Off The Record...

Blur

13

Sharing little with their previous release, which produced the band's biggest radio hit, Song 2 (the Woo-hoo! song), Blur works with entirely new textures this time out. 13 isn’t the type of album that can be fully appreciated in one listen, but if you look beyond its imposing wall of sound, the view is quite beautiful.  Highlighted by the gospel influenced single Tender and the spacey styled Bugman.

At The Movies...

Analyze This

Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) has just become the leader of a crime family, and the gangster finds that he can't sleep, eat or concentrate. His mistress even begins to complain about his lack of interest in the bedroom. Enter Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal), a psychiatrist who rear-ends Vitti's car and ends up becoming his shrink. Crystal surprisingly holds his own while De Niro is having a blast. Guaranteed to get your money's worth.

On Video...

Bride Of Chucky 

With the teaser line Chucky Gets Lucky, you know this third sequel to 1988's Childs Play, about the evil spirit of a psycho killer inhabiting a doll, is sheer gore fun. Chucky is put back together by ex-flame Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) but when he comes back to life all is not well, until Tiffany dies and also inhabits the body of a doll. Now the gruesome twosome team up for another round of mayhem.

The Buzz...

NBC's Law & Order has been renewed for three more seasons. By the time it completes that run, the crime drama will have aired 12 straight seasons. Among all primetime series, only Gunsmoke (20 seasons) and Dallas, Knots Landing, and Bonanza (14 seasons apiece) have surpassed that mark.

Monopoly introduced its first new game piece in 47 years. Fittingly, the new game piece is a tiny sack of money.

The classic Japanese comic-strip character Astro Boy will be featured in an animated theatrical movie that Sony plans to release at Christmas, 2000.

After being turned down for certification by the British Board of Film Classification, the UK's censor board, for 25 years, the classic US horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was finally given an 18 rating Monday. Distributors said they will release the film in Britain on April 9.

Since WB acquired the rights to Pokemon in January, it has become its top-rated show among children ages 2-11 and helped WB win its 10 a.m. Saturday time slot against Fox and ABC for the past three weeks.

Teen sensation Britney Spears may be getting her own TV series. Columbia TriStar Television, which also produces the teen hits Dawson's Creek and Party of Five, has signed an exclusive development deal with the star.

Bruce Springsteen performed two informal shows in his hometown of Asbury Park, to warm up for his European tour, which begins April 9 in Barcelona. The surprise shows sold out in less than an hour and a half

Heather Locklear might be drafted by Aaron Spelling to help rejuvenate Beverly Hills, 90210 at a paycheck of $250,000 per episode.  Locklear starred in the recently cancelled Melrose Place, also produced by Spelling.

Fans are logging on in massive numbers to the official site (www.starwars.com) just to get a glimpse at the latest trailer for the Star Wars prequel.

Members of Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Journey and Boston picked up Diamond Awards, commemorating sales of 10 million copies as certified by the Recording Industry Association of America

The Fox Network has picked up a comedy pilot called The Unreliables. The comedy, created by screenwriter Ed Solomon (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Men in Black) is about a group of retired superheroes living in a small town.

Lara Croft, sexy star of the Tomb Raider series of computer games, stars in her own French language comic Dark Aeons. The 48-page hardcover will sell for approximately $13 US and marks Lara's first solo appearance in the four-color world.

A lawyer referral service has hired O.J. Simpson, videotaping him making a pitch for legal representation.

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