Mixed Media

VARIOUS ARTISTS “Red Hot + Blue”

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6 West Home Video ($19.98)

Who would imagine in a time when you can’t usually find half a dozen memorable videos on MTV in an entire 24 hours that you’d come across almost three times that many in a single 90-minute videocassette? The reason for the remarkable consistency of the videos--including six that weren’t shown on last December’s “Red Hot + Blue” network TV special--ranges from the high quality of the recording artists (highlighted by U2, k.d. lang and Tom Waits) and directors (including Wim Wenders, Jonathan Demme and Jim Jarmusch) to the excellence of the music (all songs by Cole Porter) and the unifying passion of the AIDS-awareness messages. A gem that not only attacks musical boundaries by mixing contemporary and traditional pop, but also freely challenges sexual stereotypes and barriers.