ROLL THE VIDEOTAPE: Morton Downey Jr. always...

ROLL THE VIDEOTAPE: Morton Downey Jr. always tackles the tough topics, so it comes as no surprise to hear that he’s due to turn his toothy glare on . . . groupies! In a two-part show scheduled for Feb. 27 & 28, Downey will harangue such pop luminaries as Pamela Des Barres, the recently married Ted Nugent, Dee Snyder and members of Ratt, Anthrax, the House of Lords and Christmas. . . . The new Joe Henry video marks the directorial debut of Sean Penn, who shot the clip last fall, using cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchia (who shot Penn’s film, “At Close Range”) and donating his own Chevy Impala for key stunt scenes in the video. According to clip producer Pam Tarr, Penn’s concept for the video was to “outline a destructive, unhappy relationship between Henry and a girl.” Hhhmmmm! . . . Psychedelic hip-hop? For the freshest rap sound of the year, check out “3 Feet High and Rising,” the new album from De La Soul, a trio of cheeky 19-year-old Long Islanders who’ve dubbed themselves “public speakers” (not rappers) and seem just as much influenced by Devo as by Parliament Funkadelic. (Of the group’s two MC’s, one is named Trugoy the Dove--trugoy is yogurt backward--while the other goes by Posdnuof, a moniker assembled from Pos--an inverted acronym for Sire of the Phones--and Dnouf, which is found spelled backward.) Out this week on Tommy Boy Records, De La Soul’s album features 24 songs--some full-length numbers, some game-show routines and some mini-raps the group calls “bug-out pieces.” Using rhythm-track sampling from such unlikely sources as the Turtles, Steely Dan and children’s multiplication records, the group offers such witty material as “Cool Breeze on the Rocks,” “Trasnmitting Live From Mars,” “The Magic Number,” “Say No Go,” “De La Orgee” and last year’s cult hit, “Plug Tunin’.”