Nirvana (Band)

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Ten acts that helped make hip-hop more accessible to mainstream audiences

Hip-hop is a world unto itself. Its rich tradition of spoken word poetry, self-referential subject matter and electronic and sample-based production make it, in many ways, a difficult musical form to adapt to, especially if you come from a more traditional background. These ten acts helped make rap ... More >>

Thanks to a promising new album, the Photo Atlas is as compelling as ever

Ten great albums recorded at Sound City Studios, the focus of Sound City

Dave Grohl is a busy guy. The Foo Fighters frontman is a member of multiple supergroups, played alongside Paul McCartney at the 12/12/12 Sandy Relief Concert, will be the keynote speaker at South by Southwest this March, and just made his directing debut with Sound City, a documentary tracing the hi ... More >>

The eggs at Early Bird are all they're cracked up to be

See also: Behind the scenes at Early Bird Restaurant

Dead Ringer breathes new life into Denver punk

VHS junkies and YouTubers, unite: It's the Cassette Regret edition of Black Sheep Friday

The programming at Black Sheep Fridays is very good at making adults feel awkward -- but in the best way possible. Now in its second year, the end-of-the-week get-together at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver challenges our stuck-up, grown-up brains to play live versions of Japanese game shows, ... More >>

Coady Willis on playing parties with projectile vomiting and people jumping out of windows

Coady Willis and Jared Warren formed Big Business in the wake of break ups by the Whip and Dead Low Tide. Prior to that, the two had been in a number of noteworthy -- even legendary in some circles -- Pacific Northwest bands like Karp and the Murder City Devils, groups that essentially helped to def ... More >>

Five best concerts this week, September 10-14

Guitars, you say? Oh, we've got guitars, friend. Big ones, loud ones, twangy ones, whatever your flavor, and all being played by people pushing their amps into overdrive with passion. If you feel like indulging your inner rocker this week, let's just say you will have no problem finding places of wo ... More >>

For Chris McGarry, middle America is both home and inspiration

Twenty fabled moments in Denver music: #9: Pantera fans riot at Mammoth Event Center

Backbeat is counting down the twenty most fabled moments in Denver music history. Today: A look back at when Pantera played at Mammoth Events Center in the mid '90s and fans took their fury out on the venue. See Also: - #10: Nirvana's first post-Nevermind show here, 1991 - #11: Bob Dylan crashe ... More >>

Our band (of Pickles) could be your life: A reflection on coaching Girls Rock camp

The Hopeless Pickles of Pizazz was the best band at Girls Rock Denver's annual summer camp this year. But I would be lying if I didn't immediately acknowledge my own bias: This band of eight- and nine-year-old girls was coached by me and fellow Westword contributor Robin Edwards. Seriously, though, ... More >>

Photos: 10 Best of Denver places to stay cool during a heat wave

In case you haven't noticed, it's been hellishly hot around here lately -- which naturally got us thinking about the best places to cool off in the Denver area and beyond. Fortunately, our Best of Denver archive features more than twenty years' worth of great ideas about pretty much everything under ... More >>

Searching for Elliott Smith at the Oriental with director Gil Reyes and Mary Lou Lord

While Elliott Smith perhaps didn't have the profound cultural impact of Kurt Cobain, his tragic, untimely death was every bit as sad and harrowing as the Nirvana frontman's. As with Cobain, I can vividly remember where I was in 2003 when news about Elliott broke and the initial sinking feeling of de ... More >>

Michael Stein of School Knights on dressing up in drag and having a hotel slumber party

School Knights (due tonight at the hi-dive with Force Publique and Mombi) started two years ago in the wake of the dissolution of experimental guitar pop band Weed Diamond. Michael Stein started the project in the waning days of that group as a two piece with Zack Roif. Though the duo's initial soun ... More >>

Disney jacks Joy Division and other great moments in copyright infringement

It's really hard to be a successful corporate retailer. Not only do you have to sell truckloads of stuff to make money, but you have to keep track of whose stuff it is you're even selling. Sigh. It's even harder when you appropriate a design by a band that's really popular thinking, "that'll sell," ... More >>

Mudhoney, Cattle Decapitation, the Wailers and more this weekend

Sub Pop / Shawn BrackbillCatch Mudhoney tonight at the Bluebird for the Kulwicki Twins benefit with the Fluid and the Purple Fluid​Even in the early part of January when the concert calendar is typically just barely beginning to ramp back up after the holiday season, there's still plenty of gr ... More >>

Mudhoney

Friday, January 6, Bluebird Theater, 1-888-929-7849.

Review: Salt-N-Pepa at the Gothic, 12/17/11

​Salt-N-Pepa brought the noise last night at The Gothic Theatre for Jammin' 101.5's Twas the Jam Before Christmas. The house was packed and both Salt and Pepa looked amazing in bedazzled outfits and gold rope chains. The two took us down hip-hop memory lane with big smiles, old school dances a ... 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 >>

Walmart's MP3 store closing on August 28

​In a completely unsurprising move, Walmart has announced plans to shutter the doors on its MP3 store. The most stunning part about this news is learning that Walmart actually had an MP3 store to begin with. Word of its demise comes via a leaked memo over at Digital Music News, but thankfully, ... More >>

Chromeo, Yo La Tengo, the Sword and Del the Funky Homosapien are among the headliners of the 2011 Westword Music Showcase

A $10,000 Led Zeppelin shirt? The next ten highest-selling band T-shirts

​Grab the Guinness Book of World Records, because we've got a ridiculous tale to tell. Earlier this week, a man in Australia purchased a Led Zeppelin T-shirt for $10,000, making it the largest sum anyone has paid for a vintage band shirt. That doesn't mean there aren't shirts that are valued h ... More >>

Arcade Fire at 1STBANK Center, 4/9/11

Photo: Brandon MarshallArcade Fire singer Win Butler last night. See full slideshow from last night.ARCADE FIRE With Local Natives 04.09.11|1STBANK Center View Arcade Fire photo slide show The trailer for the 1979 film Over the Edge, which featured a fourteen-year-old Matt Dillon in his film debut ... More >>

Ethan Iverson of the Bad Plus talks about the trio's new album and its ten-year history

​ In the decade since the Bad Plus has been together, the adventurous jazz trio has included cover songs on each of its recordings. Bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer David King have deconstructed and reimagined cuts by everyone from the Pixies and Nirvana to Bowie and Bl ... More >>

Savoy at the Ogden Theatre, 11/13/10

​ SAVOY With Trajikk • Kostas • Alex B. 11.13.10 | Ogden Theatre Savoy electrified the Ogden with their crazy dirty, electro beats and a lightshow that made for one of the best productions I've seen in ages. The night started off with sets from Trajikk and Kostas of Triad Dragons. I miss ... More >>

Hallow Freak'n Ween at 1STBANK, 10/30/10

Aaron Thackeray​ HALLOW FREAK'N WEEN Markus Shulz • Richard Vission • John O'Callaghan • Icey Dragon • Trajikk • Kostas • Fury Dino • DJ Bl3nd and more 10.30.10 | 1STBANK Center See Hallow Freak'n Ween slideshow Lights, costumes, candy -- action! Hallo Freakn' Ween burst out ... More >>

Sonic Youth

Monday, October 4, Ogden Theatre, 303-830-8497.

Kría Brekkan on múm, Animal Collective and Uterus Water, her latest album

​Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir was part of the popular Icelandic dream pop group múm, which she fronted with her twin sister Gyða. Before leaving the band in 2006, Valtýsdóttir, also known by her stage name Kría Brekkan, performed on the 2005 Animal Collective album Feels. A talented mul ... More >>

The Gamits CD-release show Saturday at the Gothic Theatre

"Weird Al" Yankovic

Thursday, July 29, Paramount Theatre, 303-623-0106.

Ginkins getting back together for a proper farewell later this summer

​ Guess who recently resurfaced after having unceremoniously dropping off the radar for the better part of the last year? If you said David McGhee -- wait, what? How'd you know? Oh, he's already been in touch? Yeah, he's good like that. Good dude. A little quirky, but a good dude, nonetheless ... More >>

Them Crooked Vultures put the super in super group

Blake Street Tavern to move into former Club 303 space

​Since the '80s, the space at 2301 Blake Street has seen quite a few club incarnations. As 23 Parish and The Garage, bands like Nirvana, Sonic Youth and Jane's Addiction played there. Since then, it's been Gate 12, Polly Esther's and, most recently, Club 303, which was open from January to Oct ... More >>

Is Parental Advisory sticker still being affixed to albums these days? If so, how effective is it? Actually, was it ever effective?

​ "Parental Advisory. Explicit Content." Remember that little sticker? The little black and white one that used to rest in the corner of only the most bad-ass of cassette tapes? The first albums I remember seeing with this warning were Danzig's self titled album, Soundgarden's Louder than ... More >>

This Just In: Them Crooked Vultures, Carrie Underwood, String Cheese Incident shows announced

​As if playing in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters wasn't enough for Dave Grohl, he teamed up with Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Queen of the Stone Age's Joshua Homme to form Them Crooked Vultures in 2009. The Vultures, who released their self-titled debut this past November, descend upon the Fil ... More >>

Freeloader: A lost track from teamAWESOME!

Cory Gustason​Chuck Potashner will always be awesome to us, even if he now calls San Diego his home. As you probably know, this past February, the mastermind behind teamAWESOME! picked up stakes and moved back to his native San Diego. Although he's been gone almost a year now, we miss Chuck, and h ... More >>

Mini Q&A with the Fluid's John Robinson

The Fluid's John Robinson live at the Bluebird Theater last June. In addition to an appearance by profile and Q&A subject Built to Spill, this Saturday's Westword Music Showcase (click here for details) will include another bonus: an appearance by the Fluid, among the best bands and most influentia ... More >>

Over the weekend: Trouble Andrew at the Bluebird

Trouble Andrew, Natural Selection, Boyhollow Monday, May 25, 2009 Bluebird Theater Better than: Celebrating Memorial Day outside in the rain. Talk about having the odds stacked against you. In addition to playing on a holiday, the acts at the Bluebird on Monday night had to compete with the Nuggets ... More >>

Live music holds the reins at Appaloosa Grill

Herb’s

A hit in the Ballpark neighborhood.

Freeze Frames

Two conceptual photo shows explore life and death.

Reform Movement

Patti Smith's music gets reinvented in Belmar.

Patty Melt

In this heat, only a cheeseburger will do. A great one, like the cheeseburger at Bud's.

The Beatdown

Steve Albini is ready for Bright Channel, but is Bright Channel ready for him?

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Sonic Youth

Murray Street (Geffen)

Whiskeytown

Pneumonia (Lost Highway)