MEDIA COOL

MEDIA COOL

This Month�s Media Cool was written by Bill Holdship, Rick Johnson and Joanne Carnegie

AMERICAN VICE (Syndicated TV Special)

Geraldo Rivera is such a jerk. I used to think he was a cool guy, but the man has proven to be so self-righteous and full of himself that he makes you want to puke. This was the TV special that featured �real live� drug busts as they actually happened, giving Geraldo a chance to act out his junior G-man and Miami Vice fantasies for the camera. This from a person who used to fancy himself the �countercultural� TV journalist? Granted, drugs are a sleazy scene, but no more sleazy than the cheap sensationalism, not to mention reactionary politics, of this show. Drug abuse is a problem, but does Geraldo really think he�s accomplishing anything by giving a forum to such brilliant expert opinions as �drugs lead to homosexuality�? As for the busts themselves, what right does this man have to be taking part in this, let alone televising it? What happened to the U.S. Constitution? What is this country coming to? Geraldo says he believes in mandatory drug testing for all Americans, and he had a urinalysis on the show to prove he�s �clean� (a contradiction in terms, perhaps?). Next time, he should take an EEG on camera to prove he has a brain.

B.H.

CHARTBUSTERS (Provost Publishing)

If you�re a �50s & �60s music aficionado, you�ll have loads of fun playing the Chartbusters game...A board game where the legends live! It even says so on the cover! The idea of the game is to collect the highest number of points by purchasing copyright cards, acquiring chart position cards, gold and platinum record cards, and other cards of point value. The player wjth the highest number of points at the end of the game is the winner and all-time chartbuster\ Here�s places you can land on the board: Heartbreak Hotel, Woodstock and the Apollo Theatre! And cards to pick up include: �Great Balls Of Fire,� (you�re a hit)— �Collect A Top 40� card, and �Good Golly Miss Molly�—take a free spin. The game is a relief from the overly-abundant trivia games on the market today. A fun game for the whole family! For more info, write: Chartbusters, 1881 Woodward Avenue, Berkley, Ml 48072.

J.C.

KOO KOO KAKES (Dolly Madison)

The latest advance in �80s junk food is this delightfully light cremefilled cake-thing which ^ looks like a yet-to-beinvented gag gift, the rubber vomit brick. Tastes way better, though, combining as it does all the best qualities of angelfood cake, German chocolate frosting and the internal organs of a Twinkie. Plus, it costs 50 cents or less in most markets, surely the biggest event in international finance since Haiti revised its economic growth rate upward to zero. Forget that warning itch— go kookoo for Koo Koo Kakes!

R.J.

MONKEEMANIA: THE TRUE STORY OF THE MONKEES by Glenn A. Baker with Tom Czarnota & Peter Hogan (St. Martin�s Press)

If you�re any kind of a Monkees fan, you can�t afford to be without this book. The writing may not be as stylish as Eric Lefcowitz�s recent The Monkees Tale (which is still definitely worth reading), but this book is about as in-depth a history of the �Prefab Four� as we�re likely to get. It really does have all the details. None of it appears to be whitewashed. And the Monkees still come out looking cooler than ever, even if Baker�s personal biases are often evident. It�s worth the price of the book for the rock trivia alone. Did you know that Peter was responsible for the �Bach-like� piano intro on �Shades Of Grey,� while Mike orchestrated the French horn part? Did you know that �Goin� Down� is reportedly one of Lou Reed�s favorite tracks? Have you ever read the actual quotes from John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison regarding the importance of the Monkees? Did you know that Peter had a child with actor James Stewart�s daughter? Or that he was the one responsible for introducing Stephen Stills to Graham Nash? All this—plus lots more—in Monkeemania. Highly recommended.

B.H.

JOLT COLA (Jolt Co. Inc.)

�All the sugar and twice the caffeine� is the proud motto of this hard new soft drink brewed in Rochester, N.Y. but now bubbling under nationwide. If you think that most cola drinks are boring and that �diet� pop tastes like decorative bark, try a Jolt on for size. It�s not every day you run across a soda where caffeine is listed ahead of �natural� flavor in the ingredients either, and let me tell you, a couple cans of this stuff and your speeded-up brain will be chasing strange ideas around like, what exactly is the indefinable activity expressed in �vying� or being �on� hiatus? I�m on can number eight myself.

R.J.

ALMOST EVERY INTERVIEW I�VE READ WITH JON BON JOVI (Various Publications)

OK, OK. We know you were once on the same stage as Bruce Springsteen when you were still in high school. Now would you please shut up? You�re beginning to sound worse than Don Johnson (he was friends with �Lou Reed from Long Island�...I'm so sure...)

B.H.