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Joy Division were a post-punk band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. The band dissolved in May 1980 after the suicide of its lead singer, Ian Curtis. Much of their popularity/reputation arguably resulted from frequent playings on air by iconic DJ John Peel, but it is easy now to overlook the impact that the first album, Unknown Pleasures, had on post-punk music at the time, as reference the number of prominent bands that cited this album as an influence.

There are several artists using this name: Red (USA) (often typeset as R3D) is an American alternative band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2004. Musically influenced by artists such as Linkin Park, Chevelle, and Muse, Red's style is the rare symphonic rock which blends guitars and strings with passionate vocals. The songs on End of Silence deconstruct struggles that listeners face, while painting a picture of redemption in the midst of brokenness. According to lead vocalist Mike Barnes, Red stands for the blood of Christ and what it represents: passion, pain, but ultimately, redemption.

Read more about Red on Last.fm.

Combining elements of both rock and folk music, along with disturbingly personal sentiments, dark humor, and a voice able to channel both the falsetto highs of Neil Young and the wavering raspy low tones of Leonard Cohen, Toronto's Hayden Desser has spent the last 15 years creating uniquely affecting music. The critically acclaimed musician first appeared in the early '90s armed with only his four-track tape recorder, his unexpectedly low vocal range, and an extremely detuned guitar.

Concrete Blonde is an alternative rock band dating from the early 1980s to the early 1990s (and re-formed again in the 2000s). They are best known for the poignant songwriting and vocals of Johnette Napolitano. Singer / songwriter / bassist Napolitano formed the band Dream 6 with guitarist James Mankey in Los Angeles in 1982, releasing an eponymous EP in France on the Happy Hermit label in 1983. When they signed with IRS in 1986, labelmate Michael Stipe suggested the name Concrete Blonde, describing the contrast between their hard rock music and introspective lyrics.