Sebadoh.

As cliched as it is, Nirvana. They were the first band that I listened to that I really got into other than the Beatles. After I bought all of the Nirvana cds I went out and bought cds by all of the bands that Kurt had said that he liked like THe Vaselines, Sonic Youth, Melvins, Meat Puppets and etc.

I was just thinking about this the other day; how the first guitar riff of "IOU" (which was my intro to The 'Mats) was as perfect as anything I'd heard and started me on an endless search of punk-leaning rock n roll bands that come close to capturing that feeling. Gaunt was pretty good at it, New Bomb Turks as well, Foo Fighters' first 2 records had it, and Rocket From The Crypt was pretty much there on "Scream Dracula! Scream!"

Almost impossible to determine for me... I'd say Duran Duran (knowing full well you guys will be snickering), but for me, they did introduce me to the idea of dance, art and post-punk fused together. And I can honestly say, because of my fascination with them, it led me to seek out other stuff that influenced them that I may or may not have listened to otherwise (Roxy Music, T. Rex, Bowie, Siouxsie, Blondie, Chic, etc).

But then there's the Georgia factor too, with the B-52's and R.E.M. who were remarkably different from each other, but distinctive in sound.

Throwing Muses is the band that opened the gates for me. It was so different from anything I´d heard before; so interesting and strange and fascinating. After exhausting that late-80s Boston sound I moved on to punk and then to twee.

Pearl Jam.

Hmmm...

I first became infatuated with music upon hearing Grand Funk Railroad as a wee lad, then became infatuated with GOOD music upon hearing my dad play 8-tracks of The Rolling Stones on just about every road trip as a kid, then became infatuated with "INDIE" music upon my first exposure to "Alex Chilton" by The Replacements.

Good topic!

np: Robbers on High Streey - "Spanish Teeth"

actually, to be completely honest with myself...i'd probably have to credit listening to tears for fears in the 6th grade for really turning my tastes away from what everyone else was listening to, to a more "alternative" direction.

mid sixties soul/motown music.
it showed me that that rock'n roll was fun but this stuff was hot.

raised, as i was, on top 40 as a kid a real stand out band for me was the dave clark five. more raucous than the beatles, a little less nice and what drummer.

Public Enemy

They got me passionate about music.

Sex Pistols...listened to mostly Black Sabbath, AC/DC and the like in junior high. Then stumbled on Never Mind the Bullocks and everything changed.

Also...all old rockabilly stuff that I heard from before I can remember, along with Chuck Berry, Little Richard and that sorta stuff that my dad played. Still love 50s era music...listening to Roy Orbison right now.

i say rhcp because that was the first rock band i ever truly listened to and followed.

but then, when radiohead came out that changed my life and hence, my obsession.

as far as electronic music goes... this track called "push the feeling on" by nightcrawlers got me loving old school house & techno. funny i listened to all that in jr. high but never really experienced electronic music until when i was 18.

for electronica it was William Orbit, for rock it was Led Zep, for songwriter stuff, I'll go Beatles and for funk it was Bootsie Collins

Faith No More, I suppose. Learned about Mr. Bungle from there and then just started listening to wacky shit.

it was all about sublime for me in the beginning and it taught me to appreciate different styles on one album and that the best music is one that mixes many styles simultaneously to create a new unique style.

funk, ska, reggae, and punk were where i started out musicwise before it became more indie that is due to sublime.

I almost said them but they just kind of led me into hip hop.

1990 was the time when I started getting back into music. Problem is, I was listening to a lot of top 40 radio. Then along came Depeche Mode's Violator, which made me realize how much top 40 radio sucked at the time (Paula Abdul, MC Hammer, Jane Child, Taylor Dayne, Lisa Stansfield, Stevie B, Roxette, Go West, Bell Biv DeVoe, Surface, Glen Medeiros).

Pearls Before Swine.

Definitely this.


But, even ABBA, REM, Dire Straits, Violent Femmes, Fleetwood Mac, Waylon Jennings, Van Mo, Petty & Co. all played an early hand in seeking.

Wire! I remember reading a review of 154 in Rolling Stone, bought it soon after, and a whole new world openend up for me.

Ambient Eno. I read a review of Music for Airports in Trouser Press and said "whatever this is going to sound like, it's for me."

The Cure... no doubt about it.

Small hick town guy going to college in 1987.. Cure and New Order and many other artists from '86-87 got me here.

Hmm. I was going to say the Cure too... combined with the Pixies, the Replacements, and Uncle Tupelo

well.. i listened to the misfits in middle school and they were my favorite band for a while.
that opened a lot of doors.

Radiohead - music in general, although i never listen to them anymore at all
Clash's London Calling + JD's Unknown Pleasures - made me much more open to a whole range old stuff
Wu Tang - Hip Hop
Chemical Brothers - electronic