Jive Talking
The label with a lock on the mass market
Radio Active
Tune in to the planet via the Internet
Web Music
Free music lives! Say hello to Morpheus
The Scariest Label
From West Virginia, the sound of hate
Postcard From NYC
Beastie Boys' Mike D. on his hometown music scene
Review: "This Is It"
Ben Nugent reviews The Strokes' latest album
Introduction
From Kingston to Cape Town, musicians are rocking old traditions
And Our Winners Are... A good band is hard to find. So some of TIME's writers listened
to groups from around the world to create a definitive, highly
opinionated, probably inflammatory list of the top contemporary
acts outside the U.S. Below are the 10 best bands on planet
Earth. BY RHETT BUTLER
Radiohead, BRITAIN
Hailing from Oxford, this art-rock quintet spins
futuristic songs about the disillusioned and the disoriented,
about aliens and creeps—but often with a glimmer of hope. Key
albums: OK Computer, Kid A
U2, IRELAND
Two decades after it first formed, the Dublin-based band
still hasn't found what it's looking for. It has remained
inventive, hungry and committed to social causes. Key albums: The
Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and All That You Can't Leave
Behind
Aterciopelados, COLOMBIA
Singer Andrea Echeverri and guitarist/producer Hector
Buitrago blend alt-rock, electronica and Colombian folk. Key
albums: Gozo Poderoso, Caribe Atomico
Brilliant Green, JAPAN
A rock-'n'-roll trio—singer Tomoko Kawase and guitarists
Shunsaku Okuda and Ryo Matsui—that creates ambiguously playful
music. Key album: Los Angeles
Sigur Ros, ICELAND
The land of Bjork has produced several notable acts
lately, including Emiliana Torrini and Mum. Sigur Ros, with its intoxicatingly eclectic
sound, is winning fans worldwide. Key album: Agaetis Byrjun
Portishead, BRITAIN
Atmospheric, surreal trip-hop music; Geoff Barrow
produces, and vocalist Beth Gibbons' hollow voice haunts every
track. These songs pull listeners two ways: they make you want
to dance and to despair. Key album: Dummy
Tarika, MADAGASCAR
An upbeat fusion of energetic percussion, traditional
instrumentation and socially conscious lyrics. Nearly every song
sounds like a celebration of the spirit. Key albums: Soul
Makassar, D
Pato Fu, BRAZIL
Pop rock with a sense of humor and a charge of
electronica. Key album: Televisao De Cachorro
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, JAMAICA
Ziggy, Stephen, Sharon and Cedella are keeping reggae's
(and their father Bob's) positivity and purpose alive.
Key album: Spirit of Music
Orishas, CUBA
Combines lyrical wizardry with traditional Afro-Cuban
rhythms to make cutting-edge hip-hop. Key album: A Lo Cubano
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Nortec Collective (Mexico)
Cheikh Lo's band (Senegal)
Cornershop (Britain)
