If this is hard, you are trying too much to throw out things you think other will find cool.

Nick Cave (and his associates' respective bands [ie. Dirty Three, Einsterzende Neubauten, Crime & City Solution, Kid Congo Powers' stuff, Rowland S. Howard])

Interpol
David Bowie
Pixies
Cat Power

Yeah, not really.

When I think of someone's "taste" or musical identifiers, I tend to take a historical, long, and causal view - if I like DJ Shadow circa 96-99, is that because of being a Public Enemy fan c. 89-91 or because I like sample-based music in general (c. many years, many records), or because Endtroducing is just a singularity? Put another way, the Pixies and Fugazi were tremendously important gateway bands for me when I was a teenager and part of me still thinks of them as being relevant to my current listening, but I rarely actually listen to them, ya know? However, groups like Spoon, MBV, Toots & the Maytals, Wire, Gang of Four, Minor Threat, and many others follow from once-upon-a-time listening to nothing but the Pixies and Fugazi (and Helmet).

I don't see what that has to do with cool factor type shit, but I guess you know more about me than I do about myself, right?

Right now....

Blonde Redhead
M. Ward
Belle & Sebastian
Grandaddy
Death From Above 1979

Beatles
Guided by Voices
Prefuse 73
Beck
Radiohead

I like what you are doing there, using Smokey to represent Motown/R&B songwriting and production and Hank Williams to represent that songwriting moment when Black blues met White "western" music and became Country. Excellent work, sir.

I can't do this......

Bob Dylan The heavyweight champion of the world; like Ali, he's not great at everything, just the best. The connection between the classic American song and rock'n'roll.

Rolling Stones (respect and rape of every genre from Chuck Berry to Donna Summer to Dust Brothers while always maintaining an identity AND writing some fucking incredible songs to boot...and an undeniable attitude)

Frank Zappa Its okay to do anything; jam, jazz, satire......oh and pack some kick ass musicians into a studio or onto a stage and let 'er rip.

The Pixies Not the first or last band that I was obsessed with but the one that affected me the most as a musician and as a listener---basically the right band at the right time.

James Brown its not enough to be talented; or to assemble a hot band---its got to move when it moves....and swing when it swings.....and get a little soulful when it needs to....If JB didnt exist, he would have been invented.

The Jesus and Mary Chain
Ride
OLD Blur
Stan Getz
Etta James

Okay... so I picked 6 (well, 12 really)... and um, my approach is in two parts, but here it is:

I'm kind of on the same page as KPH for this so I've made two lists; one for the "source" artists of my taste and the other for my current favs.

Brian Eno
Billie Holiday
Velvet Underground
Burning Spear
Syd Barrett
The Cure


Colleen
Bjork
Jesus & Mary Chain
Roots Manuva
Broadcast
Interpol

ani difranco
miles davis
pavement
the grateful dead
the talking heads

Low
My Bloody Valentine
M.I.A
TV on the Radio
Velvet Underground

with the ecpetion of maybe zappa imo, this hard to argue with.

Steely Dan
Spoon
The Who
Spinners
Treat Her Right

This isn't actually easy but I'll play:

David Bowie
Parliament
Cocteau Twins
Pixies
Elliott Smith

Because, it may depend on the day...heh...alt selections: Birthday Party, Martin Newell, Simple Minds, Kate Bush, Stereolab. On another day it would be...Spoon, Joseph Arthur...no, I'll stop.

bowie
VU
pavement
wilco
neil diamond

stands in's (understudies in case the first 5 pass out drunk):

The Triffids
New Model Army
The Kinks
Waterboys
Peter Gabriel

(Skinny Puppy, XTC, Poi Dog Pondering, Felt, The Church, Lambchop, Motorhead and Leonard Cohen are at the party but don't chip in for beer, And Bruce Cockburn is there droning on about peace in Central America and the importance of the designated driver)

Al Green
Wu Tang Clan
Pulp
Aphex Twin
Clash

that was really hard

Leonard Cohen needs to be in there somewhere

Notorious BIG
NWA
Decemberists
Mountain Goats
Beatles

Okay, frosted just ousted konstantinl as the single person whose tastes are probably closest to mine...I especially appreciate the cheating...

I'm assuming this doesn't necessarily mean your top 5 artists....

Ween (They represent my tendency to favor simple yet strong pop/rock songcraft. For the most part, they tend to be centered around classic rock, while at the same time remaining stylistically versatile. At times they take an approach that's so jagged and self indulgent that it makes something unlistenable. But sometimes, it's refreshing that an artist doesn't take themselves so seriously.)

Fiona Apple (I'll always have a place in my heart for left-of-center female singer songwriters. But, she also has that "soul laid bare" quality in her lyrics which I also tend to be drawn to.)

The Choir (They sort of represent my ongoing interest in chimey dream pop and fuzzy shoegazer-pop, even though they are more so the former than the latter. They also tend to favor the pop song structure more than most artists in these genres.)

The Faint (Dance or groove intensive music will always be something I enjoy whether it's rap, industrial, trip hop, techno, funk, or new wave. Coming up with a unique groove that makes somebody want to toss their body around aimlessly is not as easy as it sounds. But when it's done right, I can't resist. I can't stop listening to 5 or so of the tracks from Wet From Birth since I bought it.)

Starflyer 59 (Generally speaking, I enjoy a lot of bands that don't simply repeat themselves with each record. They try and push themselves stylistically and embrace various forms of experimentation while still managing to make it work within the context of their sound and songcraft.)

Right. It's artists who paint a composite picture of "you" (or what you like to think of as "you").

Most of us could probably list any number of combinations (like I could stick Robyn Hitchcock into any combo), but going with what first springs mind is easiest.

Nice... very nice indeed.

and Splates... I'm totally with you on the Leo C.