Carver's powerful, no-frills prose lights up a landscape of depressed towns and anxious people leading ordinary lives laced with violence and despair. This collection of stories, his second, inspired a whole generation of writers.

MTV debuted with the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" and changed pop music forever. Thanks to heavy rotation, the channel turned flash-in-the-pan New Wavers like Kajagoogoo and Haircut 100 into hitmakers. Years later, after grinding out a steady stream of compilation albums, MTV delved into acoustic concerts, unplugging everyone from Nirvana to Tony Bennett -- who was sort of unplugged to begin with.