A minimalist jazz pianist who took bebop to even higher heights, Thelonious Sphere Monk was a unique character and a maverick in the music industry. How else can we describe a man who kept his grand piano in his kitchen? Not interested in using his music to please people, Monk strove to discover ways

Beats, Bebop, Enigmatic, Improvised, Loose, Playful, Quirky, Slangy

The Ramones formed in 1974 and revolutionized the sound of punk with their speedy, solo-less songs and vacant lyrics. The original lineup featured Joey on the drums, Dee Dee sharing guitar with Johnny, and Tommy as their manager. They left high school in Forest Hills, New York, and moved to Manhattan

Bubblicious, Clever, Manic, Pop, Punk, Rebel, Slangy, Wise assy

Irvine Welsh was born in 1958 in Leith, an area that had been incorporated into Edinburgh in much the same way that Scotland itself had been colonized by England. So his -- and his characters' -- congenital resentment towards the world in general is not too surprising. After dropping out of school at

Dystopic, Funny, Gritty, Low realism, Postmodern fiction, Profane, Slangy, Urban

Language in Harryette Mullen's poetry is like a loop of sound-bytes edited by an imp of the anti-establishment. Threads of African American vernacular meet Spanish idiom, only to emerge as speech from the mouth of a white Gen-Xer. The result is a constantly shifting notion of linguistic identity. Mu

Deconstructive, Postmodern poetry, Rhythmic, Slangy, Whimsical