GUILT-O-METER: 4
'Times Square'
Two teen girls (Robin Johnson and Trini Alvarado) make punk rock in a pre-Disneyfied version of the Manhattan mecca. (An evil developer actually says, ''That street outside is rated X!'') A sloppy but tremendously good-hearted movie, with a lesbian subtext that producer Robert Stigwood (''Saturday Night Fever'') tried and failed to edit out entirely, and a cameo by the porn star -- turned -- AIDS activist Sharon Mitchell, ''Times Square'' (1980) captures a bygone era. Rent it just to see the punk anthem sung atop a 42nd Street marquee. -- Ken Tucker
GUILT-O-METER: 4
'Flowers in the Attic'
Freud, Shakespeare, and the brothers Grimm were wusses compared with V. C. Andrews, author of the 1979 ''oh-my-God-no-way-eww-they're-doin'-it!'' tale of sibling love, ''Flowers in the Attic.'' In one swift read (why linger over the language when Andrews clearly didn't?), you get a dead father, a glamorous sociopath of a mother, an evil grandmother, and -- ta-da! -- a brother and sister growing up in one room with nothing to do but stare at each other. Faster than you can say ''puberty,'' things start getting pretty funky. ''Flowers'' falls into the grand tradition of smutty ''literature'' like ''The Story of O'' and Judy Blume's ''Forever.'' In other words, skip the blah-blah ''character development'' nonsense and head right for the naughty bits. -- Rebecca Ascher-Walsh
GUILT-O-METER: 4
'A Night at the Roxbury' Dance Music
Songs by artists like Amber and Ace of Base got a bad rap in the flimsy ''SNL'' flick ''A Night at the Roxbury.'' Just as film fans have come to worship Will Ferrell's genius years later, so music lovers will one day understand what rayon-shirted Long Island mooks have always known: Those simple synths and rigid rhythms couldn't be easier to sweat to. Throw in a diva belting something catchy and even the most hapless hoofer is guaranteed a little bit of dance-floor ecstasy. -- ND
GUILT-O-METER: 7
Peter Cetera: The Solo Years
Like Don Henley, Steve Winwood, and Nick Lachey, Cetera was just another guy held back by his band. Escaping the shackles of Chicago in 1985 liberated him to record the best soft-rock power ballads of his career. Here's why you should revel in the glory of his love:
1. He's chivalrous: ''I am a man who will fight for your honor/I'll be the hero you've been dreaming of'' (from ''Glory of Love'').
2. He has a gay sensibility (see duets with Cher, Chaka Khan, and ex-ABBA singer Agnetha Faltskog)...
3. ...yet appeals to the religious right: (see duet with Amy Grant and an upcoming Christmas album).
4. He's a feminist: ''You bring me feelin', you bring me fire/you give me a love that's taking me higher/Just goes to prove what one good woman can do'' (from ''One Good Woman'').
5. He's good enough for Clay Aiken: When asked by Raleigh's News & Observer to name his favorite male pop artists, Aiken singled out Jon Secada [Ed. note: See Guilty Pleasures 2005] and Cetera. -- Henry Goldblatt
