With lyrics that range from musings on the Eiffel Tower to thoughts on the nature of space, The Pixies clearly transcend the categories of pop, punk, and rock 'n' roll. Their songs, which vacillate between light, almost airy pop tunes and grinding, sci-fi punk, might as well have come from another pl

Absurd, Alternative rock, Intense, Pop, Post-punk, Slangy, Smarty arty pop, Visceral

John Ashbery has influenced more poets than almost any other author since 1950. Dean Young, Jane Miller, David Shapiro, and many younger poets take up the pen from within his tradition of shifting tone, quirky imagery, and timeless narratives. His innovations seem to have arrived simultaneously with

Absurd, Fleeting, Improvised, Loose, New york school poetry, Overflowing, Sprawling

Is the man in Fang Lijun's "Series II: No 2" (1992) screaming or yawning? Is this extreme anguish or utter boredom? And what is his relation to the group of almost identical men standing in the distance behind him? Is he just one guy in a crowd of undifferentiated guys, or is he asserting his individ

Absurd, Angry, Cartoonish, Cynical realism, Funny, Visceral

The cast of characters: Big Chris, a debt collector who won't let his victims curse in front of his son; John the Baptist, a tough guy who earned his moniker by drowning those he didn't fancy; Hatchet Harry, a loan shark and smut peddler who flogs his enemies with a black dildo. The scenario: a shoot

Absurd, Funny, Playful, Quirky