I'm Down With the Slip

I usually don't like bands when I see them live for the first time. But this trio of Berklee College of Music dropouts blew my mind at the recent Mountain Jam in Hunter, New York. At a show like that, you expect to hear a dude wail over a blues scale for half an hour, but the Slip are creative and weird: The drummer shakes it down with a hip-hop backbeat, the bassist plays a baritone guitar and the guitarist plays lots of crazy solos without losing the tight pop melody. Most things that are widely accepted suck, but hopefully these guys will be semi-widely accepted -- because it's really beautiful stuff.

Listen to key tracks from the Slip:

"Children of December"

"Even Rats"

Selected reader responses will appear in Rolling Stone magazine: Write to us at letters@rollingstone.com.