A few years ago Marshall Crenshaw cut a song called “Television Light.” In it there was line about glancing into other people’s lives, and realizing that all of us have a tale or two to tell. Over the last 20 years,

Crenshaw’s done a great job explaining some of his own tales. His work is filled with jubilation and amusement, melancholy and regret - each has resonated in a truly singular way. Being a champion communicator, he’s made his moods feel like our moods. And being a rocker, he’s put an irresistible kick behind ‘em, too.

From the forward motion of "Mary Anne" and "Someday, Someway" on his critically ballyhooed debut disc, to the bittersweet eloquence of "Tell Me All About It" and "Glad Goodbye" from 1999’s #447, Crenshaw has proven to be one of rock ‘n’ roll’s best and most distinctive songwriters and performers.

What’s In the Bag? (Razor & Tie Records), Crenshaw's latest installment in an ever-shifting career, reconfirms that designation. Crenshaw isn't usually considered an experimentalist, but perhaps he should be. Over the years his sound has evolved and expanded, moving from stripped down popabilly to larger-than-life- rock, and elsewhere.

What's In the Bag? finds him running his imagination in various ways, and its scope becomes its ultimate calling card. This time around Crenshaw eschews flat-out rockers for something a bit more sophisticated and seductive. There's a jazz vibe to several of these tracks, and it's enchanting. The singer runs in many New York circles, and working with pals from Sex Mob and Jazz Passengers gives this new set of tunes a lilt and a bounce that brings an unusual character to Crenshaw's always-catchy songs.

"The guys who did a lot of this album have a more diverse range of experience than me. It's cool to point musicians in a direction and trust them to take you somewhere new."

To say that Crenshaw has had an interesting career so far would be putting it mildly. He's been in the movies (he portrayed Buddy Holly in the movie La Bamba, and also apeeared in Peggy Sue Got Married) and he's been in the road-show version of Beatlemania. His songs have been plastered all over the soundtracks to several hit movies and covered by artists as diverse as Robert Gordon, Bette Midler, Kelly Willis, Marti Jones and the Gin Blossoms.

He got a bunch of his like-minded show business acquaintances together and put out a book on all the great and lousy rock & roll movies in existence called Hollywood Rock & Roll. He's put together comps of his own for record companies and has contributed chapters to books on vintage guitar collecting. Crenshaw is a true rock & roll renaissance man while still remaining the everyman.

Born in Detroit and raised in the surrounding area, Marshall played in a number of different bands in high school, eventually landing in his first professional combo, ASTIGAFA (an acronym for "A Splendid Time Is Guaranteed for All," cribbed from the back of Sgt. Pepper). Although nothing releasable came of this venture, it surely cemented the basic ingredients of his style that would surface full bloom at the dawn of his solo career.

But Detroit was not a musical hotbed by the late '70s, so Crenshaw responded to an ad in Rolling Stone and auditioned for the Broadway musical Beatlemania. Hired as a John Lennon understudy, Crenshaw moved to New York City and quickly found himself in a heady, competitive situation. After serving a six-month "Beatle boot camp" training, he appeared with the show for six months in Hollywood and San Francisco, then finished up his last six months with the production on the road. Though he found the show creatively stifling, it made him sit down and figure out what kind of music he wanted to do and eventually -- after buying a four-track recorder -- started making demos whenever he was home.

Soon Marshall was armed both with demos galore -- dropping them off to any show business connection that might listen -- and his younger brother was playing drums in his trio, which was starting to plug into New York City's burgeoning new wave club scene. About that time Crenshaw hooked up with local scenester Alan Betrock, who had recently started his own label, Shake Records. It was Crenshaw's debut single "Something's Gonna Happen" on Betrock's label that kicked up enough noise to bring major label interest knocking at his door.

Signing with Warner Brothers in 1982, Marshall recorded five superbly crafted studio albums before parting ways seven years later to sign with MCA for one album, Life's Too Short. During this flurry of activity, Crenshaw also flexed his acting muscles, portraying a high-school bandleader in Peggy Sue Got Married, Buddy Holly in La Bamba and a role on the Nickelodeon series Pete and Pete.

Emerging from a three-year hiatus, Marshall signed with the independent label Razor & Tie label, released a live album (Live: My Truck Is My Home) in 1994 and in 1996, released a new studio effort, Miracle of Science. The 9 Volt Years, a collection of demos and home recordings, followed in 1998, and a year later Crenshaw returned with a new studio effort, #447, followed by This Is Easy! The Best Of Marshall Crenshaw in 2000, I've Suffered For My Art...Now It's Your Turn in 2001 and What's In The Bag? in 2003.

Today, Crenshaw continues to tour across the country and is working on a project involving his interest with the Beatles.