Give It a Rest, Sabbath

Image credit: Ozzy Osbourne: Sam Emerson/EL/LFI

OLD OZZY As Sabbath's singer, Osbourne inaugurated a generation of metalheads

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The Osbournes

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''The Osbournes'' is certainly amusing, but it also can be unintentionally revealing. Take, for instance, the scene in the first episode in which Ozzy plops down in his living room to catch his appearance on ''The Tonight Show.'' As he watches himself flailing away on another monotonous piece of grindcore metal, Ozzy doesn't seem happy. Instead, he drops his head and has a look on his face somewhere between disgust and embarrassment.

Yes, Ozzy finally realizes what most of us have known for a long time: that his legend and influence are one thing, his dreadful music absolutely another.

Apparently, consuming vats of drugs and alcohol and biting the heads off little creatures hasn't tainted Ozzy's luck at all. The instant sensation that is ''The Osbournes'' is one indication of his ongoing good fortune. The wall of platinum albums in his office is further proof. More amazing than his new TV celebrity is the fact that he's turned a grating voice, minimal songwriting, and the cheesiest of music into a 30-plus-year career.

Actually, make that 25 years. Early Black Sabbath still holds up well. I still have fond memories of congregating with teenage friends in a darkened bedroom and listening to ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' as if we were engaging in a subversive, clandestine ritual.