The Arcade Fire

Who they are: A Canadian seven-piece with a booming, melodic sound

When: 2004-present

Why they matter: Because your roommate, or your girlfriend, might be an actor

Fiery and dramatic and harmony-tastic, the Arcade Fire, featuring the dueling voices of husband and wife Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, splashed upon the scene in 2004 with "Funeral." The band, from Montreal, sports a multitude of instruments not often heard in rock, including viola, mandolin and upright bass. Their latest record, 2007's "Neon Bible," has quickly become a modern campus classic, and you can be sure to hear it at any wrap party full of theatrical types, along with impassioned sing-alongs.

Extra credit: Echo & the Bunnymen, Simple Minds, the Decemberists, Flaming Lips

(Maud Bernos / DALLE / Retna Ltd.)