THE MOUSSE WARS: Who would guess you...

THE MOUSSE WARS: Who would guess you could actually hear anything exciting on “Hitline USA,” one of those dreary syndicated radio call-in shows that spotlights a different rock star each week (it airs live here Sundays at 8 p.m. on Power 106). But everybody in the music biz has been hooting over the Jan. 14 program. It was a sizzling pop prize fight, thanks to Richard Marx, who came out swinging at “Hitline” co-host Adam Curry, best known as the perfectly coiffed emcee of another snoozy show, MTV’s “Top 20 Countdown.” After hearing a tape of the broadcast, we score Marx the winner--by a knockdown.

“I’m very self-critical,” Marx said early on. “But I’m not nearly as critical of me as some other people--like our co-host, Adam Curry.” Marx proceeded to explain how he’d heard from friends that Curry had “insulted” him on MTV, making light of an incident where Marx trashed his tour bus after it was delayed at the Canadian border, nearly causing him to miss a concert date. Marx’s friends said that Curry had reported the incident by joking: “Richard Marx trashing his bus--that’s like Doogie Howser going on a homicidal shooting spree.”

When Marx confronted Curry at an MTV taping, Curry denied making the remarks. But as Marx told “Hitline” listeners, he obtained a tape from MTV and “there (Adam) was, saying word for word what he’d been accused of.” Marx then said, on the air: “So Adam, you lying scumbag! I don’t want to hear your voice for the rest of this interview. . . . He’s got a hairdo like Mrs. Howell from ‘Gilligan’s Island!’ ”

Curry tried to placate Marx by saying: “Hopefully, we can refrain from all the personal differences--I don’t think this is either the time or the place to discuss it. Although. . . .” Marx interrupted: “Adam, you jerk! I don’t even want to hear your voice! You’re just a mousse endorsement!”

Since the two were separated by satellite technology--Curry was in New York, Marx was in Los Angeles--the rivals never came to blows. But the acid quips never stopped, culminating with Curry sneering at Marx: “Remember, I’m on MTV every single day--and you’re not.” When the dust cleared, Marx had abruptly departed, without an apology from Curry. When we called Curry to hear his side of the story, his management said he wouldn’t comment. But sources close to Curry insisted that he didn’t invent the quip, saying he was simply reading from a script, which was presumably approved by MTV’s brass.