Cory Casciato

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 >>

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 >>

The best EDM in Denver this weekend: Pan-Pot, Prefuse 73, Bad Boy Bill, Tommy Lee and more

Are you ready for this weekend? Are you sure? Because there's a lot on this weekend's Dance Card, from tech-house darlings Pan-Pot to the illustrious and always brilliant Prefuse 73 to the persistent house stylings of Bad Boy Bill. Tommy Lee from Motley Crue, meanwhile, will be drumming up a set at ... More >>

Reader: Toy train-lover Rod Stewart is way cooler than you (and me)

Do you think toy trains are sexy?In advance of the Rocky Mountain Toy Train Show at the Denver Merchandise Mart last week, Cory Casciato listed five toy-train enthusiasts who are cooler than you. The lineup ranged from Winston Churchill to Neil Young. But there was one major omission. See also: F ... More >>

Reader: Ancient Romans were party animals -- or at least furries

The ancient Romans were remarkably accomplished people, as evidenced by A Day in Pompeii, a special exhibit now on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. But not only were they responsible for many inventions, they also knew how to party, as Cory Casciato reports. See also: - Ancient R ... More >>

Reader: Vampires are sucking the life out of literature

Edward Cullen and his sparkly friends have made vampires very popular today. But for a modern take on vampires with real bite, Cory Casciato suggests you check out Jeanne Stein's Anna Strong vampire series. If you want to read about vampires at all, that is.

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 >>

Yeasayer at the Ogden Theatre, 8/26/12

YEASAYER @ OGDEN THEATRE | 8.26.12 See also: Anand Wilder of Yeasayer on being from Baltimore but making a name in New York As soon as the lights dimmed for Yeasayer's entrance, the cheering began. Moments later, when the bizarre, sci-fi mirror-monstrosity of a stage set was revealed, the cheers s ... More >>

Friends forever and other cool-destroying admissions

​Okay we all have some skeletons in our closet, shit we dig -- be it music, movies or television shows -- that we'd just as soon that nobody else knew about. Guilty pleasures is what most people term these sort of inclinations. Well, here at Backbeat, there's no shame in our game -- assuming, ... More >>

Westword Music Showcase 2010: Backbeat scribes' travelogue

​ Here's our massive, multi-page report/travelogue of the Westword Music Showcase from (in order) Tom Murphy, Cory Casciato, A.H. Goldstein, Jef Otte, Jon Solomon and Brain Frederick. Let us know in the comments what you saw and loved, saw and hated, or missed and hated yourself for missing. ... More >>

Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Otis Taylor and Trace Bundy top our weekly playlists

​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 >>

B.o.B., Bop Skizzum, Tommy Metz and The Pirate Signal top our weekly playlists

​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 >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of February 8, 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. ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of January 11, 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 >>

Five ways social media has changed us -- like allowing us to socialize pants-free

Pants: Now totally optional​Over at the excellent social-media site Mashable, there's an intelligent and thought-provoking post about the ways social media has changed us. And while its conclusions about social media's impact on our society included important points about information availabil ... 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 >>

Moovers and Shakers rounds up our favorite local releases of the year

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of December 21, 2009

​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. For ... More >>

From the week of December 17, 2009

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of December 14, 2009

​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. For t ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of November 9, 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. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of all the things we'r ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 19, 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 >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 5, 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 ... More >>

Win tickets to see Daedelus tonight at the Bluebird

​All right, anybody feel like turning this Monday into Funday? How's about it? Thought so. With that in mind, we've got a pair of tickets up for grabs to catch Daedelus tonight at the Bluebird with Musa and CacheFlowe. Daedelus? Who's that, you say? Ah, glad you asked. Last time Daedelus (aka Alfr ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of September 14, 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 >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of August 17, 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 >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of August 3, 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 al ... More >>

Over the weekend: UMS Festival

Julie Davis of Bela Karoli (A.H. Goldstein)​Last night, the four-day UMS festival wrapped, and most of our crew made it out for at least part of the fest. And while we rarely agree on anything, we're all pretty much in agreement that Danielle Ate the Sandwich absolutely stole the show with one of ... More >>

Black Market Empire comes alive

Photo by Cory Casciato The recorded tunes of Black Market Empire simply do not do the band justice. Before Saturday, I was familiar with the band only from its three MySpace tracks, which were decent if somewhat uninspired retro new wave that conjured up such '80s stalwarts as the Cure, Duran Duran ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top five spins for the week of April 20, 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 a ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top five spins for the week of April 13, 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 al ... More >>

What have the Hot IQs been up to?

So, what have the Hot IQs been up to? The answer to that question will apparently be revealed on Friday, December 19, when the new video is premiered and the act's 7-inch is released at an all-ages show at the Bluebird with local-scene luminaries the Chain Gang of 1974, Young Coyotes and Team Firef ... More >>

Beyond Playlist: The Rapture

The RaptureTapesK7! The Rapture flexes its DJ muscles and delivers an intriguing mix of old school rap, funk, disco, house and straight-up weirdness. Mixing old-school classics with more contemporary material, the group shows an impressive breadth and depth of taste and influences. Among the highl ... More >>

David Guetta at Beta

pilfered from myspace David Guetta November 20, 2008 Beta David Guetta is popular. Of the many DJs I’ve seen at Beta, I think tonight was the most crowded, with the possible exceptions of Danny Tenaglia and maybe Richie Hawtin, which were close. It was so crowded I was constantly being walke ... More >>

Your Friday distraction is here

Go ahead and play, it's not like you were getting anything done today anyway Now that lunch is but a dim memory and beer o' clock is still hours away, you need something to distract you from the grinding horror that is your work day. May we humbly suggest Auditorium, a beautiful, trippy music ga ... More >>

Rock the Vote: Beastie Boys and Tenacious D at the Fillmore

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Live Review: M.A.N.D.Y. at Beta

Over the Weekend: Tats, beats, and booze

Live Review: John Digweed at Beta

Westword Blog Shortcut, September 19 Edition

Over the weekend: Monolith, Beta and -- huh? -- lingerie football

Over the Weekend ... Otto von Schirach @ Bender's Tavern

Critics' Picks for 2007

Backbeat scribes sound off on their favorite releases of the past year.

Moovers and Shakers 2007

Backbeat scribes sound off on their favorite local releases of the year.

Moovers and Shakers 2007

Backbeat scribes sound off on their favorite local releases of the year.

Monday Morning Hang Over

Last Night: St. Vincent and The National @ The Ogden Theater

More Internet Enhanced Cartoonery