Email Author Michael Roberts

Awards

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

  "The Rocky Mountain News is Going Down"

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2004 Stories by Michael Roberts

• Killing Time

  published October 21, 2004

  I wouldn't consider us a throwback, but I also wouldn't say we're reinventing the wheel of rock and roll," says Ronnie Vannucci, drummer for the... More >>

• Elvis Costello and the Imposters

  published October 21, 2004

  The other Elvis has long displayed a weakness for genre exercises, and while some of his dabblings have worked (most notably the pseudo-R&B of... More >>

• Jill Scott

  published October 21, 2004

  Upon their first spin of Scott's latest, many listeners will miss the lightning lurking within the quiet storm. Her new disc initially seems too... More >>

• The Last Seen

  published October 21, 2004

  I confess: After one glance at this six-track EP's lame graphics and dull jacket photo (the moratorium on pics featuring sensitive-looking... More >>

• Bob Dylan

  published October 21, 2004

  Mr. Zimmerman doesn't need an excuse to hit the highway; over the years, he's played in support of good albums, bad albums and no albums at all.... More >>

• Mos Def

  published October 21, 2004

  Opportunity has done a lot of knocking at Mos Def's door, and he keeps answering. In addition to hosting poetry jams on HBO (and receiving an Emmy... More >>

• The Message

  published October 14, 2004

  On October 7, separate stories on the same topic that ran in the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News prompted plenty of... More >>

• R. Kelly

  published October 14, 2004

  R. Kelly is the Bill Clinton of R&B -- a man who deals with scandal by tenaciously forging ahead. This two-CD package is enjoyably tuneful from a... More >>

• Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette

  published October 14, 2004

  With the notable exception of Charo, mellowness generally comes with age. This adage helps explain why the latest CDs by Jarrett, Peacock and... More >>

• Terror Squad

  published October 14, 2004

  Smartasses on VH1 have had a great time ripping "Lean Back," the ubiquitous hit single from True Story, Terror Squad's latest CD, but most... More >>

• The Ponys

  published October 14, 2004

  Truly original music is always better than a pastiche -- unless, that is, the truly original music chomps and the pastiche is particularly... More >>

• The Message

  published October 7, 2004

  Scott Patrick and Denise Plante, who co-host Colorado & Co. , a daily talk program recently launched by Channel 9, were... More >>

• Northern Exposure

  published October 7, 2004

  Montreal's Sam Roberts is looking forward to performing in Colorado, even though the state is associated with a pain that's lingered within him... More >>

• Nelly

  published October 7, 2004

  Listeners inclined to dismiss Nelly as the MC Hammer of the 21st century should feel free to do so, since, basically, that's what he is. But as a... More >>

• Deca

  published October 7, 2004

  Deca’s hardly a hip-hop newcomer, having served time with Elemental and Prana, and his years on the scene enhance his latest solo album. On “Sh... More >>

• Frog Eyes

  published October 7, 2004

  "What the hell?" This question and others containing even juicier profanities may pop out of folks who spin The Folded Palm, a new disc by... More >>

• The Message

  published September 30, 2004

  Newspapers are generally good at reporting about lawsuits involving major businesses within their circulation area, but they can be notably less... More >>

• R.E.M.

  published September 30, 2004

  Judging by its recent sales figures, R.E.M. doesn't matter much anymore -- but members Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills hope to prove... More >>

• Wovenhand

  published September 30, 2004

  On the third Wovenhand album, 16 Horsepower frontman David Eugene Edwards doesn't do anything particularly new. Yet the disc manages to sound... More >>

• Bobby Bare Jr.'s Young Criminals' Starvation League

  published September 30, 2004

  Even folks who love "Detroit City" and other hits by Bobby Bare Sr. would be thoroughly bored by Bobby Jr. if he were only interested in aping his... More >>

• Viva Voce

  published September 30, 2004

  Anita and Kevin Robinson constitute the entire membership of Viva Voce, and because they're an item off-stage as well as on, their band is... More >>

• Capitol Idea

  published September 30, 2004

  Fledgling authors are generally counseled to write about what they know -- but if there's anyone with an incentive to ignore that advice, it's... More >>

• The Message

  published September 23, 2004

  According to Wayne Laugesen, a columnist for the Boulder Weekly, there are times when members of the press need to stop observing... More >>

• The Fu, the Proud

  published September 23, 2004

  We play what we're into, and what we're into is loud, heavy rock," says singer-guitarist Scott Hill, the leader of California's Fu Manchu. "We're... More >>

• Ashlee Simpson and Ryan Cabrera

  published September 23, 2004

  A moment of silence, please, to mark the breakup of the most attractive young twosome of at least the last month and a half, Ashlee Simpson and... More >>