This is a reviews page based on my own collection, which just keeps growing despite itself. If it isn't listed here, it's because I don't own it yet, or I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Also, bother your local "new rock" radio station and make sure they are playing "new rock" and not "I Melt With You," which is not new.

note: entries in red text indicate my pick for the artist's best available album. A gold numeral indicates the POPocalypse winner of the year's best album; second- and third-place winners are in blue. Green lettering indicates an obviously exploitative record company compilation without apparent artist input. Purple lettering indicates something nobody legally got paid for.

PETER GABRIEL: Security (aka Peter Gabriel IV) (1982, UK #6, US #28, ***)
This is the last of Gabriel's four "experimental" pop albums before he elected to try for a more mainstream sound. "Shock the Monkey" was his first worldwide hit, and one of the few tracks here that doesn't develop from a powerful percussion attack. Always an enjoyable listen.

PETER GABRIEL: Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats (1990, UK #11, US #48, ***)
"Sixteen Golden Greats"?? What kind of cheesy, K-Tel title is that for such a respected artist? And where the devil is "In Your Eyes"? This thing reeks of profit motive without thought.

PETER GABRIEL: Cleveland 1977 (1992, The Welfare Pig, *)
The Welfare Pig was an Italian label which specialized in lower-priced (under $20) bootlegs. Their products often find their way into record stores, where they pass as legitimate albums. Cleveland 1977 is a fair recording of the worst concert performed by any artist, ever. Avoid.

SERGE GAINSBOURG: Comic Strip (1996, ***)
I don't know where to start with Gainsbourg. This is one of three compilation albums released by Mercury in 1996, each focussing on a different style of Gainsbourg's work. With Comic Strip, you get some damn subversive pop, made with one eye on American culture and another on young women. The sound is that of the Who and the Kinks filtered through a cocktail glass. Gainsbourg was a legend in France, and his 1991 death cause for national mourning, but he didn't get there without offending his elders with leering sexual frankness. He made Marc Almond look like a chaste virgin. That's not to say all of this collection, covering 1966-69, is about sex. "Comic Strip" (one of three duets with Brigitte Bardot) and "Qui est in qui est out" are incredibly effective and simple pop songs. But Gainsbourg made his name with tunes like "Les Sucettes" (a double entendre-filled song about "lollipops"), "Soixante-neuf annee erotique" ("69 Erotic Year") and the truly shocking "Je t'aime...moi non plus," which mixes whispered entendres with Jane Birkin's quivering orgasmic gasps over oblivious Procol Harum keyboards. Gainsbourg's image was a man who removed his tie, but not his coat, before sex, a dark ochre nicotine stain on his fingers. It is impossible to discover him without a level of shock.

GARBAGE: Garbage (1995, UK #6, US #20, ***)
The breathtaking debut from one of the '90's strongest acts. With violent guitar and the sexually dominating voice of Shirley Manson pushed way out in front, this is an agressive, frightening record, particularly on the jawdropping "Vow." Sample how the smooth, Roxy Music backbeat of "Stupid Girl" is beautifully counterpointed with synth effects and the chiming guitar and the great lyrics. This really is a superb album.

GARBAGE: Version 2.0 (1998, UK #1, ****)
Their powerful 1998 follow-up doesn't disappoint at all, and by subverting lyrical cues from the Beach Boys and the Pretenders into angrier refrains, it actually may wear better in the long run as a commentary on the nature of pop music. "Special" was 1998's best single; "The Trick is to Keep Breathing" and "Push It" are both alarmingly good.

GARBAGE: Trash & Burn (Loreley Festival, 6/20/98, Wonder Boy Records)
A very high quality soundboard of the band performing 14 tracks, including most of the hits from their first two albums and the non-LP single "No.1 Crush." Shirley's vocals are probably somewhat higher in this mix than they should sound, but it remains an interesting document and worth finding.

MARVIN GAYE: What's Going On (1971, US #6, ***)
The photo on the back cover of this album speaks volumes. The expression on Marvin's face as he stands underneath a swingset in the rain is one of wistful misunderstanding and sorrow. What's Going On has a strong beat, but the downer lyrics convey Marvin's dismay with a society entrenched in Viet Nam and destroying the environment. His words are not hollow and naive blasts of rebellious anger; rather they are honest statements of confusion and sorrow. This is a deeply moving and very spiritual album.

GENERAL PUBLIC: ...All the Rage (**)
Following the split-up of the Beat (aka the English Beat), Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger reunited for this short-lived project. Not as honestly ska as the Beat, General Public married reggae rhythms with traditional pop and had a few minor hits such as "Tenderness," from this 1984 album, before disintegrating. Wakeling and Roger pursued generally unsuccessful solo careers before reuniting in the mid-90s.

THE GLOVE: Blue Sunshine (1983, UK #35, ***)
The Cure's Robert Smith and the Banshees' Steve Severin moonlight with Jeanette Landray and succeed mightily in this psychedelic throwback with wacky lyrics and heavy guitars. This was meant to be played very loud. Rough Trade's 1990 reissue adds the three extra songs originally available on the 1983 singles.

GOODBYE MR. MacKENZIE: Good Deeds and Dirty Rags (1989, UK #26, **)
A disc full of big anthem pop, recommended very highly if you like U2, Hothouse Flowers or the Alarm. The band is perhaps only known at all in the US because Garbage's Shirley Manson started her career here, in a Linda McCartney-esque fashion, providing keyboards and background vocals. This isn't bad, just derivative. The cover of Brel's "Amsterdam" is all right.

NINA GORDON: Tonight and the Rest of My Life (2000, **)
Well, this is pleasant enough, but I have to say I expected more... Nina Gordon had left Veruca Salt under a cloud of finger-pointing and record-industry rumors. Her 2000 solo debut is incredibly mainstream for someone with such an indie track record. It's almost indistinguishable from Faith Hill; upbeat contemporary love songs with few risks. Nice lyrics and vocals, but capable of so much more.

THE VINCE GUARALDI TRIO: A Charlie Brown Christmas (****)
Quite simply the best offering of Christmas music a fellow could own, from television's greatest Christmas special. Low-key and utterly brilliant.