http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&category=genre&genreId=1049&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rssTop '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online'80s Alternativeen720Thu, 3 Dec 2009 19:22:19 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&category=genre&genreId=1049&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.153&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Alt/Punk Tue, 1 Dec 2009 09:47:15 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.153 art.153 U2 art.153 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.153&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.153&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 had revived its straight-ahead approach. U2 has maintained not only its massive popularity but also its status as one of the most adventurous and groundbreaking acts in pop music.

The band members began rehearsing together while students at Dublin's Mount Temple High School (the city's only nondenominational school). None was technically proficient at the beginning, but their lack of expertise mothered invention. The Edge's distinctive chordal style, for instance, stemmed largely from the guitarist's inability to play complicated leads, while bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. provided a rhythm section that was mostly pummeling ardor. The novice musicians quickly developed a following in Ireland and found a manager, Paul McGuinness, who remains with them to this day. They recorded independently before signing to Island Records in 1980.

U2's 1980 debut album, Boy, was produced by Steve Lillywhite. On it, the group earnestly explored adolescent hopes and terrors, rejecting hard rock's earthy egotism and punk's nihilism. Bono, U2's lyricist, was (and still is) a practicing Christian, as were the Edge and Mullen, and on their second LP, October (1981, also Lillywhite-produced), the singer incorporated imagery evoking their faith. Boy and October generated the respective singles "I Will Follow" and "Gloria," which got some airplay in the U.S. An American club tour generated further interest, thanks to U2's incendiary live performances.

War cemented U2's reputation as a politically conscious band; among its themes were "the troubles" in Northern Ireland, addressed on the single "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Another single, "New Year's Day," went to Number 11 in England and Number 53 in the U.S., while War topped the British chart and hit Number 12 Stateside. The group commemorated its 1983 tour with the live EP Under a Blood Red Sky, recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.

U2's next studio album, 1984's The Unforgettable Fire, was the first of several fruitful collaborations with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The album generated the group's first American Top 40 single, an ode to American Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., called "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (Number 33, 1984). The album hit Number 12 here, and the Irishmen supported it by headlining arenas around the world. In 1985 U2 was proclaimed "Band of the '80s" by ROLLING STONE and made a historic appearance at Live Aid. The following year, the group joined Sting, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed and others for the Conspiracy of Hope Tour benefiting Amnesty International.

U2 entered the pop stratosphere with 1987's The Joshua Tree, a critical and commercial smash that topped the albums chart that year and spawned the Number One hits "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," as well as "Where the Streets Have No Name" (Number 13, 1987). The LP, which was produced by Eno and Lanois, won the group Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance. In 1988 U2 wrapped up a triumphant world tour by releasing Rattle and Hum, a double-LP that combined live tracks with new material, and featured guest appearances by Bob Dylan and B.B. King. Rattle and Hum seemed bombastic to some critics; an accompanying film documentary also garnered mixed reviews. The LP nonetheless shot to Number One, and produced a Number Three single, "Desire" (1988). The band's next LP, Achtung Baby, reached Number One and received rave reviews. The LP marked a stylistic departure, featuring more metallic textures, funkier beats, and intimate, world-weary love songs. (Bono was fond of saying at the time that the album was the sound of "four men chopping down The Joshua Tree.") Hit singles included "Mysterious Ways" (Number Nine, 1992), "One" (Number 10, 1992), "Even Better Than the Real Thing" (Number 32, 1992), and "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" (Number 35, 1992). Another track, "Until the End of the World," was featured (in differently mixed form) in Wim Wenders' 1991 film of the same name. Lanois, who produced Achtung Baby with support from Eno and Lillywhite, won a Grammy for his work.

In 1992 the band embarked on its Zoo TV tour, a flashy multimedia extravaganza that juxtaposed the rugged simplicity of its previous shows. Bono adopted a series of wry guises — the leather-and-shades-sporting Fly, the demonic MacPhisto — that he'd use for encores and, in the Fly's case, press appearances. In 1993, as the tour wound down, the band reentered the studio and made Zooropa, a quirky, electronics-drunk affair co-produced by Eno, the Edge and engineer Flood. The album reached Number One but yielded only the minor hit "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" (Number 61, 1993), which was also on the soundtrack to Wenders' 1993 movie Faraway, So Close. Johnny Cash sang lead on the track "The Wanderer." In 1993 the band renewed its contract with Island for an estimated $170 million. U2's contribution to 1995's Batman Forever soundtrack, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," was a Top 20 hit. Also in 1995 the group collaborated with Eno as Passengers on a largely instrumental album called Original Soundtracks I; the only track to get attention was "Miss Sarajevo," on which Bono shared vocals with opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. Proceeds from the single's sales went toward war relief in Bosnia. The same year Bono and the Edge cowrote with Irish folk singer Christy Moore a song about the peace process in Ireland, "North and South of the River."

In 1996 Clayton and Mullen recorded a rock version of the "Theme From Mission: Impossible" for the film starring Tom Cruise. It went to Number Seven on the pop chart. The following year saw the release of the electronica-heavy Pop; the album debuted at Number One in 27 countries, including the U.S., and garnered hit singles in "Discotheque" (Number 10, 1997) and "Staring at the Sun" (Number 26, 1998). U2 embarked on its next stage extravaganza, the PopMart tour, from 1997 to 1998. With a supermarket theme that played upon the concept of commercialism, the tour was even more grandiose than Zoo TV had been, with immense props that included a giant olive with a 100-foot-long toothpick, a 35-foot-high lemon, and a 100-foot-tall golden arch. At the tour's conclusion, U2 released a greatest-hits compilation with a remixed version of "The Sweetest Thing," previously the B side of "Where the Streets Have No Name." This time the song was released as a single (Number 63, 1998).

Bono returned to political activism in 1999, with much of his focus on fighting world poverty. He met with President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as well as the Pope, as a representative of Jubilee 2000, a nonprofit group devoted to convincing nations to forgive third-world debt in the new millennium. He also co-wrote a song, "New Day," with Wyclef Jean of the Fugees; the single's proceeds benefited relief efforts in Kosovo and the Wyclef Jean Foundation. The pair performed the song at the United Nations, as well as at NetAid, a concert held simultaneously in London, Geneva, and New Jersey's Giants Stadium, while being simulcast live on the Internet, to benefit several causes, among them third-world debt relief and global poverty.

In early 2000, the Wim Wenders movie The Million Dollar Hotel, based on a story co-conceived by Bono, was shown at the Berlin Film Festival and released in many countries. Bono coproduced the film, made a cameo appearance in it, and U2 recorded three new songs for the soundtrack, one of which, "The Ground Beneath Her Feet," was written around lyrics by controversial author Salman Rushdie. In addition, Bono recorded tracks with Lanois and Eno as the Million Dollar Hotel Band. U2 released an album of new material in late 2000: All That You Can't Leave Behind (Number Three), featuring the single "Beautiful Day" (Number 21), which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (Number 52, 2001) became something of an anthem for Americans recovering from the shock of the September 11th terror attacks. The band's Elevation Tour featured a heart-shaped catwalk in front of the stage which provided fans with close-up contact with the musicians.

In 2002, U2 performed at the halftime of Super Bowl XXXVI and issued a second greatest-hits collection, covering the 1990s and All That You Can't Leave Behind; it yielded a minor hit in "Electrical Storm" (Number 77, 2002). U2 released How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in late 2004, which entered the charts at Number One, proving U2 one of the few sure things in the uneasy rock marketplace of the new millennium. The single "Vertigo" was featured in an iPod ad, and the group released a special-edition iPod loaded with all of its albums.

Bono's political-activism profile continued to swell, with ongoing African relief efforts on his part landing him on the cover of Time with fellow millionaire-philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates. In 2005 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Bruce Springsteen. The following year came the self-explanatory U218: Singles package. While the band worked on another studio album with Eno and Lanois, they released the concert movie U2 3D, which was filmed during their 2005 Vertigo Tour. ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4162&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Jangle Pop Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:07:00 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.4162 art.4162 R.E.M. art.4162 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4162&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4162&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Life's Rich Pageant, generally regarded as the band's fourth near-perfect album in a row when it came out in 1986, gave them an untouchable cache among their peers and fans. This popularity grew with the advent of alternative-themed radio stations and video shows on MTV, finally breaking when Green came out in 1988 and "The One I Love" became an inescapable MTV/radio hit. Out of Time followed in 1991 and yielded "Losing My Religion," which remains their most popular song today. The next three albums sold in astronomical numbers, and in 1997 Warner Bros paid them $80 million to re-up their contract. After signing the deal, founding bass player Bill Berry opted to leave the band, and between 1997 and 2008 R.E.M. released four studio albums amid a few collections and a live set. - Mike McGuirk]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1179&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Goth Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:07:01 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1179 art.1179 The Cure art.1179 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1179&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1179&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss
Robert Smith grew up in working-class Crawley, Sussex, a suburb of London. He recalls his childhood years as difficult, a time of run-ins with his parents and the law. At 17 he formed the Easy Cure with childhood friends Laurence Tolhurst and Michael Dempsey as a sort of catharsis for his feelings of frustration. The group's music has remained therapeutic for Smith.

The Cure made its initial splash in the U.K. with the 1979 single "Killing an Arab," which stirred controversy when it reappeared on the mid-'80s retrospective Standing on a Beach: The Singles. Some U.S. radio DJs used the song, which was inspired by Albert Camus' The Stranger, to advance anti-Arab sentiments; the group included a disclaimer with subsequent pressings stating that the song "decries the existence of all prejudice and consequent violence."

While the Cure toured in 1979 as the support act to Siouxsie and the Banshees, the headliner's guitarist quit the band. Smith was recruited to fill in on the tour, beginning an active collaboration with the Banshees. He ultimately devoted much of 1983–84 as a full-time member of the band, recording both the live Nocturne and a studio album, Hyaena. In 1983, he also joined Banshees bassist Steve Severin for a side project called the Glove, releasing one album, Blue Sunshine.

When Smith once again devoted himself to the Cure, the music evolved from the sparse punk pop of that song and other early singles ("Boys Don't Cry," "Jumping Someone Else's Train," "The Lovecats") to the dirgy, moody music of Faith and Seventeen Seconds, to the more focused hits on the later albums Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Disintegration, and Wish.

While the Cure had been a top hit-making indie band in the U.K. since the early-80s, it wasn't until the release of Standing on a Beach (and its CD-only counterpart, Staring at the Sea) (Number 48, 1986) that the band moved beyond its cult status in the U.S. The double-album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (Number 35) debuted in June 1987, spawning the minor hits "Why Can't I Be You?" (Number 54, 1987), "Just Like Heaven" (Number 40, 1987), and "Hot Hot Hot!!!" (Number 65, 1988). In 1989, Disintegration reached Number 12 and included the group's biggest hit yet, "Love Song" (Number Two). Wish is the band's most successful album to date, reaching Number Two and including the surprisingly upbeat "Friday I'm in Love" (Number 18). The subsequent tour was documented on record and a film, both titled Show (an additional live collection, Paris, culled from the same tour was also released in 1993).

In 1996 the Cure released Wild Mood Swings (Number 12), which attempted to broaden the band's sound to include a track of Latin-flavored pop, earning mostly negative reviews, and with "The 13th" (Number 44) its highest-charting single. Another best-of, Galore (Number 32), followed in 1997. Three years later, Smith unveiled the Cure's best-reviewed album in years, Bloodflowers (Number 16, 2000), the third part of a trilogy they began with Pornography and Disintegration. That same year, the Cure launched a world tour by announcing it would be the band's last. But Smith soon began to hedge on that promise, saying all the subsequent attention and sudden acclaim made him strangely...happy.

In 2001, the band released a greatest hits album and DVD on Polydor and toured extensively, doing a series of performances of Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers for a set of DVDs, The Cure: Trilogy, released in 2003. The following year, the band released a four-disc, seventy-song boxed set, Join the Dots: B-Sides and Rarities, 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years) (Number 106, 2004). Meanwhile, the Cure signed with Geffen Records and began its new life on the label with an album titled simply The Cure (Number 7, 2004). That year, MTV honored the band with its Icon award. In 2005, the Cure recorded a version of John Lennon's "Love" for an Amnesty International charity album. In October 2008, the Cure released their thirteenth studio album, 4:13 Dream. ]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.746&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Jangle Pop Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:52:22 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.746 art.746 The Smiths art.746 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.746&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.746&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss
Son of a hospital porter and a librarian, Morrissey first expressed himself by writing; unemployed in the late '70s, he wrote a book on James Dean and another on the New York Dolls, whose English fan club he headed. He also played briefly in a band called the Nosebleeds. Veteran of such cult groups as Sister Ray and Freaky Party, Marr first met Morrissey at a 1979 Patti Smith concert, and by 1982 they decided to form a band. The pair eventually enlisted drummer Mike Joyce and bassist Andy Rourke for an eponymous debut that, on U.K. indie label Rough Trade (on Sire in the U.S.), entered the British chart at Number Two. An earlier single, "Hand in Glove," was then recorded with Morrissey's favorite female singer, '60s British pop idol Sandie Shaw, and scored Number 27 in the U.K. This coup, along with The Smiths' "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" (Number 10 U.K., 1984), established the band.

The meteoric rise continued with Meat Is Murder debuting at Number One on the British chart; the group also caused a stir with Morrissey's stage presence, the singer wearing a garland of gladioli in tribute to Oscar Wilde, a hearing aid in homage to '50s balladeer Johnnie Ray, and a ducktail haircut patterned after English rocker Billy Fury. Some critics sniped that the group's lyrics referred to child molesting, and Morrissey offended others with sharp comments about the all-star Band Aid benefit single for Ethiopian famine relief. His champions, though, hailed his oblique, angst-driven songs as latter-day examples of Ray Davies-styled social commentary. With ex-Aztec Camera guitarist Craig Gannon added, 1986's The Queen Is Dead (Number Two U.K.) fared handsomely, but a disappointing U.S. tour showed that the Smiths had yet to penetrate the American mainstream. Later that year Johnny Marr was involved in a serious car accident; during his recovery, Gannon was fired. A single, "Sheila Take a Bow," became a Top 10 U.K. hit in mid-1987, but later that year, with Marr deeming their musical approach exhausted, the Smiths disbanded. Strangeways, Here We Come and the live Rank were released posthumously.

Despite his prolific output — Viva Hate, Bona Drag, Kill Uncle, Your Arsenal, and Vauxhall and I — Morrissey's solo career hasn't quite matched his success with the Smiths, although the singer has attracted a rabid cult following in the U.S. He released 1995's Southpaw Grammar (Number 66) and 1997's Maladjusted (Number 61) to an ambivalent critical response. (My Early Burglary Years was a collection of B sides and rarities.) But a tour in 2000 enjoyed sell-out crowds without a new album or even a record deal.

Besides playing sessions with Bryan Ferry, Talking Heads, the Pet Shop Boys, and Billy Bragg, Marr served for a while with the Pretenders, The The, and Electronic without ever finding a permanent venue. Marr's low profile led to a reputation as British rock's most talented underachiever. But he reemerged in 2000 for the first time at the front of his own band, the Healers, which included former Dub Pistol keyboardist Lee Spender, bassist Alonza Bevan from Kula Shaker, and drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr).

Rourke and Joyce played with the Adult Net before backing up Sinead O'Connor; Joyce eventually joined the reformed Buzzcocks. In 1996 they both sued Marr and Morrissey, complaining over the unequal sharing of Smiths earnings; Rourke settled out of court, but in 1998 Joyce won his case, with a British judge calling Morrissey "devious, truculent, and unreliable." A reunion is not expected.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4049&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss New Wave Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:38:16 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.4049 art.4049 Talking Heads art.4049 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4049&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4049&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Fear Of Music (1979), the band began to radiate a kind of somber power, as they beefed up their previously lean sound with African rhythms. Remain In Light followed in 1980, and remains one of the more striking albums of that decade or any other. The rhythms were meticulous and yet completely driving, while the production was highly experimental with enough conventional flourishes to make "Once In A Lifetime" a radio success. Their blueprint now set, the group became hugely successful over the course of the 1980s, and their 1984 concert film is widely considered one of the best ever made. Their music was so immediate that their world beat-inspired songs still sound unique in whatever context they're heard. The group gave official notice that it was disbanding in 1991, bringing an inevitable close to one of the most creative and experimental commercially successful acts in rock 'n' roll. - Jon Pruett]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.55993&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Noise Pop Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:42:42 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.55993 art.55993 Pixies art.55993 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.55993&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.55993&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Surfer Rosa, the Pixies' 1988 full-length debut of skronked-out, surf-damaged punk-pop, was a revelation to just about everyone who heard it. At first listen the remedial chord progressions, utterly nonsensical lyrics, and bizarre delivery sounded like the flailings of inept college rockers with a psychotropic casualty for a lead singer, but once the hooks were in, there was no escape. The Bostonians reminded everyone how to write a perfect, repetitive song that you knew by heart two seconds in. With wonder-twin powers Black Francis and Kim Deal writing paeans to sexually charged dementia, an idiosyncratic guitar sound, and what sounded like the Jolly Green Giant playing drums, the Pixies took the alt-rock world by storm, releasing four near-perfect records before self-destructing under the weight of their own talent, in 1993, after opening U2's Zoo TV tour. In their wake, Deal went full-time with her side-project the Breeders and began working on Last Splash, which would eventually go gold in the U.S., and Black -- as Frank Black -- starting penning a solo eponymous debut, which didn't fair so well. In 2004 -- with disparate and storied careers -- Deal, Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering reunited for a North American tour and several dates at European summer festivals. The group is currently rumored to be working on a new studio album, the first since 1991. - Mike McGuirk]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2728&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Alt Metal Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:09:55 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.2728 art.2728 Jane's Addiction art.2728 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2728&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2728&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss
Perry Bernstein spent the early part of his life working for his jeweler father in New York City's diamond district. When he was still a child, his mother committed suicide (Farrell alluded to this later, on "Then She Died..." from Ritual de lo Habitual, singing to a friend who has died of an overdose, "Will you say hello to my ma?...She was an artist, just as you were"). After her death, the Bernsteins moved to Woodmere, Long Island, and then to Miami.

Bernstein attended college briefly in Oceanside, California, but quit after having a nervous breakdown. He then started lip synching and doing exotic dancing in a Newport Beach nightclub, taking the stage name Perry Farrell by adopting his brother's first name as his last (making a pun on peripheral). In 1981 he started the goth-like Psi Com, which released an indie label EP before breaking up in 1985.

A year later Farrell formed Jane's Addiction, which he named after a prostitute friend who introduced him to band mates Eric Avery and David Navarro. Farrell, reputedly a control freak, became notorious among L.A.'s arty rock scene. Sporting Day-Glo girdles or black vinyl bodysuits, heavy mascara, and neon dreadlocks, he stalked stages singing in his high, mannered voice while the members of his band churned out a foreboding sound often compared to Led Zeppelin. After releasing a self-titled live album on L.A.'s Triple X Records in 1987, a major-label bidding war ensued. Warner Bros. won, putting out Nothing's Shocking the following year which featured one of the band's signature songs "Jane Says" (Number Six, Rodern Rock), a song about a heroin addict and an innovative arrangement featuring a steel-drum.

In 1990, on the strength of a catchy single and video ("Been Caught Stealing"), Ritual de lo Habitual skyrocketed up the charts, peaking at Number 19 (Number One, Modern Rock) and continued to do will with the propulsive single "Stop" (Number One, Modern Rock). The album made the news when some record chains refused to carry it because of its cover art (it featured Farrell's own nude sculptures). At the band's request, Warners issued the album to some stores in a plain white cover with only the text of the First Amendment printed on it.

That same year, Farrell co-directed a film called Gift, a free-form creation that included scenes of Jane's Addiction live in Mexico City and a Santeria wedding. Farrell remained in the limelight throughout 1991, when he brought his idea of an alternative-rock traveling circus to life with Lollapalooza, was busted on drug charges in Santa Monica, and brought Jane's Addiction to a close.

In 1992 he and drummer Perkins formed Porno for Pyros, which put out its self-titled debut album to cool reception the following year. Porno returned in 1996 with Good God's Urge (Number 20). That same year, Porno guitarist Peter DiStefano was diagnosed with cancer. Though he survived, the band never returned to action.

Navarro and Avery formed the experimental, short-lived Deconstruction in 1993 before Navarro left to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The guitarist was in the Chili Peppers long enough to record One Hot Minute, a disappointment both commercially and critically. Between bands, Navarro could be heard on a variety of influential albums, including Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill and Nine Inch Nails' Further Down the Spiral.

Navarro was visible again in 1997, when Farrell unexpectedly reconvened Jane's Addiction for a six-week national tour and the album Kettle Whistle (Number 21), a collection of outtakes, live recordings, and two new tracks. Chili Peppers bassist Flea sat in for Avery, who chose not to return.

Avery instead focused on Polar Bear, a collaboration with Biff Sanders of Ethyl Meatplow. Mixing rock with electronic elements and Middle Eastern tempos, Polar Bear released a self-titled EP.

Lollapalooza continued forward, but when Farrell's partners booked mainstream metal band Metallica as the 1996 headliner, he pulled out and immediately created the short-lived ENIT Festival. By 1998, Lollapalooza was shut down indefinitely. Farrell had by then fully embraced the electronic dance movement, and in the late 1990s he could be found working the turntables as a DJ in clubs in L.A. and New York. In 1999 he released Rev, which collected several Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros recordings with two new tracks. Farrell also began work on a solo album featuring such guests as Dave Navarro and Mad Professor. Entitled Song Yet to Be Sung, it was released in June 2001 concurrently with Navarro's debut solo album, Trust No One.

Another reunion outing, dubbed the Jubilee Tour, commenced in 2001; once again, Avery declined to participate, and was replaced by Porno For Pyros member Martyn Lenoble. In 2003, the band released Strays ( Number Four), its first studio album in thirteen years (Lenoble was already out by the time of recording, replaced by Chris Chaney). Produced by hard-rock veteran Bob Ezrin, Strays was a commercial and critical letdown, though it did lend the group one of the most widely heard songs of its career: The generic dance-rock track "Superhero," which was used as the opening-credits theme of HBO's Entourage.

Jane's Addiction headlined a newly revitalized Lollapalooza in 2003, but rumors of intra-band tension lingered, and Jane's Addiction once again disintegrated in 2004. Perkins and the increasingly manicured Navarro went on to form the Panic Channel, while Farrell teamed up with Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt for a psych-rock supergroup the Satellite Party

Jane's Addiction reunited for first-ever NME Awards show at Los Angeles's Troubadour in April of 2008, featuring the original line-up of Farrell, Navaro, Perkins and Avery, followed by other performances later in the year.]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5081&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Post-Modern Pop Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:37:26 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.5081 art.5081 They Might Be Giants art.5081 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5081&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5081&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.288&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Noise Rock Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:07:17 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.288 art.288 Sonic Youth art.288 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.288&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.288&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss EVOL in 1986 signaled the end of Sonic Youth's anarchic primitivism and the dawning of their golden age. They were gradually transforming bouts of alternate tuning overkill into tightly crafted song. Daydream Nation (1988) remains their pinnacle achievement, a thematically coherent pastiche of Gen-X cynicism, sonic tube disasters and surreal guitar passages that chime like harps in a hailstorm. The work of Sonic Youth is all the more remarkable for being almost entirely self-produced and truly collaborative in origin. Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo all lend a hand in writing and singing, which sometimes produces the jarring effect of listening to three different bands on the same album. - Chad Driscoll]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3931&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Noise Pop Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:43:44 -0700 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.3931 art.3931 Dinosaur Jr. art.3931 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3931&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3931&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4178&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss New Folk Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:09:54 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.4178 art.4178 Violent Femmes art.4178 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4178&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4178&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1113&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Indie/Alternative Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:07:38 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1113 art.1113 The Replacements art.1113 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1113&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1113&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.42634&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Brit Pop/Brit Rock Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:22 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.42634 art.42634 XTC art.42634 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.42634&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.42634&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5698&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Adult Alternative Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.5698 art.5698 Soul Asylum art.5698 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5698&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5698&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Grave Dancers Union in 1993 that they started to find the national fame for which they had so long worked. The band's hit singles -- "Someone to Shove," "Runaway Train," and "Misery" -- rode the pop charts for a brief window, but were somewhat overshadowed by lead vocalist Dave Pirner's relationship with actor Winona Ryder. The group continues to tour, recently releasing Candy from a Stranger. The tracks offered here are from the band's arguably strongest period, its mid-‘80s tenure on Twin Tone. At that time, the Minneapolis triumvirate of Husker Du, Soul Asylum and the Replacements seemed almost unbeatable in the "alternative" pantheon.]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2838&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Punk Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:55 -0800 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.2838 art.2838 Fugazi art.2838 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2838&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2838&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss 13 Songs. Ian MacKaye's Hardcore bellow and Gibson SG marched alongside Guy Piccioto's (formerly of Rites of Spring) demonic rasp and flailing Rickenbacker, serving notice to Punk's intelligentsia under the watchful eye of a razor-sharp, self-editing rhythm section. Six subsequent albums have shown Fugazi's continually evolving ear for sonic craftsmanship; writing and producing works that owe an equal amount to the Beatles and Radiohead as they do Gang of Four and AC/DC. Having reached a certain state of maturation, Fugazi have, to their credit, perhaps given themselves over to musical craft rather than live famously in direct contradiction to a self-made identity.]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5913&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Indie/Alternative Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:15:13 -0700 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.5913 art.5913 Butthole Surfers art.5913 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5913&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5913&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Weird Revolution on Hollywood Records. - Mike McGuirk]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1977&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Indie/Alternative Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:43:33 -0700 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.1977 art.1977 Meat Puppets art.1977 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1977&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1977&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Meat Puppets II, they might be considered the greatest rock 'n' roll band of all time. Released at a time when country was still considered dumb hick music by the legions of underground rock enthusiasts immersed in the D.C. Hardcore scene -- and with Palace Brothers still a long way off -- the record is the Sweetheart of the Rodeo of its generation. Rooted in the weird landscapes of the southwestern desert they came from, the Meat Puppets's fractured country/punk songs offered a never-before encountered number of chops that were, on top of it all, psychedelic as hell. They released great records into the '90s -- ever honing their craft -- but for many of their early fans, their sound became a little over-honed as the looseness and throw-away attitude of their Punk origins gave way to rigid musicianship and a creeping Zappa feel. Still, the Meat Puppets stand as one of the great bands of the 1980s. - Mike McGuirk]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.871&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Homemade Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:42:59 -0700 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.871 art.871 Daniel Johnston art.871 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.871&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.871&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.56759&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Post-Punk Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:44:28 -0700 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.56759 art.56759 Mission of Burma art.56759 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.56759&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.56759&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss OnoffOn in 2004 and Aluminum Washcloth in 2006. - Mike McGuirk]]> http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.596&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Indie Pop Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:08:49 -0700 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.596 art.596 The Vaselines art.596 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.596&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.596&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.9637577&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss Power Pop Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:39:12 -0700 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.9637577 art.9637577 The Mice art.9637577 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.9637577&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.9637577&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.23421&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss '80s Alternative Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:54:25 -0700 Top '80s Alternative Artists on Rhapsody Online art.23421 art.23421 Great Plains art.23421 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.23421&variant=play&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.23421&variant=data&rws=%2Falt-punk%2Findie-alternative%2F80s-alternative%2Fartist-chart.rss