Dance Music

Have you ever read Rolling Stone or watched MTV and found yourself wondering when pop fans stopped using English to describe their favorite music? Do terms like "mosh," "techno," "sample" and "grunge" make you feel very old and out-of-it? Well, fret no more. Simply by memorizing the following definitions, you too will be able to discuss the latest trends in pop music -- and without actually having to listen to the stuff.Alternative (awl-tur-nah-tiv) n. 1. Short for "alternative rock" and generally connoting any pop style too uncompromising, arcane or intense for mainstream consumption, but not so weird as to be unplayable on MTV. 2. Any pop style favored by college-age hipsters.

Talvin SinghAsian Dub FoundationBombay the Hard WayOK (Island 314 524 559)Rafi's Revenge (Slash 314 556 053)Guns, Cars, Sitars (Motel Room 3)Ever since the Beatles added sitars to their sound back in the '60s, Western pop fans have been familiar with the sound of Indian music.But what we heard wasn't really Indian pop music. It was just a gloss on the traditional sound of sitars and tablas, something rock stars threw in when they wanted their music to sound psychedelic and exotic. For all we knew, there wasn't any such thing as Indian pop music.

The members of Epiphany Episcopal Church in Odenton are dusting off the antique chairs, pulling out the good linen and training the youth of their 81-year-old parish to serve an English country tea from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the church on Odenton Road.In addition to teas, they will serve finger sandwiches, scones and trifle. And this year, they have added a plant sale.Tickets are are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Information: Elva Cox at 410-674-4144.Spring dance showThe modern dance students at Anne Arundel Community College present their spring show "Spring Migration '98," at 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday in the Pascal Center for Performing Arts on the Arnold campus.

Go nightclubbing in a historic bank From its plush velvet couches to its ornately decorated cathedral ceilings and large Corinthian columns, the newly opened Redwood Trust is one classy place to get your groove on. There's a strict dress code, so leave those baseball caps, sneakers and sweats at home. Located in a historic bank building, the nightclub has three levels, numerous bars and two areas for music. The main dance floor is a 38-foot circular space constructed with four layers of rubberized padding underneath - for low-impact dancing.

Boz ScaggsCome On Home (Virgin 42984)Before he found commercial success singing slick, blue-eyed soul in the late '70s, Boz Scaggs was weaned on the R&B of the '50s. So it should come as no surprise that he's so at home with the gritty, guitar-based blues proffered on "Come On Home." Scaggs, after all, is no stranger to such oldies as Ketty Lester's "Love Letters" or Mabel John's "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)." It's when he makes lesser-known tunes, like Bobby Bland's "Don't Cry No More" or originals, like "Picture of a Broken Heart," seem just as familiar that this album begins to seem exceptional.

Brand NubianWhen: April 26, 8 p.m.Where: Hill Field House, Morgan State University.Tickets: $15.Call: 225-2670 or 444-3454. Rap has always been dance music. It was that way 15 years ago, when DJs like Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash pioneered the style in the dance clubs of the Bronx, and it's that way now, as albums by L. L. Cool J, Digital Underground and DJ Quik climb the pop charts.But is dance music all that rap amounts to? Not at all, say the members of Brand Nubian. Although rap is a wonderful form of entertainment, it also makes a terrific forum for education.

DJ Icey Essential Mix (London/Sire 31142) Groove Armada Back to Mine (Ultra 1058) Want to sound like an old-timer? Here's a tip - start talking about the days when the only thing DJs did was spin records. These days, DJs - at least, the ones who spin records in nightclubs - don't just direct the flow of music, but actively shape it. It might be minor manipulation, like the turntable-and-drum machine tricks they use in clubs, or it may be major reconstruction, as in a full-fledged studio remix.

It's not the kind of music heard at the dentist's office - unless, of course, it's a very hip and hard-core dentist. It's Baltimore club music, and it has made another rare appearance in the mainstream news after the Monday death of one of its most influential promoters, Khia Edgerton, known to her many club and 92Q radio fans as K-Swift. The "Club Queen" brought the so-called B-More sound not only to dance floors and living rooms (literally) in Baltimore, but to clubs throughout the East Coast and beyond.

Gang RelatedThe Soundtrack (Death Row 53509)With many in the music industry wondering about the future of Death Row Records after the death of Tupac Shakur, the departure of co-founder Dr. Dre, and the incarceration of label chief Suge Knight, the soundtrack to "Gang Related," Shakur's final film, ought to be enough to silence the naysayers. Instead, it only adds weight to their doubts. Despite reports that Shakur had recorded several albums' worth of material before his death, the "Gang Related" soundtrack hardly counts as a 2Pac album; after all, he's only featured on four of the double-album's 24 tracks.

It's 2 a.m., and the bars and clubs are all closing, but you're not tired, and you're certainly not ready to go home. Sure, you could go to some all-night diner and have the $3.99 breakfast skillet special, but what you'd really like to do is keep on grooving for a couple more hours. Baltimore's liquor laws dictate that all bars must close at 2 a.m., but that doesn't mean you have to call it a night if you still want to listen to music or dance. There are a handful of places around town where the music doesn't stop at last call.