wipers material and half atmospheric, meditative instrumental compositions. When the Wipers signed with Enigma, the label also released Sage's album. ~ Steve... [+] Read More

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Few of punk rock's founding fathers could have anticipated the extreme to which Half Japanese took the music's do-it-yourself ethos. Founded by brothers Jad and David Fair, Half Japanese was quite probably the most amateurish rock band to make a record since the Shaggs, all but ignoring musical basics like chords, rhythms, and melody. However,... [+] Read More

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Through both his lauded work fronting the Commotions and his more eclectic solo efforts, Lloyd Cole established himself as one of the most articulate and acute songwriters of the postpunk era. Born January 31, 1961 in Buxton, England, Cole formed the Commotions in 1982 while studying philosophy at the University of Glasgow. Originally a large... [+] Read More

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Singer/songwriter Lois Maffeo long reigned as one of the most respected voices in American indie-pop -- a key proponent of the Pacific Northwest's love-rock scene, her spare, lo-fi sound and steadfast adherence to underground ethos blazed a trail for the countless female acts to emerge in her wake. A native of Phoenix, AZ, Maffeo began attending... [+] Read More

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With their fractured songs, unexpected blasts of feedback, laconic vocals, cryptic literate lyrics, and defiant low-fidelity, Pavement were one of the most influential and distinctive bands to emerge from the American underground in the '90s. Pavement, along with Sebadoh, were the leaders of the lo-fi movement that dominated U.S. indie rock in... [+] Read More

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As much a collective of musicians as a band, Sebadoh was the quintessential lo-fi band of the '90s. Formed by singer/songwriter Lou Barlow while he was the bassist for Dinosaur Jr. in the late '80s, Sebadoh's music was a virtual catalog of '80s alternative rock and '90s indie rock, featuring everything from jangle pop to noise rock... [+] Read More

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A beautiful mess of indie rock, country rock and lo-fi with lyrics both witty and profound, the Silver Jews were formed in 1989 by writer/musician David Berman with his friends, guitarist/singer Stephen Malkmus and drummer Bob Nastanovich. The trio performed together as Ectoslavia when they studied at the University of Virginia; after... [+] Read More

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Of the countless bands to emerge from the New York City underground during the post-punk era, few if any were as unique and influential as the Feelies; nerdy, nervous, and noisy, even decades later their droning, skittering avant-garde pop remains a key touchstone of the American indie music scene. Named in reference to Aldous Huxley's paranoid... [+] Read More

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Conventional wisdom dictates that the Vaselines might have been relegated to footnote status were it not for Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who regularly cited the little-known Scottish quartet's influence in interviews with the music press. Cobain's gospel-spreading no doubt accelerated their rise to cult sainthood, but truth be told, the Vaselines... [+] Read More

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The flagship act of frontman Mark Robinson's own TeenBeat label, Unrest was a towering pillar of the American indie rock community throughout the early '90s -- from the tongue-in-cheek garage noise of their earliest efforts to the shimmering, manic pop thrills of their later, most enduring work, the band was a paragon of DIY virtue, perfecting a... [+] Read More

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Yo La Tengo was in many respects the quintessential critics' band: in addition to its adventurous eclecticism, defiant independence, and restless creative ambition -- three qualities that virtually guarantee music press acclaim -- the group's frontman, Ira Kaplan, even tenured as a rock scribe prior to finding success as a performer. So... [+] Read More

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