U of M offers course in Dylan-ology

One student wrote his final paper on the similarities between last month's China concerts and 1965's Newport Folk Festival. Another did hers on the disparate ways Hibbing, Duluth and Minneapolis treat and often underplay his legacy. And another examined his private life vs. his public life with help from her grandfather -- who just so happens to be one of the legendary songwriter's cousins.

"I knew a lot about him because of the family connection," said Hayley Stone, one of 20 freshmen in the "Bob Dylan" class at the University of Minnesota this past semester. "But I didn't really know just how important a figure he is until now."

You can scoff if you're a hater, cheer if you're fan and laugh if you know how Dylan's own stint at the U of M went (he dropped out after one semester). But you can't deny that listening to rock songs at full volume as part of your class workload makes for a great respite from the rigors of calculus, biology, etc.

A freshman seminar course started three years ago at the university, "Bob Dylan" is just one of dozens of courses on Minnesota's most influential musical export that have popped up in recent years at colleges ranging from Boston University and Vanderbilt to Oslo University in Norway and Dalhousie in Nova Scotia -- and in a variety of departments, too, including English, American studies and music.

The Hibbing, Minn., native, who turns 70 on Tuesday, is already the subject of some 2,000 books. Could he become a staple of academia like bigwigs such as Shakespeare, Twain and Mozart? The thought of it seems especially ironic at the only college that can claim him as a former student -- sort of, anyway.

"There's not any evidence he actually attended a class even once," complained professor Alex Lubet, who uses Robert Zimmerman's poor academic record to spur on his Dylan-loving students from such diverse majors as genetics, economics and art. "I tell them, 'Look what he accomplished without a degree from here. Now imagine what you can accomplish with one.'"

Chris Riemenschneider

Crave opens, rooftop coming

"It's a little bit edgier than before," Kam Talebi said. That's how the Crave owner summed up his hotly anticipated venture into downtown Minneapolis last week. After a whirlwind construction period, this Crave -- his fourth in the Twin Cities -- was scheduled to open Thursday at 825 Hennepin Av. S.

Everything is bigger: the bar, the sushi operation and the space in general (it's 12,000 square feet). Talebi has blown out the old Palomino on Hennepin Avenue, opening up the soaring ceilings. He's added little stylistic touches that he might not have done in Edina or Bloomington (the booths are covered in what looked like crocodile leather). "We understand that we're coming in from suburban America," Talebi said, "so we've really custom-tailored the concept for downtown."

The big buzz surrounding this location is the ambitious rooftop, which will open May 29. At 6,500 square feet, it'll be just a smidge larger than Seven's rooftop. Talebi emphasized that he doesn't want customers to think of the rooftop as simply a late-night destination, but a dinner spot, too. He's building a full kitchen up there, as well as a bar and restrooms. "The way I look at it is we've built two restaurants," he said.

In all, Talebi said the investment totals about $5 million. "It's been a challenging build-out, but we've been working around the clock," he said. The rooftop's soft opening will be the debut of "Communion," a popular DJ night that is moving over from Solera.

Tom Horgen

Bon Iver single brings on spring

Being the smart (and semi-local) guy that he is, Justin Vernon might have waited until the weather turned gorgeous enough around these parts to suit the first single from the highly anticipated Bon Iver album. The track is called "Calgary," and it's available as a free download on his site if you join the mailing list. The track offers just a hint of the electronic flavor that Vernon picked up from Gayngs, but it actually turns rawer as it picks up steam and ultimately sounds like it could've been included on "For Emma, Forever Ago."

Bon Iver's label Jagjaguwar is now offering various pre-order packages for the new record, a 10-song self-titled collection due out June 21. Vernon is hitting the road with a semi-new band starting with a pair of Milwaukee gigs on July 22-23. Have no fear, Twin Cities fans, a local date is in the works, though it may not be until the fall.

Chris Riemenschneider

Cars roll out old and new models

Expectations were low and cynicism was high for the Cars live at First Avenue on Tuesday. In their arena heyday of the late '70s and early '80s, they were an arty but not exciting live band. Frontman Ric Ocasek's aversion to touring is as well known as his irony. "Good Times Roll" is ironic, people. Surprisingly, Ocasek seemed to have a pretty good time Tuesday, gaving fans just what they needed. Sure, some fans would have liked more vintage Cars ("Drive," "Magic," "Shake It Up," "Tonight She Comes" were among the missing) and less from the new album "Move Like This." The Cars played six "Move" songs to prove that they weren't just spinning their nostalgia wheels. For the record, the songs from the two 1970s albums held up better Tuesday than the material from the 1980s.

Jon Bream

Zombie Crawl splits in two

The brains ("Brains ... ") behind the seventh annual Zombie Pub Crawl have announced this year's date as Oct. 8. Bigger news: The spawning will expand into St. Paul. This year, the massive crawl will run amok at two locations -- Minneapolis' West Bank and St. Paul's Lowertown. More than 10,000 bloody beer guzzlers participated last year. Also new this year: Organizers are holding a naming contest (last year's subtitle was "It Just Won't Die!"). To submit a name, follow the ZPC on Twitter (@zombiepubcrawl), suggest a name using the hashtag #ZPC7 and retweet. The winning name will get 10 free tickets to the crawl. The ZPC has been retweeting some of its early favorites, including this one from @kharisma: "A Terror of Two Cities -- It was the best of brains, it was the worst of brains." Clever zombie.

Tom Horgen

Somerset becomes SoundTown

Somerset, Wis., will try to woo the 89.3 Current crowd out to its Apple River shores this summer with a new fest headed up by the Flaming Lips Aug. 19-20. Dubbed SoundTown, the two-day event will also feature the New Pornographers, DeVotchka, Delta Spirit, Ghostland Observatory, old-school rappers Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, plus a farm team of local favorites including Solid Gold, Heiruspecs, Roma di Luna, Pink Mink, White Iron Band, White Light Riot and about a dozen more. The bash is taking place at the revamped Float-Rite Park, now called the Somerset Ampitheater (www.somersetamphitheater.com) and featuring permanent seats (read: no mud pit down front). Tickets go on sale 9 a.m. Friday at prices TBA.

Chris Riemenschneider

Pirates of the Crawl-ibbean

This sounds nerdier than dressing up like Superman for a comic book convention (and there's a big one of those this weekend, too; see page 40). But if you're into pirates, have I got a pub crawl for you. To coincide with the opening of the fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean," a Pirate Bar Crawl is taking over Uptown on Saturday. Put together by a Cap'n Jack lookalike (Realtor Erik Brown), the crawl starts at Stella's, where participating scallywags will get a treasure map of the various pub stops. Along the way there will be a costume contest, so come prepared. (Sign up 3 p.m. Sat 5/21 at Stella's. www.piratebarcrawl.com)