Maybe it's a long way from a Wisconsin basement to the top of the alt-rock heap, but that's just where best buds and future studio masterminds Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, and Steve Marker planted the seed …

"Garbage-picked" takes on a whole new meaning, with the best of the band's far-flung album tracks - from the fever-dream pulse of "Medication," to the dance-club allure of "Temptation Waits," all in on …

Jazz legend Anita O'Day came of age as a big-band vocalist, but she made her mark by stepping out of the sweetheart-songbird routine to swing with the guys, trading hot licks with trumpeter Roy Eldridg …

As dark and downright dangerous as most guitar-toting acts want to appear, few bands ooze equal doses of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll quite like the Kills. Primed for maximum impact as a …

Believe it or not, Bo Diddley trained as a classical violinist, before U-turning into the blues and setting out in search of "that freight train sound." He found it alright, and a whole lot more - bran …

Longtime friend Jerome Green played maracas with Bo Diddley from way back in the early days; while messing around in the studio during a session, the pair came up with "Say Man," a loose, late-night do …

British band the Sundays first hit it big Stateside with the melancholy storyteller "Here's Where the Story Ends," but the group got about as far as it could get from sad conclusions. Picking up in the …

From her first hit, 1949's blazing torch song "So Long," Ruth Brown wielded a combination of fierce soul grit, earthy sensuality, and feminine passion to send single after single onto the R&B chart. Wi …

You think you're hardcore? Maybe a little bit punk rock? Please devour the D.I.Y.-defining work of the Minutemen, fIREHOSE, and Mike Watt before you say anything more. "This Ain't No Picnic" is a clock …