recommended listening

	Ani DiFranco Talk about the PASSION! She's an all around amazing performer, musician and songwriter! "Little Plastic Castle" is a good place to start.
	Autour de Lucie French band, female singer sings in French. Can't understand a word she says but who cares when it sounds this good.
	Belle and Sebastian Male vox, clever lyrics, if you like the Smiths, you'll like Belle and Sebastian.
	Belly Tanya Donnelly post Throwing Muses and Breeders. 'Star' is exquisite!
	Björk Raw and unpretentious, not to mention extremely gifted. See also Sugarcubes.
	Blake Babies Juliana Hatfield before she went solo. 'Sunburn' is excellent.
	Breeders, The Kim Deal has so much attitude. I love that. See also Pixies.
	Cardigans, The Sugary-sweet Swedish pop that evokes ultra-happiness. Mmmmmm, Car-di-gans...
	Cocteau Twins You have to hear it. Pure beauty.
	Cranberries, The Delores can really belt out a tune. I don't care how massive they get or how popular they are. I'll always love the Cranberries.
	Cranes Alison Shaw's voice has been described as "haunting" and "childlike". Their music ranges from the gothic-industrial 'Wings of Joy' to their latest Sundays-ish release 'Population Four'.
	Cure, The They've produced volumes of wondrous music over the years. Seeing them live in '92 was one of the highlights of my LIFE!
	Curve Where have they been all of my life? This is one remarkable band that I'm just now getting into (Thanks Rob!). I could just kick myself. Their new album 'Come Clean' is pretty amazing and I love 'Doppelgänger'. They are equally amazing in concert!
	Dead Can Dance Escape to other worlds and other times with DCD.
	Enya Somber melodies and soothing Celtic lullabies.
	Esthero Her voice has reminded me of Alanis, Liz, Björk, & Eryka Badu. I think she's trying to find her niche, but so far, so good.
	Gus Gus Disco-techno and the latest sensation from Iceland. It's not just a band; it's a collective of artists, filmmakers, writers, etc.
	Indigo Girls Amy and Emily's heartfelt lyrics and soulful harmonies characterize this brand of folk music.
	Ivy Pure, unadulterated pop with a retro-60's feel. Dreamy vocals too!
	Kate Bush Her voice is so unique, it took me a while to warm up to it. I have a greatest hits thingy of hers that I wouldn't dare part with. She rules!
	Lush Ethereal brit-pop. Shoegazers in the early days. They're so yummy I devoted a whole site to them!
	Morcheeba Skye's voice is soooo beautifully smooth. I'm absolutely mad for Morcheeba! File under organic trip-hop.
	My Bloody Valentine No one does beautiful distortion like MBV. 'Loveless' is undoubtedly a Desert Island Disc.
	Pale Saints Shoegazery brilliance! 'The Comforts of Madness' is a wonderful must-have CD. Ian Masters has the BEST voice. Probably another DID for me.
	Peter Murphy He is the King of Goth and the former frontman of Bauhaus. 'Deep'--his first solo album is a classic.
	Pigface This industrial superband's latest incarnation features two bad-ass women in the forefront!
	Pixies Psychotic post-punk rock at its best.
	Portishead Slinky and eerie trip-hop--sounds like the soundtrack to a groovy movie from the 60's.
	Ruby aka Lesley Rankine. Not for the faint of heart. GRRRRRRRR... See also Pigface.
	Scheer These guys (and gal) totally rock. Think non-cheesy sorta heavy metal with female lead vocals.
	Shelleyan Orphan Ahhh, Shelley. The most wonderful hardly-known band on this Earth.
	Sinéad O'Connor The original Irish siren. If you want to catch up on her music, check out her latest release of greatest hits 'So far...The Best of Sinéad O'Connor'.
	Siouxsie & The Banshees You can't be a gothic queen of darkness and not listen to Siouxsie. She wrote the book.
	Skinny Puppy The lead singer's name is Ogre. What more do you need to know? See also Pigface.
	Smiths, The Perhaps one of the most influential bands of all time.
	Stereolab Moog Moog Moog!
	Sugarcubes, The Overall sound: playful, earthy yet cosmic, quirky, truly original, Björk + Bjorn.
	Sundays, The The acoustic guitar and Harriet Wheeler were made for each other. Their latest release 'Static and Silence' is good. Honest!
	Tarnation A little bit of country without the rock n' roll. Patsy Cline has obviously influenced this 4AD group.
	This Mortal Coil 4AD's supergroup. Ivo's pet project. 4AD artists cover songs that I've never heard before...you know that line in American Beauty--there's so much beauty in the world I can't take it (blah blah) well that's how I feel about TMC. It's so beautiful sometimes it hurts. Mellow, dark, calm & soothing....
	Throwing Muses I love Kristin's voice. Her lyrics are abstract to say the least. Her solo stuff is good as well.