I hate Christmas music — hate it. It’s dull, overly familiar and absolutely inescapable at this time of year. On the other hand, I’ve been moderately obsessed with so-called chiptunes, music inspired and/or made by vintage video-game machines. So, when I ran across this collection of 8-bit chiptunes versions of…
After completing two extensive back-to-back tours of the West Coast and Midwest over the summer and through the fall, the Autumn Film is back at home briefly through the holidays, taking a bit of time off to write before embarking on another series of dates. On the next jaunt, the…
In what appears to be a fairly recent development, Radio 1190’s long-running local-centric specialty show, Local Shakedown, which airs on Friday afternoons from 4-6 p.m., has begun posting past shows and playlists on the station’s website. Music director Katherine Peterson has also put out a call for fans of the…
As we alluded to yesterday in our post about Ozric Tentacles setting up shop in Fort Collins, C-Rayz Walz (aka Waleed Shabazz) is indeed in Denver. Following up several reported sightings of him around town, we have confirmed that the New York rapper, who was most recently hanging his hat…
Bad Luck City’s amazing 2008 album, Adelaide, opens with an absolutely stunning cover of the Lee Hazlewood song, “The Night Before,” from his 1970 hard-to-find album, Cowboy in Sweden. Though it’s surprising for a unique and creative outfit like Bad Luck City to introduce itself with someone else’s song, the…
There is so much talent in the Colorado hip-hop scene that when the community unites, it becomes that much stronger. A new super crew, The Food Chain, is emerging and they’re looking to make a big splash in the local scene. The crew consists of producers Mass Prod, MoHeat, Mic…
There is nothing I can say about the clip embedded above that would possibly prepare you for the awesomeness contained within, but I am going to try: Imagine A-Ha’s seminal “Take on Me” clip, then replace the cool animation with live-action roleplayers and production values on the level of your…
Received word over the weekend from Chris Kresge, aka Chris K, the host of Colorado Sound on KRFC in Fort Collins, that Ozric Tentacles, a lauded British prog-rock act with 25 releases to its credit in its nearly quarter century existence, has relocated to the Fort. Word comes on the…
Photo: Chad FahnestockSmashing PumpkinsFriday, December 6, 2008Ogden TheatreBetter than: the band’s Red Rocks show last year.Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan said he the stomach flu the day before Friday’s show, but it didn’t stop the guy from soldiering through nearly three hours of new songs, hits, obscurities, solo acoustic cuts,…
Oasis, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Matt Costa Monday, Dec. 8 Broomfield Event Center Better than: Seeing a band that’s past its prime play in a high school auditorium. Circa 1997, an Oasis concert would have filled a venue the size of the Pepsi Center, with its official capacity estimated…
The Christines with I’m A Boy Saturday, December 6, 2008 hi-dive Better Than: Passing on seeing two of Denver’s best bands on the same bill. When I got to the hi-dive, I’m A Boy had just begun its set. As usual, it was pure, inspired rock and roll from the…
Every year, I hear people talk about the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day as a dull and lifeless time for live music. If you went to college, you’ll remember that they sometimes called the study period just before finals “dead days” because nothing would be happening on campus…
Tomorrow night at 3 Kings Tavern, a cavalcade of current and bygone Denver acts and musicians will be on hand to celebrate the life of Wendi Wikstrand, aka Grandma Dynamite, a very dear friend of mine and the scene, who passed away at the end of October. Slated to appear…
I love a good cover. Today, I ran across this list of the best and worst covers of all time and it got me thinking about the art of covers. I know people who hate them, regardless of quality and a lot of people just don’t seem to get the…
Colorado rap star — and yes he is a star — YtCracker, is one of the most booked hip-hop artists out of the state. For some reason, the Nerdcore hip-hop music he does is in high demand. He’s currently on a nationwide tour with other Nerdcore artists like MC Frontalot…
Guitar virtuoso/noodler extraordinaire Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay, claiming the band’s song “Viva la Vida,” title tack from their latest opus, lifts a riff from his 2004 track “If I Could Fly.” I can’t be the only one who finds this utterly bizarre. Admittedly, my knowledge of both Satriani’s guitar…
When the chips are down and the musical heroes of our bovine metropolis launch their salvos into the wider world, we stand by cheering and back-patting because that’s what we do — we support our own. People always say there’s strength in numbers, but I say there’s potentially greater strength in unity and optimism.
In speaking with Westword’s Rap-Up recently, On Point’s Flawless announced the formation of a new crew called the Fresh Breath Committee. The crew consists of former Boostwell group On Point and solo artists Catch Lungs, Purpose, Kontrast, singer Crystal, and DJ Skip Ripken. They’ve done some shows together but we’re…
There are few organizations In the history of electronic music that loom larger than the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.They helped develop techniques and technologies that went on to become the mainstay of electronic musicians to this day, not to mention helped condition the masses to accept, even love, the strange, unearthly…
I recently spotted a rare MySpace bulletin from Nathaniel Rateliff, aka the Wheel, about a show he was doing in Portland. Now, I know Nate doesn’t exactly need my help to draw a crowd, but I’m such a strong supporter of his work that I wanted to pimp him a…
At first the sensation of interviewing Everything Absent or Distorted (a love story) — known among themselves as Eaod (pronounced ee-odd) — is akin to wrestling an octopus. All eight members are constantly in motion, making jokes, talking over each other, spinning off into side conversations. Even when five or…
Before I moved back to Denver, I lived in a 350-square-foot studio in Brooklyn. The kitchen was the size of a telephone booth, and the bathroom wasn’t much bigger. The doorway to the bathroom was so narrow I had to turn sideways to get through it, and the sink was…
