The adage about the apple not falling far from the tree really hit home this past week when Ziggy Marley announced that he was going to launch a new career selling marijuana...well, sort of. The son of popular music's most prominent herbologist has become the official spokesperson for the Hemp Bar -- which, despite the fact that it sounds like a popular Amsterdam cafT, is actually a health snack being marketed by a San Diego-based company. Besides delicious hemp itself, the ingredients include puffed amaranth, candied ginger and honey. Sounds reasonable enough, but we remember a brownie recipe from our high school days that had a little more kick, if you know what we mean . . .

Having fallen from stardom -- well, OK, make that lukewarm interest on the part of scattered eyeliner junkies -- to obscurity, former New Romantic fave STEVE STRANGE completed his decline last week when he was found guilty of shoplifting in the small town of Bridgend, Wales. The former frontman of VISAGE, who had a moderate hit with "Fade to Grey" before disbanding in 1984, was forced to endure the indignity of appearing in court without so much as a spritz of hairspray, not to mention being forced to answer to his real name (Steven Harrington, if you were wondering). Most shocking of all, however, was Strange's choice of booty. No, it wasn't a Max Factor gift set or a jaunty new hat -- he pilfered a Teletubby doll valued at ú10. We can only assume it was a Tinky Winky . . .

A research group in Denmark spent a good portion of last year -- and, presumably a fair number of blue-cheese-coated tax dollars -- to determine that pop stars are not the best role models for pre-teen children. The shocking bulletin was released last week by Denmark's Council for Children's Rights, which determined that the worst influence of all was silicone-enhanced AQUA singer LENE NYSTROM, who "encouraged premature sexual behavior" on the part of young girls. The Spice Girls were also cited for undue naughtiness, but -- proving they see things differently in Scandinavia -- no mention was made of Marilyn Manson's proto-Satanic twaddle (or Cher's addiction to plastic surgery, for that matter) . . .

Proving that you can't spend all that time with ANNIE LENNOX without losing a bit of your connection to reality, on-again, off-again Eurythmic DAVE STEWART has announced that he'll be spending much of the coming year trying to launch a New Age television channel in the Netherlands. Stewart, most recently engaged in the decidedly Old Age pursuit of producing a flick for bubblegum teases All Saints, says that the focus of the still-nameless network will be "spirituality, sex and cooking." And if he can get all three into every show, we're going to spring for that satellite dish!

DAVID SPRAGUE
(April 8, 2000)