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.

PATRICIA KAAS: live (2000, ***)
Kaas, something of a '90s version of Edith Piaf, carries on the classic chanson tradition with a deep, booming voice that is well-suited to both the standard pop arrangements on the first CD and the symphonique accompaniment on the second. Honestly, I can't swear that millions of miles separate Kaas from such overwrought pap as Dion and Streisand, but there's a conviction in her delivery, and an honesty when she thanks the audience, that is sorely lacking in similar English-language artists. Or maybe I just like sexy French girls.

KATYDIDS: Katydids (**)
A great debut from this obscure act, with perfect pop melodies in such songs as "Heavy Weather Traffic" and "Girl in a Jigsaw Puzzle," all ably produced by Nick Lowe, with beautiful vocals by Susie Hug.

KATYDIDS: Shangri-La (**)
The production on the Katydids' second album, and, as far as I know, their swan song, is handled by Ian McCulloch's collaborator Ray Schulman and Lightning Seed Ian Broudie. After the blistering opener, "The Boy Who's Never Found," it settles into an ethereal groove, with the magnificent "Some Mysterious Sigh" a high point.