“The most poignant use of ‘Mad World’ I’ve seen.” That’s how Curt Smith reacted to seeing Boulder attorney Mark Changaris playing the Tears for Fears song on a piano last week in his flood-ravaged home. The song is already imbued with a distinctive sense of melancholy on its own, but…
Wax Tailor is the long-running hip-hop/downtempo project of Jean-Christophe Le Saoût. In the ’90s, Le Saoût was involved with the rap band La Formule, and in the latter part of that decade, frustrated with the creative restrictions of a major label, he established the Lab’Oratoire imprint. In 2001, Le Saoût…
Cage the Elephant formed in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 2006. And while the group’s 2008 self-titled, debut full-length was met with a great deal of acclaim in this country, it wasn’t until after the band lived in England for a spell that it gained notice. Influenced by alt-rock, the outfit…
In advance of the National’s show tonight at Red Rocks, we spoke with Aaron Dessner. We printed the excerpts from our chat with him in this week’s paper, and today on the blog, we have the full Q&A. Dessner talks about what could be in store for the band’s next…
In jazz discussions, the saxophonists and the trumpeters generally dominate the conversation, and rightly so. Equally as integral to the music, though, is the rest of the band. While we’ve already listed the pianists, and we’ll soon be taking a look at bassists and drummers, today we focus on the…
The Orb got its start in the second half of the ’80s, inspired by dub and house music. Cited as an influence of many modern electronic music artists today, the act also had a major impact on ambient artists of the past few decades, including guitar bands like Seefeel and…
Andrew W.K. is best known for his single “Party Hard” from his 2001 album I Get Wet, but really, he’s one of the hardest working people in show business. The guy puts himself fully into all he does, particularly his music, be it the party rocking variety, classically-inflected piano pieces…
Like any other town, Denver has its share of cover bands. For the most part, the outfits here don’t merely perform somebody else’s music; rather, they put time, energy and effort into really channeling the acts and eras they’re emulating. This is especially true of this week’s cover band, Under…
Back again with more fresh Colorado-grown hip-hop. This week’s batch features a hustle anthem from Richie Rich, and Monte Burns showing his versatility. F.Lawless, meanwhile, drops a new video from his solo debut, Limbo, and Tommy Brown shows off his ink and moolah. Continue on to see what’s good. See…
After finishing their tour in support of 2010’s High Violet, the members of the National didn’t have any immediate plans to record again. But guitarist Aaron Dessner, whose daughter had just been born, ended up with a lot of time on his hands. He began writing songs in his backyard…
Master luthier Scott Baxendale lives in Athens, Georgia, these days, but he still has Denver on his mind. In fact, he says he has plans to move back here at some point. Right now, though, the guitar maker and former Colfax Guitar Shop owner has his hands full in Athens,…
Sweden is to death metal what Norway is to black metal. Norway’s sixth sense for finding black metal with the right amount of heavy guitar distortion, banshee shrieking vocals and an unrefined recording quality gives them a black flame kick that fuels the fire of many metal fans. Keep reading…
Space In Time was started by some friends from the local punk and metal scenes who had rediscovered their love of early ’70s hard rock. In 2007, guitarist Javram Ciel-Tilton and drummer Yancy Green tapped some other friends to start a band in that vein, and for the next six…
What makes a great country song? Well, if David Allan Coe is to be believed, the songs require a few things: mama, trains, trucks, prison or gettin’ drunk. There’s got to be more to it than that, though, right? Like, at least five more things. Country music draws on the…
Underground is hotter than ever! Slow Pain… Razakel… Komatose… Claas… Killa C… Lunacy 3:33… KidCrusher… Mars… and many more!— Violent J & 2 Dope (@icp) December 5, 2011 Sitting upstairs in what once was the projector room of the Roxy Theatre, Troll is in front of two desks piled with…
Flume is the musical project of Harley Streten from Sydney, Australia. At 21, Streten has come a long way from where he started, making electronic music using a bit of production software he got from a box of cereal at age thirteen. His sparse but evocative soundscapes defy easy categorization…
Like any other town, Denver has its share of cover bands. For the most part, the outfits here don’t merely perform somebody else’s music; rather, they put time, energy and effort into really channeling the acts and eras they’re emulating. And they often tend to get overlooked, because, well, they’re…
Animal Collective is one of the most critically acclaimed and popular bands to come out of the American underground in the past fifteen years. The outfit’s true synthesis of the avant-garde with pop and psychedelia has yielded a handful of albums that have had a profound impact on a huge…
Supposedly, albums are where it’s at. That’s when the artist is supposed to bring their A-game, convert the doubters, all that good stuff. So why is it that a lot of the time it’s the mixtapes that are the most enjoyable? Maybe it’s because so many mixtapes are when artists…
Like any other town, Denver has its share of cover bands. For the most part, the outfits here don’t just merely perform somebody else’s music, but rather they put time, energy and effort into really channeling the acts and eras they’re emulating. Often times these acts tend to get overlooked…
Hip-hop and it don’t stop. Surely you’ve heard this expression. For those immersed in the culture, this is more than just mere words or even a category on the Backbeat blog — it’s a way of life. And this Friday, August at the Savoy Ballroom on 27th and Arapahoe, there’s…
With the exception of players like Thelonious Monk or Art Tatum, piano players don’t quite have the name recognition of their horn playing counterparts. All the same, these ivory ticklers play an equally integral role in jazz. As such, just like our lists of the ten best sax players and…
