Michael Bolton

Four girls born within five years, my sisters and I spent our youth leaving scars -- real and psychic -- on each other. Each of us has little white half-moons on our wrists from the angry grip of another's fingernails.When we entered our 30s, we found ourselves living lives as identical as the party dresses our mother once bought for us. Husbands, houses, kids, jobs. Suddenly we were each other's best friends.Well, almost. Holidays ring with our laughter, and we party like coeds while our husbands put the kids to bed. But there is always just a little blood on the floor, from the cuts of tiny knives skillfully wielded.

Just announced Insane Clown Posse -- Sonar on Oct. 17. 410-327-8333 or ticketmaster.com. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals -- DAR Constitution Hall in Washington on Oct. 30. 410-547-SEAT or ticketmaster.com. 12 Stones -- Recher Theatre in Towson on Sept. 16. 410-337-7210, 410-547-SEAT or ticketmaster.com. The Roots -- 9:30 Club in Washington on Sept. 29. Also, Megadeth is there Sept. 30. 800-955-5566 or tickets.com. Still available They Might Be Giants -- Rams Head Live on Sept. 12. 410-244-1131 or ramsheadlive.

Michael Bolton's hair has been compared to Shredded Wheat and his singing style to that of a man held fast in the grip of a newly acquired hernia.Mr. Bolton gets beaten up for his penchant for "safe" songs, too, an array of material that, if you believe critics, falls somewhere on the conservative side of Jerry Vale.One review of his new album, "Timeless (The Classics)," featuring Bolton versions of "To Love Somebody," "You Send Me," "Since I Fell For You" and "Yesterday," among others, sneered that it amounted to " 'The Big Chill' soundtrack from hell."

Michael Bolton sits calmly at a ritzy New York hotel restaurant, contemplating his potato leek soup as he hears a Conan O'Brien joke that had him as a punch line. Something about Mariah Carey's being offered millions to leave her recording contract - which means Bolton must look forward to becoming a billionaire. He smiles. It's along the lines of another O'Brien monologue joke a few years back: "Michael Bolton said yesterday he now wants to become an opera singer. Which is great, because now my Dad and I can hate the same kind of music."

It was going to be a big night out, and Kathie Bibeau was excited. She figured the show at Baltimore's Lyric Opera House would be a perfect hybrid - the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber performed by one of Bibeau's favorite singers, pop crooner Michael Bolton. Bibeau and her husband Al, theater aficionados who have seen numerous Lloyd Webber productions, bought tickets to the show for themselves and two as a going-away gift to friends who were moving out of town. The night of the show, the foursome went out to dinner.

Michael Bolton is on his cell phone, talking about his current concert tour while sitting in a Chicago dressing room, when a member of the production crew interrupts him. "I'm sorry," Bolton says, cutting the conversation short, "They're telling me the show has begun. I have to get into my stage clothes, and go out and get nailed to a cross." Under any other circumstance, one would take that to mean Bolton was about to perform for a crowd of rock critics. In this case, however, he's being quite literal, because the opening number in Bolton's current show - a semi-theatrical spectacular entitled "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" (which opens at the Lyric Opera House this evening)

Just announced Insane Clown Posse -- Sonar on Oct. 17. 410-327-8333 or ticketmaster.com. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals -- DAR Constitution Hall in Washington on Oct. 30. 410-547-SEAT or ticketmaster.com. 12 Stones -- Recher Theatre in Towson on Sept. 16. 410-337-7210, 410-547-SEAT or ticketmaster.com. The Roots -- 9:30 Club in Washington on Sept. 29. Also, Megadeth is there Sept. 30. 800-955-5566 or tickets.com. Still available They Might Be Giants -- Rams Head Live on Sept. 12. 410-244-1131 or ramsheadlive.

TIME, LOVE & TENDERNESSMichael Bolton (Columbia 46771)Blue-eyed soul singers have always relied on vocal mannerisms to get their point across, from Wayne Cochran's screech to Robert Palmer's grunt, but few have ever gone to the extremes Michael Bolton manages with "Time, Love & Tenderness." Apparently confusing emotional anguish with physical injury, Bolton sings as if he'd just herniated himself; hearing him moan his way through "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" or "Missing You Now," you'd swear he was lifting heavy objects in the studio.

THE ONE THINGMichael Bolton (Columbia 53567) In the past, Michael Bolton has described his work as being "critic-proof," meaning, of course, that no amount of bad reviews could possibly convince his fans not to like his albums. But what happens when Bolton gets a favorable review -- does his audience run away in horror? We should learn soon, because "The One Thing" is (dare I say it?) easily the best album of Bolton's career. Not only is the writing heartfelt and tuneful, but it's blessed with a wider emotional range that allows Bolton room to croon instead of delivering every chorus at gale-force intensity.

DIRTAlice in Chains (Columbia 52475)If you think the last thing the world needs right now is yet another mega-metallic sludge band from Seattle, it's probably only because you haven't heard Alice in Chains yet. Sure, the band's second album, "Dirt," relies on the same sort of menacing guitar and slo-mo riffage that took Soundgarden and Pearl Jam to the top, but that's where the similarities end. Dark and foreboding as its sound often is, Alice in Chains never...

It was going to be a big night out, and Kathie Bibeau was excited. She figured the show at Baltimore's Lyric Opera House would be a perfect hybrid - the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber performed by one of Bibeau's favorite singers, pop crooner Michael Bolton. Bibeau and her husband Al, theater aficionados who have seen numerous Lloyd Webber productions, bought tickets to the show for themselves and two as a going-away gift to friends who were moving out of town. The night of the show, the foursome went out to dinner.

Michael Bolton is on his cell phone, talking about his current concert tour while sitting in a Chicago dressing room, when a member of the production crew interrupts him. "I'm sorry," Bolton says, cutting the conversation short, "They're telling me the show has begun. I have to get into my stage clothes, and go out and get nailed to a cross." Under any other circumstance, one would take that to mean Bolton was about to perform for a crowd of rock critics. In this case, however, he's being quite literal, because the opening number in Bolton's current show - a semi-theatrical spectacular entitled "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" (which opens at the Lyric Opera House this evening)

Imagine a live-action version of "Dilbert," or "In the Company of Men" reconceived as a lighthearted romp, and you get the idea of "Office Space," the auspicious live-action debut of Mike Judge.Judge is best known for such animated creations as Beavis, Butt-head and Hank Hill ("King of the Hill"), but he proves just as observant and funny in his first foray into the world of three-dimensional characters in this modest comedy of corporate manners.The quiet humor of "Office Space" becomes clear in its first scene, in which Peter (Ron Livington)

B.B. KingDeuces Wild (MCA 17112)All-star duet albums may be more common in country music than in the blues, but B.B. King's hometown of Memphis is close enough to Nashville to make his use of the gimmick on "Deuces Wild" perfectly appropriate. For one thing, King's guitar and voice are distinctive enough to hold their own even against the likes of Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt and the Rolling Stones; for another, he has influenced enough rockers over the years to be )) deserve such a high-profile show of respect.

Baltimore Stallions owner Jim Speros appears to be closing in on a deal that would move the Grey Cup champions to Montreal.After spending a day in Montreal with Canadian Football League commissioner Larry Smith, Olympic Stadium officials and some potential investors, Speros said at a news conference yesterday that a move north of the border could be announced at next Friday's Board of Governors meetings in Edmonton, Alberta."

Design of a Decade: 1986-1996Janet Jackson (A&M 31454 0399)Ever found yourself looking into a familiar face and suddenly see it differently? That's the unexpected effect generated by the wall-to-wall Janet Jackson hits on "Design of a Decade: 1986-1996." We all know these songs, from the growling, bass-driven groove of "Control" to the synth-spiked exoticism of her current hit, "Runaway." Heard individually, as songs on the radio or clips on MTV, they seem slick, catchy, charismatic, a perfect reflection of Jackson's own well-polished persona.

No sooner had Michael Bolton made his entrance at the Merriweather Post Pavilion Saturday night than the screaming began.His fans -- most of them female, all of them frenzied -- knew they were in the presence of one of pop music's reigning sex gods, and they reacted accordingly. A few, in fact, seemed about to speak in tongues.It wasn't Bolton's hunky good looks that got them going, though; not his long hair, his high cheekbones or even his broad-shouldered physique. Rather, it was his sensitivity that did it, his unabashed display of romantic vulnerability that had them screaming in their seats.

Michael Bolton sits calmly at a ritzy New York hotel restaurant, contemplating his potato leek soup as he hears a Conan O'Brien joke that had him as a punch line. Something about Mariah Carey's being offered millions to leave her recording contract - which means Bolton must look forward to becoming a billionaire. He smiles. It's along the lines of another O'Brien monologue joke a few years back: "Michael Bolton said yesterday he now wants to become an opera singer. Which is great, because now my Dad and I can hate the same kind of music."

It's Opening Day, but this Opening Day is not like any of the rest. Our hearts are not exactly filled (although our beer cups can be at the stadium for a mere $3.50).We're going to the game -- if we've got a ticket -- but that doesn't mean we have to like it.We're down on the players (the Orioles' bullpen, especially). We hate the owners. But we're going anyway because, well, either we love the game or we figure what the hell else is there to do all summer in Baltimore.The problem is, how to enjoy this day. If you spend the entire game steamed because of the baseball strike, you can't have any fun. I've come up with an idea.

BARBRA STREISAND spoke out for the National Endowment for the Arts at Harvard. Madonna and R.E.M. have hit the radio with public-service ads extolling the NEA. But it was Garth Brooks, Kenny G and Michael Bolton -- pop stars ranging from middle-of-the-road to Muzak -- who stared down the Republican majority in the 104th Congress last week. And it was Congress that blinked.The three musicians lobbied the Hill for the arts endowment on Tuesday. On Thursday the House voted 260 to 168 to defeat an amendment tripling the cut in the 1995 NEA budget -- with 75 Republicans, Newtish freshmen among them, in the majority.