Today, Westword welcomes the latest addition to our family: our new, improved and ready-to-use Westword mobile app. Like the previous version, you can use it as a handy, thumb-friendly guide to Denver arts, entertainment and dining. Hungry for Asian? We've got you covered. Bored, with no weekend plans? Just check our calendar. And that's not all: Continue reading for more on the app's newly revamped features.

See also:
- Westword is partnering with FourSquare: Bring on the badges!
- Meet the 2012 Denver #WebAwards winners
- Vote in the Best of Denver 2013 Readers' Poll

More »

Interviewing Alphabets (Colin Ward) is similar to listening to his music: you're put through the ringer of an obnoxious charm, simultaneously witty and grating, aggressive and inviting. Combining both the underground music scene with demanding academic ambitions, the hyper and endlessly talented Colin Ward keeps himself busy with a creative schedule that would leave most artists burnt out and destroyed. But he pushes on, doling out home-made album after home-made album, infecting audiences around the city with performances that combine humor, noise and infectious beats that you can't help but do a strange, offbeat dance to.

More »

Molly Zackary's Growler Record Distro is changing the way we talk about music in Denver. More than just another storefront box of commerce, Growler is actively engaging the music community with new events and programs. "I have an agenda," says Zackary. "I think artistic movements and scenes are created because people start dialoguing with each other and becoming more involved with each other. And then more bands get started; and the more variety of music people are exposed to, the better those bands become. And then all of a sudden you have a really rich music scene in Denver, making its own unique music that isn't made anywhere else."

More »

Update 1/20/12: Some sad news just coming in from California just now. Etta James has reportedly passed away at the age of 73 due to complications associated with leukemia. RIP, Etta.

Originally posted 1/11/12:

Etta James is having a hell of a year. Aside from battling leukemia and dementia, being hospitalized for nearly two weeks in December due to respiratory problems and suffering from kidney disease, James has been in the news for another reason: Her vocals from "Something's Got a Hold on Me" are being sampled on some of the hottest tracks in the electronic and Top 40 pop-rap world. The singer was released from the hospital at almost the exact same time that Flo Rida's "Good Feeling," which samples her voice, was certified platinum. Page down to see which other recent songs have sampled the same James track from 1962, including "Finally Moving," by Pretty Lights.

More »

Here what the area's local-centric specialty radio shows were spinning this week. We're currently tracking the playlists a number of different shows including, Radio 1190's Local Shakedown*, KTCL's Locals Only, The Colorado Sound, which originates at KRFC and is re-broadcast all over Colorado, 99.5 the Mountain's Homegrown Show, and the Colorado Wave, which is syndicated on a number of stations across the country. See the full playlists posted after the jump.

* This playlist hasn't been made available yet. It will be added as soon as it is.

More »

As technology moves forward, we've found new and interesting ways to make, record and brainstorm music on the go. There has been a flood of music production and recording applications for devices like the iPhone/iPod Touch, Nintendo DS, PSP and others. Finding worthwhile applications is another story, so starting today we're pleased to introduce For the Record, a new weekly feature where we find and work with some of these new forms of music creation.

This week: Beaterator. If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch and make music, chances are you've attempted to delve into the App Store looking for something to hold your attention on long bus rides, but left overwhelmed and unfulfilled. Beaterator tries to change that by offering a fully functional loop sequencer created by Timbaland and developer Rockstar Games.

More »