Rock Tracks

MARILYN MANSONI Don't Like The Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me) (4:32)
PRODUCERS: Michael Beinhorn, Marilyn Manson
WRITERS: Manson, Ramirez, Zum
PUBLISHER: not listed
Nothing/Interscope 6500 (CD promo)
Following the massive breakthrough success of the Grammy-nominated "The Dope Show," Marilyn Manson was destined to further direct his tongue at detractors who doubt his authority over serious rock-heads out there. This track, the name of which alone is enough to draw you in, offers dazzling production, layering Manson's vocal with a warbling under-layer that is as creepy as the visual that comes to mind with the mere mention of this highly imaged artist's name. Musically, there are multiple layers of weeping guitars, blasts of air, grimacing percussion, and background vocals that come straight from the depths of you know where. Appropriately, parents of Manson's intended audience will be most alarmed by this aggressive phantasm of a rock track. That should make Marilyn Manson and company grin broadly, huh?

Fear Of PopIn Love (4:45)
PRODUCER: Ben Folds
WRITER: not listed
PUBLISHER: not listed
REMIXER: Mark Saunders
550 Music 41772 (cd promo)
Ben Folds' first single from his new splinter project, Fear Of Pop, is a glittering best-case scenario in a world where side projects are often all self-indulgence, no substance. This is a tasty morsel of trance-inducing new wave, a track featuring not only an unsullied pop refrain, but also the spoken-word vocals of William Shatner. While Folds riffs on a light love ballad, Shatner tells a star-crossed love story, increasing in vocal intensity as he moves from a couple's first meeting to their climactic breakup, and the bass guitar provides a heartbeat-like beat. A prominent but laid-back slow-dance beat underpins the whole affair, while a sheer curtain of strings and buzzing organ envelopes the listener. This is an ironic opus magnum reminiscent of the best of Dub Narcotic Sound System, revealing Folds' oft-masked sense of humor. The remix, which adds some speed and Depeche Mode-esque pep to the track, is also a treat.

CRACKERThe World Is Mine (3:46)
PRODUCER: Don Smith
WRITERS: David Lowery, Hickman
PUBLISHERS: Bicycle Spaniard Music, BMI; Bad Altar Boy Music, BMI
Virgin 13672 (cd promo)
With the release of the latest Cracker track, "The World Is Mine," front man David Lowery has found his wank-guitar inner child and taken it out to play. Whirring power pop chords and effects compete with a ZZ Top-like wall of hastily composed guitar sound, while an onslaught of cymbals and low-balanced bass speeds to the song's finish line. Lyrics, usually a selling point for Lowery, are not much of an issue on this track. The song title is repeated ad nauseam with tired Steve Miller-type harmonies, interspersed with occasional verses offering no immediately discernible information. While "The World Is Mine" is inoffensive and its rock ideals are intact, it seems a lazy swing at the slow and wobbly pitch modern rock is hurling of late.