Bob Dylan

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 >>

New Denver shows: Phoenix, Five Iron Frenzy, Channel 93.3 Big Gig with Lumineers and more

Another solid batch of new shows going on sale this weekend, including Phoenix, who's coming to the Rocks with Dinosaur Jr., Five Iron Frenzy, set to play the Ogden in August, KTCL Channel 93.3 is set to feature the Lumineers, Langhorne Slim and Paper Bird, plus the Monkees. Keep reading for the ful ... More >>

Ten rockers who found religion

We all dream of finding fame and fortune in our chosen fields, but when people actually do get rich and famous, they often discover that money can't buy happiness, or love, or whatever it is the Beatles were singing about. What's the answer, then? God? Meditation? E-meter auditing? When musicians ge ... 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 worst rock/pop lyrics of all time: 20-11

Join us as we go further down the rabbit hole of cringe-worthy rock lyrics, making our way through an underselling David Lee Roth, a culture war waged by Avril Lavigne, a melodramatic suicide note from Blink 182, some lumpy Black Eyed Peas and Chinese food that makes LFO sick, while Bob Dylan and th ... More >>

The Constant Tourists

Carry On
Self-released

Playing cover songs is a sign of creative fatigue

There's nothing wrong with cover songs. In fact, before Sam Cooke and the Beatles shifted the established paradigms, singer and songwriter were two entirely separate professions. And there's also nothing wrong with a musician recording a cover album in the twilight of their career (Johnny Cash's Ame ... 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 >>

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 >>

Ten essential albums of the 1960s

If someone wanted to learn more about the sixties, but didn't know where to start, these are the albums we'd recommend. While they aren't necessarily the best selling, or the most critically acclaimed, they are certainly the ones that float to the surface all these years later, providing a rough blu ... More >>

The ten best concerts this week: 10/29-11/2

Happy Monday, amigos. Hope you didn't go too hard this past weekend -- though, judging from the pics from Rockbar's last call, some of you apparently did -- because there's at least four truckloads of shows (including Ryan Adams acoustic set at Boulder Theater tonight) going down this week, which me ... 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 >>

New shows: the Coup, Broncho, Killswitch Engage, Macklemore, Twiztid, Paul Banks, RJD2

A bunch of new dates going on sale later this week: This November, the Coup is coming to the Summit Music Hall, Killswitch Engage is due at the Fox and Interpol frontman Paul Banks is slated at the Bluebird. In December, Broncho's at the Gothic and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are at the Ogden. Finally, ... More >>

New shows: STS9 and String Cheese NYE runs, Fun. at 1STBANK, DeVotchKa and more

New Year's Eve is shaping up to be an epic night of shows, with the String Cheese Incident pulling into 1STBANK Center for a three-night NYE run (tickets on sale this Saturday, September 29), STS9 plays three shows at the Fillmore (tickets on sale Friday, September 28), and the Motet's Beginning of ... More >>

(UPDATE) New Concerts: Skrillex vs Knife Party, Bob Dylan and Green Day at 1STBANK

A bunch of new shows this week. The two biggest of the bunch: Bob Dylan, whose new album, Tempest , hits the stores today, is coming to the 1STBANK Center for a two-night stand in late October, and Green Day, due for a date at the Broomfield venue in February. Trans-Siberian Orchestra, meanwhile, br ... More >>

Youth Lagoon's Trevor Powers: "A lot of happy stuff is cheesy to me. When there are bands that are pure happy all the time, I don't believe it."

See Also: Tonight: Youth Lagoon at the Bluebird The best SXSW music 2012 The worst SXSW music 2012 Youth Lagoon (due tonight at the Bluebird Theater) began as the solo project of Trevor Powers, who first started making music while still in high school, and whose early recordings caught the attentio ... More >>

Five misinformed rock songs

Of all the occupations listed on Bono's resume (humanitarian, hotel owner, British Knight, world bank advisor, anathema to any rock fan under thirty), one that has never been considered was historian. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 44 years ago today, an event the U2 singer attempted to ... More >>

Jewel: "I've never held back because I'm a woman. I feel like I can accomplish anything a man can accomplish in my field.""

Since having her son, Kase Townes Murray, last summer, Jewel might have taken time off the road, but she's still busy at home with a number of things, including working on a new Christmas album. Her free solo acoustic show this Saturday night at the Colorado Convention Centeras part of the Women's ... More >>

Bob Dylan turns 70 today (happy birthday, big guy!): A list of our favorite Bob Dylan albums

As you're probably already aware, Bob Dylan turns seventy today. We want to take this moment to thank Mrs. Zimmerman for giving birth to one of the most influential musicians of our time. We're hard-pressed to find a musician that is more versatile or as cool as Dylan. He has been called the voice o ... More >>

Ringing of Revolution

Five famous musical muses: the women who inspire songs and movements and stir libidos

​With the recent passing of Suze Rotolo, Bob Dylan's first muse, we thought it only appropriate to give a shout out to a couple of other famous ladies. The muse position is demanding and the position can vary (physically and figuratively) -- it's not all about getting a song named after you. T ... More >>

Quentin Young

Passion of the Loose Cannon, With Remarks
Self-released

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 >>

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 >>

Carla Bley top seller at Albums on the Hill

​Jazz pianist Carla Bley grabbed the top spot at Albums on the Hill with Carla's Christmas Carols, an ECM release that also features bassist Steve Swallow and the Partyka Brass Quintet. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros' Up From Below and Gregory Alan Isakov's This Empty Northern Hemisphere c ... More >>

Flaming Lips top sellar at Bart's CD Cellar

​The Flaming Lips new album, Embryonic, was the top seller at Bart's CD Cellar for the week ending October 25, while Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 and Roseanne Cash's The List grabbed the second and third spots. Bob Dylan's new Christmas album and Kevon Edwards' Who Knew rounded out the top five. See th ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 26, 2009

​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Flaming Lips grab top spot at Bart's CD Cellar

​The Flaming Lips latest effort, Embryonic, debuted at the number one spot at Bart's CD Cellar for the week ending October 18. Bob Dylan's Christmas in the Heart, released last week on Columbia, came in second and Built to Spill's There Is No Enemy came in third, while the Avett Brothers' I and Lo ... More >>

Chella Negro

The Westword.com blog shortcut, September 9 edition

Open wide.​Meat, and so much more. Today in Cafe Society: • The winner of the burger battle at Tony's Market. • Open house today at 3014. • Tonight: Denver Five dinner at TAG with local winemaker Ben Parsons. • Chef and Tell: Mark Dym of Marco's Coal-Fired Pizza. • Our Weekly Bread: ... More >>

Q&A with Bob Crawford of the Avett Brothers

Crackerfarm​Arena rock is making a comeback. Thanks to bands like My Morning Jacket, Wilco and North Carolina's the Avett Brothers, the spirit and tradition of the '70s is swelling and helping to conjure up images of rock and roll when it was at it's purest, most visceral and most likely bearded. ... More >>

MP3 Freeloader: Tonight, Hawks of Paradise at the Oriental

If you miss the halcyon days of blues-based rock with just a hint of psychedelic haze, then tonight's CD-release party for the Hawks of Paradise album Skeleton Key will make you very happy. We've compared this outfit to Bob Dylan and the Velvet Underground, but what you really need to know is that ... More >>

The newer generations' love of classic rock shows a lack of imagination

Steve Earle grabs top spot at Twist and Shout

Steve Earle, who performed songs from his new Townes Van Zandt tribute album at Twist & Shout last Friday, beat out Green Day for the top spot on the store's best seller list for the week of May 17. Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, Iron & Wine and Conor Oberst continue to hold down spots in the top te ... More >>

Hawks of Paradise at the Larimer Lounge

Rearview: The Week in Review (7/19/08-7/25/08)

The Westword.com Blog Shortcut, July 11 Edition

Rearview: The Week in Review (7/5/08-7/12/08)

Q&A With Hayes Carll

A Bitter End

One dark, two docs and a DJ.

New releases available this week

Listen Up

Stories on Stage raises the political bunting.

Best Staff at a Record Store

Twist & Shout

Backwash

The last gulp.

War on War Songs

Iraq and roll don't go together well when rockers protest

Discmania

Backbeat writers revisit their favorite albums of the year.

Native Intelligence

Robbie Robertson digs into his past so he can move into the future.

Playlist

IS HE BLUE?

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE PLAY THE BLUES THE NEW-FASHIONED WAY.

CRITIC'S CHOICE