i have an ugly confession yo make to all you hipsters reading the page. my first rock n' roll music ever was a worn copy of petra's this means war. a cassette -- lacking even the hipness of vinyl! oh, for those days of cheesy vocals and cheesier electric keyboards. i've moved on now, thanks to the fortuitous discovery of some obscure progressive pop-rock and a misplaced techno cd. and just recently, i picked up a bargain-bin copy of that old this means war release on cd. just for nostalgia's sake, you see... really. honest. in the years that stretch between those two purchases, i've expanded my tastes and my collection to include the wacky, the pensive, the frantic, and the unintelligable. for the masochistic, the entire list of my cd collection will soon be up and online. for those who want a peek at the best of the bunch, just keep scrolling... new discovery! while browsing randomly through the racks of my local bookstore i noticed a demo copy of mukala's fiction lying next to a cd player. jaded as i am, i assumed it was another 'we've added keyboards to our alternative group, so we're cool!' sort of cd. i mean, sure it looked spiff -- they had a goat on the cover, and all the band guys were dressed sharp in the liner notes. but syko kommands had a slick cover, too, and we all remember that fiasco... anyhow. being bored, i popped it in for a listen and immediately repented, seeking forgiveness for my doubt. mukala, in a word, is slick. lyrics are witty at times and avoid annoyance, though they never reach for poetry. the sound is tight and polished, with a lush, funky vibe. picking a genre to stick them in is difficult, as influences are all over the place. hip-hoppy lounge influenced vocals bring to mind a funky harry connick jr. with a jaded smoker's edge. electric organs, surf guitars, breakbeat rhythms, violins, and industrialish samples are all woven together. at present, the best description i can come up with is techno-influenced ultralounge with surf rock leanings. but that hardly does it justice. check 'em out and see for yourself. sixpence none the richer is poetry in motion; singer leigh nash and songwriter/composer matt slocumb work together to create amazing songs with catchy, thought-provoking lyrics. this beautiful mess was their hard-edged modern rock release, with guitarist tess wiley's aggressive riffs and jj placenco's bass. their new self-titled release is a mellower but no less beautiful collection of songs that explore darker, more painful themes. loss of love, life's struggles... but man. they do it with style. it's been said that leigh nash "could sing the phone book and make it art..." i couldn't have said it better myself. think synthpop is still stuck in the 80's? you need to hear the echoing green. joey belville layers synth, melodies, bass loops, and bouncy vocals to create a style he calls "agressive smile-pop." tEG has a rabidly faithful base of fans aroudn the country, and grabs more attention with each new release. influenced by anything box, erasure, new order, and other classic synth groups, the echoign green is not to be missed. hokus pick is an unstoppably perky canadian rock group whose stage show involvese rubber shickens, beanie copters, and a seductively hilarious song entitled, i hate this love stuff. wacky lyrics mixed with deep thoughts... it's a good combination. i'm so happy, feeling snappy... sarah masen prophecy of PANIC is one of the old-time techno groups from the n*soul label. their first release, manic panic, was classic acid rave while their double cd soul:reactivator branched out to explore some trancy ambient sounding stuff. both releases are great, but the original will always have a warm spot in my heart... deliriou5? ...before you ask, yes. that is how you spell the name. this brit rock group started out doing praise and worship music for youth groups in england. their stuff has matured quite a bit over the past several years and their latest release, king of fools, is awesome listening. songs about faith, life-struggles, etc etc., and cool accented vocals. woo! ever wondered wht would happen if you put the mario brothers on speed and gave them british accents? listen to joy electric. ocasionally referred to as nintendo-pop-techno, ronnie martin sculpts electronic beeps, bloops, and clicks into catchy melodies and angsty love songs. his latest releases, robot rock and land of the misfits, have moved beyond the sparse nintendo sound to explore dance-oriented sounds, aphex twinnish snares, and other stuff. it's a love-it-or-hate-it kind of group; i'm in the former category. the vigilantes of love. what more need be said? massivivid and aleixa are two immensely cool techno-industrial-dance groups. massivivid has a rocky sound, with hard driving sample-wrapped rhythms and quirky lyrics. aleixa has floating ethereal vocals and disturbing, unsettling lyrics set to bouncing and grinding tunes. it also has laurel, which is reason enough to buy the cd. fleming and john is a gifted husband and wife team with their roots firmly set in the world of rock. their first cd, delusions of grandeur, combines fleming's powerful, soaring voice with john's production and lickety-slick guitar riffs. a place called love and i'm not afraid are two personal favorites. sheri shaw cloud2ground iona plumb the electrics phil keaggy the black peppercorns   [ more to come as i get time. go back home. ]