Gwen Stefani

The ten best concerts to see in Denver this week

SHABAZZ PALACES @ LARIMER LOUNGE | MON, 5/6/13 In the first half of the '90s, Ishmael Butler went by the moniker "Butterfly" as part of the rap trio Digable Planets. After the outfit's 1995 split, the group performed one-off shows here and there, but since 2009, Butler has released music with Tendai ... More >>

Did Daft Punk "Get Lucky" with Pharrell, or vice versa? Examining Pharrell's ten greatest misses

Before it was even released, "Get Lucky," the first single from Daft Punk's forthcoming album "Random Access Memories," set the world on fire. From the fan edits of the track to the sixty second commercial from Saturday Night Live to the album teaser from Coachella, "Get Lucky" generated more than t ... More >>

Do I have what it takes to be a drag queen pageant judge?

I didn't have particularly soaring aspirations as a child. I wanted to be a fashion designer or a hair stylist -- it was the '80s, and those careers seemed very glamorous at the time. But I couldn't draw for shit and when I graduated high school at seventeen, my mom refused to let me go to hair scho ... More >>

Backbeat writers sound off on the year's best national albums

See also: Moovers and Shakers 2012: Backbeat writers praise the year's best local albums

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 >>

What's in your bag? Fake mustache, tickets and more!

Fall is here, and weather-beating black boots have hit the streets. But while that footgear may be a staple, Jerome Maestas makes his look unique with a sensational take on accessories, including turning a necklace into a shoulder embellishment. Keep reading to learn his style mantra, which singer d ... More >>

Celebrities on bikes: Ten best costumes at last night's Denver Cruisers ride

The Denver Cruisers have been known to get wild and wacky on their weekly Wednesday rides. (On their website, however, they will warn you: The group is not intended for hook-ups.) Last night's celebrity theme brought out the troops once again, this time in easy-to-recognize (and occasionally, imposs ... More >>

I made my own signature fragrance and it smells like a tanning salon

Coco Chanel once said, "A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future." I ensured my future when I married my perfume in 2008...literally. Since I had to spend a year jumping through the FBI's hoops to have my last name legally changed to Davies, I decided to add a second middle name. "Coco" is wh ... More >>

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 >>

Sounds of Blackness: Fishbone releases documentary in honor of Black History Month

Fishbone, the self-described "disparate, all-black oddball crew," has released a documentary in honor of Black History Month. Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone is a brutally honest portrayal of one of the wildest and most influential black alternative bands in our culture. Fishbone began as ... More >>

Blondes don't have more fun; fake Italian girls with glasses do

I'm not a blonde anymore. That fantasy has officially ended. After spending the better part of a year transitioning from dirt brown to Michelle Pfeiffer's off-yellow Scarface bob to accidentally sea green to Gwen Stefani white, my hair is now a pleasant rich-chocolate color. So my mother can stop th ... More >>

Lola Black

Día de los Borrachos
Self-released

How to unsuccessfully give yourself an Internet makeover

That's me, sporting a chestnut-brown Tori Spelling.​This past Monday was, as far as I could tell, the last official day of summer. I decided to take advantage of this sad occasion by going for one final swim in my Aunt's apartment complex pool, a pool I had been dipping in like it was my own a ... More >>

Labor Day: Let's recap the ten best concerts of the summer

Summer's about sweating after dark.​From Lil Wayne's on-stage clowning and Katy Perry's cooing, to a perspiration-and-PBR soaked reunion of Planes Mistaken for Stars, and even those teenage, Danish punks Iceage melting the audience Rhinoceropolis, the summer of 2011 was as good as any for live ... More >>

John Hickenlooper-love spirals for students: Kenny Be's back-to school supplies

​ Largely based on Public Policy Polling's results revealing John Hickenlooper's approval rating as third best in the nation, Hickenlooper Lovers is a novelty line starring the Colorado Governor as an anime character featured on notebooks, folders and backpacks...

MTV's top five greatest on-air moments

A very pregnant Kim Gordon, flanked by band mate Julie Cafritz and KennedyOnce upon a time, before reality TV cheapened television programming as a whole, MTV (thirty years old today) was a bastion of music culture that actually showcased cutting edge artists for the sake of art. Because the network ... More >>

In honor of Mother's Day this weekend: A list of the music world's top five hottest mamas

​Even though most of our moms aren't rock stars, some of them sure as hell seem like it. With their busy schedules and insane ability to multi-task, they deserve screaming fans and scads of cash. We know it's hard being just a suburban mom trying to juggle work and a family, so we got to think ... More >>

Last Night: Paramore, Tegan and Sara, New Found Glory at Red Rocks - 09.13.10

Aaron Thackeray​ PARAMORE Tegan and Sara • New Found Glory • Kadawatha 09.13.10 | Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison view full slide show While this year's installment of the Honda Civic Tour felt more like an obscene barrage of advertisements (complete with a pamphlet about credit-buildin ... More >>

Paramore

Monday, September 13, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 303-830-8497.

Seraphim Shock in top form at Gothic Theatre over the weekend

Tom MurphySeraphim Shock's Charles Edward looked like a vampire superhero turned pop star.​ SERAPHIM SHOCK The Siren Project • Lola Black 08.27.10 | Gothic Theatre, Englewood Used to be you could count on the opening bands at a Seraphim Shock show to be pretty awful. But in the last severa ... More >>

Global Dance Festival at Red Rocks

Aaron Thackeray​ Global Dance Festival Friday, July 16, 2010 | Red Rocks Amphitheatre Every year, the Global Dance Festival brings some of the best in electronic music to the best outdoor venue on the planet, and Friday night's sold-out show was no exception. Judging from the proliferation o ... More >>

Part two: Pete Ryan on cock's comb, Ron Burgundy and cheesy love songs

Lori Midson Pete Ryan, executive chef/instructor of Cook Street School of Culinary Arts​ Pete Ryan Cook Street School of Culinary Arts 1937 Market Street 303-308-9300 www.cookstreet.com This is part two of Lori Midson's Chef and Tell interview with Pete Ryan. To read part one of that inter ... More >>

American Idol: Mark LaBriola gets the Heisman, Haeley Vaughn advances and the rest, well ...?

​Did you catch Idol last night? Cripes, How annoying was that? Just this side of insufferable, really. Still Hollywood week. Group day: The whole concept is counter-intuitive. Idol, like golf, is an individual sport, right? So what's the point of lumping the contestants together? We're guessin ... More >>

Top Ten Songs from the '00s That Will Puzzle Future Generations

Wonder if whoever set these misfit creatures loose happened to notice their poker faces?​This last decade has seen several genres rise and fall on the Billboard charts and because of that we've had a weird array of singles briefly topping the charts. In ten years or so, when we look back on th ... More >>

The Westword.com blog shortcut, May 28 edition

Gwen Stefani has No Doubt. This is what we did. Today in Backbeat Online: • Last Night: No Doubt, Paramore and The Sounds at Fiddler's Green. • Q&A with Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura. • Missed FoCoMx? No worries. Check this out. • Musicians: Get your ears lowered for free. • Updat ... More >>

Milking It: Banana Nut Cheerios

Banana Nut Cheerios General Mills Rating: Two spoons out of four Cereal description: Those readers who hail from the planet Earth will recognize the standard Cheerios design: a circle with a hole in the middle, like a letter "O" designed to fill the diner with cheer. (Still can't figure out wher ... More >>

The Rockies Make a Grand Entrance

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Gwen Stefani

Wednesday, October 26, Magness Arena, 303-830-8497.

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Howard Hughes gets what he wants -- in this case, a fun and loving biopic.

Gwen Stefani

Love, Angel, Music, Baby (Interscope)

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Denver's fashion insiders reveal their secrets for a stylish summer.

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Mainstream news offers little to the under-thirty crowd.

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No Doubt

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And the Emmy Goes to...

Many important musicians won't be on stage in Boulder with Emmylou Harris -- but they'll be with her.

Playlist

Road Skalars