Morrissey (Singer)

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 >>

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 >>

The ten biggest assholes in rock

Feuds, tantrums, threatening to kill the president -- if you've been following rock music for the past few decades, you know that dickish behavior comes with the territory when your job involves a stage and adoring fans. Here we've assembled the reprehensible cream that has risen to top, highlightin ... 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 >>

Animal Collective Denver show postponed

Bad news for Animal Collective fans. We just received word that the band will not be coming to Denver as planned this Friday, March 22. The reason: Avey Tare (aka David Portner) is suffering from a severe case of strep throat and is unable to perform. No word yet on when the date will be rescheduled ... More >>

Morrissey cancels Denver date along with the rest of the dates on his North American tour

Welp, it's a wrap. No Morrissey, Denver. That's the word. Whoever said they were just waiting for the word "postponed" to follow word of the new date to make up for his twice previously postponed Denver dates, you should start buying lottery tickets or something. Well, except that the date hasn't be ... More >>

The ten traits of the perfect frontperson

The best frontmen and women all have something in common. Whether it's their ability to connect with a crowd or the swagger with which they carry themselves, their fashion sense, the intrigue that surrounds them or their reckless disregard for their own well being, they all have that ineffable "it" ... More >>

See Churchill on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night

At the risk of pushing the Morrissey/Denver needle even further into the red (what am I even talking about here -- that ship has long since sailed!), there's one more item of interest that we'd be considerably remiss if we didn't pass along. Last night, Churchill, the most recent local additions to ... More >>

The Smiths '80s radio station takeover: What really happened according to the police report

From examining the letters he wrote to his parents, included in the original Lakewood police file, and the details of that harrowing and fateful day in the fall of 1988 from the original offense report, one thing becomes clear: James Kiss was a very troubled young man with a seemingly dastardly plan ... More >>

Morrissey's quiet desparation and romantic worldview continues to connect and inspire fans

Celebrity fandom is almost always based on inaccessibility. Whether it's a rock star, an actor or a politician, desire is created when you reach out for the object of passion and come up a few inches short. So what happens when you have a fanbase that is made up of people who long to find themselves ... More >>

Morrissey's new Denver date is April 26

It's all Morrissey all the time on Backbeat apparently. In what can only be explained as the universe being charter member of the Cult of Moz (or just seriously coincidental timing), we've just received word that the one and only Steven Patrick Morrissey has rescheduled his upcoming Denver date. Pos ... More >>

So that story of the Smiths fan who held a station here hostage in the '80s? It's true...well, sort of

By Dave Herrera and Josiah Hesse Well, so, we finally got to the bottom of this whole alleged Smiths radio ambush we told you about earlier this week that supposedly took place over two decades ago. We set out on a mission to once and for all debunk this long held myth involving a deranged gunman w ... More >>

SmithsBusters: Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987?

"In 1987 a distressed young man in Denver, Colorado, held his local radio station hostage insisting, at gunpoint, demanding they play nothing but Smiths records. This they did -- for four hours," writes Mark Simpson in the biography Saint Morrissey. "Eventually, the police besieging the building per ... More >>

Morrissey show this Thursday night at the Buell Theatre postponed, new date to be announced

Ah, nuts. We had a sinking suspicion that this would be the case when last week's dates in Dallas and some other cities were pushed back. Turns out Morrissey will not be resuming his tour in Denver this coming Thursday night at the Buell Theatre as originally planned. The doctor treating Mozzer for ... 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 25 best concerts this winter/spring

As the winter chill finally thaws (work with us here -- we know it's still below freezing right now) and gives way to the hopefulness and fertility of spring, the upcoming concert season is likewise bursting with promise. Coming off one of the best years for live music in recent memory, the lineup i ... 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 >>

New shows: Sigur Ros, Carrie Underwood, Bloc Party, Big Head Todd, Divine Fits and more

It's not Christmas yet, but you'd certainly be excused for thinking otherwise, what with the radio already playing round-the-clock holiday tunes and the new shows we've been gifted with. Looks like somebody's been on their best behavior (god knows, it wasn't us). Whatever the case, we're now being r ... More >>

New Morrissey Denver date: Moz now due at the Temple Buell Theatre on Thursday, February 21

Here's some news that ought to brighten your day -- assuming of course that you're suffering from a case of the Mondays like the rest of us and it needs brightening: A new date has been announced for Morrissey, whose previous date at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the beginning of November was po ... More >>

New shows: Taylor Swift, Public Enemy, Hot Water Music; Morrissey, Green Day postponed

Tons of concert news for you this morning: You've already heard about the Morrissey show this weekend being postponed and about Taylor Swift coming back to Denver next summer, but we've also got word of Green Day's 1STBANK show in February being postponed, K'nann show at the Gothic being cancelled, ... More >>

Morrissey Ellie Caulkins Opera House show this Saturday postponed; no new date announced yet

Bad news for Morrissey fans: As you've undoubtedly deduced from the headline above, the estimable crooner, who was originally slated to appear this Saturday, November 3 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, will not be in the Mile High City this weekend. The reason: He's postponed all of the remaining ... More >>

Morrissey, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, Dinosaur Jr., Jackson Browne lead this week's shows

Denver's summer concert season is proving to be every bit as hot as anticipated, and the fall is shaping up to be just as heated with new dates from Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and E-40, who are due back in town at the end of August, followed by Rascal Flatts in September, Dinosaur Jr. in October and Morri ... More >>

The Smiths' Louder Than Bombs turns 25 years old today

Tony Wilson (the Andy Warhol of Manchester, England) once made the hackneyed statement "Morrissey is a woman trapped in a man's body," to which the dandified frontman of the Smiths eventually replied, "Tony Wilson is a man trapped in a pig's body." The two were friends and icons of the Manchester mu ... More >>

BLKHRTS taking West Coast by storm

Eric GruneisenBLKHRTS (FOE, Karma and Yonnas Abraham): Move over. It's time for the big takeover.​Brace yourself: Looks like the word is out on BLKHRTS. After an enviable co-sign from Jeff Weiss -- an extemely well regarded West Coast blogger who also write for the Los Angeles Times -- on the ... More >>

Morrissey: master wordsmith or major douche?

Morrissey has a big mouth.​Morrissey's vocal chords are good for two things: singing awesome tunes and spewing controversial word vomit. Who could forget last week's quote in which Morrissey compared the Norway killings to McDonald's and "Kentucky Fried Shit"?

Tonight: Smoking Popes at the hi-dive

​Proto-pop punks Smoking Popes have always existed like two bands in one quartet's shared body; compositionally, the group creates powerful and speedy melodies with classic punk instrumentation. But lead singer and guitarist Josh Caterer's voice swings smoothly like a cross between Bobby Darin ... More >>

Warlock Pinchers at Gothic, 12/31/10

Aaron Thackeray​ WARLOCK PINCHERS with Il Cattivo 12.31.10 | Gothic Theater Around 9 p.m., the safety videos started up and it looked and sounded like something straight out of Wonder Showzen. Puppets and people in a gorilla and a robot costume interacted as they would on a warped, faux kids ... More >>

Not all Mexicans know how to dance salsa

Billy Duffy of the Cult on punk's influence and playing with Morrisey in the Nosebleeds

​ Many people heard The Cult after its breakthrough album, Love, which contained the classic single "She Sells Sanctuary," was released in 1985. But The Cult increasingly became a worldwide phenomenon with its following two albums, Electric and Sonic Temple.

Warlock Pinchers: An extensive oral history straight from the jokers' mouth

​Few bands in the annals of underground music in Denver have garnered as much notoriety as Warlock Pinchers. Beginning in 1987, the Pinchers made a name for themselves early on as a charmingly obnoxious outfit of musical pranksters whose legacy of creative mischief is as memorable as its shows ... More >>

Platte River Killers

Every Stone EP
Self-released

Angie Zapata remembered in Ozomatli's anti-Proposition 8 song

Angie Zapata, the transgender Greeley teen who was murdered in July 2008, has been immortalized in song. She's an integral part of a verse of Los Angeles-based Latin band Ozomatli's anti-Proposition 8 song "Gay Vatos in Love." Here are the lyrics, courtesy of Ozomatli's MySpace page:

Roderick Elias charged with 1980 murder of Kristen Kay Swanson: Another cold case heats up

Roderick Elias and the DNA on Kristen Kay Swanson were a match.​Another day, another cold case belatedly moved forward by DNA. Yesterday, we told you about Kevin LeWayne McKinney, who's been charged in the 1998 murder of Diane Caldwell. Today, it's Roderick Elias, formally accused of murderin ... More >>

Stella Luce

Zugenruhe
Self-released

Morrissey

Ringleader of the Tormentors (Sanctuary)

It Dies Today

Saturday, June 4, Gothic Theatre, 303-788-0984.

Maximo Park

A Certain Trigger (Warp Records)

Morrissey

Live at Earls Court (Attack)

Best Karaoke Night

Bender's 13th Avenue Tavern

Black Smiths

Black Smiths (Self-released)

Trend-Spotting

In a scandal-ridden election year, the year's top ten music stories were all about winning the popular vote.

Critic's Choice

Black Smiths

Morrissey

You Are the Quarry (Attack)

Smith and Lessons

Two decades later, Morrissey is still influencing a ton of bands that sound nothing like him.

Rain Men

Don't let the downpour fool you. Aveo's clever pop is far from overcast.

The Barrys

The Barrys (Play Dead Records)

Critic's Choice

Morrissey

Playlist

PLAYLIST