I sit and watch MTV sometimes and can't help but notice that artists who used to seem a little more underground are selling out and surfacing on the channel. Jimmy Eat World scored big with "The Middle” and now The Ataris have come out with their stab at the graduation anthem which has become an annual ordeal.

Their song "In This Diary” attempts to follow in the footsteps of Vitamin C, Eve 6 and Dropline in hopes of becoming a forever timeless song for anybody who graduates in the year that it is released.

There has been a recent rise in underground music to the forefront of pop culture, which seems to want to turn a little more punk, hence the industry puppet of a band Good Charlotte. In the midst of this, however, some artists can maintain dignity and not sing for the critics, but for themselves.

Bands such as Bright Eyes, Fairview, Recover and Atom and His Package don't seem to want to take the path beaten by the emergence of Blink 182 into modern pop. They sing what they want, not necessarily what we want.

Kid Dakota falls into this category as well. A guitar and drums indie rock duo out of Minneapolis, they are an act led by the vocals of Darren Jackson and former 12 Rods member Christopher McGuire's drum beats. Their EP "So Pretty” dons a photo of Jackson, bloody-faced and arm slinged, and is an accurate representation of the band's live shows. The sound of the CD is something entirely unique in itself.

This Tuesday night, Kid Dakota took the stage at Huff's Lounge at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and gave a riveting, engrossing performance worthy of remembrance in my head for quite some time. Dakota's music and vocals reminded me somewhat of Bright Eyes in that the group didn't rely on anything but their instruments and Jackson's voice. The songs were simple, occasionally melancholic and extremely well written and produced.

Kid Dakota has true and pure talent unrecognizable to some meatheads, but undeniable to a true music fan. A song should be moving, thoughtful and deep and Kid Dakota knocked the ball out of the park in all three categories with every song performed. They radiated musical passion and it soon became contagious and spread to their small, but nonetheless extremely devoted and loving audience. Their performance at UW-Stout was no different. They owned the stage, sang their songs and made an impact.

The impact on the audience is where it's at. They can make or break a band, and isn't that why all musicians get started with their trade in the first place? The audience impact is the effect that some bands have forgotten about when attempting their journey to Fortunetown, USA. It's also something that people can hold onto as they cling to what true music there is left in the world.

--Bill Denney