t the age of two, Mike Powell choked on a toothpaste cap, turned a bluish color, and very nearly died. His remarkably low heart rate has startled doctors. Before joining Stylus in early 2005, he had only written two pieces of music criticism for a student paper; one described the voice of Julian Casablancas as “an intercom howling through the architecture of rock.” This admission is part of his therapy. He drinks a lot of seltzer and black coffee. His first musical memory is loving Peter Gabriel’s “Shock the Monkey.” This is a blog he keeps.