Music

People don’t know what they like. They like what they know. A program-director friend of mine once shared that axiom with me as he tried to explain why listeners gravitate toward some songs as opposed to others. People are essentially sheeple, he asserted, creatures of conditioning. I’ve always thought this…

These days, most people know Jerry Joseph as the leader of Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons, or through his affiliation with Widespread Panic and the Stockholm Syndrome. Back in the ’80s, though, during what he calls his “white reggae hippie” phase, Joseph lived in Boulder and played in the band…

Plenty of people out there are under the impression that Fiona Apple is, well, nuts — but nothing could be further from the truth. Take the memorable words she delivered at the 1997 MTV Music Video Awards: “This world is bullshit. Don’t model yourself after what you think we think…

Last Chrismukkah, an entire generation did a double take when The O.C. ‘s resident indie geek, Seth Cohen, uttered the words “Death Cab for Cutie” on network television during prime time. A year later, it’s clear a new era has arrived when the biggest name on the soundtrack to TV’s…

Like another pop pioneer, David Bowie, Madonna has always been a musical chameleon, hopping artfully from trend to trend, leaving bits and pieces of radio-friendly gold in her wake. (Unlike the Thin White Duke, however, the Material Girl was born and raised in Bay City, Michigan, making her recently affected…

For a guy associated with German industrialists KMFDM and Einstürzende Neubauten, PIG’s Raymond Watts cranks out deliciously listenable tunes. The Berlin Wall has fallen, and brighter days have arrived — sort of. Gone is the old “We put the noise in annoys” Throbbing Gristle school of sound. Like Neubauten’s Blixa…

After Michael Gira’s discovery of Devendra Banhart, it seems that the Angels of Light frontman (and Young God Records head) knows a good investment when he sees it. Gira’s first major find since Banhart is Akron/Family, an avant-folk troupe that traffics in warped twang and blurry harmony. Angels of Light…

At the outset of City, Big Kenny Alphin and John Rich declare, “Somebody’s got to be unafraid to lead the freak parade” — and they’re clearly the men for the job. As on last year’s Horse of a Different Color, they delight in tweaking country conventions, and, thanks to a…

Since singer/pianist Ben Folds isn’t dead, his ghost can’t possibly hover over Highwaters EP, the latest from Boulder’s Michael Lloyd Band. His influence is pervasive, though, and that turns out to be a mixed blessing. “Sleepwalking,” the opening track, serves as a template for the disc as a whole. Guitarist…

My handmade copy of Oblio Duo’s eponymous CD came with a strand of human hair accidentally glued into it. There are two things I can do with that hair: make a voodoo doll, or clone singer/instrumentalist Steven Lee Lawson. The cloning probably wouldn’t work, though. Although Lawson and bandmate Will…

The Clientele, Strange Geometry (Merge Records). Alasdair MacLean makes beautifully baroque folk music misted in string arrangements by Louis Philippe. Strange Geometry is not for those afraid of the faint and fey; its tempos wouldn’t disturb a light nap. MacLean’s Nick Drake drag of a voice adds an extra layer…

Chris Thile and siblings Sean and Sara Watkins, collectively known as Nickel Creek, have been widely embraced by the bluegrass and acoustic-music communities, even though their music makes a habit of stretching or ignoring genre boundaries. How have they gotten away with such apostasy? “Talent” is probably too facile an…

In 1998, director Penelope Spheeris made The Decline of Western Civilization Part III. But unlike the first installment, which centered on legendary punk acts like Black Flag and the Germs, Part III was a much more stark look at contemporary hardcore. Fittingly, one of the featured groups was Naked Aggression…

Forced out by oppression — presumably Thin Lizzy’s terrorist twin guitar attack, the monumental weight of the Corrs’ shite pop polluting the moors and the shame Black 47 bestowed upon the Irish with its dodgy hip-hop from men far too old to be “chillin'” — a pair of Celtic immigrants…

Hip-hop history brims with gifted solo artists, but there are far fewer great bands — groups whose shows were every bit as memorable as their best recordings. The Pharcyde earned a spot in this second category as a result of a relentlessly funky sound and members with oversized personalities, including…

Since its early days as a duet comprising Bob Weir and self-styled acoustic bassist Rob Wasserman, Ratdog has experienced its share of musical evolution and personnel shuffling. Counting late Chuck Berry pianist Johnnie Johnson and members of San Francisco’s jazz-based Charlie Hunter Trio among its alumni, the group morphed from…

The art of singing your fucking guts out is almost a lost one — not that you’d know by listening to William Elliott Whitmore. Lunging between a croon and a croak, his voice sounds too big for one body, a ragged, elemental howl that carries all the grit and erosion…

There’s funky, and then there’s super-bad-ass funky. 4 of US embody the latter description — as it should. The act, previously known as Frequenox, is made up of members of Robert Walter’s 20th Congress, the Greyboy Allstars and Galactic, each all-stars in their own right. Keyboardist Walter’s mastery of the…

Rappers go through pseudonyms like Paris Hilton goes through boyfriends. It’s a game of sorts, or maybe a fear of commitment — a semantic defense to never get too attached to one thing because all things eventually go sour. Take Daniel Dumile, born in England but raised in Long Island,…

Whether offering a Van Morrison chestnut, channeling the heavier sounds of Widespread Panic or garnishing its classic rock-inspired sound with roots-flavored original fare, Electric Side Dish (due at Sancho’s Broken Arrow on Sunday, December 4) cooks up a savory blend of grooves that leaves you wanting more. Axmen John Tipton…

In addition to being one of progressive house’s most recognized jocks, Orlando’s Jimmy Van M is also one of the key point men behind the scenes. Back in 1992, when he began his career, the DJ took a very practical approach to the dance scene. After completing several nationwide tours…