JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #416.17!

Raphael Saadiq – As Ray Ray (Pookie) :: Blaxploitation movie parody gets bogged down in an overlong barrage of falsetto ballad clichés.

Sum 41 – Chuck (Island) :: If you kids want me to take your anti-war songs seriously, then don’t destroy your credibility by calling your publishing company Rectum Renovator Music. Yeah, that’s the sign of a mature, informed adult.

K-OS – Joyful Rebellion (Astralwerks) :: Phinally, a rapper who can actually sing hip-pop and isn’t aphraid to mix saxofones and ambient symfonic music with his phat beats.

DOOM 3 (id Software) :: Still can’t afford the upgrade to run Carmack’s new engine? Hey, you can still play Romero’s original DOOM on a 386 with 256 color VGA graphics and only 2 megs of memory!

Roxy Music – Viennalle (Mainstream) :: Recorded in December 1973 during the Stranded tour of Austria, this listenable audience recording contains rare live versions of “Street Life,” “Amazona” and “Psalm.”

Mobb Deep – Amerikaz Nightmare (Jive) :: If these Cube wannabes were half as rich as they pretend to be, they wouldn’t have to pimp lame copycat records like this to make a buck.

Various Artists – Take Action! (Sub City) :: Putting a free copy of a suicide prevention book on this double compilation is an admirable notion, but doesn’t the inclusion of a band called ‘Murder By Death’ send a mixed message?

SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Quintron – The Frog Tape (Skin Graft) :: I dunno what’s scarier: a guy in Louisiana spending half an hour recording frog sounds on a cassette while playing a Wurlitzer and laughing into the mic; a record company actually releasing it; or me giving it a Sizzling Platter Of The Week.

Be seeing you!