While Blake Babies made several engaging records in the late '80s and early '90s, they never broke out of the collegiate rock circles where they were adored. It wasn't until 1992 that their leader, Juliana Hatfield, began getting recognition as a songwriter in more mainstream publications, but that was after the group was broken up. Over their... [+] Read More

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Singer/songwriter Carla Werner was born and raised in New Zealand, the daughter of a dairy farmer. Her grandfather played in a band called the Country Boys, and she was exposed to a broad range of pop music as a child. She began singing country music in competitions before her teens. Early in her teens, she moved to Australia with her mother and... [+] Read More

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Dinosaur Jr. were largely responsible for returning lead guitar to indie rock and, along with their peers the Pixies, they injected late-'80s alternative rock with monumental levels of pure guitar noise. As the group's career progressed, it turned into a vehicle for J Mascis' songwriting and playing, which had the ultimate result of turning... [+] Read More

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Edie Brickell was born in 1966 in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. She attended Southern Methodist University for a year and a half before drinking up enough courage in a bar one night in 1985 to get up on stage with a local band, the New Bohemians. She joined the band and wrote songs over the next year as the band changed and evolved. They... [+] Read More

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One of the most resilient and criminally underappreciated bands to rise from the Midwestern underground community, the career of the noisy guitar unit Eleventh Dream Day was a textbook study in alt-rock endurance; despite a nightmarish major-label tenure, ill-timed roster changes, and commercial indifference, the group persevered, ultimately... [+] Read More

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After the breakup of Mazzy Star, vocalist Hope Sandoval joined with Colm O'Ciosoig (formerly of My Bloody Valentine) to form Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. The project retained the laid-back, slowcore sound of Mazzy Star, and much like Mazzy Star, featured Sandoval's sensuous, hypnotic voice. However, it replaced the psychedelic leanings... [+] Read More

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Between the recording and release of Slowdive's ambient Pygmalion, Neil Halstead began writing more song-based tunes to occupy down time. Weeks after being dropped by Creation, Halstead and the remaining members of Slowdive (Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon) recorded six demos within three days, much of it live without overdubs. Their manager... [+] Read More

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Alternative country singer/songwriter Neko Case won a steadily growing cult audience for her smoky, sophisticated vocals and the downcast beauty of her music. Born in Alexandria, VA, Case moved around often as a child, spending the largest part of her youth in Tacoma, WA. She left her parents at age 15, and three years later she started playing... [+] Read More

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Yet another outgrowth of the seminal Clean, the Bats were an institution on the New Zealand music scene, their melancholy jangle-pop sound and infectious melodies consistently defining the kiwi-rock aesthetic at its very best. The Bats were formed in Christchurch in 1982 by ex-Clean bassist Robert Scott, ex-Toy Love bassist Paul Kean,... [+] Read More

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