Frank Zappa

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 >>

A unicorn bumping and grinding -- I never thought I'd see that. Thanks, Artopia 2013!

With Artopia's dense schedule, it's important to get limber. You can't rush into things. Pulling a muscle or getting a cramp early could mean missing all too many things. Much like a herd of wildebeests in migration, there is no forgiveness for being slow because time -- like a lion -- is unforgivin ... 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 >>

Backwards masking: Ten songs that supposedly contain hidden messages when played in reverse

By Christian McPhate For years, hidden messages have allegedly been embedded in music, cryptic musings that could only be heard by playing the vinyl backwards. Backwards masking, as this phenomenon became known, centered on songs by bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, acts that supposedly impla ... 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 >>

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 >>

Ten Best Concerts This Week: Sept. 24-28

It's officially fall now, according to the calendar -- and, well, the thermometer -- but that doesn't mean things have cooled down here in the Mile High City. While most of the shows have moved indoors, there's still plenty to choose from, including Rise Against at the Fillmore tonight and tomorrow ... More >>

The ten best concerts this weekend: Sept. 14-16

Welcome to the weekend! The weather has finally cooled off a bit, but the shows haven't. Whatever your inclinations are this next couple of days, there are a plethora of options, from Devin Townsend Project tonight at the Summit Music Hall to Deltron 3030 tomorrow night at Cervantes' Masterpiece Bal ... More >>

Amphibious Jones

Space Junkie
Self-released

Saturday Night Live: The best, worst and most controversial performances

Update: 10:39 a.m. Sunday The Shins were on Saturday Night Live last night night weekend's musical guests. Being invited to be the musical guest on an episode of SNL has been a benchmark of commercial success for any band of the last forty years. And for good reason: From Andy Kaufman annihilating ... More >>

Harry Tuft on being inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame

Harry Tuft, slated to be inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame this Sunday, February 12, opened the Denver Folklore Center in 1962 and started promoting concerts a few years later, bringing in Joan Baez to Denver for the first time in 1964 and later bringing her to Red Rocks. In the early ... More >>

What's the first music you bought with your own money?

Can you guess which member of Team Backbeat bought this record?​Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money? Of course you do! It's like the first person you kissed or the first one who broke your heart -- it's a monumental, life-changing moment in your life that's unforgett ... More >>

Caribou Ranch documentary in the works

​Caribou Ranch, near Nederland, was a major recording studio throughout the '70s and early '80s. The 178 artists who recorded there over the years included such legends as Elton John, Billy Joel, the Beach Boys, Frank Zappa and Joe Walsh. But when a fire destroyed the control room in 1985, own ... More >>

Network Awesome is here to remind us what television was like before it sucked

​This week, Nickelodeon has been running some of its favorite shows of the '90s, finally tapping into what the Internet has been saying all along: People like old television programming. And, as Netflix continues to make its customers increasingly irate with price increases (information releas ... More >>

Action Friend on For You the World, Toshi Kasai, Zorn and Spruance

Tom MurphyAction Friend.​For the past eight years, Action Friend (due Saturday, June 25th, at The Meadowlark Bar) has been evolving the kind of music played by what many would say are "a musician's band." Although all the players in the band are highly skilled, it's the inherent weirdness to i ... More >>

R.I.P. Wild Man Fischer

​Outsider musician Larry "Wild Man" Fischer passed away last week at the age of 66 due to heart failure. He wasn't exactly the most well-known musician in the world, but his blend of crazed outsider songwriting and a knack for attracting some popular friends -- including Rosemary Clooney, Fran ... More >>

VibeSquad's Aaron Holstein on dubstep and the importance of hip-hop to his craft

​ Looking at Aaron Holstein, the man behind VibeSquaD, you would never guess he is a trained multi-instrumentalist with a background in jazz. The talented Colorado-based producer emits sounds that can make your ears bleed with pounding bass, swirling synthesizers and relentless energy -- but ... More >>

Trey Anastasio Band at the Ogden, 03/01/11

Adam Perry​ TREY ANASTASIO BAND 03.01.11 |Ogden Theatre Whenever I think of Phish singer/guitarist/composer Trey Anastasio's most powerful solo work, my mind always turns to "orchestral funk" -- the term Anthony Keidis used to describe the Talking Heads' large-band era (with Adrian Belew on ... More >>

Talk Talk

Eolian

Egg
Self-released

Of Montreal, Kayne West and Air Dubai fill 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 >>

Beside Rick Ross and Big Boi, we're all listening to completely different stuff 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 >>

Umphrey's McGee

Saturday, July 3, Red Rocks, 303-830-8497.

M.E. Sprengelmeyer, ex-Rocky writer, saves NM paper by expanding (& killing its website)

M.E. Sprengelmeyer during his Rocky days.​In February 2009, the Rocky Mountain News died just shy of its 150th anniversary, and even though the surviving Denver Post has picked up more of the tabloid's audience than anyone other than MediaNews Group's Dean Singleton would have guessed, big cha ... 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 >>

Q&A with Jacob Bannon of Converge

Matt Miller​Although tagged by some as "this generation's Black Flag," Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon is a long way off from becoming Henry Rollins -- off stage anyway. Onstage, Bannon is a whirling dervish of emotion, complete with violent fist pumps and blood curdling screams. Offstage, however, ... 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 >>

Seeing Adrian Belew in an intimate space like the Toad Tavern is a special treat, and that's the way he likes it

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of August 10, 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 >>

Over the Weekend... Denver Art Rock Collective @ The Toad Tavern

Lil Slugger

Larimer Lounge

That 1 Guy

That 1 Guy

Tuesday, October 9, Walnut Room, 303-292-1700.

Q&A With Geezer Butler of Heaven and Hell/Black Sabbath

The Stooges

The Weirdness
Virgin

Westword Music Showcase 2006

Be there or be square!

Freestyle Fellowship

Awesome live bands sometimes make magic in the studio, too.

Cavemen

Once frozen in doubt and expectation, Cave In digs out and moves forward.

Cirque du Something

The Secret Circus brings in the (offbeat) clowns.

Dangerous Sounds

The Experimental Playground blasts classical-music cliches.

Adrian Belew

Side One (Sanctuary)

Backwash

A new local indie label has got something to Shagg about.

Backwash

16 HP rides high with Hoarse, a new collections of live cuts from local performances.

Feedback

The Gravity of the Situation

Maids of Gravity frontman Ed Ruscha tries to play the music game his way.

Kids Do the Darnedest Things

THRILLS

PLAYLIST

THE CAT'S NEW PAJAMAS

THRILLS