A pop music critic returns

Like a seasoned pop music act reuniting for another sold-out tour, host Nelson Price and his guest David Lindquist will join forces once again to explore tales from David's more than 22 years of writing about pop music and culture for The Indianapolis Star. But don't expect a rehash of greatest hits from their show last December. The two have plenty of fresh material to explore that they simply didn't have time to cover on the last go round. The emergence of the Fountain Square neighborhood in Indianapolis as a nightspot destination, the opening of the Palladium in Carmel and the death of the owner of the Slippery Noodle Inn, one of the most distinctive venues for blues music in the country, all happened during Dave's long run at The Star, which ended last month. So he will rejoin Nelson to share insights about those topics and others, including the increasing trend of featuring music concerts as part of major sports events such as the Final Four basketball tournament of the NCAA, races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Super Bowl that Indianapolis hosted in 2012. Dave also will discuss one of the most challenging reviews he had to write. At the Palladium in 2011, a concert featuring country music star Glen Campbell was "mystifyingly bad," Dave wrote. He described how Campbell "came across as unprepared at best and disoriented at worst." Within about 10 days, Campbell's family revealed he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six months earlier. During our show last month, Dave discussed his interviews with John Mellencamp, the Indiana-based rock star. This time, we will focus on a drummer who had a long association with Mellencamp and whom Dave Lindquist included in his list of Indiana's Top 25 Musicians. Kenny Aronoff studied at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and performed during the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama at the Lincoln Memorial in January 2009. Esquire magazine called Aronoff, who played with Mellencamp for 17 years beginning in 1980, "the most famous drummer you've never heard of." In downtown Indy, the Slippery Noodle Inn opened in 1850 and had several name changes (along with a reputation that periodically was unsavory) until it was purchased in the early 1960s by the family of Hal Yeagy, who died in November. In Dave Lindquist's report about Yeagy's death, he quoted musicians who described "The Noodle" as "a major shrine to blues and live music." During this show, Dave will discuss the Slippery Noodle as well as other concert venues, including the Murat Theatre and the lawn at White River State Park. Our show comes just before Dave starts a new media endeavor. He will be the host on WTTS-FM (92.3) of a new weekly music program, The Beat with Dave Lindquist. His show, which premieres at 7 pm Monday (Feb. 1), will feature "fresh music from the local independent and underground music scene and music from familiar artists," according to WTTS-FM.