Pick Hits

Off The Record

The Offspring - Americana

A cross between the bristling energy of punk, layered with the massive riffs of heavy metal topped off with the rythmic vocals of rap, the Offspring manage to combine three totally different genres of music and come up with a sound that is unique and all their own. No surprise then, that this disc will appeal to a wide range of listeners. Check out the tongue in cheek rap n' roll hit Pretty Fly For A White Guy, proof that music doesn't have to be all that serious, and can sometimes be down right fun.

At The Movies

Plesantville

Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire star as a brother and sister who are transported through their television into a 1950s black and white TV show. Trapped in a society of innocence, they manage to insert some color into this drab world. The fish-out-of-water comedy and gentle tweaking of TV's nuclear family conventions help drive this delightfully original film.

On Video

Can't Hardly Wait

After four frustrating years of high school, what's a new grad to do but let it all explode at one final blow-out party before moving on to the real world.  What may seem to be a silly adolescent comedy actually turns out to be a sweet tribute to teen angst, a kind of American Graffiti for the '90s. Take a chance on this one. Stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ethan Embry.

The Buzz...

The Rolling Stones much anticipated stadium tour is set to kick off on January 25th in Oakland.  Don't worry about those rumored $600 tickets though, the seats will range from $150 to $40, not bad for venues 1/3 the size of the stadiums that usually host the super group. They will hit the Target Center in Minneapolis February 15th.

Dan Rather has sealed a contract that will keep him behind the anchor desk of the CBS Evening News and hosting 60 Minutes 2 through at least 2004.

Universal Studios chief Frank Biondi Jr. resigned under pressure after the Brad Pitt movie Meet Joe Black became its latest box office disappointment.

The script for the fourth Indiana Jones movie is done, and is awaiting director Steven

Spielberg and star Harrison Ford's schedules to coincide before filming.

A picture of Jennifer Aniston of Friends, is adorning the wrappers of a popular brand of condom in Russia sold in restrooms. The picture is being used illegally and suing for copyright infringement is virtually impossible in Russia.

Posters for The Phantom Menace were being carefully guarded by Fox and LucasFilm this week, with studio reps on hand at the printing plant to make sure no posters were snuck out of the plant by employees or fans.

Hallmark and the Jim Henson Co. announced Monday they have purchased stakes in the religion-oriented Odyssey cable channel and plan to broaden the network's format next spring.

Aerosmith received a call from Governor Elect Jesse "the body" Ventura while the group was on the radio show Rockline. The legendary rock act accepted Ventura's invitation to play at his inaugural thing in January.

Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra said I do in a surprise ceremony in Las Vegas this past weekend. Not sure who the lucky one is there.....

John Travolta's big-budget movie based on L. Ron Hubbard's novel Battlefield Earth may be ready to film by summer 1999, with Travolta as the star.

Although Warner Bros. retains the rights to make a sequel to Interview with the Vampire until 2000, vampire author Anne Rice doubts that they will.

To celebrate the coming of the millennium The Artist is working on a newly mastered, digitally re-mixed version of 1999. The buzz about is that the album 1999 will be re-released in the new year. So, get ready to Party Like It's 1999.

If that old concert T-shirt is worn and faded, don't panic just go to S'Crue. The Glam band from the 80's, Motley Crue will open a store on Melrose Ave. The retail store will open on November 19 and is located at 7201 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles.

Ever wonder what Marilyn Manson would look like without make-up? Well, you'll have a chance to see it with your own eyes when he makes a cameo in the film Jawbreaker. Manson plays a "sleazy guy in a bar who picks up a girl and takes her home." The movie will open in late January or early February.

Funk-icon Rick James has moved out of the intensive-care unit of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and is undergoing physical rehabilitation following a stroke that left him temporarily unable to walk.

Matthew Good Band bassist Geoff Lloyd has left the group. Lloyd says It was an amicable parting, and even suggests that a new bass player might be good for the band.