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

Jared Mashburn of St. Cloud:

1 The Who, "Who's Next/Life House." I have nothing but praise for the Who for making this 11-disc collection more than a money grab. Fifty-two years in the making, the full collection is an immersive dive, musically and visually, into one of rock's most successful and complex recordings.

2 Shakopee amphitheater. Now that ground has been broken, my main hope is the plan avoids the pitfalls of too many regional sheds. I hope I won't feel inadequate behind anyone over 6 feet and the aisles warrant enough room that memories of cramped school bus seats won't fog my enjoyment of great music.

3 Kiss, "Music from 'The Elder,' " Know Name Records. Credit this south Minneapolis record shop for turning lemons into lemonade with its annual Kiss celebration, set for Saturday with live bands including Impaler. I still remember 13-year-old me shaking my head as Kiss tried leading crowds in snapping their fingers to the song "I," but that didn't mean the song wasn't worthy of cranking on one of their more underappreciated or disliked works.

Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:

1 Wynonna Judd, Mystic Lake Casino. She had an Elvis Presley gospel growl ("Live With Jesus"), Etta James-worthy anger ("That Was Yesterday") and a Heart-rattling wail (Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll"). ⁦Judd was in great voice, good therapeutic spirits and smart mode, focusing on her first two solo LPs and a few Judds favorites.

2 "The State of the Blues," "60 Minutes." Correspondent Jon Wertheim shines a light on blues music, specifically Clarksdale, Miss. Although he paints a sunnier portrait of the depressed blues hub than might be warranted, he ultimately and rightfully focuses on Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, the supremely talented 24-year-old singer/guitarist from Clarksdale.

3 Bob Dylan covers Leonard Cohen. Dylan has been essaying a song by a locally associated artist at nearly every gig on this leg of his tour. In Akron, he did Dwight Yoakam's "South of Cincinnati," and in Indianapolis, he did John Mellencamp's "Longest Days." In Montreal, he tackled "Dance Me to the End of Love" by the late, great Canadian bard Cohen. If Dylan played in the Twin Cities, do you think he'd cover Prince, Paul Westerberg or Koerner, Ray & Glover?

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