Legos, White Stripes, Invade America; New Star Wars Might Not Suck; Mag Launches in Brooklyn

About the White Stripes?they come to town this week for a four-day stint at Bowery Ballroom and hey, it's getting to the point with this band where you should see them even if you don't like them because you will like them soon. Sometime in February the duo of Jack & Meg stole the hype torch from the Strokes and they're much more deserving of it; their songs are fresh, fun, short garage gems, although they do all sound the same.

Opening for the White Stripes is a man named Brendan Benson, a Detroit contemporary of the headliners who plays straight pop. Is that embarrassing, Brendan?

"I wince a little bit when people ask me what kind of music I play and I have to say 'pop,' because that's what it is. When people say 'pop,' bands jump to mind that are kinda goofy, but pop music just means popular music...only lately has it begun to mean something different, like bubblegum or lite or more crafty or almost a joke or something."

Brendan's been keeping tabs on the White Stripes for years. "I've just watched them take over the world from day one, from when they were playing in the dive-iest bars over here [in Detroit]. It's not surprising. [Jack White] is one of the best songwriters I've ever known. I've even said to him?you know, he's sort of militant with the red and white and wearing the number three?and I mentioned to him that his songs rule and that he didn't need that. I've since learned not to say anything. He's got a vision."

Brendan's taking the stage at 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 10 p.m. on Sunday and Monday. "I'm going to try and steal away?well, not steal, gain?some of [the White Stripes'] audience. But I'll probably gain some enemies, too, because I'm really not like the White Stripes or party to that garage rock scene. But New York is just a blast, so whatever."

The last time the White Stripes played Mercury Lounge, New York Press' Daria Vaisman said it was like seeing Elvis. Tickets are already sold out?find a scalper. At Bowery Ballroom (6 Delancey St., betw. Bowery & Chrystie St., 533-2111).

...The word on Star Wars: Attack of the Clones is it doesn't suck. Harry Knowles' spoiler review at AintItCoolNews.com, culled from a very exclusive screening at SXSW in Austin, declared: "?this film makes THE PHANTOM MENACE a better film. In fact, I would have to say that not only does it do that, but suddenly you will realize with horror, exactly why Jar Jar Binks is in the series at all." Meesa glad.

It's hard to believe that any film could retroactively improve The Phantom Menace, or, indeed, that any sequel anywhere ever made the first movie better, but all the important corners of the Web are buzzing about AOTC so it'll probably have another monster opening and go on to dissatisfy another monster load of people. Someday, hopefully, Star Wars fans will recognize that their movies are straight-up bad and that it's the cushy world they have created that gives them so many thrills.

This week, that cushy world expands to the Brooklyn Museum of Art as a new exhibit opens: "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth." (No, that is not the name of Episode 3. Not yet.) Basically the Brooklyn Museum's staff, who have been bringing in hip events for the last decade to ensure that they remain a viable cultural center, have landed the big fish: 150 costumes, props, models and original artwork from Star Wars episodes 4-6 and 1. Highlights include a Pod Racer model and Darth Vader's original costume; the museum is charging an extra 10 beans to anyone who wishes to view these goodies through July.

To celebrate the opening of "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth," the Brooklyn Museum has three special Star Wars guests slated for its First Saturday party this weekend. First Saturday is the Museum's foray into nightlife (not unlike the Whitney's SoundCheck Fridays) in which, on the First Saturday of each month, the facilities are kept open after normal closing time, admission is dropped to $0, the cafe serves sandwiches and a cash bar offers wine and beer until 11 p.m. It's been very successful.

The special Star Wars guests this week are Anthony Daniels, who played C3PO; Rob Coleman from Industrial Light & Magic; and Academy Award-winning model maker Lorne Peterson, also of ILM. They will offer their unique perspectives on the making of the Star Wars movies; hopefully the ILM guys will also shed light on their company's real masterpiece, the Jurassic Park trilogy.

First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum of Art (200 Eastern Pkwy. at Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 718-638-5000) starts at 5:30. At that time, the Star Wars guys will speak. Afterward you get, among other things, Cameroonian singer Gino Sitson (6:30), a screening of The Red Balloon (7) and live music by the Brooklyn Philharmonic (7) and Les Sans Culottes (9). It's all free, but remember, if you want to scope the Star Wars gear, that's $10 extra. Call 866-606-R2D2 to reserve your tickets. Really.

...Also on Saturday, in another corner of Brooklyn, a new magazine is getting launched. You know how it used to be with magazine launches: some company rented out one of Manhattan's armories and invited a half-dozen Sopranos goons, Chuck Knoblauch was spotted with a tall blonde and that weird guy with the eyebrows from NY1 showed up by the end. This launch takes place in 718 with a DJ named Matt Moffre. But hey, you have a better chance of getting laid.

Neighborhood Magazine is the name of the periodical being celebrated; it's published by a fellow named Craig Chapman, who filled me in.

"Neighborhood focuses on active people around the world who are doing something positive in their community or their neighborhood. For example, we are doing a story on pirate radio?like, you know, illegal radio stations?and how people use those as a means of communication. We're also looking at the many groups across this country that have spontaneously popped up in people's homes and offices to regularly discuss the Israeli/Palestinean situation."

Attendees will get free swag and sounds of "French underground hiphop mixed with jazz" by DJ Matt Moffre. There will also be projections of photos made by kids in the Neighborhood Youth Art Project?Neighborhood Magazine wants to lead by example. This starts at Halcyon (227 Smith St., betw. Butler & Douglass Sts., Brooklyn, 718-260-9299) this Saturday at 6 p.m.; after 9 the night switches over to house and techno with DJs Casey Hogan and Dietrich Schoenemann. No cover.