Pixies

The ten best concerts in Denver this weekend

DEVOTCHKA & COLORADO SYMPHONY @ RED ROCKS | FRI, 6/14/13 Teaming up with an orchestra can sometimes be a thin attempt to disguise a creative lag, but in this case, the pairing has produced an inspired, brilliantly structured melding of two aesthetics that relies less on contrast than it does on simi ... More >>

You guys up for some reggae tonight? Permanently living in a Ghost World

As I sat in a coffee shop yesterday, camped out with my laptop and a mission to actually get some writing done, I knew full well that I wouldn't really get anything accomplished. Not because I'd be distracted with the mundane cruising of Facebook for hours at a time like I am at home, but because th ... More >>

Arrested Development Season 4: Relax, it's not terrible

After ingesting almost nine straight hours of the newly revived Arrested Development series, I've come to two conclusions: 1) The cast and creators of AD still got it, and 2) This show was made for hermetic losers like me. The "story of a wealthy family who lost everything" was nothing but a mild cr ... More >>

The ten best concerts in Denver this weekend

SPEAKEASY TIGER @ MARQUIS THEATER | SAT, 4/27/13 Half a decade ago, Speakeasy Tiger seemed to be in the right place at the right time, with a kind of electro-rock that was equal parts Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Gossip, only gone in a more pop direction. The group got its start as an expansion of origin ... More >>

The best concerts in Denver this week

SNOWBALL MUSIC FESTIVAL @ WINTER PARK | FRI-SUN, 3/8-3/10 If the idea of standing outside in the cold and snow sounds positively unappealing to you, either you're not from Colorado or you're new here. Whatever the case, don't let any of that dissuade you from heading up to the mountains for the apt ... More >>

What's in your bag? Modern-day Cinderellas reveal style secrets

Fall is coming, slowly but surely. And while leaves aren't yet turning in Denver, you can see the season shift in the clothes people are wearing. This week we present a double dose of women's wear. One woman is dressed for a ball, the other for business. Keep reading to see how Casie Ryan and Mary S ... More >>

Twenty fabled moments in Denver music: #10: Nirvana's first post-Nevermind show here, 1991

Over the course of the next few weeks, Backbeat will be counting down the twenty most fabled moments in Denver music history. Today, a look back at when Nirvana came back to town for a show at the Gothic Theatre with Dinosaur Jr., fresh off of recording Nevermind. When the members of Nirvana left a ... More >>

The twenty best bicycle scenes in cinema, ever

With rare exceptions for the Smart Car, the tandem bike and whatever those contraptions are in the Dr. Seuss books, the human evolutionary process basically stopped when mankind progressed from two legs to two wheels. If you need proof of the superiority of the cycle, look no further than film, wher ... More >>

Round two with Mike Peshek, exec chef of Lou's Food Bar

Mike Peshek Lou's Food Bar 1851 West 38th Avenue 303-458-0336 www.lousfoodbar This is part two of my interview with Mike Peshek, exec chef of Lou's Food Bar. Part one of my chat with Peshek ran earlier this week. Favorite restaurant in America: Pizzeria Regina in Boston. The service is terrible, t ... 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 >>

MTV's 120 Minutes changed my life

​There is a point at which, I think, we all start to discover music on our own. I was around twelve or thirteen when the shift from pre-teen radio sex jams to discovering albums I would fawn over (and eventually learn to play) occurred. Up to then, I was listening to music that I loved, but it ... 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 >>

Cee Lo Green's inescapably charming (and shamelessly profane) kiss off tops our playlists

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most persistent 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 lis ... More >>

La Roux set the wayback machine to 1986 at the Ogden

Aaron Thackeray​ La Roux • boyhollow 06.05.10 | Ogden Theater Boyhollow opened this show, and his DJ set was a nice weaving together of modern, house music and tastefully chosen pop and rock songs to match the pace being set at that given moment. Kind of a more original take on Big Beat, t ... More >>

Nathaniel Rateliff, Kinetix and Broken Social Scene 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 >>

Top Ten Best Chiptune Pop Demakes

As you may or may not be aware there is an entire scene of people demaking popular songs into 8-bit blips and bloops. While chiptunes, in general, have always attracted the most circuit-minded of musicians, the demakes themselves are a genre all their own. As the Tron clip above demonstrates, they ... 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 >>

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 >>

Q&A with Shawn Christensen of Stellastarr*

Phil Knott​ Stellastarr* (due at the Larimer Lounge with Transfer and Le Divorce on Wednesday, December 9) emerged onto the national music scene at the turn of this past decade in the musical milieu that gave us fellow New York acts like The Strokes, The Rapture and Interpol. While clearly influe ... More >>

Mile High Makeout: Michael Trundle tries his hand at production with new remix

Yesterday, Eryc Eyl discussed Michael Trundle's debut remix. Today, he delves into Trundle's musical background a bit and unveils the remix itself."The entire song is there," says Trundle, with a hint of pride. "In some places, it's separated by some beats, but it's all there." The DJ is now working ... More >>

Mile High Makeout: New EP from Dualistics

Thanks to the ever-gracious Charley Hine, I've had the opportunity to listen to the new six-track disc from Dualistics a handful of times this week, and I have to say it's really freaken good. I have publicly expressed my dissatisfaction with the band's live performances in the past, but if Hine and ... More >>

Last Night…the Breeders and the Montana Boys @ the Ogden Theatre

Murder by Death

Friday, May 9, Bluebird Theater, 303-830-8497.

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

This Weekend: The Goddamn Gallows, The Wheel, Widowers and Paleo @ 3 Kings Tavern

The Ideal Fathers, The Classic Breakdown, Racecar God and Latch at Larimer Lounge 6/27/07

Review: We Are! We Are!/ The Narrator @ Larimer Lounge

Girl Talk

Gregg Gillis can’t understand what all the fuss is about.

On the Download

Linking you to the best in legitimate, artist-approved exclusives.

Our top DVD picks for the week of November 7:

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

Release Me

A roundup of six local imprints.

Tape Ops

Thanks to the blogosphere, Tapes 'n Tapes is wired for sound.

Operation Rebound

Gomez finds its footing again with How We Operate.

Where You Been?

The alt-rock pioneers in Dinosaur Jr. return to the freak scene as seniors.

Morningwood

Morningwood (Capitol)

Freestyle Fellowship

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

British Sea Power

Open Season (Rough Trade)

Best Underground Parties

White Girl Lust

Smells Like Indie Spirit

Music that made the world safe for the word "alternative" again.

Modest Mouse

Monday, July 26, Fillmore Auditorium, 303-830-8497

Les Savy Fav

Inches (Frenchkiss)

Now Hear This

Coming attractions

Critic's Choice

Breeders

Wolfie

Wolfie, and the Coat and Hat.
(Kindercore)

Playlist

Playlist

Take Them to Your Leaders

Man or Astro-man? announces plans for world domination.

Deal With It

For Kelley Deal, a drug bust wasn't the end, but a new beginning.

Black on Black