Okay it’s that time again — time for us to start reflecting on our favorite albums of the year. Hey, if the radio can get away with playing round-the-clock Christmas songs already, I think we can all justifiably start comparing notes about the year’s best music, right? As we start…
We’ve got a fresh batch of hip-hop for ya, and it sounds goood! King FOE and Yonnas Abraham of BLKHRTS rap scary in “Goth Swag,” Naeem Oba and brikAbrak open eyes with “La La La” from their upcoming EP Bread and Circuses, Myrical gets dirty with his new banger, “Ass…
For some, smoking marijuana is as much of a lifestyle as it is a necessity. For others, it’s all about just rolling up a fatty, sitting back with some music and just chillin’ on the herb. Last week, of course, our state made history by voting to legalize marijuana for…
JACKSON BROWNE @ PARAMOUNT THEATRE | 11/15/12 Very early into his set at the Paramount last night, Jackson Browne thanked the capacity crowd for putting up with the video cameras stationed in the balcony, at the exits and on the stage. A live concert special for AXS TV was being…
ASHER ROTH @ CERVANTES’ OTHER SIDE | 11/14/12 The key word for the Asher Roth show was “community.” In fact, it’s almost like it wasn’t the Asher Roth show at all. When he wasn’t off the stage, deep into the frenzied crowd, the crowd was up on the stage with…
With the exception of perhaps Tim Tebow or the recent election, few things around here have been as polarizing as the mural saga at 314 E. 13th Avenue, the former home of Bender’s Tavern and the new home of Quixote’s True Blue, which is slated to kick off its grand…
“The first time I dealt with a major label, I thought I had all the answers,” recalls Tyler Ward. “I thought I was so good at what I did that they couldn’t tell me what was going on. There were two or three offers on the table, and I said,…
If melodramatic anime movies featuring star-crossed lovers had good soundtracks for a change, they would probably sound a lot like what Roniit Alkayam has been doing for the past couple of years. Performing as Roniit (due this Friday, November 16, at the hi-dive) with the assistance of Eric Brown on…
Founded in 1989 by Dylan Carlson, Earth took its name from the original moniker of Black Sabbath. And that’s entirely appropriate, seeing as how Earth is one of the pioneers of droning doom metal. Saint Vitus and Sleep were a direct influence on stoner rock, but Earth was a primary…
Nas and Lauryn Hill on tour together has to be the hip-hop equivalent of the sentiment expressed by the first person to ever combine chocolate and peanut butter: How did this not already exist? Each a legend in his/her own right — Nas’s Illmatic and Ms. Hill’s The Miseducation of…
More than three decades ago, rock and roll stood on the cusp of two possible futures: Would it follow the path set out by punk, with its abrasive roar and cut-to-the-bone simplicity, or would it follow the path of Springsteen and his ilk, embracing nuanced singer-songwriter rock that appealed to…
Avid viewers of Cartoon Network’s late-night Adult Swim programming probably know all about Metalocalypse. The show first aired in 2006 as a showcase for the absurdist antics of the band Dethklok, a death-metal band of mythic proportions whose revenues make it the seventh-largest economy on Earth. The music resides somewhere…
For an album that sounds endearing from the start, the songs here are steeped in feisty dissatisfaction and heartache. Without harking back to a specific era of country music — a very welcome break from the current era, which tends to draw too much on the past — the Hollyfelds…
With last year’s 13 Tracks From the Dark Side of the Beat, Beats Noir deftly proved it could use hip-hop as a framework to build on while adding in jazz elements to augment the groove. Started by the classically trained Paul Mullikin, who serves as the group’s MC and also…
Fear is on the menu on the new Men in Burka album, War/Magic. But while themes of anxiety and trepidation are familiar territory in instrumental music, there is something inherently authentic about this release. Traditional Middle Eastern aesthetics are filtered through modern beats and compounded with samples of machine guns…
The Gromet has done nothing but progress since releasing its auspicious self-titled debut EP in 2009. And while that disc was certainly noteworthy, 2010’s Colorado Captain was even better, with bigger, bolder melodies and broader instrumentation. Now a quintet, the Gromet (due this Saturday, November 17, at Moe’s BBQ) has…
As a followup to last year’s Break in the Clouds, Elephant Revival went into Boulder’s Immersive Studios to record its latest effort — the It’s Alive EP, due in stores this Tuesday, November 20. The members wanted to be able to record their individual parts while in the same room…
It’s difficult — maybe impossible — to think of a more influential figure in underground dance music than Frankfurt-based DJ/producer Chris Liebing. In 2009, the techno icon celebrated the tenth anniversary of his highly esteemed record label, CLR, by rebranding the imprint as Create Learn Realize (from Chris Liebing Recordings)…
UPDATE 11/14/12: All right, now this is just disappointing. As you can see from the photo above, sometime between our last update last night and this morning, some unscrupulous person(s) defaced the new Jerry Garcia mural on the east wall of 314 East 13th Avenue, the former home of Bender’s…
Our first memories of getting stoned are exactly like that little piece of resin behind the stem in your bong: No matter how hard you try, it will never go away. The first time getting high opens a world of wonders. Whether you were cruising around in a homie’s ride…
As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it shouldn’t be surprising to find that the most common (and mutually favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: “What are you listening to right now?” Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn’t…
If we’d have known that smoking a doobie with someone would enhance our interviews, we probably would’ve done it a long time ago. In case you missed it yesterday, in honor of the recently passed Amendment 64, the much ballyhooed legislation that will legalize marijuana for recreational use, we recently…
