Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 35

While Elvis is rolling INSIDE THIS WEEK'S SPOTLIGHT 'CLEAR' HERE Wallace Baine reviews the latest Tom Clancy novel on film, 'Clear and Present Wallace Baine tf (k David Cassidy reveals all; Unjaded Sandra Bullock; Morrissey croons. when one of its founders disowns it. Ray Lynch, who with his 1984 album "Deep Breakfast" practically defined New Age music, is now saying, no, he is not a New Age composer. 'MASK' MARVEL 5 The Mask' shows that )im Carrey is a major talent, the hottest comic commodity since Robin Williams. TROUT MAN 16 Soul survivors Zapp with Roger I routman comes to town; complete calendar listings ALSO Art 22-24 Dining 24-26 Astrology 26 Movies 4-8 Books 19 Music 11-13 Calendar 16-17 Now playing 7-8 Clubs 18 Stage 20-21 Coming attractions 17 Video games 9-10 Apparently this reporter has a rival in his affection for country singer Nanci Griffith.

Those nutty guys who go by the name Toad the Wet Sprocket have a cult hit on their hands called "Nanci," an ode to You-Know-Who on their latest album "Dulcinea." Santa Cruz's own Dancing Cat Records is positioning itself as the leaders in the Hawaiian slack-key guitar market. Their releases of Ray Kane and Sonny Chillingworth are getting national attention. Best new album for listening to on the headphones late at night: "Take Me to God" by Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart, a hypnotic surreal three-ring circus with one surprise after another. Another reason to thank God for Guttenberg: St. Martin's Press has just released "Mondo Barbie," poems and stories about America's favorite little woman.

The last week of May was a grim one for jazz guitar fans. Joe Pass, Eric Gale and Sonny Sharrock all died within four days of each other. Where is the merchandising blitz-kreig behind Jim Carrey's hit "The I get the suspicion that the only reason this movie was made was to move all those old yellow Dick Tracy suits that have been sitting in storage for five years. It's fun to read about newly minted Hollywood stars not yet jaded by obscene UNTIL THIS WEEK, August was known as the month when Elvis died, now it's also known as the month he turned over in his grave. Notes from a long, hot summer: David Cassidy reveals in his new autobiography "C'mon Get Happy" that his sleazy dad Jack Cassidy turned down the role of Ted Baxter in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Think of the rammca-tions. An NEA-sponsored survey conducted by the Census Bureau revealed some surprises about Americans' musical preferences. The survey asked random Americans which genre of music they liked. Of the 20 styles of popular music listed, countrywestern was the most popular. But surprising is that rap finished dead last, behind opera, parademarching band and choralglee club music.

No word on whether the programmers of MTV received a copy of the survey. First Tony Bennett, now this: Morrissey, the whiny and morose ex-singer of the Smiths, has recorded the late Henry Mancini's "Moon River." The media is finding an equilibrium when it comes to references to a certain pretentious rock star. Broadcasters have decided on "The artist formerly known as Prince." Print media is split between that moniker and the ridiculous glyph that the Purple One insists is his new name. Shorthand will soon reduce it to AFKAP. Remember you read it here first.

Even a long-time Rolling Stones hater like me has to admit: That new video is a kick. Another OJtabloid Story of the De cade in the making? A defense attorney is claiming that Michael Jordan's father James faked his own death to escape crushing financial problems. Five years ago a magazine cover shot of Madonna in a leather bikini with a leash around her neck would have been va-va-va-voom. Today, the current cover of Esquire barely elicits yawns. Her latest hit "I'll Remember" shows that fans are not necessarily sick of her, just maybe her body.

You know that a label is doomed Yes, things ACCORDING TO Woody Allen in "Annie Hall," when a shark stops moving forward, it dies. Never having known Woody to lie, we intend to keep this shark moving forward. As of this issue Spotlight takes on a somewhat different look. Nothing that radical we're still writing in English or something darn close to it and arts and entertainment coverage is still the name of the game. But we're moving stuff around.

Among the stuff ON THE COVER Photo of Mark O'Connor by Sentinel photographer Shmuel Thaler fame and fortune. Exhibit Sandra Bullock, suddenly hot property after her role as the passenger-turned-bus-driver in "Speed." She says about her first role in 1993's "The Vanishing," as quoted in Entertainment Weekly: "The main thing I remember about that movie was a scene in which my head drops into Jeff Bridges' lap. I was like, 'Is this a great job, or No, that's. not really Colonel Sanders on those new KFC commercials. The colonel died in 1980.

Afraid he couldn't take his corporate likeness with him. Webster's alert: The term "gump" will soon enter the mainstream of American vernacular, thanks to Tom Hanks' hit movie. A gump is someone who unwittingly or accidentally finds him- or herself in the middle of a dramatic or historic situation. That laborer who married Liz Taylor, Dan Quayle, Al Cowlings and almost anyone in the Clinton administration qualifies. Wallace Baine is a Sentinel staff writer.

since they all involve that monitor in most folks' living room. Our Elevator picks return to the inside back page, below Tom. Long's weekly column. These moves make sense to us, hopefully they will to our readers as well. Even more hopefully, nobody will notice them at all and most folks will simply feel that as swell as Spotlight always was, somehow it got sweller.

Thanks for reading. Tom Long Sentinel n'rjgy, 3 do look a little different SPOTLIGHT STAFF Entertainment editor Tom Long Staff writer. Wallace Baine Calendar Scott Cooper Contributors Gail Rich, Phyllis Rosenblum, Janet Blaser, Chris Watson, Trade White, Scott Cooper, Brent Ains-worth, Rich Wills, Jim Bindi, Robert Irwin, Julia Chiapella, Charies Levin, Sonya Hipper, Sue Few, Jason Storey, Christopher Caynor Spotlight Weary of Woodstock already being moved: Our cover story will be running on our inside center pages so that we can spiff things up with color graphics. Our weekly list of What's Hot in the world of entertainment moves up to page 2 so readers get the low down on what's popular right up front. Our movie coverage will follow Wallace Baine's weekly column; then we'll move on to TV and video.

The weekly video games column moves up alongside TV and video, Spotyght. Spotlight, the Sentinel's weekly entertainment magazine, is published every Friday. Deadline for submissions to Spotlight is the Friday previous to publication E-mail: sertlitecruznjCom.