Here We Are Now, Entertain Us!

MANSON: DEAD ON ARRIVAL

His band has been called the "sickest group ever promoted by a mainstream record company" by Democrat Joseph Lieberman. And while Eminem seemed to surpass him as the poster boy for offensive entertainment, Marilyn Manson is set to steal back the title with the band's sixth release, Holy Wood. But the album is so laden with blatant attempts to push the buttons of the establishment, one can't help almost laughing at the transparency of Manson's lyrics.

Die-hard Manson fans will be glad he has mostly shunned the glam direction he seemed headed for with Mechanical Animals. The new record returns to a more straightforward goth sound (although the sure-to-be hit single, "Disposable Teens," betrays Manson's glam-rock tendencies). Unfortunately, the album is too goofy to be haunting and too unoriginal to be anthemic.

Recorded in Harry Houdini's old pad and written in the house in which the Rolling Stones lived while recording Let It Bleed, Holy Wood is creatively and inventively stunted. Where Manson's breakthrough album, Antichrist Superstar, featured clever wordplay and bitingly mocked his critics, in Holy Wood Manson's bleak obsession with death and all things subversive turns old and tired. He sounds ultimately like a parody of himself. On tracks such as "The Death Song" and "GodEatGod," the rocker many Americans tried to blame for the Columbine tragedy does little to dispel that notion. Too bad he couldn't do so with more wit and intellect. Parents, teachers, and politicians are sure to blast this record as dangerous. Lucky for them, only good rock 'n' roll can be that. This isn't it.

also coming this winter ...

Wu Tang Clan: The W

After a three-year hiatus during which every Clan member except Masta Killah released a solo album (don't worry, he's got one on the way), the Wu is back with another hyped-to-be-epic release. This time, the Clan relocated from their native Staten Island, N.Y., to the City of Angels to record the album. It might have been the mansion on Mulholland Drive and the 22-seat limousine that pulled Wu out to L.A., or it might have been that O.D.B. could only record during weekend furloughs from the Los Angeles halfway house where he's currently doing time.

Fatboy Slim: Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars

After your last album got played as a rallying cry on Al Gore's campaign trail, how do you follow it up? Fatboy, known to his friends and family as Norman Cook, decided to get together with a few friends. Macy Gray, "Bootsy" Collins, and even a dead Jim Morrison all make guest appearances. Cook says he decided on the title for the album while sitting at the end of an L.A. bar across from Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, and Bill Murray.

Phish: Siket Disc

It's hard to imagine that a band that puts out an album as abstract and experimental as this can also draw 80,000 people a show. But Siket Disc is not your usual Phish fare. The band edited down 20-30 hours of improvisational jamming into a free-form meditation on sound, creating a disc ideal for playing softly in the middle of the night. With news of Phish's plan to take an extended break, this album may have to carry fans through a very long night.

OH, BROTHERS--THE COENS STRIKE AGAIN

If film is the reigning cultural form, then Joel and Ethan Coen are the nation's laureates. They're the only American filmmakers whose movie can get nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and at the same time be heralded as a cult classic. That honor went to Fargo in 1996. And if you've yet to memorize all of the lines in 1998's The Big Lebowski, stop reading and go rent the video.

In their new film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coen brothers somehow convert the epic story of Ulysses in Homer's Odyssey into a tale of blues-singing fugitives in Depression-era Mississippi. George Clooney stars as an escaped convict who leads two ex-jailbirds in pursuit of a buried treasure. Along the way, Clooney and his tweedledum-tweedledee counterparts (played by John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson) narrowly escape their demise time and again as they confront wildly colorful reinterpretations of Homer's characters--the most inventive of which is John Goodman as the Cyclops, here re-created as Big Dan Teague, a one-eyed, traveling Bible salesman.

The movie (PG-13) is foremost a road comedy, and Nelson steals the show as Delmar, the simpleton chain-gang refugee so naive that at one point he believes that a woman's love can turn a man into a toad. Behind Nelson, the star of the film is an ever-present bluegrass soundtrack that rambles and pops as the three challenged heroes seem doomed to run in circles on their wild-goose chase for fortune, freedom, and a way home. Tie yourself to a mast if you plan on skipping this one, because the eighth Coen movie is as sweet as the sirens' song.

coming attractions ...

Unbreakable

While directing the "surprise thriller The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan wrote the screenplay for his new release, Unbreakable. Shyamalan is big on keeping details about his films a secret (imagine if you had known the truth about Bruce Willis's character before seeing Sixth Sense), but we do know that the plot centers on Willis again as the only man who survives a catastrophic train wreck. Samuel L. Jackson stars opposite Willis in their first reunion since Die Hard: With a Vengeance. (PG-13)

Charlie's Angels

How do you turn a campy old TV show into a superhip movie? You cast Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu (of Ally McBeal fame) as three crime-fighting "angels," and pit them opposite Bill Murray as the pack's operative boss, Bosley. Charlie remains unseen in the movie, as he was in the TV show, but his famous voice is reprised by the TV show's Charlie, John Forsythe. (PG-13)

Little Nicky

From the same team that made the hugely successful Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, and Big Daddy, Little Nicky brings Adam Sandler back, this time as the devil's son. Sandler wrote the part of his father, Satan, specifically for Harvey Keitel to play, and roped Rodney Dangerfield into the role of grandpa Lucifer. The loopy story has Little Nicky getting led to Earth by a talking dog, trying to foil the plans of his evil brothers. Look for cameos by Dana Carvey and Quentin Tarantino along the way. (PG-13)

HAWK'S BACK, AND SMOKING

Skate legend Tony Hawk returns with a dozen other pro skaters to perform a wicked variety of tricks and combos in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Activision), already being hailed as one of the best skateboarding games of all time.

The game features new grinds, grabs, and vert moves, and new non-trick animations, such as a variety of different bails (or falls). Players can compete in multiplayer modes or an expanded single-player career mode. Most multiplayer modes allow for simultaneous skating with a split-screen view. The career mode lets players earn higher attribute points, get better boards, and learn new tricks. Game control is a cinch, as a skater's best tricks can be assigned to certain button combinations.

Gamers can also design skate parks full of ramps, rails, and other obstacles with a 3-D editor, as well as new skaters, if the seasoned pros don't cut it.

The edgy music of groups like Rage Against the Machine, Naughty by Nature, and Papa Roach push adrenaline levels off the charts.

Pro Skater 2 is huge because it is pure fun. This isn't any old board game, so grab a controller and catch some air.

other cool toys ...

Final Fantasy IX 

Final Fantasy IX (SquareSoft) is the latest chapter in the popular role-playing game (RPG) series for the Playstation. Players use a group of thieves, knights, and magicians to stop Queen Brahne's quest for world domination. The adventure will wow gamers with the addition of more powerful magic spells, complex battle scenes, and diverse good and evil characters. FFIX uses cutting-edge digital art, amazing cinematic sequences, and improved animation to hook players into this fairy tale. For true RPG game fans, Final Fantasy IX will be a dream come true.

Smackdown! 2

This one aims to slam the competition. The PtayStation title combines smooth game play, great graphics, and easy-to-learn controls to kick pro-wrestling gaming up a notch. Players choose from over 60 WWF superstars to help lay the smackdown on their opponents. Smackdown 2 also has a number of specialty matches including the Casket Match and the gruesome Hell in a Cell. The action continues outside the ring with backstage fighting and all-new storylines. With all of its new features, THQ's Smackdown 2 has something for the wrestling fan and non-fan alike.

Legend of Zelda

The end of the world is coming in 72 hours, according to Nintendo's Legend of Zelda. Majora's Mask. Players must use the game's hero, Link, to prevent the moon from crashing down. In this chapter of the Zelda series, Link is able to transform into different characters with new powers and abilities, so he can explore new worlds and fight more fearsome enemies. The action adventure contains fuller graphics, explosive color, and a smoother look because of the required use of the N64 Expansion Pak. The true race against time will begin when trying to snag a copy of Majora's Mask--it should fly off the shelves.