84 ROOMS (Rackit):: You want goofball eclecticism? The keyboard/guitar duo of Steve Hilton and Tracy Santa manage, on this rousing little EP, to artfully spoof everything from Hot Rats era Zappa (“Camelboots”) to empty brainpan rockabilly (“Cast Iron Arm”) to fresh-faced British Invasion poppiness (the-fifty-hooks-to-the-bar “Ask Any Girl”), and they even manage a belated followup to the Doors’ “Love Street” with the oompahing Music-to-Crave-Girls-By “Candystore.” Best of all is “Rings,” which sounds like some Bizarroland lounge band who couldn’t come up with any words to their neat surf original and just keep repeating the melody over and over instrumentally until they reach the three minute “legal” mark. (Available from Rackit Records, Box 113, 2440 16th St., San Francisco, CA 94103)B.A. ROD STEWART—Body Wishes (Warner Bros.):: Rod the Mod hasn’t impressed me with an album since A Night On The Town seven years ago and Body Wishes doesn’t hold much hope in changing that situation. Most of it is the sort of pseudo-soulful, overworked strutting & spandexing that just pushes Stewart deeper into the mirrored ego-hole he’s dug for himself. Still, every now and then (like the wonderful “Young Turks” two years ago) he climbs out of the pit and gives you a glimpse of the greatness that once was, and this time it’s unencumbered head-overheels warmth of “Baby Jane” and “What Am I Gonna Do (I’m So In Love With You)” that convinces me not to write him off for goocf. But really—the rest is Rod the Sod. C.Z.

BIG BOYS—Lullabies Help The Brain Grow (Moment):: The discovery of these hamburger-namesake thrashers on an abandoned carhop’s tray somewhere'in central Texas proves that hardcore’s everywhere (& for keeps), no matter what rock “style” is currently captivating the aboveground adults. These guys are as hopelessly low-budget frustrated with the state of society (and “thus” come across as raucously optimistic) as any cadre of L.A. burrheads. Some backward glances, like the leftover Izod paranoia of “Gator Fucking,” but new-as-last-week touches like funk horns and melodic-infancy melodies, too. And left-in tact typos on the lyric sheet. More power to ’em! (Moment, P.O. Box 12424, Austin, TX 78711) R.R.