CD -- Absolute Garbage: This compilation gathers 17 songs by the world's best Wisconsin-based band fronted by a sexy Scot. Singer Shirley Manson was Garbage's focal point (check out the companion DVD, which is available separately), but it's the loops-lovin' musicians who gave fuel to songs like "Vow" and "Queer." Drummer Butch Vig (who produced Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and other '90s alt-rock giants) piled on the beats -- which skim the line between pop sass and electronic thrash.
VIDEO GAME -- Hot Shots Tennis: Don't let the anime-style animation and cute backdrops fool you -- this is one fierce sim (for the PlayStation 2). Gamers can unlock 10 courts and more than a dozen characters. Intense training yields super skills -- which come in handy in single-player mode. Two- and four-player matches are even more addictive. Besides, we really love characters who think happy thoughts about bunnies between serves.
CD -- Those the Brokes: The British pop hippies in the Magic Numbers -- two pairs of hirsute brothers and sisters -- cram hook after hook onto their second album of plaintive love songs. Sixties nostalgia runs through the grooves -- part of the record was made in Woodstock, New York, and the nimble, organic tunes recall the best folk rock of the era -- yet there's nothing out there that sounds quite like it.
BOOK -- TV Year Volume 1: The Prime Time 2005-2006 Season: John Kenneth Muir's stat-heavy read details more than 200 dramas, comedies, game shows, and reality programs that you may or may not have seen. It's a valuable reference volume -- anyone remember Pepper Dennis? But it's best for spotting small-screen bombs like Freddie and Tuesday Night Book Club, which was canceled after a mere two weeks.
COURTESY FLUSH, PLEASE -- Space: 1999 30th Anniversary Edition: This DVD set collects all 48 episodes of the cult sci-fi TV show. You can't fault it for jumping on the Star Wars bandwagon -- it actually debuted two years before George Lucas' crew. But its bantha-like pace and technobabble would tempt even Obi-Wan to join the dark side. It makes the laborious Star Trek look like Transformers.
