Retail Trade

Sweet Shots

Sweet Shots

Spring For Less Bling

The Preppy Side of Grunge

Backwash

The downfall of Napster is wussifying the Web.

Focus on the Family doesn't blame Obama for layoffs -- yet

Lord save us. News that Colorado Springs' Focus on the Familiy is eliminating 202 jobs -- the biggest single cut in the ministry's history -- naturally raised the question of whether Focus reps would lay the blame at Barack Obama's door. After all, prior to the November 4 vote, Focus published ... More >>

Cyber Monday coverage more about hype than specifics

Back in 2005, the folks at Shop.org declared the Monday after Thanksgiving to be "Cyber Monday" -- supposedly the equivalent of Black Friday for e-tailers. Obviously, this designation is a wholly artificial construct intended to pump up business, but the media has signed on anyhow -- including loc ... More >>

Best Urban Funk in a Mall

Urban Outfitters

Best-Looking Wine Store

Divino Wine and Spirits

Record Store Day preview: April is the month for the Decemberists

The Decemberists. The latest Decemberists album, The Hazards of Love, is a challenging yet rewarding song cycle. Yet "The Rake's Song," which serves as the recording's centerpiece, is as musically compelling as it is lyrically unusual: Lead singer/tunesmith Colin Meloy portrays a widower who bumps ... More >>

Record Store Day preview: Jenny Lewis waxes eloquent with Elvis

Jenny Lewis. Jenny Lewis and Elvis Costello are into sharing. "Carpetbaggers," the A-side of a vinyl single up for sale on Record Store Day, is a Lewis cut from her Acid Tongue album that features Costello on backing vocals. In contrast, the B-side, "Go Away," is a Costello cut from the Momofuku pl ... More >>

Corner Market

The Mile High Business Alliance helps consumers buy local.

Consumed

Sunday Drive

Independence Day

Musicians band together to support record stores.

Hope for the Holidays

Function as Fashion raises funds for LUNAFEST.

More Is Not Less

Function as Fashion raises funds for LUNAFEST.

Carjacked

Car dealerships are seeing more guns coming onto their lots -- carried not by thieves, but by state inspectors. They want that policy holstered.

Last Call

Just before Prohibition, the Colorado Legislature gave us 3.2 beer. Now Blake Harrison wants to repeal the scourge.

Malled!

For revenue-hungry cities in the northern metro area, it's shop 'til you're dropped

Industrial Revolution

Napster's gone, but the record industry's copyright woes aren't.

Best Hardware Store for the Handyman-Impaired

Ace Hardware Neighborhood Solutions

Ransom Notes

Can one man convince millions of people to pay for their “free” music?

A Golden Future

The big showdown out west will come to a head on Tuesday.

Feedback

The big showdown out west will come to a head on Tuesday.

Doing a Slow Burn

The Colorado AG grabs a hot potato in the state's tobacco lawsuit--and hopes she won't get scorched by the legislature.

the lost action hero

arnold schwarzenegger kicks tail in hollywood, but he's still waiting for a happy ending in denver real estate.

Get Local

Begin 1997 with the ten best Colorado CDs of 1996.

Record Store Day preview: Give the gift of Slayer

Slayer. For a desciption of "Psychopathy Red," the Slayer seven-inch arriving in time for Record Store Day, we turn once again to our friends at Vintage Vinyl. "The first new music since 2006's ferocious Christ Illusion, 'Psychopathy Red' is a blast of proper thrash metal by the band that invented ... More >>

Record Store Day preview: The Flaming Lips meet the Black Keys

Come to think of it, their lips do look pretty hot... The Flaming Lips have recorded more than their share of inspired covers over the years -- a fact that raises hopes for their latest, a collaboration with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs on the Madonna chestnut "Borderline." The song will be twinn ... More >>

Record Store Day preview: Uncontrollable Serge

Serge Gainsbourg. Histoire de Melody Nelson, a 1971 tour de force by eccentric French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, is among the top reissues of this still young year -- and thanks for unearthing it goes to Light in the Attic, an imprint that specializes in bringing worthy oddities back onto ... More >>

Record Store Day preview: The MC5 will be kicking out the jams tomorrow

The MC5. Plenty of amazing seven-inch singles will be available at Twist & Shout for Record Store Day other than the ones we've featured thus far in April -- stuff by Sublime, Taking Back Sunday, Tom Waits, Magnolia Electric Company, the Pretenders, the Jesus Lizard (a pack of nine singles, believe ... More >>

Black Tuesday for fourteen Colorado Chrysler dealers

An image from an economic-impact study about car dealers in Colorado. Today's the day when fourteen Colorado auto dealers are supposed to stop selling Chrysler products as part of the beleaguered company's attempt to emerge from bankruptcy -- an effort that hit a bump in the road yesterday when a r ... More >>

Macy's and Food Bank of the Rockies aim to feed 10 million

​ September is Hunger Action Month, and department store giant Macy's is partnering with Feeding America and food banks across the country to fight hunger here at home. Macy's will launch its "Come Together" awareness and fundraising campaign, which aims to feed 10 million people suffering fr ... More >>

Record stores placed on endangered species list

"It's not my fault, I'm just a symptom"​Susan Boyle is the top seller at not one, but two independent record stores this week. Let that sink in for a moment. Susan fucking Boyle. No offense to Ms. Boyle; I'm sure she's a lovely person. But she's a middle-aged woman who got famous singing fuck ... More >>

Fucked Up pays tribute to Wax Trax with a custom 7-inch on Record Store Day

​ Fucked Up frontman Damian Abraham loves vinyl. And Denver. When we last spoke with him about a year ago, he sang the praises of bygone Denver punk bands like the Frantix and Bum Kon, an act he also namedropped in a Spin article. "I wish I could just be satisfied owning a reissue or owning ... More >>

Put It on Wax

​ Fucked Up frontman Damian Abraham loves vinyl. And Denver. When we last spoke with him about a year ago, he sang the praises of bygone Denver punk bands like the Frantix and Bum Kon, an act he also namedropped in a Spin article. "I wish I could just be satisfied owning a reissue or owning ... More >>

Dirty panties!: Lingerie shop crusades against used underwear

Last month, a Today Show investigation revealed a shocking fact: Major retailers like Victoria's Secret and Macy's were re-selling underwear that customers -- or rather, Today show operatives wearing hidden cameras -- had returned. Even after the Today folks stained said panties with baby oil, they ... More >>

Five ways to stave off an iTunes store monopoly

​ With the disintegration of Lala coming May 31st, we've been left with one less choice for downloading. Lala was one of the best digital music distributors in town, offering full album streaming and low prices for downloading. After the website was gobbled up by Apple in December of last ... More >>

eBay bids for Boulder's RedLaser and wins: Download app for free here

​Occipital is a Boulder startup that just hit the big time. The company's just been acquired by eBay on the strength of its RedLaser app for iPhones, which scans barcodes, allowing users to compare prices on the go. As part of its big push into mobile shopping, eBay has reduced the price of R ... More >>

John Hickenlooper campaigners trying not to gloat as Republicans implode

John Hickenlooper.​Remember John Hickenlooper? He's running for governor -- but you'd hardly know it given how much attention has been paid to his opponents: alleged plagiarist Scott McInnis, accused lousy businessman Dan Maes, and party-busting Tom Tancredo. Not that he or his spokespeople a ... More >>

WTF? Rolling Stone lists the 25 Best Record Stores in the USA and leaves Colorado out?

​Hey, Rolling Stone, WTF? Twist & Shout, Wax Trax, Independent, Albums on the Hill, Jerry's, Angelos, Black and Red -- ever heard of 'em? Clearly not, we're guessing, since you somehow saw fit not to include any of these fine establishments in your supposed list of the 25 Best Record Stores in ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Rob Corry issues notice to sue if Plants 4 Life, Castle Rock can't agree

Rob Corry.​In January, we told you about Plants 4 Life, a Castle Rock dispensary the town attempted to shut down via an emergency ordinance despite granting it a license to operate. Now, attorney Rob Corry has sent the city formal notice that, sans a resolution, he'll file suit, with damage cl ... More >>

Scott McInnis: Keep Medal of Honor video game off the shelves

Scott McInnis.​Scott McInnis may have lost his bid to be the next Governor of Colorado, but that won't stop him from leveraging his political weight. Today he sent a letter to the President of the Colorado Retailers Association, Christopher Howes, in an attempt to keep a new Medal of Honor vid ... More >>

Fueled by venture-capital funding and a love for unknown bands, can Boulder's Next Big Sound predict the next rock star?

Scott McInnis.​Scott McInnis may have lost his bid to be the next Governor of Colorado, but that won't stop him from leveraging his political weight. Today he sent a letter to the President of the Colorado Retailers Association, Christopher Howes, in an attempt to keep a new Medal of Honor vid ... More >>

The French are fighting piracy in a new and interesting way, but could it work here?

​The French government has revealed a plan to combat piracy that could either be the most brilliant gesture ever or the most monumental waste of government resources of all time (okay, maybe not all time, but close). The proposal: French residents can buy a 50-euro gift card with which they ... More >>

Not-So-Private Dancers

​The French government has revealed a plan to combat piracy that could either be the most brilliant gesture ever or the most monumental waste of government resources of all time (okay, maybe not all time, but close). The proposal: French residents can buy a 50-euro gift card with which they ... More >>

Record Store Day: Black Friday Edition

​The super-official, absolutely real, Record Store Day might have been earlier this year, but there's no reason why we can't celebrate our favorite holiday twice. Instead of cutting each other's throats and arguing with old folks at the mall today, maybe you'd like to consider spending your Bl ... More >>

Cyber Monday ripoffs: See 7 Colorado website domains seized for selling counterfeit goods

​Overwhelmed by the number of sites offering Cyber Monday deals? Well, now there are 82 of them, including seven in Colorado, you don't need to visit -- because their domains have been seized for allegedly selling counterfeit or copyrighted goods. See the list and get more info from the Justic ... More >>

U.S. Government seizes piracy websites

​Things just keep getting worse for media pirates. In the last year, we've seen Google tackle music blogs, Limewire go the way of the dodo, and Pirate Bay's appeal thwarted. Now the U.S. government is getting involved. Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seized domains from To ... More >>

Twist & Shout named among top record stores by Rolling Stone -- after being snubbed last year

​Man, what a difference seven months makes. After being completely glossed over last fall along with all of the other record stores on the Front Range, Twist & Shout got a nod this morning from Rolling Stone as one of the Best Record Stores in the U.S.A. Not sure what changed in that time, but ... More >>