This is the blanket term for any left-of-center dabbling within the rock context. Artists like Brian Eno and Frank Zappa, inspired by the Krautrock movement of the early '70s, were among the first to impose intellectual concepts on their music without sacrificing their western rock tendencies. Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits used bizarre production techniques to create their own imaginary version of postwar American blues, while Sonic Youth applied the industrial grinding of Einsturzende Neubauten and the complex dissonance of composers like Glenn Branca to the punk rock of the Ramones. Even the early-'60s oddball-production techniques of Joe Meek can be categorized as 'experimental' for its time. And with the advent of computerized recording, musicians can now manipulate sound in ways not previously possible, whether it's the miniature pop symphonies of the Flaming Lips or the relentless white-noise recordings of Merzbow.

Notable Artists: Pere Ubu, Meredith Monk, Jim O'Rourke