Jeffrey Morgan’s Media Blackout

Hey kids, what time is it? It’s MB18 time! • Mario — Turning Point (J) :: Stingro. • Canned Hamm — Erotic Thriller (Boompa) :: Flo & Eddie start a synthesizer disco band that’s influenced by A Night At The Roxbury. Really. • The Dears — Protest (Ace Fu) :: Just when I thought that intelligent anti-war protest albums were a thing of the past, along comes this majestically heroic and elegant elegiac mass for the masses to prove me wrong. But that doesn’t mean I agree with them. • Stereotyperider — Prolonging The Inevitable (Suburban Home) :: Sir or Madam, please don’t take a pass on this heavy band that kicks Helmet’s ass. • All Parallels — Formulate A Tragedy (On The Rise) :: Speaking of which: If Page Hamilton’s new women-battering songs have forced you to sell all your old Helmet records, don’t worry because All Parallels are also a far more intelligent substitute. • I-20 — Self Explanatory (Capitol) :: Remember “Bob George” on Prince’s Black Album? Well, here’s the real schlemiel. • Garrison Keillor — A Prairie Home Companion (Rounder) :: Gosh, I miss Mark Russell. • North Mississippi Allstars — Hill Country Revue (ATO) :: Would somebody please mail me a burned copy of Edgar Winter’s Roadwork? • SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Oneida — Nice. Splittin’ Peaches. (Ace Fu) :: This eclectic EP of experimental art rock is definitely worth a listen. Clocking in at a very respectable 15 minutes, “Hakuna Matata” is the kind of jaw-dropping backwards drone that La Monte Young and Tony Conrad used to specialize in. “Song Y” on the other hand sounds like the kind of crazy country music that the Who would’ve made had Mike “Wool Hat” Nesmith joined them. Or is that Pete Townshend joining the Monkees? Either way, you can’t lose. • Be seeing you!