Email Author Michael Roberts

Awards

• 2009 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published December 11, 2008

  "The Rocky Mountain News is Going Down"

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1994 Stories by Michael Roberts

• CRITIC'S CHOICE

  published June 22, 1994

  Gil Scott-Heron, Friday, June 24, at the Ogden Theatre, may not be the father of rap music, but he's certainly been a major influence on those... More >>

• SUCKING IN THE SEVENTIES

  published June 22, 1994

  For anyone who thought that punk rock would destroy the popular music of the Seventies, last week was an enormous repudiation. The Eagles, who... More >>

• CRITIC'S CHOICE

  published June 15, 1994

  Cynic, Monday, June 20, at the Gothic Theatre, with Cannibal Corpse and Sinister, looks like your standard-issue death-rock act, from the players'... More >>

• BECK TO THE FUTURE

  published June 15, 1994

  For Beck, the backlash is in full swing. There's no telling when--or whom--this kind of adverse reaction will strike, but the last two... More >>

• LIGHTNING STRIKES AGAIN

  published June 15, 1994

  In promotional materials intended to hype its latest album, Mustang Lightning is called "unmistakably the most energetic and hard-driving band to... More >>

• PLAYLIST

  published June 8, 1994

  David Byrne David Byrne (Luaka Bop/Warner Bros.) Apparently this is the season for faded new-wave stars to search for their roots.... More >>

• KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

  published June 8, 1994

  Although rap music became commercially viable only a few short years ago, the style itself has been around in one form or another since at least... More >>

• BACK TO THE BEACH

  published June 8, 1994

  Mike Love: The name conjures up a particularly Californian image of sun, fun, peace and happiness. If Love, the longtime vocal anchor of the... More >>

• FRETTING ABOUT MEANING

  published June 1, 1994

  In 1989 the life of fortysomething anthropologist Rebecca McSwain was changed by MTV. "The video of `Dr. Feelgood' by Motley Crue really... More >>

• THE BITCHES ARE BACK

  published June 1, 1994

  Many of you men and women out there probably think "bitch" is a bad word. According to the members of the punk quartet 7 Year Bitch, you're... More >>

• PLAYLIST

  published May 25, 1994

  Kokane Funk Upon a Rhyme (Ruthless/Relativity) I admit it: When I saw the cover of this album, I figured that the disc would bite. The... More >>

• PLAYING IT COOL

  published May 25, 1994

  Sweet De, the lead voice for Denver's Cool eMCees, is at the microphone at Aurora's Platinum Studio, freestyling a new set of rhymes meant to... More >>

• PLAYLIST

  published May 18, 1994

  Maggie Estep No More Mister Nice Girl (NuYo/Imago) Calling Ms. Estep a spoken-word artist is tantamount to describing Richard Nixon as... More >>

• ALL HAIL DICK DALE

  published May 18, 1994

  After asking guitarist Dick Dale a question, hold on. This rock-instrumental innovator, this creator of surf rock, this influential wild man... More >>

• CRITIC'S CHOICE

  published May 18, 1994

  Barkmarket, with Spongehead, Tuesday, May 24, at Seven South, is a band that inspires strong opinions. Relatively meek listeners likely will hate... More >>

• PUBLISH AND PERISH

  published May 11, 1994

  Last year, Bert Matthews had to fight the City of Denver and the Colorado Rockies for the right to hawk The Homestand Flier, the baseball-themed... More >>

• PLAYLIST

  published May 11, 1994

  John Trudell Johnny Damas and Me (Rykodisc) No getting around it: Trudell is dogmatic, didactic and driven to say more about most... More >>

• PAINT IT BROWN

  published May 11, 1994

  Greg Brown has a strange effect on people. At first hearing, Brown seems to be a typical folksinger, albeit one with a fine eye for detail.... More >>

• LESS IS MORPHINE

  published May 11, 1994

  In the early Seventies, singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman penned "Roadrunner," one of the great pop songs of all time. Entranced by the tune's... More >>

• SPELLBOUNDWILL SPELL FINALLY PUT DENVER ON THE ROCK-MUSIC MAP? CASTING A SPELL

  published May 4, 1994

  Garrett Shavlik can't help himself. Drummer Shavlik is talking about Spell, a trio believed by practically everyone who's heard them to be... More >>

• PLAYLIST

  published April 27, 1994

  Gil Scott-Heron Spirits (TVT) Gang Starr Hard to Earn (Chrysalis/ERG) You can bet that the members of Gang Starr have worn... More >>

• THE QUILL THING

  published April 27, 1994

  John Quill sits in his smallish apartment-cum-recording studio in southeast Denver and tries to explain why he's been producing the weekly radio... More >>

• KNOW BUDDIES

  published April 20, 1994

  When Leonard Fahrni says he reads Playboy for the magazine's articles, you can believe him. Fahrni does indeed read Playboy--and Entertainment... More >>

• THE SECRET FORMULA

  published April 20, 1994

  When my wife and I were planning to have a second child, we didn't give much thought to what we would feed him or her--we naively thought that... More >>

• PLAYLIST

  published April 20, 1994

  Hole Live Through This (DGC) After weighing what we've learned from the celebrity press (now there's a reliable source), it seems... More >>