There was a time when music from Las Vegas conjured up images of Liberace, the cape-wearing Elvis, and the sound of drum rolls that accompanied showgirls as they kicked up their gams and flung off their garments. Despite this shtick working its magic on the Strip, the first germ of the idea of what would become Panic At the Disco was planted by two kids oblivious to everything but the sounds of Blink-182 heard on strip mall loudspeakers in the distant suburbs surrounding Sin City. Cofounders Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (drums) eventually pulled in a few more of their high school pals (Brendon Urie and Brent Wilson) to complete the lineup. They experimented with original songs (as practiced in Spencer’s grandmother’s living room), nearly half of which would end up on their debut release, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. How did the music industry track down these innovative suburban high school talents? After hearing that Pete Wentz, bass player for the emo success story Fall Out Boy, was starting a new label, guitarist Ryan sent him a link to their website. Amazingly, after a few sampled tracks, this e-mailed URL led to being signed to Wentz’s Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen records in 2005. Panic! At the Disco stand out amidst their labelmates by incorporating rapid-fire synths and drum machines into their high-energy melodies, along with not-so-rock ‘n’ roll instruments like a Vaudevillian piano and accordion. – Michele K-Tel
Panic at the Disco
M.I.A.
When she was little, Maya Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., probably had no idea she’d grow up to become an underground dancehall sensation. Her father was a resistance figure in the Sri Lankan independence struggle, and Arulpragasam’s family was forced to leave Sri Lanka — for their safety — when she was nine years old. But after [...more info]
Pearl Jam
Many accused Pearl Jam of being a mainstream hard rock band that happened to hop on the alt rock gravy train at its busiest stop (Grungeville circa late 1991/early 1992), thereby reaping the benefits of constant exposure on suddenly flannel-friendly MTV with hit videos for “Alive,” “Even Flow” and, most notably, “Jeremy.” In the wake [...more info]
Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation hearken back to the suave musical era of the 1950s and ’60s, when swizzle sticks and long cigarette holders were in vogue, and relaxing meant having a strong cocktail in very plush surroundings. While inherently down-tempo, Thievery Corporation (Rob Garza and Eric Hilton) toss in elements of nearly every musical genre, including Dub, [...more info]
Linkin Park
Naysayers predicted that this whole rap-rock thing would be dying a slow, silent death right about now, but it seems to be breathing just fine without needing to come up for air. Linkin Park are one of the most successful guitar-swinging, lyric-dropping scratch wizards to simultaneously glorify the big riff while bowing down at the [...more info]
Jamiroquai
Along with many other soul-jazz bands coming out of London in the ’90s, Jamiroquai (and groups like The James Taylor Quartet) gave critics a good reason to come up with a new genre for the burgeoning electronic sound in jazz. The result was “Acid Jazz” and Jamiroquai’s 1993 debut “Emergency on Planet Earth” became a [...more info]
3OH!3
While Denver’s Flobots were crafting organic, conscious hip-hop, their state-mates in the duo 3OH!3 had a different inspiration in mind: crunk. You might never have suspected that the style reached all the way to Colorado, but the dudes in 3OH!3 — Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte — clearly have established a Dirty South outpost up [...more info]
Nickelback
Nickelback, a post-grunge band from Alberta, are the first Canadian band since the Guess Who (in the ’70s) to have a No. 1 hit single in both Canada and the U.S. Since the mid-’90s, the group — singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger, bassist Mike Kroeger, guitarist Ryan Peake and drummer Brandon Kroeger (eventually replaced by Daniel Adair) [...more info]
The Ting Tings
Glitzy and sassy with a DIY spin, the Ting Tings are for hipsters who aren’t ashamed to unfold their arms, clap along and bust a move. Based at Islington Mill, a former cotton spinning mill near Manchester turned art and recording space, the Brit twosome of Katie White and Jules De Martino started playing off-the-cuff [...more info]
MGMT
MGMT (pronounced Management) are a restless electronic-rock duo. The two members — Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser — came together in 2002 while attending Wesleyan University in Connecticut as art students. In 2005, they released the catchy synth scrum “Time to Pretend,” which became an underground hit and led to their being signed by Columbia [...more info]
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