LOLLAPALOOZA II: Ministry bassist-programmer Paul Barker agrees...

LOLLAPALOOZA II: Ministry bassist-programmer Paul Barker agrees that the time may be right for the band’s breakthrough.

“That idea’s been rammed down our throat so much that we have to believe something’s going on,” he said from his home in Chicago.

But in accepting the Pop Eye panel’s nomination, Barker did not really sound like a “Lollapalooza” party loyalist.

“This year it’s a much more safe and sanitary show than last year,” he said, adding that Ministry will come off like a “sledge hammer” compared to the other acts on the bill. “They want to do things that make money this year.”

His comments echoed comments already made by the Chili Peppers. Some panelists, too, were critical of the lineup, noting that all seven acts are signed to major labels. Last year, with Jane’s Addiction and Siouxsie & the Banshees at headliner stature, three out of six--the Rollins Band, Nine Inch Nails and the Butthole Surfers--were independents at the time. All three have since signed with majors, with the biggest prize, Nails, reportedly about to seal a deal with L.A.-based Interscope Records, which expects to release an album late this year or early next year.

And the sixth act was rapper Ice-T debuting his rock band, Body Count, which, as the current brouhaha over his song “Cop Killer” proves, carried some level of aesthetic risk.

With a ’92 lineup featuring three acts that have been Top 10, some wonder if the luster is off the Lolla-pop. “Everything last year was a wild card,” said one panelist who asked not to be quoted by name. “The whole event was a wild card. No one knew how it would do. This year, I feel they played it safe.”