Picking up where KISS left off (which depending on your point of view is either good or bad) Twisted Sister had a pair of the most iconic videos of the early MTV age and with a eccentric blend of 70’s Glam and 80’s Hard Rock they seemed poise to have a long run. It didn’t happen, but with a huge album and an image that is still known today Twisted Sister may have (though for a brief time) captured the rebelliousness of youth better than anyone else did….or at least figured out to commercialize it.

A band that helped usher in the Industrial sound to music, Cabaret Voltaire was a very intriguing act. Rather than stay and pursue the soon to explode Industrial sound, Cabaret Voltaire ventured into other forms of electronic experimentation that ranged from Electro Funk to House. Cabaret Voltaire watched as other artists crashed through the doors that they creaked open, and despite a long lasting career have remained very much under the radar.

With all due respect to Edith Piaf, there are many who have proclaimed the enigmatic Serge Gainsbourg as the most important musician to come from France. Gainsbourg was always looking ahead, as regardless of what style of music he tackled (and there was many), there was a progressive slant to it all. His use of World influences is certainly legendary and should there ever be a “World Music Hall of Fame”, Gainsbourg would be on the first ballot. As legendary as he was in France, his music only occasionally flirted with traditional Rock styles and he literally didn’t translate into North America.

From Scotland, the Incredible String Band was a Folk band who helped push the boundaries of Psychedelic Folk (Some have said they invented it). Through their use of traditional instruments helped to broaden the scope of World Music much of which is still felt today. The Incredible String Band became a successful in creating music of the future by looking at the past; though an induction for them seems unlikely in any future we can think of.