Radiohead Come Alive and Other Assorted Goodies

Here’s a selection of the best of last week’s music blogging from around the Village Voice chain: So, this Radiohead band seems pretty popular, and this review is another argument that this may be the group’s best tour ever. Photo courtesy of A to Z…

Simply Resistible

In desperate times, people invariably start calling for desperate measures — and, just as invariably, corrupt politicians are always ready to echo and amplify those calls as a way to launch themselves to power. That’s the message behind The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, a play written in 1941 by…

Cloud Cult

The music of Cloud Cult is big, exuberant and packed full of sounds, ideas and influences. With themes as weighty as environmental degradation and as intimate as familial relations, no subject is too big or too small for this cult. At the heart of its songs lies the catchy, if…

Eddie Leader

Eddie Leader is one-third of hot production team Slum Science, an up-and-coming act that’s been making significant waves in the deep end of the house pool since forming in 2003. As a producer, his works with Slum Science have made their way into the record crates of big-time DJs such…

Scrum of the Earth

Rugby, that grandfather of American football and a great way to lose a few teeth, is enjoying something of a local renaissance, in part because of the construction of the nation’s first municipal rugby stadium in Glendale. If you’ve ever been curious about the high-speed rough-and-tumble sport, there’s never been…

Genre Benders

Babylonian magic bowls and contemporary music come together to illuminate the parallels in home life between the ancient and modern worlds at a special performance by Jewlia Eisenberg’s band, Charming Hostess. The performance marks the finale of Shema: What Jewish Culture Sounds Like, a year-long project exploring Jewish culture through…

Simon Posford

Simon Posford is the undisputed master of psychedelic dance music. His work under the names Shpongle, Hallucinogen and more has consistently set a high bar in a niche genre. His meticulous touch in the studio is the key to his deep, intricate, beautiful tracks. Incorporating world-music influences, live instrumentation and…

Subtlety Isn’t a Strength for Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Let’s get something straight right off, okay? Does It Offend You, Yeah? is not particularly offensive, unless you’re offended by stupid band names or brain-dead party music. A few purists may be chafed by the lack of originality on the band’s recently released debut, You Have No Idea What You’re…

Albert Hofmann’s Problem Child and Other Assorted Goodies

Here’s a selection of the best of last week’s music blogging from around the Village Voice chain: Learn the history of Seattle music as seen by John Roderick of The Long Winters in a special two-for-one show of love, because I somehow missed part one last week. Here are the…

Bottoms Up

Even politicians, whose careers frequently hinge on a perpetual state of economic denial, are beginning to face up to the ugly fact that this country is in the grips of a full-blown recession. In trying times such as these, people naturally turn toward the time-honored traditional means of dealing with…

Redoing Denver

Join the Parker Road Players for Almost Denver: The Songs and Failures of Jim Aurora, a John Denver parody that pokes fun at the legend by creating a “forgotten” fictional folk singer whose life parallels Denver’s. “I think they just thought up these parodies while listening to John Denver music…

Greg Campbell

If you want quality house music on a Wednesday night, look no further than Full Flavor at Shag Lounge. Hosted by DJ Greg Campbell, a recent transplant from the exotic Midwest, the night is a groovy, funky house-lover’s delight set in a retro-futuristic-themed bar. Campbell spins a mix of deep,…

Roller Derby

Prepare yourself for the next generation of bar sports with RollerBall, a game that inventor Bob Lyons calls “a cross between air hockey and foosball, laced with the essence of boxing.” Players face each other across a table and try to launch a one-inch steel ball into one of three…

Booka Shade

Discovering the music of Booka Shade is a little like that phenomenon of meeting someone new that feels so right it seems you’ve known them for years. Before they came into your life, you never knew anything was missing, but now that they’ve arrived, you can barely imagine life without…

The Best Soul-Blues Album Covers and Other Assorted Goodies

Here’s a selection of the best of last week’s music blogging from around the Village Voice chain: Sometimes, you can judge a book by it’s cover — or an album, at least. A look at thirteen soul-blues albums, a genre that’s mastered the art of capturing the record’s flavor with…

Yeasayer

Yeasayer isn’t worried about the apocalypse. In fact, it has a song about it called “Final Pass.” Its advice is simple: When the end comes, dance. “There’s some article,” reports Yeasayer guitarist Anand Wilder, “about how some ridiculous number of congressmen believe it’s their duty to bring about the end…

Star Power

“So Jayne Cobb and Spock walk into a Denver hotel…” sounds like the start of a particularly geeky joke, but it’s the truth today as Starfest 2008 brings the actors behind those movie roles (Adam Baldwin and Zachary Quinto, respectively) — as well as several other big-name genre stars —…

Get Cookin’

If you’re tired of the fact that there’s nothing on television, try going out tonight and getting your nothing from the Fried Nothing TV Comedy Night. “You know how you get some fried chicken from KFC and there’s those little fried bits at the bottom that are basically nothing?” asks…

Shapeshifters

It’s easy to understand why the Shapeshifters — Simon Marlin and Max Reich — have scored four crossover chart hits in the U.K., including a top single with their initial release, “Lola’s Theme.” The DJ and production duo cherry-picks the catchiest elements of any number of styles (techno, electro, deep…

Communikey

The organizers of the Communikey Festival of Electronic Arts want to accomplish two things: First, they want to make you dance, and second, they want to make you think about — and work toward — a sustainable future that embraces technology. “This festival smacks of Boulder,” muses Marko Manriquez, head…