By GERRY GALIPAULT

(July 1999)

It's a strange business, this thing called the music industry. Look no further than the disparate stories of New Radicals, Morphine and Guy Mitchell.

Gregg Alexander, essentially a one-man show known as New Radicals, recently handed a bomb to MCA Records: He announced he longer will be a recording artist - contractual obligations be damned - and will concentrate on writing for and producing other artists, such as his current work on Danielle Brisebois' RCA debut, "Portable Life," set for a September release.

It's a bizarre development, especially after New Radicals made a surprise international splash with the single, "You Get What You Give," P&P's single of the year in 1998. Cut from the power-pop mold of 1970s Todd Rundgren, the song was a pleasing, pop-pumped petal, complete with MTV-ready choruses, layers of guitar chords and infectious harmonies. It had it all.

New Radicals' debut album, "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too," also fared well, going gold and still clocking time on Billboard's chart this week.

Why the change of heart for Alexander? Fans, now consoling each other on the Internet, speculate that Alexander was unhappy with New Radicals' wildly uneven live performances. That's not a stretch, considering New Radicals was a studio project and Alexander hastily put together a touring outfit once the song and album took off.

In a statement, Alexander said he was "tired of fronting a 'one-hit wonder.' "

Never mind that MCA is poised to release "Someday We'll Know" as the second single and had authorized an accompanying video. He has assured himself of one-hit-wonderdom without much of a fight.

Alexander said he was "more interested in being the next Mutt Lange than a performer." Memo to Gregg: Next time, you should take that car for a test spin before you drive it off the lot; in other words, you should have explored whether New Radicals could fly live before handing out your demos early on.

"I accomplished all of my goals with this record," Alexander said, "and I'm ready to move on and make the next step in my career."

He accomplished all his goals with one record? Oh ... please. Thank God, the Beatles didn't come to that self-serving conclusion after "Sgt. Pepper" or there would have been no "Abbey Road." Pink Floyd could have called it quits after "Dark Side of the Moon," but it didn't; it gave us "The Wall." Bruce Springsteen didn't give up after "Born to Run"; he graced us with "Nebraska."

Not that New Radicals is anywhere near those league of legends.

The truth of the matter is, Alexander may say he has the music in him, but he's afraid of failure. Who isn't? At least some of us still have the dreamer's disease.

Which brings us to Morphine and Guy Mitchell.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based Morphine was a guitarless, jazz-influenced rock trio. Singer Mark Sandman played bass, Dana Colley was on tenor and baritone saxophone and Billy Conway was on drums. Conceptually, it was a coup. For anyone who saw them live, like at the 1994 South By Southwest gathering, it was an aural experience.

They played their hearts out live and in the studio. They didn't sell many records, not like New Radicals, but they were infinitely more talented and memorable ... which makes it all the more sad to learn that Sandman died July 4 of a heart attack during a performance in Italy. Sandman, a former member of the 1980s blues-rock group Treat Her Right, died doing what he loved best. He was 46.

Mitchell was there at rock's birth in the mid-1950s. For at least one 10-week period, he was nearly as big as Elvis Presley. His breakthrough hit, "Singing the Blues," topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks and sold more than 1 million copies. It was a finger-snapping gem, punctuated by Mitchell's whistling melody. He had one more No. 1, "Heartaches By the Number" (1959), before bouncing from label to label in the early 1960s and turning to country music later.

Mitchell died July 1 in Las Vegas of complications after surgery. He was 72. He deserved more than a one-paragraph obituary in U.S. newspapers and magazines.

New Radicals, Morphine, Guy Mitchell ... like we said, this is a strange business.

And now ... on to P&P's monthly countdown of the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Every month, P&P is rattling off 10 significant '90s albums in its march toward the next decade. Volume 6 pops up in July. By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Along for the ride, providing expert commentary on this month's selections, are an eclectic trio of artists - Doug Corella, keyboardist for The Verve Pipe; lead singer-guitarist Matt Scannell of Vertical Horizon, and Trey Parker, one-third of the hip-pop act EYC - all of whom will be featured in future P&P editions.

Still savoring the Top 10 success of 1997's "The Freshmen" off the platinum-selling "Villains" album, The Verve Pipe return July 27 with its sophomore RCA effort, succinctly titled "The Verve Pipe." The first single, "Hero," is already climbing Billboard's modern rock tracks chart. Sharing space on the same chart is Vertical Horizon's "We Are," the stunning leadoff single from its RCA debut album, "Everything You Want" (released June 15).

EYC, a boy-band innovator, is pumped for its premiere Red Ant album, "I Feel It," due Aug. 24. In the meantime, the trio is crisscrossing the country on Nickelodeon's All That Music & More tour with 98 Degrees, Monica, B*witched and Tatyana Ali, among others.

(The following albums are not listed alphabetically, chronologically or in order of importance. Anything that came out in the 1990s - even greatest-hits packages, box sets and compilations - is eligible for inclusion. That's right, everything's fair game.)

NEVERMIND, Nirvana (DGC/Geffen, 1991) - No album cut a bigger, pioneering swath in the 1990s than this classic from Kurt Cobain, Chris Novoselic and Dave Grohl. The Seattle trio fused dark, dreary and surprisingly melodic punk with metal to unwittingly inaugurate the so-called grunge movement. It opened doors for Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, to name a few. In the end, the album's multiplatinum success and the unbridled adulation were part of Cobain's tragic undoing. Corella: "That album blew me away that there's actually songs; songs were on the rise again. We had just come out of the '80s; there were bands like XTC doing songs then, but there weren't bands that were as interested in songwriting. Nirvana brought it back and it was exactly what we needed. For a band to explode like that and have all this anger with these really great hooks at the same time, it was an incredible experience at the time." Scannell: "It tore through the nation. That record was like wildfire. I actually don't own it. I never bought it, and I never bought into it, but at the same time it was obvious that this guy wore his heart on his sleeve and it was real. That's one of the things I absolutely respected about Kurt Cobain, that he was so real about his songs. I value that so much, and it influenced me." Parker: "I didn't get into that. That wasn't my kind of music." Prime cuts: "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come As You Are," "On a Plain," "Lithium."

3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS & 2 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF ..., Arrested Development (Chrysalis/ERG, 1992) - For one brief shining moment, this seven-member hip-hop collective looked like the wave of the future. Devoted to its African-American roots, the group championed poetic lyrics and an airy vocal style, a welcome alternative to the chest-pumping gangsta rap of the day. Corella: "I don't know the whole record; I just know parts of it. I remember hearing 'Tennessee' for the first time in a parking lot in Ann Arbor, Mich., when I was auditioning for another band. I loved the whole hook of that song." Parker: "Loved it. The whole album is wonderful. First and foremost, I love the originality, where they came from and what they gave off vibe-wise, the music styles and the influences they brought. It meshed so well together." Prime cuts: "Tennessee," "Mr. Wendal," "People Everyday," "Fishin' 4 Religion."

GARBAGE, Garbage (Almo Sounds/Geffen, 1995) - In order to form a more perfect union, singer-guitarist Shirley Manson, formerly of the Scottish group Goodbye Mr. McKenzie, teamed with drummer Butch Vig and others for an alternative-rock experiment that became the real deal. Vig, incidentally, was already a star in his own right: He produced Nirvana's "Nevermind" and albums for Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Asylum and Sonic Youth. Corella: "When I first heard them, I thought, 'Yeah, this is pretty cool.' I didn't buy the album until after seeing them live in L.A., and they blew my mind. Shirley Manson is fantastic, as a songwriter, as a frontwoman, and with Butch Vig, the chemistry is great." Scannell: "Shirley Manson is amazing. Butch Vig, those guys, they're huge, kick-ass producers doing this project. I think Garbage is awesome. Sonically, the music landscape is so hip, but then you've got such creative lyrics. To me, it matches clever songwriting with fabulous production, and neither one gets in the way of the other." Prime cuts: "Stupid Girl," "Only When It Rains," "Vow," "Queer."

JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH: NEW WAVE HITS OF THE '80s, VOLS. 1-15, various artists (Rhino, 1993-1995) - These easily could have served as the soundtracks to "The Wedding Singer." Think back to MTV's glory days, Kajagoogoo, outlandish fashion statements and a phalanx of keyboards. Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it? Corella: "What's on there, Toni Basil, Dexys Midnight Runners, Falco? I don't know, I think I can deal with it, but it brings back memories I'd rather forget." Scannell: "If it has The Cars on there (It doesn't), then it's my favorite record. The Cars were an unbelievable band; those guys, five nerds from Boston, kicked ass. Ric Ocasek, I met him in New York and I was a stammering idiot, and it's not even because he's married to Paulina (Porizkova). He's a genius; Elliott Easton was one of the best guitar players of the past 30 years. Every single part was perfect." Parker: "We were on the tour bus yesterday and saying how much we missed the '80s. There was some great music in the '80s, so I'd like that compilation." Prime cuts: Blondie's "One Way or Another," Devo's "Whip It," Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," Romeo Void's "Never Say Never," Duran Duran's "Rio," Madness' "It Must Be Love" ... to name a few.

OK COMPUTER, Radiohead (Capitol, 1997) - Over waves of guitar and haunting melodies, Thom Yorke's aching vocals say it all. Expanding upon and maturing from its previous album, "The Bends," Radiohead became the group everyone dreamed they could be like - experimental, literate, sublime. Corella: "Never heard it ... no, I'm just kidding. How can you not be influenced by a band like Radiohead? They've turned so many things around for me, in a positive way, and it's really inspired me as an artist. I prefer 'The Bends,' but when I'm in that 'OK Computer' mood, it just kills me. I actually heard they recorded enough material for two records and so when the next one comes out it's going to be a combination of the sessions from 'OK Computer.' " Scannell: "Oh, jeez ... what a record. Actually, my favorite is 'The Bends,' but 'OK Computer' proves they're an insanely talented band. I've heard from people at Capitol that they have stuff in the vault that it is earth-shattering and they didn't even put it on 'OK Computer.' They're the pinnacle of good, creative songwriting." Prime cuts: "Karma Police," "Subterranean Homesick Alien," "Paranoid Android," "Let Down."

DEBUT, Bjšrk (Elektra, 1993) - The hippy chick from Iceland, fresh from her stint fronting The Sugarcubes, unleashed her considerable songwriting and vocal talents on an unsuspecting world with this pop delight. Some find her weird, others say she's ingenious. She's both. Corella: "Anything by her is okay with me. I'm absolutely in love with Bjšrk as a woman, as a songwriter and singer. I drove four hours to Chicago to see her play at the House of Blues. What I like about her is that she's always trying to break her own rules and boundaries." Scannell: "What that record taught me is using your voice as an instrument, voice as texture, as opposed to necessarily being about lyrical content. I can relate it to our song, 'We Are,' a little bit in that the chorus is saying something, but at the same time it's also a bit of a mantra. It's 'We are' repeated over and over again, but it's almost the sound of the voices as much as it is the lyrics. Jon Anderson from Yes did this all the time; he'd sing something that just sounded good." Parker: "When we were in Europe, we did some shows with her. She's, let me just say, eccentric. Her presence onstage and how she performed was, how should I say, unique. We're all about EYC, expressing yourself clearly, so I totally dug her." Prime cuts: "Big Time Sensuality," "Human Behaviour," "Venus As a Boy," "Violently Happy."

APPLE VENUS VOLUME 1, XTC (TVT, 1999) - Seven years is an awful long time to work on an album, but it was well worth the wait for Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding's grand return from a self-imposed hiatus. They were every bit as moody, witty and relaxed as ever. Corella: "It's so great to hear these guys again. What can I say? Everyone in our band is such huge fans of XTC. They're incredible writers and thinkers. I'm envious that (The Verve Pipe singer Brian Vander Ark) got to work with Andy Partridge last year (for 'The Avengers' film track 'Blow You Away'), but I'm happy for us as a band as well, because it made Brian a better writer. There's a song on our new record, called 'In Between,' that has those Andy Partridge qualities, the angles he takes." Scannell: "The song, 'Greenman,' is tremendous. Everybody should get that record just on principle because it's an XTC record." Prime cuts: "I'd Like That," "Easter Theatre," "Greenman," "River of Orchids."

PLEASE HAMMER DON'T HURT 'EM, M.C. Hammer (Capitol, 1990) - He made a career out of sampling Rick James, but at least he did it in a wonderfully vibrant, old-school way. The album spent 21 weeks at No. 1 and sold more than 10 million in the United States alone. His downfall was his unrestrained lavishness. Corella: "I don't know, I just wish I had a pair of his pants." Scannell: "I'm not a Hammer guy, maybe I should go back and revisit it. The guy employed like 700 people on his tour. Did you see that 'Behind the Music' special on him? I see this poor guy, I couldn't even watch it 'cuz I felt so bad for him and he looks like a nice guy. He had a shitload of money and spent it all on pants." Parker: "I loved it. We all come from a big dance background, so when he first came out, his videos were awesome." Prime cuts: "U Can't Touch This," "Pray," "Have You Seen Her," "Here Comes the Hammer."

LOVE DELUXE, Sade (Epic, 1992) - It's unanimous; dim all the lights, this is the decade's sexiest album. As in the past, Sade stayed true to her jazz roots, inflecting it with classy smooth grooves. Amazingly, she hasn't done an album since. Corella: "Oh yeah, that's one of the great records to play when you're with your girlfriend or significant other. I love her voice. It's so sexy, sultry." Scannell: "I love her voice and her songwriting and the grooves on that record. When she sings, 'You are my religion,' on one of those songs, it's incredible. If you're a red-blooded American guy, it's over. Know what I mean?" Parker: "I love me some Sade. Let me just say, she's very good for a sex life. Her voice and the music are so soothing." Prime cuts: "Kiss of Life," "No Ordinary Love," "Cherish the Day," "I Couldn't Love You More."

THE HITS/THE B-SIDES, Prince (Paisley Park/Warner, 1993) - Prince's best moments were captured on these three discs. Of the 56 tracks, 18 were B-sides and six were previously unreleased. A year later, Prince adopted a symbol as his name and began his war of words with Warners. His reputation quickly lost its luster. Corella: "In the '80s, '1999' is what did it for me. The amount of work he puts out is amazing, volumes and volumes of music. Our new song, 'Hero,' is more along the line of 'Raspberry Beret' with the hand claps in the back. It's totally from Prince. We tried to establish an upbeat vibe like Prince would have. Prince can do that, he's a chameleon. He goes through so many different transitions and does it well." Scannell: " 'Purple Rain' is the best thing he ever did. That guy, whew, he's so good." Parker: "I love everything he does. We got to open for him in Europe. A guy that's going to change his name to a symbol, you know has got some different things going up in that head. As an artist, he's amazing and I respect him and look up to him, but some of his ways, man ... we were opening for him and he was coming out to the stage one day and he made everyone turn around while he walked out. What is that all about? I mean, 'We're opening for you, man.' One of the cool things is, by the third show, we were performing and our manager was on the side of the stage. We were doing our thing and looked to the right and our manager's pointing to the back of the stage. The whole New Power Generation and Prince were watching us. We stepped it up about 10 notches and went nuts. It was cool that he took the time, because it was us, then it went Duran Duran and then Prince. For him to come out to see us before Duran Duran even goes on, we thought it was awesome." Prime cuts: "When Doves Cry," "Purple Rain," "I Would Die 4 U," "1999," "Little Red Corvette," "Let's Go Crazy," "Diamonds and Pearls."