GET BACK, CRANKY CAT

By Rebecca Winters

ELTON JOHN is starting to remind us of that curmudgeonly relative who blurts out what everyone else is really thinking at the family reunion. While accepting a songwriting award in London last week, the elder rocker, 57, griped that he couldn't believe Madonna had been nominated for best live act. "Since when has lip synching been live?" John asked. "Madonna, best [expletive] live act? [Expletive] off." Last month John called a group of Taiwanese paparazzi who ambushed him "rude, vile pigs." And last spring he called the reality show American Idol "racist" after two black contestants were eliminated. The Rocket Man's recent sounding off could be a publicity stunt, or his cheekiness magnified by age and wealth--or an audition for Andy Rooney's spot on 60 Minutes.