Category: Everything Is an Afterthought

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

On March 12th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul Nelson. In an In Memoriam presentation dedicated to those significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2006, Paul was twelfth among the litany of names both famous (Buck Owens, Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, James Brown) and not so famous (blues musician Sam Myers, Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five, publicist Ronnie Lippin) whose contributions were recognized.

As a music journalist, much of Paul’s writing was of the moment and consequently lost to back issues of assorted magazines and newspapers. In March, however, with the worldwide airing (via TV and Internet) of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this great writer finally received at least some of his due.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

On 31 January 2002, almost a dozen years since I’d last seen anything published by Paul Nelson, I posted a public query to the Elliott Murphy mailing list:

Does anybody know what ever happened to rock critic Paul Nelson? 

Within the hour, some kind soul directed me to rockcritics.com. Almost two years earlier, in March of 2000, the website had published an extensive interview with the elusive critic. Written by Steven Ward, a staff writer for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the article was appropriately titled “What Ever Happened to Rock Critic Paul Nelson?”

“I never heard of Paul Nelson until 1990,” Ward remembered last year. “I was 22 and a friend had given me a Christmas present — a prized possession then and now. The present was Kurt Loder’s Bat Chain Puller, a book collection of my favorite music writer’s articles from Rolling Stone.” In the acknowledgments, among the many individuals Loder thanked, was “the legendary Paul Nelson.” “So I immediately hit my college library, attacked the microfilm machine, and started looking through old issues of Rolling Stone. I started reading everything Nelson had written. It was unbelievable stuff — especially his long cover feature on Warren Zevon from the early Eighties that zeroed in on the songwriter’s demons with alcohol.”

Ward made a promise to himself to track down Paul Nelson — something that wouldn’t happen until late 1999.

The resultant interview marked the first of what has become, thanks to the Canadian music writer Scott Woods, rockcritics.com, a treasure trove of articles and interviews devoted to critics (not all of them rock & roll). And Steven Ward’s piece stands as the definitive Paul Nelson interview.

Everything Is an Afterthought draws from subsequent, previously unpublished interview material with Paul to explore the many whats and whys raised by Ward’s excellent article.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

On 31 January 2002, almost a dozen years since I’d last seen anything published by Paul Nelson, I posted a public query to the Elliott Murphy mailing list:

Does anybody know what ever happened to rock critic Paul Nelson? 

Within the hour, some kind soul directed me to rockcritics.com. Almost two years earlier, in March of 2000, the website had published an extensive interview with the elusive critic. Written by Steven Ward, a staff writer for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the article was appropriately titled “What Ever Happened to Rock Critic Paul Nelson?”

“I never heard of Paul Nelson until 1990,” Ward remembered last year. “I was 22 and a friend had given me a Christmas present — a prized possession then and now. The present was Kurt Loder’s Bat Chain Puller, a book collection of my favorite music writer’s articles from Rolling Stone.” In the acknowledgments, among the many individuals Loder thanked, was “the legendary Paul Nelson.” “So I immediately hit my college library, attacked the microfilm machine, and started looking through old issues of Rolling Stone. I started reading everything Nelson had written. It was unbelievable stuff — especially his long cover feature on Warren Zevon from the early Eighties that zeroed in on the songwriter’s demons with alcohol.”

Ward made a promise to himself to track down Paul Nelson — something that wouldn’t happen until late 1999.

The resultant interview marked the first of what has become, thanks to the Canadian music writer Scott Woods, rockcritics.com, a treasure trove of articles and interviews devoted to critics (not all of them rock & roll). And Steven Ward’s piece stands as the definitive Paul Nelson interview.

Everything Is an Afterthought draws from subsequent, previously unpublished interview material with Paul to explore the many whats and whys raised by Ward’s excellent article.

On 31 January 2002, almost a dozen years since I’d last seen anything published by Paul Nelson, I posted a public query to the Elliott Murphy mailing list:

Does anybody know what ever happened to rock critic Paul Nelson? 

Within the hour, some kind soul directed me to rockcritics.com. Almost two years earlier, in March of 2000, the website had published an extensive interview with the elusive critic. Written by Steven Ward, a staff writer for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the article was appropriately titled “What Ever Happened to Rock Critic Paul Nelson?”

“I never heard of Paul Nelson until 1990,” Ward remembered last year. “I was 22 and a friend had given me a Christmas present — a prized possession then and now. The present was Kurt Loder’s Bat Chain Puller, a book collection of my favorite music writer’s articles from Rolling Stone.” In the acknowledgments, among the many individuals Loder thanked, was “the legendary Paul Nelson.” “So I immediately hit my college library, attacked the microfilm machine, and started looking through old issues of Rolling Stone. I started reading everything Nelson had written. It was unbelievable stuff — especially his long cover feature on Warren Zevon from the early Eighties that zeroed in on the songwriter’s demons with alcohol.”

Ward made a promise to himself to track down Paul Nelson — something that wouldn’t happen until late 1999.

The resultant interview marked the first of what has become, thanks to the Canadian music writer Scott Woods, rockcritics.com, a treasure trove of articles and interviews devoted to critics (not all of them rock & roll). And Steven Ward’s piece stands as the definitive Paul Nelson interview.

Everything Is an Afterthought draws from subsequent, previously unpublished interview material with Paul to explore the many whats and whys raised by Ward’s excellent article.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

On 31 January 2002, almost a dozen years since I’d last seen anything published by Paul Nelson, I posted a public query to the Elliott Murphy mailing list:

Does anybody know what ever happened to rock critic Paul Nelson? 

Within the hour, some kind soul directed me to rockcritics.com. Almost two years earlier, in March of 2000, the website had published an extensive interview with the elusive critic. Written by Steven Ward, a staff writer for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the article was appropriately titled “What Ever Happened to Rock Critic Paul Nelson?”

“I never heard of Paul Nelson until 1990,” Ward remembered last year. “I was 22 and a friend had given me a Christmas present — a prized possession then and now. The present was Kurt Loder’s Bat Chain Puller, a book collection of my favorite music writer’s articles from Rolling Stone.” In the acknowledgments, among the many individuals Loder thanked, was “the legendary Paul Nelson.” “So I immediately hit my college library, attacked the microfilm machine, and started looking through old issues of Rolling Stone. I started reading everything Nelson had written. It was unbelievable stuff — especially his long cover feature on Warren Zevon from the early Eighties that zeroed in on the songwriter’s demons with alcohol.”

Ward made a promise to himself to track down Paul Nelson — something that wouldn’t happen until late 1999.

The resultant interview marked the first of what has become, thanks to the Canadian music writer Scott Woods, rockcritics.com, a treasure trove of articles and interviews devoted to critics (not all of them rock & roll). And Steven Ward’s piece stands as the definitive Paul Nelson interview.

Everything Is an Afterthought draws from subsequent, previously unpublished interview material with Paul to explore the many whats and whys raised by Ward’s excellent article.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

On 31 January 2002, almost a dozen years since I’d last seen anything published by Paul Nelson, I posted a public query to the Elliott Murphy mailing list:

Does anybody know what ever happened to rock critic Paul Nelson? 

Within the hour, some kind soul directed me to rockcritics.com. Almost two years earlier, in March of 2000, the website had published an extensive interview with the elusive critic. Written by Steven Ward, a staff writer for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the article was appropriately titled “What Ever Happened to Rock Critic Paul Nelson?”

“I never heard of Paul Nelson until 1990,” Ward remembered last year. “I was 22 and a friend had given me a Christmas present — a prized possession then and now. The present was Kurt Loder’s Bat Chain Puller, a book collection of my favorite music writer’s articles from Rolling Stone.” In the acknowledgments, among the many individuals Loder thanked, was “the legendary Paul Nelson.” “So I immediately hit my college library, attacked the microfilm machine, and started looking through old issues of Rolling Stone. I started reading everything Nelson had written. It was unbelievable stuff — especially his long cover feature on Warren Zevon from the early Eighties that zeroed in on the songwriter’s demons with alcohol.”

Ward made a promise to himself to track down Paul Nelson — something that wouldn’t happen until late 1999.

The resultant interview marked the first of what has become, thanks to the Canadian music writer Scott Woods, rockcritics.com, a treasure trove of articles and interviews devoted to critics (not all of them rock & roll). And Steven Ward’s piece stands as the definitive Paul Nelson interview.

Everything Is an Afterthought draws from subsequent, previously unpublished interview material with Paul to explore the many whats and whys raised by Ward’s excellent article.

On 31 January 2002, almost a dozen years since I’d last seen anything published by Paul Nelson, I posted a public query to the Elliott Murphy mailing list:

Does anybody know what ever happened to rock critic Paul Nelson? 

Within the hour, some kind soul directed me to rockcritics.com. Almost two years earlier, in March of 2000, the website had published an extensive interview with the elusive critic. Written by Steven Ward, a staff writer for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the article was appropriately titled “What Ever Happened to Rock Critic Paul Nelson?”

“I never heard of Paul Nelson until 1990,” Ward remembered last year. “I was 22 and a friend had given me a Christmas present — a prized possession then and now. The present was Kurt Loder’s Bat Chain Puller, a book collection of my favorite music writer’s articles from Rolling Stone.” In the acknowledgments, among the many individuals Loder thanked, was “the legendary Paul Nelson.” “So I immediately hit my college library, attacked the microfilm machine, and started looking through old issues of Rolling Stone. I started reading everything Nelson had written. It was unbelievable stuff — especially his long cover feature on Warren Zevon from the early Eighties that zeroed in on the songwriter’s demons with alcohol.”

Ward made a promise to himself to track down Paul Nelson — something that wouldn’t happen until late 1999.

The resultant interview marked the first of what has become, thanks to the Canadian music writer Scott Woods, rockcritics.com, a treasure trove of articles and interviews devoted to critics (not all of them rock & roll). And Steven Ward’s piece stands as the definitive Paul Nelson interview.

Everything Is an Afterthought draws from subsequent, previously unpublished interview material with Paul to explore the many whats and whys raised by Ward’s excellent article.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

On 31 January 2002, almost a dozen years since I’d last seen anything published by Paul Nelson, I posted a public query to the Elliott Murphy mailing list:

Does anybody know what ever happened to rock critic Paul Nelson? 

Within the hour, some kind soul directed me to rockcritics.com. Almost two years earlier, in March of 2000, the website had published an extensive interview with the elusive critic. Written by Steven Ward, a staff writer for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the article was appropriately titled “What Ever Happened to Rock Critic Paul Nelson?”

“I never heard of Paul Nelson until 1990,” Ward remembered last year. “I was 22 and a friend had given me a Christmas present — a prized possession then and now. The present was Kurt Loder’s Bat Chain Puller, a book collection of my favorite music writer’s articles from Rolling Stone.” In the acknowledgments, among the many individuals Loder thanked, was “the legendary Paul Nelson.” “So I immediately hit my college library, attacked the microfilm machine, and started looking through old issues of Rolling Stone. I started reading everything Nelson had written. It was unbelievable stuff — especially his long cover feature on Warren Zevon from the early Eighties that zeroed in on the songwriter’s demons with alcohol.”

Ward made a promise to himself to track down Paul Nelson — something that wouldn’t happen until late 1999.

The resultant interview marked the first of what has become, thanks to the Canadian music writer Scott Woods, rockcritics.com, a treasure trove of articles and interviews devoted to critics (not all of them rock & roll). And Steven Ward’s piece stands as the definitive Paul Nelson interview.

Everything Is an Afterthought draws from subsequent, previously unpublished interview material with Paul to explore the many whats and whys raised by Ward’s excellent article.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.

On 31 January 2002, almost a dozen years since I’d last seen anything published by Paul Nelson, I posted a public query to the Elliott Murphy mailing list:

Does anybody know what ever happened to rock critic Paul Nelson? 

Within the hour, some kind soul directed me to rockcritics.com. Almost two years earlier, in March of 2000, the website had published an extensive interview with the elusive critic. Written by Steven Ward, a staff writer for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the article was appropriately titled “What Ever Happened to Rock Critic Paul Nelson?”

“I never heard of Paul Nelson until 1990,” Ward remembered last year. “I was 22 and a friend had given me a Christmas present — a prized possession then and now. The present was Kurt Loder’s Bat Chain Puller, a book collection of my favorite music writer’s articles from Rolling Stone.” In the acknowledgments, among the many individuals Loder thanked, was “the legendary Paul Nelson.” “So I immediately hit my college library, attacked the microfilm machine, and started looking through old issues of Rolling Stone. I started reading everything Nelson had written. It was unbelievable stuff — especially his long cover feature on Warren Zevon from the early Eighties that zeroed in on the songwriter’s demons with alcohol.”

Ward made a promise to himself to track down Paul Nelson — something that wouldn’t happen until late 1999.

The resultant interview marked the first of what has become, thanks to the Canadian music writer Scott Woods, rockcritics.com, a treasure trove of articles and interviews devoted to critics (not all of them rock & roll). And Steven Ward’s piece stands as the definitive Paul Nelson interview.

Everything Is an Afterthought draws from subsequent, previously unpublished interview material with Paul to explore the many whats and whys raised by Ward’s excellent article.

Copyright 2007 by Kevin Avery. All rights reserved.