Stranger Than Fiction

Finally we’ve found a record that only Tipper Gore could love. Comic Bob Goldthwait’s new album, “Meat Bob,” actually contains a clearly identifiable backward-masking message--you know, the aural code that rock foes claim is often used to send secret Satanic messages to impressionable youths. Only this message is hardly demonic--play Goldthwait’s album in reverse and you can hear him chant: “Obey your parents, be nice, don’t eat snacks, go to church and give money to Jerry Falwell!” . . . Speaking of scurrilous messages--what heavy-metal star is planning to title his next album, “Son of a Nun?” . . . When Bob Dylan hits the road this summer, his rhythm section will include Marshall Crenshaw (!) on bass and G.E. Smith on guitar. . . . And you just can’t keep a good song title down. Hall and Oates’ new album features a tune called “Rockability,” while Brian Setzer’s new album also has a song with the same title.