| Rock critic Paul Nelson dies at 70
Paul Nelson, a pioneering rock critic whose interest in folk music led to an early connection with fellow Minnesotan Bob Dylan, has died. He was 70. Nelson was found dead July 4 in his New York apartment. The cause of death was heart disease, according to the New York medical examiner's office. An editor and reviewer for Rolling Stone, Circus and Creem music magazines in the 1960s and 1970s, Nelson started the Little Sandy Review folk music journal while he and Dylan were students at the University of Minnesota in the early 1960s. Nelson was known for his eclectic music tastes, evidenced by his bold signing of early punk rockers the New York Dolls when he worked for Mercury Records in the 1970s. Unlike other early influential rock critics such as Greil Marcus, Robert Christgau and Dave Marsh, Nelson had faded from the music scene in recent years, only to reappear last year in Martin Scorsese's PBS television documentary on Dylan, "No Direction Home." Nelson was interviewed extensively in the film about the singer's roots in Minnesota and Dylan's breakout performances after moving to New York.
Old rock rolls nicely on iPod
My son bought an iPod several months ago. Since that time, we have revisited some of the greatest songs to rock, crank, schmooze and snooze the music scene of the last four decades. On his current playlist are artists as diverse as Louis Armstrong and Lenny Kravitz, Steve Perry and Brad Arnold. If you don't know who Brad Arnold is, just ask the folks in Escatawpa, about 3 Doors Down. Lots of things happen when middle-aged mamas and daddies listen to the music of their youth. One of the more remarkable results is their children are forced to endure lots of air guitar solos and sad attempts at dancing. .
CD Review: Built To Spill - You In Reverse
Indie rock guitar god. Boy does that read funny. What's it supposed to mean? Even the term "indie rock" is tough to nail down. Sort of like "emo", but louder? Or more serious? Or something?I wrested with these issues back when I first listened to Built To Spill's Time Trap compilation. It turns out that Doug Martsch is my kind of guitar hero. Sure, the man's got the chops, but it's his conceptions that really get me going.Unless you're thinking about the music that's been labeled "post-rock" (Godspeed You Black Emperor, and others), one element usually missing (or more likely: avoided) from indie rock is the long song form. While bands from the art rock era loved to extend things to well beyond ten minutes, the "modern rock" crowd tends to stick to shorter songs, tighter construction.Doug Martsch and company manage to split the difference with their music.
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