Technically all music is experimentation, otherwise we’d all be playing from the exact same page of sheet music. And strictly speaking, most music is a commercial effort, in that the band and the producer are making an honest effort to generate at least some commerce. But as we know, nearly all music leans too far one way or the other. I’m sure you can name at least one recording artist who tends too much toward selling records (I’m looking at you, Ms. Pop Tart). Just as you can name an ensemble that tends a bit too much toward experimentation. (Drums and Tuba? You’re guilty as charged.)
This is where you come in. Use the comments to write in one or more artists that strike the perfect balance between paving new ground and mainstream appeal. I’m thinking along the lines of Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Flaming Lips, DeVotchKa, or Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but I want to hear what you have to say.
Could you please define “mainstream?” To me, Flaming Lips are the anti-mainstream poster boys. I imagine, too, that its members would be horrified to be classified as such. When I think “mainstream,” I think “Billboard 200.” When I think “paving new ground,” I think “obscure.” In other words, we’re dealing with a seeming oxymoron (or at least a happy accident) when we try to list any artists who strike a balance between the two. The only one I can think of that might meet your requirements is still semi-obscure: Badly Drawn Boy.
Flaming Lips appeared as themselves once on Beverly Hills 90210 and that is, by all accredited measures, the end of the “anti-mainstream” question.
Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love the music. But, jeez Louise.