Field Middle School student Max
Timander, 12, has taken blogging's egalitarian spirit to a new height, despite
his lack thereof. He runs areyourockin.com,
a reviewer-centric rock blog covering a smart mix of hot albums (the new Green
Day "is so addicting," he says) and "retro" discs -- by
early-'00s acts such as the White Stripes and David Gray.The real attention-grabber on
Max's site, though, is its heavy coverage of Twin Cities music. Never mind that
its operator is usually too young to see these bands in clubs.
What he lacks in all-access and
perfect grammar, Max makes up for in enthusiasm and ambition."My goal is it to make my
blog as famous as Pitchfork by the time I'm 20," he said, referring to the
big kahuna of rock blogs, Pitchforkmedia.The mop-topped, 5-foot-3-inch
blogger started his site last year after seeing copies of a music fanzine that
his dad co-helmed in the late-'80s called the Wrap Sheet."We spent a lot of late
nights at Kinko's putting it together," remembered Kerry Timander, 44,
sounding like the old man telling his kid he walked uphill to school in 10 feet
of snow.Pointing to the computer outside
Max's bedroom, Kerry added, "Now, everything he needs is right here."