Dwarves

Blag Dahlia wants to have his cake and eat you, too. The pop records that the slim, shady Dwarves front man (who compares himself to both Jesus Christ and Jack the Ripper) makes with pop producers often sound sweet -- until you pay attention to the words. With sing-alongs about statutory rape, Satan, and doing more blow than a dozen Darryl Strawberrys, the Dwarves are punk rock's id, the Beach Boys in bondage gear. They decorate their album covers with blood, guts and pubic hair, and are notorious for live gigs that closely approximate prison riots. Masked guitarist HeWhoCannotBeNamed often disrobes. Blag bloodies lips, breaks teeth and makes enemies by the roomful by swinging his mic at anyone who happens to raise his ire. The band used to be famous for tearing through frantic, drug-fueled 20-minute sets and then bolting, and there's still an air of uncertainty at every show.