Belle and Sebastian

Do drugs make musicians more creative?

Do drugs fuel creativity? Is an addled mind essential to making great music? Does sobriety cause creative impotence? What if Jimi Hendrix had suddenly decided to enter a twelve-step program? Would Are You Experienced? have sucked? To answer this nagging question, you have to take a look at rock's re ... More >>

Comedian Chris Hardwick on hipsters, sobriety and the true meaning of being a nerd

In 2013, being called a nerd isn't the insult that it once was. Practically no one uses the term negatively anymore, and there's no shortage of those who proudly wear the nerd badge as a cultural identity. But if there's still such a thing as a king of the nerds, the honor would probably go to stand ... More >>

Ten acts that clearly worship The Smiths

Few bands in history have cast a longer shadow than The Smiths. They've inspired countless imitators and spiritual successors since they called it quits in 1987. While skinny indie kids moaning about the hardships of life are a dime a dozen, tracking down the successful artists influenced by Morriss ... More >>

Here's what we're all listening to right now. What's rocking your world this week?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it's not surprising that the most common (and favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: "What are you listening to right now?" Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn't you know it, off we go, on and on about t ... More >>

The 50 worst rock/pop lyrics: The Complete list

Well, here we are, at the end of the road of lyrical idiocy. As our countdown to crappiness finally culminates, we've trained our eye on some of the greatest lyricists in rock, who during select moments, greatly disappointed us with their valueless verse. These lyrics are all bad on their own terms, ... More >>

The 50 worst rock/pop lyrics of all time: 40-31

The countdown of total crappiness continues. Yesterday we laid out the back half of the of the top fifty worst rock and pop lyrics of all time, and today we present the other half, which is populated by Poison's "Unskinny Bop," the Rolling Stones' "Cocksucker Blues" and a bunch of other ill-conceive ... More >>

Comedian Rory Scovel on crowd tension, Bobcat Goldthwait and why Aurora didn't steal Batman from him

Baby-faced Rory Scovel has been lighting up the comedy world with his classic observational humor, mixed with context-free voices that he applies randomly to no particular jokes or bits (he's been known to drift into a German accent at random points in the show, and may or may not continue with it t ... More >>

2013 Resolutions, week one: You better work!

A few days ago, a friend asked me via Facebook if I had followed through with my Patrick Nagel tattoo -- in November, I had promised myself the reward of getting one of his minimalist pin-ups tattooed on my arm upon successful completion of National Novel Writing Month. I didn't make it through Na ... More >>

Resolutions for 2013: I promise to stop being a dick and shut up about Belle & Sebastian

New Year's resolutions are typically useless; they're often way too ambitious and usually forgotten by February. But there's value in the ritual of taking stock of the past year and making goals for the year to come. When I was asked about my resolutions, I said couldn't think of a thing I'd like ... More >>

Backbeat's top five spins: This is what we're listening to this week. What's on your playlist?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it's not surprising that the most common (and favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: "What are you listening to right now?" Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn't you know it, off we go, on and on about t ... More >>

Backbeat's top five spins: This is what we're listening to this week. What's on your playlist?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it shouldn't be surprising to find that the most common (and mutually favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: "What are you listening to right now?" Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn't you know it, off ... More >>

Backbeat's top five spins: This is what we're listening to this week. What's on your playlist?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it shouldn't be surprising to find that the most common (and mutually favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: "What are you listening to right now?" Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn't you know it, off ... More >>

The five most listened-to songs and albums of the week, August 20 through August 27

Well, lookie here. What you do know? It's the return of Heavy Rotation. Longtime readers of Backbeat will remember this feature as one in which we shared our weekly listening habits in hopes of giving you some insight into our individual sensibilities. It's been dormant for a while, but starting tod ... More >>

Tonight: Smith Westerns at the Larimer

​Chicago's Smith Westerns have no doubt been thrown under the worn out labels of beachy and reverb-heavy -- but past a surface listen, the band goes deeper than many of it's lo-fi contemporaries. Reminiscent of T. Rex and Donovan, the music of Smith Westerns has a charming sexiness in their vo ... More >>

In honor of Valentine's Day, we present you with fifteen love songs about... inanimate objects

​It's Valentine's Day, which means the entire Internet is abuzz with songs about love -- or if people are feeling particularly sad -- songs about hate. But what about those who prefer to spread their affection to other things, like inanimate objects? Well, there are plenty of those songs, too. ... More >>

Top sellers this week: Elephant Revival back on top at Albums, Mumford & Sons at Twist

​After a month of holding down the number one spot at Albums on the Hill and then being absent from last week's top sellers, Nederland-based Elephant Revival is back on top for the week ending January 9. Mumford & Sons, meanwhile, who have been a strong seller at local stores, took the number ... More >>

T.I., Elephant Revival, Ebbets Field comp and Belle & Sebastian top local sellers this week

​T.I. grabbed the top spot at Independent this week with his latest, No Mercy, featuring Kanye West, Drake and Eminem, among others. Nederland's Elephant Revival claimed the top spot for the second week in a row at Albums on the Hill. At Twist & Shout, meanwhile, the new Live From Ebbets Field ... More >>

Kid Cudi, Cee Lo, Belle & Sebastian top sellers at local stores

​Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, released last week on Universal Motown, debuted very strong, claiming the top slots at Albums on the Hill, Independent Records and Twist & Shout for the week ending November 14. Cee Lo Green's Lady Killer, meanwhile, issued last week on ... More >>

Brian Eno, Lil Wayne, Mumford & Sons, Deerhunter top sellers at local stores

​Small Craft on a Milk Sea, Brian Eno's Warp debut released last week, claimed the top spot at Albums on the Hill and rounded out the top five at Twist & Shout for the week ending November 7. Lil Wayne's I Am Not a Human Being, meanwhile, continues to hold down to the top spot at Independent R ... More >>

Kings of Leon, Deerhunter, Lil Wayne top sellers at local record stores

​While it isn't a huge surprise, Come Around Sundown, Kings of Leon's fifth studio album, released last week on RCA, claimed the top spots at both Albums on the Hill and Twist and Shout, and checked in at number two at Independent Records, behind Lil Wayne's I Am Not a Human Being. Deerhunter' ... More >>

Sufjan Stevens, Belle & Sebastian, Lil Wayne top sellers at local stores

​Sufjan Stevens' The Age of Adz, released last week on Asthmatic Kitty, and Belle & Sebastian's latest release on Matador, Write About Love, took the top two spots at Albums on the Hill and Twist & Shout for the week ending October 17. Lil Wayne's new album, meanwhile, I Am Not a Human Being ... More >>

Gorillaz, Sonic Youth, LCD Soundsytem shows announced

​It's been a hell of a week for show announcements. Aside from getting the word on shows by the Cult, Blitzen Trapper, Bad Religion, the Thermals and Drake, Gorillaz announced a show at the Wells Fargo Theatre on Sunday, October 24. Tickets to see the Damon Albarn-fronted group, which includ ... More >>

Matador at 21: Anyone got a spare, oh, $700 or so?

​As it happens, we don't have a spare $700 or so laying around. Boy, if we did, though, you wouldn't really have to be the betting type to wager where we'd be on Friday, October 1 through Sunday, October 3. No contest: Matador at 21 in Las Vegas. Have you seen the lineup for this thing? Holy ... More >>

Ghostand Observatory, Jonathan Tyler on our playlists this week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" So whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Ten musician related comic books

​ We found the above gem while wandering around the comic store yesterday -- it appears to be some type of (unauthorized?) biography of Lady Gaga. Unfortunately, mom didn't give us enough loot to actually buy it, so we'll never know for sure. What we do know, however, is that this isn't the f ... More >>

A Sunny Day in Glasgow

Friday, March 5, hi-dive, 720-570-4500.

Top ten five blogs by bands

Photo courtesy of Kanyewest.com​ Last week, Kanye christened his new web site with the above photo of his girlfriend, Amber Rose. Then, Thom Yorke announced the name of his latest band on the Radiohead blog. Which got us thinking about the other band blogs we have bookmarked. In our bitchin' ... More >>

Deferred Hat Tip: Belle & Sebastian's Dear Catastrophe Waitress

There's probably a specific type of hell for people like me: I who can name drop a Belle & Sebastian song off the top of their head, can toss their songs onto mix tapes, have owned the majority of their catalog for several years without ever once even thinking about the possibility of maybe listenin ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of January 4, 2010

​As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. F ... More >>

Over the Weekend: David Bazan at the Hi-Dive

David Bazan​ David Bazan, Say Hi November 1, 2009 Hi-Dive Better Than:Dreaming about an open mike night during a nap. "Do you guys want to hear a joke?" asks Say Hi frontman Eric Elbogen maybe three songs into their set. We do, of course. "Clean or dirty?" he asks. He gets a bunch of requests ... More >>

Monolith Q&A: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

​With early support from one of the country's most important independent radio stations, KEXP in Seattle, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -- appearing at Monlith this weekend -- struck a chord with fans of earnest, dreamy, lush pop music. Though often compared to C86-era and Sarah Records ban ... More >>

The Octopus Project

Saturday, August 22, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-1007.

Freaky Friday: Sour - "Hibi no Neiro"

​Japan offers us this week's entry into the weird of the world. The song is "Hibi no Neiro" by Japanese group Sour. It's actually quite a nice little tune, sort of like a Japanese Belle and Sebastian who stop for a psych-rock/free jazz freakout now and then -- which I guess is weird enough, i ... More >>

Q&A with Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura

Early on in its career, Camera Obscura endured endless comparisons to revered fellow Glaswegians Belle & Sebastian. At this point, however, any comparison threatens to make the latter look bad: Among scholars of the heartache and growing pains of bookish, precocious youth, Stuart Murdoch's got n ... More >>

Cobra Starship Took Flight

Before Gabe Saporta even had a band together.

The Magic Flute and Other Assorted Goodies

Various Artists

Juno: Music From the Motion Picture
Rhino

Cary Brothers @ Soiled Dove Underground, 7/21/07

Kissing Party

Leela European Cafe

Boys and Their Toys

Gio Toninelo is living the dream -- and his wife doesn't mind.

Pretty Girls Make Saves

As video games go indie, here's some ideas for a few likely pairings.

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan

Ballad of the Broken Seas (V2)

Cello Kitty

Rasputina gives chamber music a goose.

For Whom the Belle Toils

Belle & Sebastian remains a word-of-mouth phenomenon.

Asking for It

Storytelling blusters with sex, rage and insanity.

The Reindeer Section

Y'all Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! ([PIAS] America)

Sage Advice

KBCO's Bret Saunders is taking on the shock jocks -- and winning.

Playlist

Kool Keith, Joe Gallant and Illuminati, Belle and Sebastian, Tricky With DJ Muggs and Grease, Reggae Gold 1999

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