h Ricky!

Summer of Boys

Courtesy of BMG
No, it's not a toothpaste commercial! It's N'Sync showing us the winning smiles that has won all the girls.

eigning king of hunks, the charming, sexy and adorable... Ricky Martin!
1t over art

was 1999

.0..

>wing close behind Jennifer Lopez
successfully made the transition
movies to music (which is not an
jump to make, just ask Bruce Willis
eanu Reeves). Not since Gloria
fan had her last big single has the
ic community been such a fertile
id for Latin music.
was also a healthy summer for rap,
id hip-hop, however, as the genre
tnued to move record number of
, scored many hits.
hile pjevious years have seen the
rgence of pro-women musicians in
Alanis Morrissette and Sheryl
for example, the R&B and hip-
community seems to have exhibited
nilar trend this year with TLC lead-
he way with its "No Scrubs" single.
roup proudly lashed. out against
at men and encouraged women
strong and assertive.
lowing in similar fashion since has
702 with "Where My Girls At?"
Destiny's Child with "Bills, Bills,
Stepping as far away from MTV as
sihle, the book world proved once
n it mostly panders to readers during
summer. Despite the fact that the
Updike edited "Best Short Stories
e Century" hit shelves this summer,
with a large pile of garbage.
he book that most captured readers
summer was Thomas Harris' follow-
o "Red Dragon" and "Silence of the
bs," "Hannibal."
hough most critics praised the third
of Harris' cannibal trilogy, novelist
tin Amis took the opportunity in the
here issue of "alk" magazine to
ur the novel. Calling "Hannibal"
'short of "ridiculous," Amis also
is column to take shots at not only
k critics, but audiences as well, for
ering their standards.
peaking of lowering standards, TV
ng the summer almost always proves

to be a bore. You have the option of
watching the same crap that was on dur-
ing the fall and winter all over again.
But TV actually proved to be a haven
of entertaining art this summer. Well, not
TV, but IIBO. Not only did HIBO rule
summer television with great specials
like "Chris Rock: Bigger and Blacker,"
but it also presented new seasons of
some of the best shows on the tube.
If you want to laugh with a sitcom and
not at a sitcom, you've had to abandon
the networks. Not only are shows like
"Fraiser" and "Third Rock from the
Sun" not funny, but they're stupid. And
"Sex and the City" is the antidote. Only
one of -IBO's series to start a new season
this summer, it proves that the intelligent
sitcom didn't die with "Seinfeld"and
there is comedic life outside of anima-
tion.
HBO has also proved to be the most
daring network on TV with a new season
of its prison drama "Oz." Though painful
to watch sometimes, the intensity, cre-
ativity and realism on "Oz" make it one
of the best shows on TV
On the rerun front, HBO also present-
ed "The Sopranos" for the second time.
For those of us not lucky enough (or
savvy enough) to catch it the first time
around, the reruns have proved a great
introduction, and will only whet your
appetite for the coming season.
Sure, summer should be a time to
relax and let your brains melt out of your
ears. We've earned it, damn it! School is
tough and requires all of the brain power
we can spare.
Still, it's hard to find anything edifying
in the arts from May through August. Do
producers and publishers really think that
audiences are so stupid that this is what
we want? Are they right? Or will audi-
ences just take what they are offered and
not complain even if they are unhappy
with what they are seeing, hearing and
reading.

Lmurkesy f uttog scopeho coris
Limp Bizkits, but tough cookies.

Singer and actress, it's Jennifer Lopez!

Kid Rock taught the music world the meaning of "Bawitdaba." The movie may have not been good, but the soundtrack was.