Smart, Lyrical, Even Genteel, But Is It Rock?

FOR ONE breed of rock fan, last year's most important album was probably Lucinda Williams's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, a dozen perfectly turned roots songs with novelistically precise lyrics. This year's ambitious projects include The Soft Bulletin, on which the Flaming Lips expect listeners to hear their studio effects as a commentary on the tunes and vice versa. Even more celebrated is Play, the latest CD by the techno artist Moby, who brings a composer's awareness to bear as he anchors dance grooves in ethnic field recordings.