POP MUSIC CRITIC CLOSE-UP: LARRY NAGER

When I got involved with filmmaking, it was to write and co-produce the 1993 musical documentary Bill Monroe: Father of Bluegrass Music. My first book was published this summer, the cultural/musical history Memphis Beat: The Lives and Times of America's Musical Crossroads. That single-mindedness may get a little dull to those around me (as my wife and kids can attest), but music remains my lifelong passion.

started on this road in high school in Yonkers, N.Y., just north of New York City. At 14, I was playing washboard and washtub bass in jug bands. A year later, I began programming a friend's pirate radio station, mixing current rock with vintage folk, blues, jazz and country records I'd get from the public library.

My music education continued in college, studying anthropology and folklore at Ohio State University. By the time I graduated in 1975, I was playing bluegrass and acoustic blues on the mandolin, upright bass and triple-washboard at clubs throughout the Midwest.

In 1978, I moved to Cincinnati to join the Katie Laur Band, booking the group as well as performing on bass, mandolin and guitar at venues ranging from Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion to the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

By the time the band broke up in 1982, I'd begun free-lancing music articles for Ohio Magazine and the Cincinnati Post. I also engineered recording sessions at Vetco Studios, taught several instruments, ran a small sound company and bought and sold vintage guitars. In 1984, tired of the travel involved with being a professional musician, I became a full-time journalist, covering music for the Post. In 1991 I took the music-critic job with the Memphis Commercial Appeal and began researching Memphis Beat.

n 1995, wanting to be closer to Alex and Emma, children from my first marriage, I returned to become popular-music writer for the Enquirer.

came back to find a much bigger live music scene with loads of new bands, new clubs and new concert venues. I soon had my hands full trying to cover it all.

To pay tribute to the city's rich musical past and recognize its dynamic musical present, I worked with the Enquirer to create the first Cincinnati Music Awards. In 1997, the first annual Cammy Awards were held to honor local musicians and aid the Michael W. Bany Memorial Scholarship, which helps needy music students go to college.

Philosophy: There's no such thing as bad music, there are only bad musicians. Every form of music can be played with passion, grace and style. There's great country music, great rap, great punk rock -- it's just not always easy to find.

But my single most important rule, whether going to hear live music or listening to a CD: Always be ready to be surprised.

Some of my favorite recording artists have bored me to death in concert, while others I never thought much of on record or video have rocked my world onstage.

also think it's important to bring a sense of context to pop music coverage, whether writing about the new swing revival, the current crop of teen idols or the alt-country movement.

Today, pop music isn't just for kids. Several generations can be found at rock shows, and concerts have proven to be a vital part of every metropolitan center's economy, as big shows bring in out-of-town audiences.

Finally, I think a newspaper's music coverage should reflect its home city. That means local bands and clubs, of course, but also that the local aspect of national stories should be covered as well.

Whether it's King Records founder Syd Nathan being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or former Cincinnatian Babyface winning his second Grammy for producer of the year, those are local stories.

Pet peeves: Overpriced concert tickets; singer/songwriters with no audience rapport; bandwagon bands jumping on the latest trends, resulting in bad alt-country, awful ska and leaden swing.

What I'd like to see this year: The continuation of the growing diversity of the entire music scene, from rock to jazz to folk. More audience support for that diversity.

Music is an adventure; don't be left behind.