MIXED MEDIA : *** 1/2 “LOUDER THAN LIVE” Soundgarden <i> A&M; videocassette ($14.98)</i> : Items in this survey of pop-related videos, books and laser discs are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic).

The concert footage features every rock-vid device you’re sick of--slow motion, freeze frame, weird angles, grainy black-and-white images. But in the hands of director Kevin Kerslake, what usually are gimmicks become expressive visual codifications of Soundgarden’s blend of defiance and melancholy. Shot at the Whisky last December, the video captures both the mania and the disoriented, dreamlike quality of the Seattle pups’ music. Two earlier “concept” videos round out the 50-minute package, with the band wailing its laments in blasted landscapes. Bonus: The bass they demolish in the live segment is offered as a contest prize. Coupon enclosed.