Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono on being involved in the avant-garde and using art and music for social change

Before Yoko Ono even met John Lennon, she was an active and influential figure in international avant-garde art and music. In the 1950s, she went to school at Sarah Lawrence College, during which time she rubbed shoulders with the likes of La Monte Young. Her mentor was the godfather of minimalism, ... More >>

Playing cover songs is a sign of creative fatigue

There's nothing wrong with cover songs. In fact, before Sam Cooke and the Beatles shifted the established paradigms, singer and songwriter were two entirely separate professions. And there's also nothing wrong with a musician recording a cover album in the twilight of their career (Johnny Cash's Ame ... More >>

Lucky '13: Cortney Lane Stell, RMCAD gallery director and curator

This past year has been tough for many people, and we're eager to kiss 2012 goodbye. In hopes that 2013 will turn out to be much luckier for many, we invited some of the town's cultural tastemakers -- entrepreneurs and entertainers we're lucky to have in Denver -- to answer a trio of questions. We e ... More >>

The Juan MacLean makes tracks at NORAD on Thursday, December 13

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 shouldn't be surprising to find that the most common (and mutually 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 ... More >>

Fighting Back with Art

What's in your bag? Marc Jacobs, a master's thesis and more!

This week, Denver street style is taking cues from New York's Marc Jacobs, whose high-end fashion and leather goods are a symbol of luxury to people around the world. While the air here is hot and muggy, with sudden showers threatening the afternoons, Denverites keep pushing the style thermometer. ... More >>

JFK hearse to be part of Boulder car museum, says collector Stephen Tebo

Big photos below.​The hearse that carried John F. Kennedy's body from a Dallas hospital to Air Force One one fateful November day in 1963 is coming to Boulder. Developer and car collector Stephen Tebo -- not, not that Tebow -- picked it up for $176,000, and he says that one day it'll be part ... More >>

The Flaming Lips returning to Aspen, collaborate with Yoko Ono

​While it's cool seeing in the Flaming Lips in larger venues like Red Rocks that hold around 9,500 people, it's whole other experience seeing them at an intimate spot like the Belly Up Aspen, which holds around 400. Last year's show at the Belly Up was pretty damn epic, yet on a smaller scale, ... More >>

After fifteen years as a local institution, the Denver Darkroom calls it quits

Standish Lawder is not a fan of digital photography. Part of it has to do with his personal preference: A 75-year-old former pre-med major who switched to art history after taking a fateful humanities class and went on to earn a Ph.D. in it, Lawder has a mind that just sees things in film -- the che ... More >>

The 27 Club? More like the posthumous platinum club: Albums sales spurred by death

​You can go on for days debating the musical mysteries of the so called 27 Club -- which includes Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and now Amy Winehouse -- but one thing is certain: The death of these artists had a profound impact on their subsequent sales. Pearl, for example, was rele ... More >>

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 >>

Five famous musical muses: the women who inspire songs and movements and stir libidos

​With the recent passing of Suze Rotolo, Bob Dylan's first muse, we thought it only appropriate to give a shout out to a couple of other famous ladies. The muse position is demanding and the position can vary (physically and figuratively) -- it's not all about getting a song named after you. T ... More >>

Brian Eno, Lil Wayne, Mumford & Sons, Deerhunter top sellers at local stores

​Small Craft on a Milk Sea, Brian Eno's Warp debut released last week, claimed the top spot at Albums on the Hill and rounded out the top five at Twist & Shout for the week ending November 7. Lil Wayne's I Am Not a Human Being, meanwhile, continues to hold down to the top spot at Independent R ... More >>

Three questions with Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes

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 >>

Elvis's autopsy tools and five more of the grisliest celebrity death souvenirs

​Today is the anniversary of Elvis's death in 1977, and last week, an auction of possibly the most gruesome memorabilia of all time was planned to capitalize on the King's untimely demise. The very same autopsy/embalming tools used to prep the King's final appearance, plus the toe tag identify ... More >>

Top 10 emotionally disturbed Christmas songs

​Christmas songs really ought to be up little tunes -- hope, faith, charity, love and all that. But some songs have apparently snuck through the back door, drunk up all the rum, made a clumsy pass on pretty much everyone but the family dog, and are now holding court in the corner, seriously br ... More >>

Tom Waits top seller at Twist and Shout

​Apparently there was a bit of a fight between Tom Waits' Glitter & Doom Live and Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream last week at Twist & Shout, and fortunately, Waits, who turned sixty yesterday, was the victor. Blakroc, the Black Keys' new hip-hop project, came in third, while Them Crooked ... More >>

A first look at Skyline Surrender's "We're Going to Winchesta" video

The quality of videos coming out of the Mile High City these days is pretty astounding. Gone are the days of convincing a buddy with a camcorder to spend an afternoon trying to make something "artsy." Within the past few years, the quality of videos seems to have risen in direct proportion with the ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of September 14, 2009

​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Today's Night & Day featured event: Get inside The Universe Of Keith Haring

As I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade last week with my daughter, most of the attractions just passed me by, an endless queue of deservedly frozen smiles (marching for miles through the canyons of NYC in the dead of November is no picnic, folks), slick marching bands, Snoopy and the balloon ... More >>

Road to Nowhere

The Motet plays to a Talking Heads fan base.

Paint the Town Brown

Yoko Ono helps celebrate Denver arts.

Grammy Suckfest Celebrates Half Century of Lameness

Vote for Uncle Marty

Buntport does right by an upside-down world.

Melt-Banana

Friday, June 29, Bluebird Theater, 303-830-8497.

Sean of the Family

Sean of the Family

A Twist of Lennon

Sean Lennon gingerly steps into the public eye.

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

Vedera

Monday, July 10, Marquis Theatre, 1-866-468-7621.

The Dirtbombs

Monday, March 20, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-1007.

Ghost Story

Matt Bellinger left Planes Mistaken for Stars to follow his heart in Ghost Buffalo.

Skeleton Key

Thursday, August 11, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-1007.

DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid

Sunday, April 24, Fox Theatre, 303-443-3399.

Indoor Activities

The 2003-2004 art season has only just begun.

Club Scout

Felix da Housecat

Soul Assassins

When it comes to rock and revolution, John Wilkes Booze is loaded.

Art for AIDS' Sake

What to see on "A Day Without Art."

Playlist

Squeezing a Lennon

A new boxed set tries to wring every last drop from the music of the late moptop.

Do's and Don't's

Kids Do the Darnedest Things

Three members of famous musical families provide a good argument for nepotism.

Music for the Holidaze

Digging out from a blizzard of seasonal CD releases.

Whatsa Matto?

Yuka Honda's Cibo Matto makes delectable treats for the postmodern ear.

PLAYLIST

OHIO OR BUST

THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM: GREAT IDEA OR SIGN THAT THE END IS NEAR?

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST