By John M. James

The heck with all the digital trickery in the movie theaters these days ­ I'm completely mesmerized by the manipulation of my mind by the audio alchemists of Negativland, with simple two-channel stereo. In a world where the innocent seldom turn away and squirm from the most disturbing moments of television's Divorce Court or Jerry Springer, Negativland's recent CD release of their "Dick Vaughn's Moribund Music of the '70s" radio experiment has given me the most delicious case of the creeps. The Seeland Records release is a reissue of rare recordings lost since an initial cassette-only release in 1990 and became what some consider to be the first 1970s nostalgia format broadcast. These recordings document radio broadcasts on KPFA-FM in Berkeley, Calif., from 1984 when Negativland abruptly disappeared from their long-running "Over The Edge" timeslot, and in its place became "The California Superstation." It's an ooey-gooey feeling, like driving past a car wreck slowly, all the gratuitous banality and seriousness of the 1970s, real or imagined. The word moribund is a good choice, as we pray that death comes quickly to the host, überloser Dick Vaughn, with his deep FM voice and hipster feathers molting. Andy Kauffman would have loved this stuff. Are these real commercial breaks, public service announcements and trite newscasts? Have these snippets of banal absurdity been hidden away on reel-to-reel tapes in a storage closet since their broadcast in 1976, or are they completely new fabrications by the Negativland collective? The result is simply dada, with lusty commercials for B-movies like Private Duty Nurses, Jimmy Dean reminiscing about milk straight from the cow's teat, the mistaken reporting of Ringo Starr's death and a play list like a raging toothache. For listeners who didn't get the joke, the studio was bombarded with radio rage, and many of these upset callers are included on the two CDs (condensed from their original five hours of broadcasts). What's next for Negativland? Their current project involves studio recordings to compliment a collection of personal notes and papers left inside junked cars found in wrecking yards. ... Tuesday brings the first album in eight years from Roxy Music vocalist Bryan Ferry, available as a Virgin Records British import. The album, Frantic, comes with high anticipation as it reunites Ferry with producer Rhett Davies, who helmed the band's classic Avalon album in 1982. Guests on this new solo set include Brian Eno and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, and cool cover selections are generous with Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall," Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene," and Don Nix's "Goin' Down." ... My cover pick of the week can be found on Maktub's new CD, Khronos, due next week on the Ossia Records label. Pronounced "mock-tube," Arabic for "it is written," this Neo-Soul combo mixes chunky Rock guitar, Hammond B3 organ, sitar and Reggie Watts' signature "regg-a-phone" vocals into a funky, rowdy crowd-pleaser. With one part 1970s Al Green bump 'n snap and one part Seattle Rawk, Maktub gets steamy with a nifty cover of Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter."

Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Shakira on Thursday. Late Night with Conan O'Brien welcomes Alanis Morissette on Friday and Beulah on Tuesday. The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn features Angelique Kidjo on Thursday. And Last Call with Carson Daly gets conversational with the Goo Goo Dolls on Thursday.

Releases Coming Tuesday
And like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change...Acid House Kings - Mondays Are Like Tuesdays and Tuesdays Are Like Mondays (Parasol) from Sweden; Atomic Bitchwax - Spit Blood (Meteor City); Avoid One Thing - Avoid One Thing (Side One Dummy) featuring members of Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Mung and Spring Heeled Jack; The Band - The Last Waltz (Rhino) sessions from the Martin Scorsese live concert film fill this four-CD box set; Banks - Is Here! (Sepia-Tone) first time on CD; Jello Biafra - The Big Ka-Boom Part One (Alternative Tentacles) all new spoken word rants and raves focused on the World Trade Center terrorist attacks; Clannad - A Magical Gathering: The Anthology (Rhino) two-CD collection spanning 14 albums; Sheryl Crow - Come On, Come On (A&M;) with guests Lenny Kravitz, Liz Phair, Stevie Nicks, Don Henley, Emmylou Harris and Dixie Chick Natalie Maine; Roky Erickson & the Aliens - Evil One (Sympathy For the Record Industry) reissue; Jimmy Fallon - The Bathroom Wall (Dreamworks); Quincy Jones - Ultimate Collection (Hip-O) 18-tracks including four No. 1 hits; Melvins - Hostile Ambient Takeover (Ipecac); Model Rockets - Tell the Kids the Cops Are Here (Not Lame) featuring Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows; The Most Secret Method - Our Success (Superbad); MU330 - Ultra Panic (Asian Man); Pedro The Lion ­ Control (Jade Tree); Selby Tigers - The Curse of the Selby Tigers (Hopeless); Jane Siberry - Love Is Everything: The Anthology (Rhino); They Might Be Giants - No! (TMBG) a collection of new songs for children.

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