They released the underrated pop masterpiece "The Fourth World" in 1997 on Reprise Records. Produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls) and recorded/mixed by Jerry Finn (blink-182, sum-41), this quartet of 17-19 year-olds landed a major-label record deal but broke up in 1999.

Maybe these guys know.

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ZipZap Patty-whack Give A Dog A 'Stang

Managed to get a Zip Zap over the weekend and was a kid all over again. Wait a minute, I'm always "a kid all over again" so what I meant was that it kept me in that "kid state of mind."

Anyway, the salesguy at Radio Shack said they were almost out of their inital shipment, and that a lot of people were calling in to see if they had any in stock. Apparently the other Shacks were selling out too. Right before I got my Mustang, a family of four bought themselves each a Zip Zap. On my way out I overheard a couple of kids talking loudly about getting theirs.

In any case, a friend of mine (who got his PT Cruiser Saturday) remarked that Radio Shack's gonna sell a ton of these this Christmas. I agree.

Since we're on the topic of mini-RCs, here's something that I know a lot of us gadget freaks are gonna die for: the Combat Digi-Q Tank by Takara. Available at a few online retailers (and possibly a hip import shop near you), these babies can crawl over uneven surfaces. Take that Bit-Char-G/Digi-Q/Zip Zap! No more avoiding that shag carpet or concrete. On top of that, there's a "battle" mode where two or more tanks can attack each other. The tank "shoots" another tank with an infrared beam while the other senses a "hit." The "hit" tank even reacts to the attack by spinning in place.

Now that Hobbico has U.S. distribution of Tomy Japan's Bit-Char-G's ("MicroSizers" ) the mini-RC craze is now poised to hit Anywhere, USA, hard. 

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