What? As survivors of the heady rise and uneasy comedown of the '90s electronica craze, Manchester, England's the Chemical Brothers have been bringing the block rockin' beats at a consistent rate, from 1997's landmark rave touchstone Dig Your Own Hole to last year's spacey We Are the Night.

What? Avant-pop duo Fiery Furnaces have forged a career of pushing their unique sonic sternly forward -- from the multi-suite opuses of Blueberry Boat to the spoken-word psych of Rehearsing My Choir and glam-tinged glow of Widow City.

What? Dig!, the debauchery-ridden documentary chronicling the band's -- and their psych-rock contemporaries the Brian Jonestown Massacre's -- trek from gutter to glitz, may have afforded a certain level of celebrity, but let's face the truth: From their 1995 debut Dandys Rule, OK? to their latest set, …Earth to the Dandy Warhols, this quartet sit atop a cannon that

AND THE FOUR REASONS ARE:

Every band you like owes them a debt.
Now entering their 20th (!) year, this Chapel Hill quartet virtually invented everything about indie rock worth emulating: economic self-sufficiency, creativity unchecked by careerism, perfect pop hooks, and songwriting chops that have matured at the same rate the band and their audience themselves.

What? Fusing '80s-style synths and high-pitched yelps with punk aggression, this quintet is like a loosely collected hybrid of the Cars, the Voidoids, and Devo -- and would no doubt be pleased by the inherent Ramones comparisons spurred by their giddy pop sensibility. The Girls will be appearing at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival this Saturday, Aug.

What? For more than a decade, Southwestern indie-rock outfit Calexico have been scoring back-porch barbeques with their versatile mix of native sounds and universal melodies.