If shaggy bands of white youth with electric guitars ever really became extinct, as myopic observers unprepared for Nirvana claimed a few years ago, the news never managed to reach the Midwest. Trendy music scenes constantly touch down in various locales, but the sequestered cities of America's heartland have always been prime breeding ground for raucous pop children of the punk age.

Boiling up the...

There was a time, circa 1977-80, when Cheap Trick were sitting on top of the world. With its skewed Beatle-pop and calculated image, the Illinois quartet rose from obscurity to arena-rock status practically overnight. The beauty of Cheap Trick was that you could love them even if you didn't get the joke. The group's irony was grafted onto the sort of rock-solid hooks and harmonies only a dolt...