Superchunk

Max Bemis of Say Anything: "We're stripping away the loud, distorted guitars and the redundant self-destructive imagery"

On March 13, Say Anything, the indie rock band that came of age in the 2000s, released its sixth album, Anarchy, My Dear. The band soon launched its tour, which will hit the Mile High City this Friday, March 30, at the Summit Music Hall. In advance of the show, we spoke with frontman Max Bemis about ... More >>

Calvin Johnson of the Hive Dwellers: "Any excuse not to play a rock club, I'm there"

The Hive Dwellers (due Saturday, March 24, at Yellow Feather Coffee) is the latest musical project of Calvin Johnson. Since 1982, Johnson's K Records imprint has been one of the most influential underground labels not just for its ethos of an eternally youthful perspective and using creativity as th ... More >>

2011 Westword Music Showcase Ballot

​Seventeen years! It's hard to believe we've been doing the Westword Music Showcase for that long. I can still remember being at the first one in LoDo nearly two decades ago. And when I think back, it seems like that cold, rainy Sunday night was just a few years ago.

T.I., Whiskey Blanket, Ebbets Field comp, Sufjan Stevens top local sellers

​After being on top at Albums on the Hill for a month, Nederland's Elephant Revival has vanished from the top ten. Whiskey Blanket now holds the top spot with its latest effort, No Object. Elsewhere, the Live at Ebbets Field Vol. 4 comp is back on top at Twist and Shot., T.I.'s number one at I ... More >>

Our 55 favorite musical releases of 2010

Air Dubai, the Heyday, Bad Religion, Superchunk, Waka Flocka Flame top sellers

​On the heels of their dual CD release party a few weeks ago at the Gothic, Air Dubai and the Heyday claimed the top spots at Twist & Shout for the week ending October 10. Up at Album's On the Hill, meanwhile, Bad Religion topped the charts with its latest Dissent of Man, Superchunk's latest e ... More >>

Michael Franti, Santana, Blonde Redhead top sellers at local stores

​Michael Franti & Spearhead's The Sound of Sunshine , released last week on Capitol, grabbed the top spot at Albums on the Hill and checked in at number three at Twist & Shout for the week ending September 26. Santana's new Arista release, Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All T ... More >>

Grinderman, Black Angels, Trey Songz top sellers at local stores

​Grinderman, which features Nick Cave and three members of the Bad Seeds, claimed the top spot at Albums on the Hill and landed in the top five at Twist & Shout with Grinderman 2, released last week on Anti. The Black Angels' Phosphene Dream, meanwhile, which also came out last week on the B ... More >>

Grinderman, RJD2 and Dismemberment Plan fill our playlists this week

​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 >>

Pavement's Bob Nastanovich on reunion tours, the Fall and dealing with inner-band conflicts

Tarina Westlund​Pavement is among the most influential rock bands of the '90s, despite not quite becoming a household name, and you can hear the band's influence in virtually all underground rock since then, from the slightly off-center rhythms, the jagged but melodic guitar riffs and the fasc ... More >>

NPR previews a whopping fourteen hotly anticipated albums, including Of Montreal, the Walkmen and Chromeo

​NPR has been quietly building a reputation as the best place to get a peek at hotly anticipated new albums a week or two before their official releases (welll, for those of us who prefer to avoid leak sites and torrent servers, anyway). Today, it got a lot louder, with a crazy fourteen album ... More >>

Matador at 21: Anyone got a spare, oh, $700 or so?

​As it happens, we don't have a spare $700 or so laying around. Boy, if we did, though, you wouldn't really have to be the betting type to wager where we'd be on Friday, October 1 through Sunday, October 3. No contest: Matador at 21 in Las Vegas. Have you seen the lineup for this thing? Holy ... More >>

Westword Music Showcase: Superchunk cuts the crowd some serious slack

Though these clips are rather headache-inducing at times -- we presume because PieHole2000, the person filming, is either being jostled by the dancing throng or barely resisting the urge to trip the light fantastic -- here's Superchunk displaying some of its choices gems for all the boys and girls ... More >>

Westword Music Showcase edition of The Denver Boot

​Our periodic feature, The Denver Boot, has been conspicuously dormant for the past, oh, six months or so. Perhaps you've noticed. Excellent reason for that: The master taper guy supplying the recordings, the illustrious Lance Stack from The Flat Response blog, has been a face on a milk carton for ... More >>

Presenting the 2010 Westword Music Showcase Schedule and Map

IMPORTANT SCHEDULING UPDATE: Due to circumstances beyond our control (and, more to the point, frontman Chris Fogal's) TAUNTAUN will not be performing in the 6:15 - 7 p.m. slot at Broadway's tomorrow. While Fogal is resting his aching back ("I would tough it out," he assures us, "but the problem is t ... More >>

The Weekend Show Down: All Westword, all the time

​ We all know that every single weekend in Denver is like a confectionery of delicious shows: Too many choices, too little time. But if you have a hard time with that status quo, you're going to be ripping your hair out with indecision this weekend, because it's finally here, the Westword Mus ... More >>

Ghostland Observatory tops a stacked bill at this weekend's Westword Music Showcase

On Broadway

Westword Music Showcase headliners: Legendary, iconic ... those are just a few words to describe the splendor that is Superchunk

Jason Arthurs​ Superchunk never tried to be the biggest band in the land, but it did make music on its own terms and became an iconic outfit in its own right by embodying what it means to be an indie rock band. While the band didn't enjoy nearly the same level of commercial success as many of ... More >>

Westword Music Showcase local lineup revealed

Gabriel Rovick And Ryan James (Focus 4 Design)​ The complete lineup for Showcase has been finalized, and all that's left to do now is countdown the days until the sixteenth annual Westword Music Showcase takes place on Saturday, June 19. Nearly a hundred local acts (well over a hundred if y ... More >>

Tickle Me Pink added to 2010 Westword Music Showcase lineup

Summit Studios​This year's Westword Music Showcase lineup is now officially complete with the addition of Tickle Me Pink -- well, at least in terms of the main stage acts. In case you've missed it -- not sure how that's possible, exactly, as we've been talking this bad boy up like no other sin ... More >>

This Just In: Boombox added to Westword Music Showcase lineup

All right, just when you thought this year's Showcase couldn't get any better, it just did. Adding to an already stacked lineup (one of our best yet, even if we do say so ourselves) that includes Ghostland Observatory, Superchunk, Dirty Projectors, Neon Indian, Single File and Oh My Stars, Boombox ... More >>

Freeloader, SXSW edition: Download free tracks from Denver's finest

​ Fuck what you've heard. We've got the the best day parties at SXSW today. Period. Hands down. We've seen New Music Tipsheet's free list. Granted, we're a little biased, but still, personal investments aside, have you seen the line-up? XX! Superchunk! The Pains of Being Pure At Heart! Surfer ... More >>

The top five music podcasts

​Music podcasts are a difficult breed. With the current outdated copyright law, most podcasts can't utilize full songs in their recordings, making anyone but the best sound like boring music nerds. Of course, we love boring music nerds but being able to speak eloquently or interestingly about ... More >>

Superchunk, Surfer Blood and more announced for Village Voice day party at South By Southwest

Christian LantrySuperchunk expressing our thoughts exactly.​Heavens to mergatroit! This year's edition of South By Southwest is shaping up to be epic. Just caught wind of the acts that are slated to perform at the Village Voice free day party at La Zona Rosa on Friday, March 19. Man. Oh. Man! ... More >>

This Just In: Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard, Michael Buble, Nick Jonas shows announced

​While recording songs for Jim Sampas' documentary about Jack Kerouac, Son Volt's Jay Farrar and Death Cab for Cutie's Benjamin Gibbard realized they both shared an affinity for the famed Beat writer. After recording songs for the film, the pair continued to work on songs using words from Kerouac' ... More >>

Popwreck

Scorpio Rising
Self-released

Rocky Mountain Low top seller at Wax Trax

Rocky Mountain Low, a compilation of Colorado underground bands of the late 1970s, was the top seller at Wax Trax for the week of May 17. Green Day's new album came in second, while Peaches, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Obits grabbed slots in the top five. See the full breakdown after the jump.

Live Review: I Was Totally Destroying It, Alright Alright at hi-dive

Delegating Denver #37 of 56: North Carolina

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

The Trembling

Sunday, August 28, Breakdown Book Collective, 1409 Ogden Street, 303-832-7952.

Critic's Choice

Thank God for Astronauts

O'er the Ramparts

Mandatory ESP (Self-released)

Various artists

Old Enough 2 Know Better: 15 Years of Merge Records (Merge)

Best Band to Blow Your Atkins Diet

The Affairs

The 101

The 101 (The Self-Starter Foundation)

Fade to Green

After years of struggle, pop springs eternal for the Jealous Sound.

Camp Rock

The Boulder YMCA is getting kids amped on music.

Critic's Choice

Jay Farrar

Letters to the Editor

From the week of May 2, 2002

Critic's Choice

Pedro the Lion

Straight Outta Echo Park

Rilo Kiley tiptoed toward success while you weren't looking.

Their Noise

After ten years, Superchunk and Merge Records are still working. But they are not working for you.

Feedback

SACKING OUT

KNAPSACK IS FILLED WITH MORE CHARM THAN MOST GROUPS CAN CARRY.

CHUNKY STYLE

THE MEMBERS OF SUPERCHUNK CONTINUE TO LIVE AN INDEPENDENT LIFESTYLE.

HELL ON WHEELS

DRIVE LIKE JEHU TRIES TO STEER OUT OF THE SHADOW OF ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT.

CRITIC'S CHOICE

ALL HOP'D UP