Sonic Youth was one of the most unlikely success stories of underground American rock in the '80s. Where contemporaries R.E.M. and Husker Du were fairly conventional in terms of song structure and melody, Sonic Youth began their career by abandoning any pretense of traditional rock & roll conventions

Atmospheric, Composed, Contemplative, Cool, Deconstructive, Dissonant, Distorted, Dreamy, Eclectic, Elegant, Expansive, Experimental, Fuzzy, Hallucinatory, Intense, Layered, Lyrical, Pioneering, Political, Pop, Psychedelic, Punk, Quirky, Rhythmic, Rough, Sensual, Slangy, Smart, Sophisticated, Sprawling, Subtle, Tense, Trippy, Urban

"God is a smoker of Havanas," Gainsbourg used to say, excusing himself for the deadly habit that turned his voice into a raspy growl. Serge Gainsbourg somehow made everything seem cool, even smoking. Gainsbourg, the child of Russian Jewish Émigrés, was celebrated and reviled as much for his r

Cool, Grotesque, In-your-face, Sexy, Smoky, Wise assy

Legendary musicians create standards, open minds, elevate hearts. Stan Getz did all three over the course of his career, bending the world's ears to debonair sax wails and tropical beats. He could play with romantic passion but always managed to keep things smooth. Until the day he died, Stan Getz wa

Cool, Cool jazz, Early jazz, Melancholy, Moody, Pathos, Smoky

His sinuous fingers worked the vinyl like none before him. His nerves were a straight shot from his head to his hands without stopping anywhere along the way. The turntables were nearly another pair of hands. It's hard to say if he was first to scratch or cut -- there's been arguments on all sides. I

Cool, Layered, Pioneering, Rhythmic, Urban