Pick six

A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:

"Once Only, With Feeling" by Jeff Gordinier, Spin. Calling it the J.D. Salinger Principle, he argues that artists are better off stopping after one or two great albums. He cites the La's, Slint and Lauryn Hill as good examples and Cowboy Junkies, Ryan Adams and Radiohead as acts that should have quit.

Duffy, "Mercy." Like Amy Winehouse, this Welsh singer loves her '60s soul. While Winehouse favors a modern sensibility to her beats and lyrics, the clean-cut and sober Duffy is totally old-school, with a cheap Farfisa-like keyboard sound driving her minimalist retro soul to No. 1 in England.

Lupe Fiasco, "Tonight Show." Dressed in a dashing suit, this versatile Chicago rapper showed a suave soulfulness and striking musicality on "Paris, Tokyo."

JON BREAM, STAR TRIBUNE

New York Dolls, Fine Line. The first time I heard the Dolls was the late '80s on a crappy cassette dub of 1974's "Too Much Too Soon." The first time I saw them live was Sunday. Both experiences will live long in my rock memory. The guys looked as if they were having as much fun as I always imagined they had back in the day.

"Homegrown" funeral, Turf Club. When I hosted a local-music radio show, I was constantly inspired by my friendly rivalry with Mei Young's "Homegrown." I'm glad we got to say goodbye and celebrate good times. Plus, it felt great to be in a room full of local-music boosters.

The Replacements reissues. How many copies of "Hootenanny" have I bought? Vinyl, cassette and CD -- with some replacements needed. I'm about to buy it again. In April, Rhino is reissuing the 'Mats' first four albums -- with demos, outtakes and alternate mixes.

JASON NAGEL, ST. PAUL

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