And they do it well. While tasting only remotely like either flavor, they augur their own unique taste which will rope you in and make you want more and more until the sodium makes your face purple and your mouth is dry and cracked. The flavor lives in your sinus cavities and on your fingers long after the whole bag is gone. You can't shake it. It's an addiction. And a damn good one at that.

Familied with their obscenely striking Coney Island Hot Dog And Mustard Chips, Zesty Pickle Chips, Parmesan & Garlic, and many more, this Washington State favorite is well worth searching out. (P O Box 2302 Auburn WA 98071 www.agrilinkfoods.com) --HS

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Once More With Feeling(UPN Network)

Here's a first: ChinMusic! Magazine reviewing a television show. And it's not even the mighty Simpsons, or spotty-but-irreverent Family Guy; it's a gol-darn "chick" show, the always inspiring and formulaic, yet brilliant Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

You don't know what it's like around the Chin' compound. Since the advent of syndication, this show is on constantly. By now I must add that your humble editor resides with two women, both of which are completely obsessed. Around two years ago I came home thoroughly baked after a company softball game to perhaps the finest Buffy episode to date (i.e.--up until then, not now), the finale to season number four, the "dream" episode. Having quelled the latest über-foe, Buffy and her gang tank down for a night of vids and popcorn, only to have a succession of insanely humorous and madcap dream sequences; harboring touches of Friday the 13th, David Lynch (think Blue Velvet...heck, think about that one a lot), and their own wiseypants wit. Anyway, from then I was hooked.

With much anticipation, this season (their sixth) they unveiled their "musical" episode. As much of a time-honored sitcom tradition as this has become (Drew Carey immediately comes to mind), a bit more was expected of this one, as chief creative head Joss Whedon helmed the project. The hype surrounding its unveiling set the episode up for greatness, with chronicles of overtime-slot allotments and overwhelmingly positive pre-screening reviews.

The result is completely stunning. Visually, musically, compositionally, and every other way imaginable, Whedon's creation pumps with vibrance and wit, rolling through the complex and only-slightly-expedient plot with the musical genius of a younger Steven Sondheim (imagine West Side Story's recurring themes and intertwinings). Story threads and intricate character revelations are handled within the restrictive framework seamlessly; the device of the musical at no point gets in the way, or is punted away.

The crux of the story follows the title character, recently dredged from her short-term grave by her best friend--the increasingly powerful wicca-student Willow--as she sleepwalks (figuratively, not literally) through her renewed life, slaying without emotion, and only being able to confide in the loathsome anti-hero, Spike (a neutered vampire). With her support group busting at the seams, the town is hexed by a demon from the same hell which awaits Gregory Hines and Tommy Tune. His curse spins the town of Sunnydale on its soft-shoes, belting out numbers and hoofing it until they self-immolate.

In terms of style, picture the elements thatmade The Who's rock operas work best. The attention to the detail of blending larger show numbers (both "retro-pastiche" and more commercial/modern "rock-opera"-minded) with transitional bits is excellent. Like The Who Sells Out's "Heinz Baked Beans," and british radio cut-ins, Buffy show producers and writing heads offer hilarious bombastic segue numbers; one consisting entirely of the lyric: "They got the mustard stain out!" Another scene, using the transition from a his/her camp-'40s spectacle to a dialogue section, intersperses random background dancing/big orchestral accompaniment with a melodramatic verse involving a woman (show executive Marti Noxon) trying to talk her way out of a parking ticket.

The expositional attributes (in relation to the serial aspects of the show) are in no way sacrificed for mere strutting. Followers of the program are keyed into and tearjerked through the many subplots; with the constant comic relief moments balancing out the hour-plus tale quite nicely. Safe to say, this episode stands as a model for epochal television. If more t.v. shows were written this well we'd all be spending much more time glued to the set. And it should be mentioned, Broadway stalwart Hinton Battle (Tin Man in the movie version of The Wiz) does an impressive turn as the Demon-du-jour. --HS

VERBICIDEI
Issue #4
(Scissor Press)
The fourth installment from Jackson Ellis' threnody of literate Ivy League punks. In just over a year, they've released four tomes, each more tomier than the last. This time, the spiffy gloss cover belies the very no-gloss content, such as an interview with Soft Skull Press bigwig Sander Hicks (he gets called "sagacious"!), and a quick chat with East Coast (well...Philly) phenomenon Atom And His Package.

Including poetry, reviews, and mucho artwork, Verbicide #4 shows some impressive growth from this relative newcomer. Hints of more genius and insight to come. (Yale Station, P O Box 206512, New Haven CT 06520) --KC

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