Bright Eyes are the musical vehicle of Conor Oberst, a young singer/songwriter from Nebraska who first attracted the attention of the indie music world in 1994 -- when he was just 14 years old -- as the singer and guitarist for Commander Venus. After releasing two albums, Commander Venus broke up, but not before the bandmembers started their own... [+] Read More

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When Flowchart debuted with 1995's Multi-Personality Tabletop Vacation (Carrot Top), the Philadelphia group was equally derided/lauded for its striking similarities to space pop veterans Stereolab and Neu!. Many accused the band of blatant thievery, but there was also a grudging admiration for its detailed and entertaining facsimile. Luckily,... [+] Read More

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Named after history class notes on Abraham Lincoln, the Livonia, MI-based sonic manipulators His Name Is Alive formed when multi-instrumentalist/producer Warren Defever (also of shockabilly group Elvis Hitler) was still in high school. Defever, former schoolmate Karin Oliver (vocals), and drummer Damian Lang released self-produced cassettes of... [+] Read More

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Indie folk-pop band Ida formed in New York in 1992 around the core duo of singers/guitarists Daniel Littleton and Elizabeth Mitchell. Littleton emerged in 1985 as a member of the Annapolis, MA-based punk group the Hated; after their 1989 demise, he continued in a series of bands including Three Shades of Dirty, Choke and Slack, which also... [+] Read More

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The geographically and stylistically nomadic indie rock band Lilys was the vehicle of singer/songwriter Kurt Heasley, the group's founder and sole constant member. A Philadelphia native, Heasley and Lilys bowed with the 1991 single "February 14," a nod to My Bloody Valentine; while based in Washington, D.C., they recorded their 1992 debut LP, In... [+] Read More

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Like the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, and the Jesus & Mary Chain before them, My Bloody Valentine redefined what noise meant within the context of pop songwriting. Led by guitarist Kevin Shields, the group released several EPs in the mid-'80s before recording the era-defining Isn't Anything in 1988, a record that merged lilting, ethereal... [+] Read More

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Red House Painters was primarily the vehicle of singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek, an evocative, compelling performer of rare emotional intensity. Like Mark Eitzel of American Music Club, to whose work the Painters were invariably compared and to whom their early success owed a tremendous debt, Kozelek laid his soul bare on record, conjuring... [+] Read More

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Named after a word in one of Nick Chaplin's dreams -- not from a Siouxsie and the Banshees single -- Slowdive formed in Reading, England, in late 1989. The group orginally consisted of Neil Halstead (guitar/vocals), Rachel Goswell (guitar/vocals), Christian Savill (guitar), Adrian Sell (drums), and Chaplin (bass). Formed when they were mostly in... [+] Read More

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