Email Author Michael Roberts

Awards

• 2009 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published December 11, 2008

  "The Rocky Mountain News is Going Down"

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2006 Stories by Michael Roberts

• The Game

  published December 14, 2006

  The Game rose to fame with help from Dr. Dre, who godfathered 2005's The Documentary, a smash that featured cameos by 50 Cent. But a feud... More >>

• Phish

  published November 30, 2006

  Phish lovers and Phish haters will react differently to Colorado '88 (available at More >>

• Six Months to Live

  published November 23, 2006

  Cleverness can turn unctuous at any given moment, which makes Greg "Soapy Argyle" Hill's decision to build a band on that quality seem dangerous... More >>

• Isis

  published November 16, 2006

  The thinking-man's-metal tag that hangs on Isis seems bad for business, but guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner and his comrades don't appear to mind.... More >>

• True Confessional

  published November 9, 2006

  "I don't think we're anybody's second-favorite band," says Chris Carrabba, the emo dreamboat who sits behind the wheel of Dashboard... More >>

• Drop the Needle

  published November 9, 2006

  Even before Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy joined a band, women were lining up to show him body parts they usually keep under... More >>

• My Chemical Romance

  published November 9, 2006

  Gerard Way offers his critics plenty to ridicule on the latest MCR CD, including unbridled theatricality, more classic-rock nods than even Lenny... More >>

• Badly Drawn Boy

  published November 2, 2006

  No one's more British than Damon Gough, which may explain why he hasn't broken through in the States. If his brilliant score for the Hugh Grant... More >>

• Januar

  published November 2, 2006

  The music on Januar's latest can be hazy, indistinct, and difficult to pin down — and that's generally a good thing. Rather than present... More >>

• Janet Jackson

  published October 19, 2006

  At the outset of her latest disc, the other J.J. from Good Times giggles after saying, "I've uncovered a lot in my 20 years." Such overt... More >>

• gogoLab

  published October 12, 2006

  At first blush, gogoLab seems like pure shtick — an opportunity for keyboardist Eric Moon, bassist Bijoux Barbosa, and drummer Brian McRae to... More >>

• Beyoncé

  published October 5, 2006

  The music industry has a lot in common with the average automobile plant. Lots can go wrong, but when everything's operating at peak efficiency,... More >>

• Different Strokes

  published September 21, 2006

  Some listeners adore them, and some abhor them — but none can credibly deny that the Strokes have had a significant impact on this... More >>

• Wovenhand

  published September 21, 2006

  On 2004's Consider the Birds, Wovenhand's David Eugene Edwards made the Old Testament new again via lyrics that doubled as fierce and... More >>

• Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams

  published September 7, 2006

  The Hi-Beams' take on twang is decidedly retro. Halden Wofford has that high-and-lonesome vocal sound down cold, and instrumentalists such as... More >>

• The Panic Channel

  published September 7, 2006

  Oh, to be Dave Navarro. Shortly after announcing his split from the famously pneumatic Carmen Electra, Navarro was reportedly keeping company with... More >>

• White Whale

  published August 24, 2006

  White Whale doesn't quite qualify as an indie supergroup, but members of the combo have some noteworthy credentials: Guitarist/vocalist Matt Suggs... More >>

• Ten Tiers

  published August 17, 2006

  On the de facto title track of Ten Tiers' latest, group leader Jonathan Tiersten sings about slipping "into the comforts of drunkenness"... More >>

• Golden Smog

  published August 10, 2006

  Golden Smog, a group featuring moonlighters from several rock and roots combos, has lingered for a long time, particularly by side-project... More >>

• A Resurgence of Radiation

  published August 10, 2006

  Over the past year, the Radiators have received more national and international exposure than at any point since their late-'70s launch... More >>

• Tom Petty

  published August 3, 2006

  Tom Petty is perpetually underrated. He debuted too late in pop music's historical continuum to seem deserving of full classic-rocker status... More >>

• BaSheBa Earth

  published August 3, 2006

  Don't limit BaSheBa Earth by calling her a rapper. The woman born Portia Davis is also a fashion designer and a performance artist, not to mention... More >>

• Rise Against

  published July 20, 2006

  The video for "Ready to Fall," the lead single from Rise Against's latest salvo, is like a punk-rock version of Al Gore's An Inconvenient... More >>

• Matchbook, Like Romance

  published July 20, 2006

  For those of you tired of the paint-by-numbers approach employed by too many emo bands, here's some good news: An increasing number of them find... More >>

• Nelly Furtado

  published July 13, 2006

  These days, few performers are capable of crafting long-lasting careers — but producers like Tim "Timbaland" Mosley are another story. More... More >>