They Might Be Giants
I was introduced to the Johns of They Might Be Giants by my wonderful partner Henry. I love them (the Johns and also Henry) very much. I own Flood (a brand new record for 1990) on CD.
This Might Be A Wiki is a very good source of information about the Johns. There's also a documentary about the duo that I need to get around to watching at some point.
Weird Al
My personality has definitely been influenced (at least a little) by this guy. Albuquerque is my go-to karaoke finale song. Seeing him in concert soon! His "biopic" is also really good (Daniel Radcliffe plays him). I own Off the Deep End (1992) on CD.
Aside from his movies (and "movie") he also had a recurring show (usually around the time he released albums) on MTV called Al TV where he "took over" the broadcast, playing songs he liked with little interstitials inbetween (including Don't Let's Start from the Johns above). His song "Everything You Know Is Wrong" is inspired by TMBGs work.
Someone has archived almost all of the Al TVs on InternetArchive. I'm fond of Dare to Be Stupid (1985, parts 1 and 2) and Even Worse (1988).
The first big concert I ever went to was the Elmont stop on his 2026 "Bigger and Weirder" Tour and it was genuinely one of the greatest experiences of my life (complete with costume changes!!!).
Mitski
I listened to Mitski more in high school but I still really appreciate her music. To this day my Spotify account is called "Mattski" (totally original I know.)
Puberty 2 and bury me at makeout creek got me through the first half of high school. I remember when I was able to listen to music during class and still know what was going on (gone are those days, now I can barely focus staring right at the screen. I feel like I'm getting dumber by the minute.) Anyways. Did you know the Liberty Bell is a replica?
Alvvays
Didn't know how to pronounce their band name until I questioned it on my show and googled it on-air. I had been saying it like I was a vampire but it's just the regular word lol. They have a song called "Tom Verlaine" and Tom Verlaine has a song called "Always", kinda funny. I have almost all of their albums in physical format (Alvvays on CD and Blue Rev on cassette even though I don't own a player), which isn't hard when there are only three total.
I must've listened to Blue Rev a million times (half of those on release day) and I still wonder if it ever gets Easier On Your Own. I hope I never find out.
As an aside, I hate how Polyvinyl releases CDs in Digipaks. They SUCK. I really need to get some physical cases and move them over.