Barry Manilow

It's a complete dream come true. It's like flying first class on the Concorde." That's smooth-jazz saxophonist Dave Koz, talking about his latest album, At the Movies. A lush, star-studded affair, the CD "combines music and the movies, two things I love the most," he says. His enthusiasm for the indelible lyrics and melodies of iconic tunes such as "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz and "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca shines through every note Koz blows. It's a grand, stylish album the artist has wanted to record for years.

Is it my imagination, or are we seeing more of Bob Dole now (he's on an NBC sitcom tonight) than we did during the campaign?"Friends" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Chandler makes it with one of Joey's sisters, only he can't remember which one. NBC."Murder One" (9 p.m.-10 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- Docknovich and Mosely (Michael Hayden and DB Woodside) can't agree on jury selection in the case of suspected murderer/basketball superstar Rickey Latrell (Rick Worthy), so bossman Wyler takes over the reins ... at the same time as another suspect rears her/his ugly head.

Today, as part of my continuing series titled "Advancing Your Career," I'm going to address the often-asked question: Should you set fire to your supervisor's beard?But first I need to formally apologize to the Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders for a column I wrote a couple of months ago in which I stated -- without having done any research -- that people who repeatedly rev their extremely loud Harley-Davidsons in crowded public places are jerks.Well. You talk about stirring up a hornet's nest.

MIAMI -- The last time the AFC won the Super Bowl, Barry Manilow was the "hot" entertainer chosen to sing the national anthem. So it's been a couple of years.Some serious football observers thought they detected destiny in this year's selection of Kathie Lee Gifford, the corniest choice since Manilow. Could this dose of schmaltz provide the antidote to some mysterious curse Barry had unwittingly laid on the AFC a year and a decade ago?All hopes were --ed when Kathie Lee was booed big-time upon being introduced in all her perkiness before kickoff Sunday at Joe Robbie Stadium.

Follow your heart is the moral that runs throughout "Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina," a full-length animated feature about the 2-inch-high fairy tale heroine.And follow his heart is indeed what Barry Manilow finally got to do when "Thumbelina's" producer-director Don Bluth ("An American Tale," "The Land Before Time") approached the recording star to compose songs and the underscore for his latest cartoon feature."I started off wanting to be a composer," explained Mr. Manilow, who has sold more than 50 million recordings worldwide.

GROUND PEPPER on salads. Doubleheader baseball games.Frankfurters out of the microwave. These are among the many things that most people can take or leave with a shrug.On the other hand, there are two things that people explicitly love or hate: Raw oysters and Barry Manilow.So it came as a bit of a surprise to see Mr. Manilow's face, along with somewhat amateurish portraits of Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand, staring out from a billboard off Interstate 95 in East Baltimore to promote a new soft-music radio station in town, WSSF, 104.3-FM.

A funny thing happened to Barry Manilow recently: The critics started taking him seriously.Not all of them, of course (there will always be a few hard cases in that crowd), but enough to constitute a major shift in the media's perception. Suddenly, it's OK to like Barry Manilow, to laugh at the accordion jokes in his act or voice admiration for the likes of "Weekend In New England." A few reviewers, in fact, have sounded almost like fans.How did all this come to pass? Some point to his triumphant appearance on Broadway, which earned him the grudging approval of the New York press; others argue that it was his retrospective set, "The Complete Collection and Then Some . . ."

Arrest psychotics, Penn and Teller sayComic magicians Penn and Teller have a message for U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno: Fictional violence is not the real thing.Their new advertisement on the Comedy Central cable network offers an open letter to Ms. Reno, in response to her warning that if television does not reduce crime and mayhem on the air, the federal government will.In the 30-second spot, Penn Jillette (the one who talks) sits in a van that narrowly misses hitting Teller, while he dips his hand into a bucket of fake blood.

"I consider myself and still do consider myself the hippest man on the planet . . . But I think if you have to say that you probably aren't, so I've never really said that."--Barry Manilow on "Entertainment Tonight" Snicker or even laugh hysterically if you will, but afterward, you'd better sit down, for the following news is not pretty: Geek chic is hot. It's hip to be dorky, cool to be square.Forget Billy Baldwin and Tom Cruise. Along with Barry Manilow, Garth Algar, Orville Redenbacher and Crispin Glover are pop culture's latest stud muffins.

If last summer's subscription series at the Merriweather Post Pavilion seemed the work of someone stuck in the '70s, this year's offerings can only mean one thing: Someone bought the booking agent a new calendar.True, many of the names included on this initial listing are as old as they are familiar: Chicago (June 12); Jimmy Buffett (June 20); Barry Manilow (July 24); and the Beach Boys (date to be announced). Strictly VH-1 material, just like last year.Others, though, are as fresh as anything in the MTV Buzz Bin. Take the June 23 show, a bill that matches jam-oriented sound of the Spin Doctors with high-energy alternative rock of Soul Asylum and the Seattle grunge of Screaming Trees.

I like music. But I tend to like the music I have picked out and purchased. What's more, I only like to listen to certain music at certain times. For example, I'll put on a particular group of artists when I'm feeling introspective, an entirely different group when I'm angry, another when I'm ecstatic and yet another when I'm nostalgic. As a result, all sorts of weird memories have attached themselves to songs in the repertoire of my life. To this day, I can't listen to Barry Manilow's "Mandy" without wanting to sit down and write a weepy, yearning love letter.

Just announced Aretha Franklin -- Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on March 20. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Chris Rock -- Lyric Opera House on Feb. 9. Also, Wayne Newton is there Feb. 11, and Jill Scott is there Feb. 26. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Dolly Parton -- George Mason University's Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., on March 11. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. The Silver Beats -- The 9:30 Club in Washington on Jan. 11. 800-955-5566 or tickets.com. The Radiators -- Recher Theatre in Towson on Feb. 27. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.

Just announced Night of 100 ELVISes -- Lithuanian Hall in Baltimore on Nov. 30-Dec. 1. 410-494-9558 or 888-494-9558. Barry Manilow -- Verizon Center in Washington on Feb. 9. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Carbon Leaf -- 9:30 Club in Washington on Dec. 13. Also, Chuck Brown is there Dec. 31. 800-955-5566 or tickets.com. Cake -- DAR Constitution Hall in Washington on Dec. 10. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Crack the Sky -- Recher Theatre in Towson on Dec. 29. 410-337-7210, 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster .com.

TELEVISION 1.CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS 2.Dancing with the Stars, Monday, ABC 3.Grey's Anatomy, ABC 4. Desperate Housewives, ABC 5.Dancing with the Stars, Tuesday, ABC FILMS 1.The Game Plan, Disney 2.The Kingdom, Universal 3.Resident Evil: Extinction, Screen Gems 4.Good Luck Chuck, Lionsgate 5.3:10 to Yuma, Lionsgate SINGLES 1.Crank That (Soulja Boy), Soulja Boy Tell 'Em 2.Stronger, Kanye West 3.The Way I Are, Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson 4.Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)

It's a complete dream come true. It's like flying first class on the Concorde." That's smooth-jazz saxophonist Dave Koz, talking about his latest album, At the Movies. A lush, star-studded affair, the CD "combines music and the movies, two things I love the most," he says. His enthusiasm for the indelible lyrics and melodies of iconic tunes such as "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz and "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca shines through every note Koz blows. It's a grand, stylish album the artist has wanted to record for years.

TELEVISION 1.American Idol - Wednesday, Fox 2.American Idol - Tuesday, Fox 3.Grey's Anatomy, ABC 4.Desperate Housewives, ABC 5.Winter Olympics - Monday, NBC FILMS 1.Madea's Family Reunion, Lions Gate 2.Eight Below, Disney 3.The Pink Panther, Sony 4.Date Movie, 20th Century Fox 5.Curious George, Universal SINGLES 1.Check on It, Beyonce (featuring Slim Thug) 2.You're Beautiful, James Blunt 3.Grillz, Nelly (featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Gipp) 4.Temperature, Sean Paul 5.Be Without You, Mary J. Blige ALBUMS 1.Ghetto Classics, Jaheim 2.Soundtrack: Curious George, Jack Johnson 3.The Greatest Songs of the Fifties, Barry Manilow 4.The Breakthrough, Mary J. Blige 5.Amore, Andrea Bocelli DVDS (SALES)

I guess we all have our musical guilty pleasures. My friends have ragged me about some of my choices. My homegirl Kayce: "The Carpenters? Rashod, no! Your black card is so revoked." My homeboy Curtis: "Air Supply, Toto - you actually bought these CDs?" But they don't know about my Barry Manilow jones. Sometimes when I'm at home feeling a little silly (a glass of wine or two usually brings this on), I scan the bottom shelf for his greatest hits. I jam to "Copacabana (At the Copa)," snapping my fingers and doing my two-step move across the floor.

Rock on, boomers. Barry Manilow -- yes, Barry "Copacabana" Manilow -- has the No. 1 album in the country this week. Manilow's album -- not any digital single -- outsold the likes of Mary J. Blige, James Blunt and Eminem's greatest hits. Manilow is, of course, old enough to be their crooning grandfather. Who's the next veteran act to enter the charts -- Neil Diamond? Wait, the 65-year-old Diamond had an acclaimed album out last year. "Baby boomers are accounting for a lot of hits on the album charts," says Nathan Brackett, senior editor at Rolling Stone.

Twenty years ago, if it wasn't Prince or Michael Jackson, then it was Lionel Richie all over pop radio. And MTV. And the Grammys. And the American Music Awards. The former Commodore was even in Pepsi commercials -- spinnin' and singin', his hair glistening with curl activator. Richie's image (clean and yuppie-friendly) and his music (melodic and decidedly soul-lite) were fixtures in the '80s. One critic called the Alabama native the "black Barry Manilow" (or you could flip that and say Barry Manilow was the white Lionel Richie)

George Gershwin had it. So did Franz Schubert, Elton John, Giacomo Puccini, Neil Diamond and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. At first glance, these musicians might not seem exactly like kindred spirits, but each was born with a gift not accorded most mortals: the ability to write a tune. For reasons unfathomable to the rest of us, the great tunesmiths know how to string together a few seemingly random pitches and rhythms so that they linger in the ear long after we've heard them. Think of Gershwin's "Summertime" or John's "Candle in the Wind" or Mozart's "Voi che sapete" (from The Marriage of Figaro)