The Martini Nation knows what it likes, but does it know what it doesn't know?

That's why there's "MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide to Martini Music and Easy Listening."

It's an exhaustive new book that hopes to cash in on the revival of the lounge scene -- or as the guide's editors put it, "middle-class white people's roots music. "

Throughout the guide, the music's kitsch factor is acknowledged without being too deeply indulged. In other words, the reviewers not only know the music, they sometimes adore it. Irony is a component but not a driving force of the revival for these appreciative listeners.

The guide defines clear boundaries for the eclectic sound ("crooners," "Vegas kings," "exotica," "swingers" and "space-age pop" are merely some of the sub-genres) and proves remarkably inclusive.

Not only are Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand represented, but so are a host of contemporary stars whose music ordinarily isn't thought of as lounge.

In fact, the best part of the guide for the unconverted are the entries -- for the likes of Bjork, *MORRISSEY* and the Pet Shop Boys -- whose music is shed in a new light when viewed through the foggy haze of a half-empty (or is it half-full?) highball glass.

The Elvis Costello entry, for instance, points out that "it was always hard to determine how much of Costello's vaunted emotion was real and how much he fabricated for effect, which is even a better reason to classify him as a lounge singer."

"MusicHound Lounge" is available for $ 24.95 at bookstores or by phoning 800-776-6265.