Gogol Bordello

There's the classic-rock squall of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," of course, not to mention the power-pop orchestration of Prince's "Purple Rain." Nas' "Purple" and the Eminem-bolstered D12's "Purple Pills," meanwhile, rep the nobility-associated hue in the hip-hop realm. But in the highly specialized gypsy-punk genre, it's Eastern European achievers Gogol Bordello and their hypnotizing entreaty to "Start Wearing Purple" that takes the plumy prize. The swinging single from 2005's Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike left audiences dancing in the aisles during the end credits of the 2005 film adaptation Everything Is Illuminated (which costarred manic, mustachioed GB frontman Eugene Hütz). Live, however, the song is much like the other songs in the pan-ethnic band's oeuvre: infectious, over the top and just flat-out awesome.