Jedi in Black (aka Back on the Chain Store)

It’s always a good day when you walk into a record store and see old albums on the shelves, readily available in copious quantities, that you spent years digging for in every back room record shop in every city you’ve ever been in. That’s why it was a good feeling to see not only the new Alejandro Escovedo disc, By the Hand of the Father, but also Gravity and Thirteen Years. The latter two albums have been a tough find for years, with Thirteen Years most sought after by fans. Now they are back on the shelves with good distribution and the full remastering and bonus material treatment. Of course, it’s all a conspiracy to keep me broke enough that I can’t ever mount a serious challenge to the secret shadow government, what with two new Tom Waits albums, a new Elvis Costello album with about six (and counting) reissues, the new Alejandro and two reissues, a new Wilco album and a Jeff Tweedy soundtrack album, plus handy new three-album Frank Zappa box sets. Damn. I’m such easy pickins …

The Ray Mason Band (www.raymason.com) also has a new one out (thank you, Ray, for helping me fight for truth by sending me the album). Three Dollar Man is another batch of solid rock and roll tunes from an old master and his crack squad of sidemen. There’s nothing quite as reflective here as Mason’s last album, When the Clown’s Work is Over, but the album’s mostly playful sounds and sometimes abstract humor makes up for it …

The Signal Hill Transmission (www.thesignalhilltransmission) out of L.A. has turned out a neat little disc of seven tunes that is really easy on the ears. The band aspires to the Whiskeytown/Ryan Adams model of alt.country, with smart arrangements laced with bouncing drums, strumming acousticguitars, and raspy vocals tinged with late night desperation and early-morning reflection. Miles of Music (www.milesofmusic.com) just picked up their first disc, Home. Check it out before they get all big and full of themselves and start hanging out with Elton John …

The Rivergods (www.rivergods.com) have finally finished their follow-up to Capsule, the album that put them on the map in 2000. They’ve celebrated with a redesigned Web site and a few new gigs around their native New London, Connecticut. Look for more dates to be added as the album gets around a bit more…

I’ll leave you with this nugget… So Attack of the Clones came out last month, and it sparked an unusual e-mail debate between friends of mine. Early on, George Lucas had confirmed that he planned to use the members of 'N Sync in one scene, somewhere in crowd scene as servants (or piss boys, perhaps, if you’re a Mel Brooks fan). Thankfully, they were cut out after hordes of pissed off Star Wars fans voiced their objections (We’ll call it the “Canceling Mystery Science Theater Rule” – do not anger people who know how to bomb your e-mail box and hack into your Web site). But I proposed that if America’s favorite bubble gum bad boys could get a part, why not Johnny Cash, in some dusty cantina on Tattoine, fighting off Greedos and Hammerheads with Obi Wan and Mace Windu? I said he would make a great jedi, and he could call Yoda “junior”. Give credit to Boston comedian Sean Lily for this perspective: “A tough-as-nails defender of justice who believes in a higher power that gives him extraordinary ability? Johnny Cash practically is a Jedi. And he would be a kick-ass anything...because he's Johnny Cash.” I won’t hold my breath waiting for Episode III …

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