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24 I of sugarâ€"coated punk aaacaaaic Ehm * that‘s sure to please the P 4 same millions who ; § bought the band‘s majorâ€" 9 label debut, Dookie, a 3 hugely successful disc more or less responsible 3 for reviving punk and T bringing it to the mainâ€" 4 stream David B % _ Insomniac offers the same infectious spirit Outside and frenetic playing that made Dookue a treat. Virgin Sure it‘s short â€" 14 songs in 33 minutes â€" but In retros; brevity is the best policy for a band not out to Changes, w make any earthâ€"shattering musical statements. career wou The little punk trio that would become rock stars, not to mention media darlings, whip up another irresistible batch R{ES m:n:flm Granted, singer/guitarist Billy Joe‘s angst and alienation ring a bit hollow now that he‘s moved up a few income brackets. But as he and rhythm section Tre Cool (drums) and Mike Dirnt (bass) gleefully thrash about, we‘re conâ€" vinced that the spirit of their salad days still exists. Bowie‘s back in form These veteran Vancouver punkers must look at the success of a band like Green Day and wonder why them and not us. Timing, for one thing, lack of radio play for another. Unfortuâ€" nately, D.O.A. arrived when punk was the black sheep of the rock family and many bands were even more slovenly and obnoxious than say, Roseanne Now that punk is seen by radio programmers D.O.A. The Black Spot RPuc~ _ andia um‘ on W*"",shrory g)RoAG um GANG ?“b\\d gwoot Ross Macdonald @GIF â€" as a friendly little puppy, D.0.A., one of the genre‘s original pit bulls, may find a home. Given the current climate, The Black Spot is radioâ€"friendly, especially by D.0.A. standards. A playful side has emerged too, along with the razorâ€" PW L let‘sâ€"haveâ€"anotherâ€"12â€" In retrospect, Bowie‘s first significant hit, Changes, was a signpost of the musical path his career would take. Let‘s face it, the guy changes direction more often than Julia Roberts changes her mind. Outside finds rock‘s reigning chameleon makâ€" ing a fairly triumphant return to the ambient/electronic phase that first surfaced in the late ‘70s on Low, Heroes and Lodger, the three albums of Teutonic synthâ€"rock he did with vaunted producer Brian Eno. The latter is back and his studio wizardry more than offsets the disc‘s cryptic storyline, an occasionally convoluted mix of meandering narrative and David Lynchâ€"like characters, all played of course, by Bowie. Give him marks for ambition however, and for some of his most intriguing music in years. We‘d even say Outside signals a return to form if we knew what that was. Ross MacDonald is a Cambridge freelance writer. mxwwmm"fl"fl"» rmenerppn omm on nemgerpe ferpoyeecenyt recvrermen‘s mnvp»®®®»my®® 1I¢I.!’! haps packing less wallop than the band‘s early work, is the kind of intelâ€" ligent, catchy and noâ€"nonâ€" sense rock these guys seldom fail to deliver. Theâ€" rele{Mule perâ€" I Anmline