New Spoon album finds us newly smitten

Been listening to Spoon’s about-to-be released seventh studio album Transference (slated for release tomorrow) pretty much non-stop for the past four days, thanks to NPR’s Exclusive First Listen, and have to say, we’re newly reconverted to the Spoon fold. We fell out of love (although not out of like) after…

Jeremy Ellis at Theory + Practice

Detroit-born Jeremy Ellis, sometimes known as Ayro, got a good start by being born into a family of musicians. Before he became known within the Motor City dance scene, he spent his early years studying classical and jazz piano. On record, Ellis shows himself to be an impressive, versatile talent;…

Flier of the Week: Swayback at hi-dive

This week we had lots of fine material to choose from, but this flier stood out even among the wonderfully crowded field of great images and cool design. We’re not too sure what, if anything, the image is supposed to represent — is it a circuit diagram? cell mitosis? what…

Twitter Tuesday: Ef Rodriguez, our featured Twit

Our featured Twit this week goes by the handle @pugofwar on Twitter, and Ef Rodriguez most other places. When he’s not busy blogging (on his own blog and for the Huffington Post), he can be found playing World of Warcraft, organizing events such as Boco.me and Ignite Boulder, or engaging…

Freeloader: I Am the Dot Winter EP

I Am the Dot continue their impressive pace of one release a month with today’s unleashing of the Winter EP. As the name suggests, this latest batch of three songs is inspired by the season. This time out, Zach Tipton has enlisted the help of ambient artist Boneless, who he…

Freeloader: Explosive electro EP from Boom Ninja

Having trouble getting going today? Head still a little fuzzy from the weekend’s revelry? Well, you’re in luck, because we’ve got something for you that will blow those cobwebs right out (not to mention blowing away whatever the cobwebs are attached to) and get you bouncing up and down in…

Freaky Friday: “Big Trouble in Little China” – John Carpenter

This week’s Freaky Friday video most likely earns the nod as “Worst Song Ever from a composer who’s capable of great things.” John Carpenter is not only an excellent director (among others, see The Thing, Halloween, Escape from New York, They Live and, naturally, Big Trouble in Little China), he’s…

Punky Fresh at Beta

It’s not just a brand-new year, but a whole new decade, so why not kick it off with something fresh? Chicago’s Punky Fresh is so recently arrived on the scene that not only doesn’t the act have an album out yet, but it still has that new-producer smell. The two…

Flier of the Week: Sloan Valve at Bender’s

They came from the deep … to rock. Our top flier of the week gets extra cool points for appropriating the lobby poster art for the incredibly odd, unbelievably obscure 1980 movie Humanoids from the Deep, which is also as Monster. It just so happens that some of us have…

Twitter Tuesday: Matt Bernier, our featured Twit

Our featured Twit this week is Matt Bernier (@mbernier on Twitter), a local web developer and blogger. Matt came to our attention when he was recommended as someone to watch by a fellow Twit (always a good sign on a medium used first and foremost for self promotion). When we…

Motet to reopen Cervantes’ with Halloween greatest hits show

January 22 and 23, the Motet will be reopening the newly refurbished Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom with a couple of shows highlighting the best moments from past Halloween shows. In case you aren’t familiar, the group’s Halloween tradition is to “dress up” as some of their favorite bands and deliver entire…

Over the (long) weekend: Noah Pred at B. Side Lounge

Noah Pred Thursday, December 31, 2009 B. Side Lounge, Boulder Better Than: The end of the last decade New Year’s Eve is always a little special, whether you want it to be or not. And 2009 was destined — doomed, one might say — to be a lot special, ending…

Time Flies

Steampunk — think steam as in steamship and punk as in cyberpunk — is an aesthetic defined by extrapolating the technology of the past, particularly the Victorian era, into retro science fantasy, like clockwork robots and steam-powered airships. It’s been explored in books like The Difference Engine and movies like…

Spice Racked

It’s hard to imagine a film less likely to develop a cult following than Spice World. The 1997 film seems, on the surface, to be little more than a ninety-minute music video for a shallow pop group long since consigned to the dustbin of history and musty reunion tours. Indeed,…

Noah Pred at the b.side lounge

Toronto-based DJ/producer Noah Pred produces music in 3D — dirty, dark and danceable. You could also describe it as 3W, as in weird, wobbly and WOW! Specifically, his original material is full of distorted, ever-evolving timbres; shifting, irresistible rhythms; and creepy, off-kilter snatches of melody. His sound is a deep,…

Flier of the Week: Motet NYE

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and we have to say, the slew of excellent posters we saw advertising equally excellent events for the evening (and the next day) bode well for the new year. After some careful consideration we chose this lovely poster for the Motet’s NYE…

Twitter Tuesday: Eric Elkins, our featured Twit

This week’s featured Twit is Eric Elkins, a local writer, blogger, CEO of a social media company and “avowed narcissist.” He caught our attention on Twitter because he’s one of those Twits that’s just everywhere — he seems to know everyone, and everything going on, all the time. He’s always…