Car accidents, spider bites, and head wounds are just a few of the subjects at the center of the Flaming Lips' 1999 album "The Soft Bulletin." But the album isn't dark, jarring, or the least bit disruptive. In fact, it's nothing if not light. This kind of light might be "chemically derived." Or is it

Bright, Death, Euphoric, Event, Expansive, Grand, Psychedelic, Quirky, Smarty arty pop

Anything made by hand or by machine or by lies is "fabricated." Fabrication is that dubious domain where invention can slide toward, and couple with, duplicity. Or not. Sugarhill Gang, one of the first groups to put hip hop on vinyl, knew this slippery slope just too well. With luck on their side, t

Bright, Joyful, Pioneering, Pop, Quirky

Complete with absurd melodies, speedy jungle beats, and progressive jazz accompaniments, Squarepusher's quirky brand of drum 'n' bass breaks free from the genre's mainstream definition. Considered the father of the "spunk jazz" movement, Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson) rejects the groovy hip-hop flavor

Dense, Eclectic, Jungle/drum 'n' bass, Manic, Playful, Quirky

A kind of charming darkness oozes between Morrissey and Johnny Marr of the Smiths. The combination of Morrissey's syrupy, melancholy voice and Marr's jangling, meticulously layered guitar breeds an infectious moodiness. Breaking away from the bawdy new-wave synth pop that characterized the early 1980

Brit-pop, Dark, Ethereal, Melancholy, Post-punk, Quirky, Sincere