Rearview: The Week in Review (8/16/08-8/22/08)

Hello little girl. Do you like candy? Here’s a handy guide to all the great content you may have missed this week on Backbeat Online while you were transfixed by the efforts of one-time glam rocker and convicted child molester Gary Glitter to find a country that will take him…

Dancing Queens

There are a lot of parties scheduled around the Democratic National Convention, but none are quite as inclusive as the Unity Dance ’08 party tonight at Tracks, 3500 Walnut Street. Sponsored by Babes Around Denver and Tracks, the fest welcomes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folks — and their straight…

Gateway to Babylon

The infamous “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay service members could be extrapolated into a slogan for the Iraq War, where the media and Congress didn’t ask the hard questions and the Bush administration didn’t tell much of anything resembling the truth. Now, in Jeff Key’s one-man play The…

Vitamin D at the Root in Boulder

In the halcyon days of the Denver dance scene, circa the late ’90s, Vitamin D was everywhere. It was rare, in fact, to see a party flier that didn’t have his name on it. These days, Vita’s focused primarily on label work, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still find…

Rearview: The Week in Review (8/9/08-8/15/08)

Jackson Browne thinks McCain is a dick (ed. note: this is pure conjecture) Here’s a friendly one-stop guide to all the great content you might have missed this week on Backbeat Online while you were wondering how the hell John McCain thought he could get away with using a song…

Tiki Madness

As landlocked Denver swelters under the oppressive, dry heat of summer, my fantasies begin to turn ever more frequently to white-sand beaches cooled by an ocean breeze and frozen drinks served in a coconut shell. I don’t have the means to make that real, but the Voodoo Spells and Tiki…

Adultnapper at Skylab

Among all the stars at Skylab, it would be easy to overlook Adultnapper. This would be a mistake. The Brooklyn-based DJ/producer (aka Francis Harris) has been creating quite a splash with his productions, which hark back to the classic techno releases of Richie Hawtin (aka Plastikman) but add tribal percussion,…

Meet Mike Relm, master of video turntablism.

Mike Relm is a pioneer working in the medium of video turntablism. Mashing up snippets of video and music in a live setting and incorporating the scratching and other DJ tricks of traditional turntablism, Relm is helping to create a vibrant new art form. Since adding the video element to…

Rearview: The Week in Review (8/2/08-8/8/08)

Call me daddy. No, really. Here’s a convenient and useful guide to all the wonderful content you might have missed this week on Backbeat Online while you were reeling from the shock and disbelief of discovering that Clay Aiken, of American Idol fame, has somehow managed to spawn, and is…

Friday Rap-Up: Julox, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Aftermath Records

Locals Only Julox has one of the most recognizable voices in the Colorado hip-hop scene, and he’s actually one of the hardest working emcees here as well. Since the release of his album Catfishm Shrimp, -n- French Fries in January, the rapper has dropped a group project called “Dirty Ridin’”…

Eight Great Moments of the 808 for 8/8/08

The Roland TR-808 Drum Machine is a legendary piece of musical gear, instrumental in the formation of several styles of music including rap and techno. It’s best known for its impossibly low, deep kick, snappy snare and obnoxious cowbell sounds, but all of its sounds are near iconic. Ironically, the…

Car Crazy

From classic Detroit muscle cars to souped-up Japanese speedsters, plush luxury sedans and lovingly restored vintage autos, Americans love their cars — even if it’s just the well-worn grocery-getter in the driveway. And just as there’s a car for nearly everyone, now there’s a car show for everyone: the Krazy…

DJ Heidi

Canadian-born, London-based DJ Heidi helps run Phonica, one of the most important record stores in London, so it’s no surprise that she has a knack for picking out absolutely killer tracks. She works in the realm of minimal house and techno, where hypnotic, dubby basslines push the tracks along, bathed…

Flick Pick: Re-Cycle

A young female writer of romantic novels decides to turn to the supernatural for her next book. As she struggles with writing, throwing away page after page of work, she begins having a series of strange and unsettling experiences. Before long, she’s drawn into a dark, horrific alternate reality, populated…

Delegating Denver #55 of #56: Wisconsin

View larger image Wisconsin Total Number of Delegates: 92 Pledged: 74 Unpledged: 18 How to Recognize a Wisconsin Delegate: Across the nation, the symptoms of severe depression often include the binge-drinking of cheap beer, the over-eating of fried foods and the complete lack of interest in meeting people and learning…

The Westword.com Blog Shortcut, August 1

The Westword.com blog shortcut returns after a brief absence to guide you around the wild world of Westword’s blogs. Hope you didn’t miss us too much. Never afraid to incite a shitstorm, Westword is leading the charge against feces with the Denver Doo Doo Accord, an agreement to refrain from…

Rearview: The Week in Review (7/26/08-8/01/08)

Ludacris thinks about what he’s done Here’s a handy one-stop guide to all the great content you might have missed this week while you were busy pondering the political implications of Obama’s rejection of the new Ludacris track written to support him…..

Friday Rap-Up: Ichiban, Ludacris, Wyclef Jean, Jay-Z

Locals Only When Ichiban’s name was announced as the winner of Best MC at this year’s Westword Music Showcase, the hip-hop heads in attendance were taken aback but so was the rapper himself. “There were so many dope MC’s in the category this year, I was actually very surprised,” Ichiban…

Mile High Makeout: Flying High

Photo: Brian Landis Folkins A couple nights ago, I went to the Ogden, with the hopes of catching Denver’s own Astra Moveo, as well as Shy Child and the Faint. Unfortunately, pre-show drinks and toe-curling vegan sausage pizza at City ‘O City were too good to rush, so I missed…

Live Review: Mr. DIbbs & Rob Diktum

Photo: Tom Murphy Calm Calm, Reflect June, Tullie, Ancient Mith and Mr. Dibbs & Rob Viktum Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Fox Theatre Better Than: A mainstream hip-hop show. I’m pretty sure I got to the show on time and Calm opened their set with one of their best songs –…

Run For the Hills

I was nine years old the first time I saw Blade Runner, and at the time, I didn’t care that it was a thematically complex, multi-layered homage to film noir based on a masterwork of science fiction by Philip K. Dick. I just thought, “Wow, Han Solo is in a…

Dropping Science Fiction

My science-fiction roots go deep. One of my first memories is of standing in line to see Star Wars when I was four. I grew up watching Star Trek reruns with my dad. I discovered and subsequently devoured Robert Heinlein’s juvenile novels in grade school and graduated to his adult…