Music: World Beat

by Milo Miles

1. Dark City Sisters and Flying Jazz Queens, (South Africa, Earthworks)
2. Fogarate!, Juan Luis Guerra/4:40 (Dominican Republic, Polygram)
3. Tropicalia 2, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso (Brazil, Elektra/Nonesuch)
4. Trance, Hassan Hakmoun and Zahar (Morocco, Real World)
5. Lokua Kanza, Lokua Kanza (Zaire, Night & Day)
6. Udi Hrant, Hrant Kenkulian (Armenia, Traditional Crossroad)
7. Firin' in Fouta, Baaba Maal (Senegal, Mango)
8. Rose and Charcoal, Marisa Monte (Brazil, Metro Blue)
9. Ko Sira, Oumou Sangare (Mali, World Circuit)
10. Bouger Bouger, Wenge Musica (Zaire NATARI/Africasette)

(Milo Miles is world music commentator for National Public Radio's Fresh Air, and he writes regularly for the New York Times, the Village Voice, and other publications.)

Music: Pop and Rock

by Chuck Eddy

• Albums
  1. Still Climbing, Cinderella (Mercury)
  2. The Sign, Ace of Base (Arista)
  3. D Generation, D Generation (Chrysalis)
  4. Dookie, Green Day (Reprise)
  5. Kerosene Hat, Cracker (Virgin)
  6. El Nervio Del Volcan, Caifanes (BMG Latin)
  7. Stay Tuned: The Urge Overkill Story 1988
  8. 1991, Urge Overkill (Touch and Go)
  9. Un Jour Dans Notre Vie, Indochine (BMG France)
  10. donde jugaran los ninos?, Mana (WEA Latina)
  11. Vasos Vacios, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (Sony Discos)

• Singles
  1. "El Matador," Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (Sony Argentina)
  2. "Mr Jones," Counting Crowes (DGC/Geffen)
  3. "Sixteen Tons," Cactus Brothers (Liberty)
  4. "Loser," Beck (DGC/Geffen)
  5. "Come Out and Play (Keep'em Separated)," Offspring (Epitaph)
  6. "Happy Nation," Ace of Base (Arista UK)
  7. "Girls and Boys," Blur (SRK/EMI)
  8. "Low," Cracker (Virgin)
  9. "All That She Wants" Ace of Base (Arista)
  10. "Gentlemen," Afghan Whigs (Elektra)

• Music Videos
  1. "El Matador," Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (Sony Argentina)
  2. "Gin and Juice," Snoop Doggy Dog (Death Row/Interscope)
  3. "Take a Bow," Madonna (Maverick/Sire/Warner Bros.)
  4. "Sabotage," Beastie Boys (Capitol)
  5. "Crazy," Aerosmith (Sony)

(Chuck Eddy writes for the Village Voice and Rolling Stone, and is the author of Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe, published by Harmony.)

Music: Rock, Pop and Country

by Jimmy Guterman

• Albums
  1. The Next Hundred Years, Ted Hawkins (DGC/Geffen)
  2. Mirror Blue, Richard Thompson (Capitol)
  3. Sleeps With Angles, Neil Young and Crazy Horse (Reprise)
  4. American Recordings, Johnny Cash (American)
  5. Cryin', Livin', Lovin', Marty Brown (MCA)

• Reissues
  1. The Locust Years, Jerry Lee Lewis (Bear Family)
  2. Big, Bad, and Blue: The Big Joe Turner Anthology (Rhino)
  3. One More Time, Howlin' Wolf (MCA/Chess)
  4. The Complete Sun Singles, Volume One (Bear Family)
  5. The Black Album, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (Warner Bros.)

(Jimmy Guterman, a senior editor for Delphi Internet Services, is the author of four books about popular music.)

Music: Rock and Pop

by Tim Riley

• Albums
  • Last of the Independents, The Pretenders (Sire/Warner Bros.)
  • What a Cryin' Shame, The Mavericks (MCA)
  • This Perfect World, Freedy Johnston (Elektra)
  • Turbulent Indigo, Joni Mitchell (Reprise)
  • Latin Playboys, Latin Playboys (Slash/Warner Bros.)
  • Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, Pavement (Matador)
  • Mono USA, Ben Vaughn (Bar/None)
  • Hips and Makers, Kristen Hersh (Sire/Reprise)
  • Teenage Symphonies to God, Velvet Crush (550 music/Epic)
  • Corvette Summer, Dollface (Crackpot)
  • Flashback, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (Blackheart)
  • I Know Who Holds Tomorrow, Alison Krauss/Cox Family (Rounder)
  • Retreat From Memphis, Mekons (Quarterstick)
  • My Life, Iris Dement (Warner Bros.)
  • File Under Easy Listening, Sugar (Rykodisc)
  • Natural Ingredients, Luscious Jackson (Capitol)
  • San Francisco, American Music Club (Reprise)
  • Blues and Woodstock, Jimi Hendrix (MCA)
  • The Black Album, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (Warner Bros.)
  • Some Lyres, Lyres (Taang!)
  • More Songs About Love And Murder, The Beacon Hillbillies (East Side Digital)

• Three Great Live Titles
  • The Living End, Husker Du (Warner Bros.)
  • Live Jam, The Jam (Polydor)
  • My Truck Is My Home, Marshall Crenshaw (Razor and Tie)

• Tribute Titles of the Year
  • The Beatles At the BBC, The Beatles (Capitol)
  • Acid Eaters, The Ramones (Radioactive)

• Cover of the Year
  • "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (Neil Diamond) by Urge Overkill on Pulp Fiction soundtrack (MCA)

• Also rans (Covers)
  • "The Man Who Sold the World" (David Bowie) by Nirvana on Unplugged in New York (DGC/Geffen)
  • "Here She Comes Now" (Velvet Underground) by Nirvana on Heaven & Hell (Communion)
  • "Dimming of the Day" (Richard Thompson) by the Five Blind Boys of Alabama on Beat The Retreat (Capitol)

(Tim Riley reviews music for Monitor Radio, and is the author of Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary, Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary, and Madonna: Illustrated. Riley is also the editor of millennium pop.)

> Music: Rock and Pop

• Albums
  • Live Through This, Hole (DGC/Geffen)
  • Backbeat Soundtrack, Backbeat Band (Virgin)
  • Unplugged in New York, Nirvana (DGC/Geffen)
  • The Rise and Fall of Heavenly, Heavenly (K)
  • Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Come (Matador)
  • Live at the BBC, The Beatles (Capitol)
  • Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, Pavement (Matador)
  • Calculated, Heavens to Betsy (Kill Rock Stars)
  • The Music of Your Life, Zuzu's Petals (Twin Tone)
  • Bewitched, Luna (Elektra)

• Ten Best Singles
  • "Miss World," Hole (DGC/Geffen)
  • "Rebel Girl," Bikini Kill (Kill Rock Stars)
  • "Your Favorite Thing," Sugar (Rykodisc)
  • "Rocks," Primal Scream (Sire)
  • "A Good Thing," The Sneetches (Spin Art)
  • "Whip-Smart," Liz Phair (Matador/Atlantic)
  • "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," the Artist Formerly Known as Prince (NPG/Warner Bros.)
  • "None of Your Business," Salt'n'Pepa (Next Plateau/London)
  • "Superstar," Sonic Youth (A&M)
  • "Skull," Sebadoh (Sub Pop) and one great ep
  • "Young and Jaded," Noise Addict (Grand Royal)

(Stephanie Zacharek writes for Interview, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and the Boston Phoenix.)

Books

• Fiction
  • A Frolic All His Own, William Gaddis (Poseidon)
  • Book of Hrabal, Peter Esterhazy (Northwestern University Press)
  • Henry and Clara, Thomas Mallon (Houghton Mifflin)
  • The Master of Petersburg, J.M. Coetzee (Viking)
  • What Is Told, Askold Melnyczuk (Faber & Faber)
  • Dogs of God, Pinckney Benedict (NAL/Dutton)
  • White Man's Grave, Richard Dooling (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
  • Opal on Dry Ground, Sandra Scofield (Villard)
  • Open Secrets, Alice Munro (Knopf)
  • Going Through the Change, Janice Daugherty (Ontario Review Press)
  • Camaro City, Alan Sternberg (Harcourt Brace)

• Poetry
  • Breakdown Lane, Robert Phillips (Johns Hopkins University Press)
  • Earthly Measures, Edward Hirsch (Random House)
  • Dante's Inferno, translation by Robert Pinsky (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
  • The Wild Party, Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)

• Nonfiction
  • On The Real Side, Mel Watkins (Simon & Schuster)
  • Parallel Time, Brent Staples (Pantheon)
  • Last Train to Memphis, Peter Guralnick (Little, Brown)
  • Mary Magdalene: Myth and Metaphor, Susan Haskin (Harcourt Brace)
  • Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap, Peggy Orenstein (Doubleday)
  • Making Democracy Work, Robert Putnam (Princeton University Press)
  • The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age, Sven Birkerts (Faber & Faber)

(John Domini, the author of "Bedlam" short stories, is completing a book-length study of Naples, Italy.)

Miscellaneous

• Wonderful Overlooked Perfomances
  • Campbell Scott as Robert Benchley in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.
  • Brooke Smith as Sonia in Vanya on 42nd Street.
  • Linda Hunt, Sally Kellerman, and Tracey Ullmann as fashion editors in Pret a Porter.

• Great TV Episodes
  • The abortion (Thanksgiving) episode of Roseanne.
  • Hank hosts The Larry Sanders Show.
  • Sexual harassment episode (with Lily Taylor) of Law and Order.

• Most Inspired Celebrity Endorsement
  • Bill Murray for the NBA.

• Don't Miss
  • Peter Taylor's last book, In the Tennessee Country.

(Novelist and editor Sara Laschever is executive editor of millennium pop.)

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