#westword

[callsignangel]

"you alone can make my song take flight..." ben barnes as erik, the phantom of the opera.

[palior]

Awards 2022 : TV Shows

Third and last category: TV Shows that I’ve watched at least one complete season of this year.

We'll Make You Genuinely Care About This Character Award - Only Murders in the Building - Season 2 Episode 3 - 'The Last Day of Bunny Folger'

The best 'who dunnit' show around that finds a way to make you care about the characters, including the one that seems to only be a one dimensional old time bitch.

The Dawn Will Come Award - Dragon Age: Absolution - Season 1

"[...]The Herald of Andraste [...] the Inquisition [...]" Hey that's me!

Best Put You To Sleep Award - The Book of Bobba Fett - S1 / X Moon Knight - S1

It's very effective.

Best New Family Award - Ms Marvel - Season 1

How are they all so relatable, full of humanity and endearing? How?!?

Best Meta Show Award - She-Hulk - Season 1

If breaking the 4th wall is what it takes for me to smash Matt Murdock, then so be it.

Mr Gaiman Bring Me a Dream Award - The Sandman - Season 1

Probably the most faithful adapation of a comics ever. I loved them on paper, I love them on screen now.

Goodbye Award - Westworld - Season 4

Goodbye Dolores, Maeve & Co. Your show was interesting and asked good questions about humanity and what it means to be human. If only you had been more consistent.

At Least They Tried Award - Queer as Folk (2022) - Season 1

This show had the merit of being truly diverse and not for brownie points. If only it had more 'queer joy' and more balanced 'queer despair & resilience', maybe it would have gotten another season.

To Remind You That Fascism is Bad and Scary Award - Andor - Season 1

DO YOU GET IT NOW INCELS? DO YOU???

Best Dance Scene Award - Wednesday - Season 1

(o.o)  \(o.o)  (o.o)/  |(o.o)|  w(o.o)w  w (o.o)w  w(o.o) w

Best Animated Show Award - Dead End: Paranormal Park - Season 1 & Season 2

Lots of excellent queer content this year and this show is no exception. Not only is it great representation but the characters and stories are really awesome and worth it, even for people that are not fans of horror like myself.

Best Queer Show Award - Our Flag Means Death - Season 1

I never would have expected that a pirate show could give us the best spectrum of queers this year and yet. Every single one of them is memorable and endearing. Can't wait for season 2.

Best Comedy Award - What We do in the Shadows - Season 4 / Abbott Elementary - Season 1

Two for the price of one! Both shows have a lot of heart with characters that you can't help but like (even if they can hurt you sometimes #JusticeForMarwa). And both have queer characters (special mention to Guillermo coming out scene).

Best Drama Award - Hearstopper - Season 1

The definitive feel-good like a warm blanket show of the year. It also made me wish I got to live something more like this during my high school years, at least I would still retain memories of that time, oh well. More shows like this please.

[adobedarko]

Adobe Darko Is Your New Campy Fashion Obsession

Article by Kastle Waserman

Publication: Westword

[thekimspoblog]

The 2nd Trip

For a while now, I've wanted to write more fanfiction about the stomach-turning star-crossed romance between William and Dolores. I mean the plot-twist at the end of Season 1 just recontextualizes their entire affair in a deliciously awful way. And in Season 2, we do get a lot more insight into how he became the Man in Black (especially Episode 9). But I still feel like there are a lot of gaps left to fill in, about how he "got bored" with Dolores. So here are some ideas I've had for that:

(I already wrote this scene) William has been invited to dinner at the Abernathy Ranch house, as a thank-you for saving Dolores from bandits earlier that day. When Peter pulls Billy aside to give him the suspicious-patriarch routine, William drops the facade and explains that he wants Dolores to remember him, so he can take her out of the park. Later, while stargazing, Dolores talks about how she feels like Teddy doesn't really understand her, and invites William to the barn for a roll in the hay.

The pair set off on a narrative (presumably one of Ford's) to recover a curative flower from the top of a cliffside, which will supposedly heal Dolores's sick mother. However, somewhere along the way, the two will get side-tracked and end up looking for some sort of more abstract treasure, backstage in the labs. The Forge hasn't been built yet, but maybe this is where William gets the idea?

Along this journey, Dolores finds Teddy's body dumped in a ditch somewhere. Naturally she's horrified and bereaved. What William doesn't remember (or maybe has chosen to forget) is that he did this - this was about more than just eliminating the competition; he was playing Teddy's role. Maybe he thought it was the most efficient way to win Dolores over... or maybe he just wanted to go back to pretending to be the good guy.

They ride the train together again, and maybe for a second it even seems like he's been able to jog her memory. But the sad fact is the spark is gone. It's not her; she hasn't changed one bit; every time on the train is her first time. But he's changed; this story holds no surprises for him this time around, so what's the fun? He still loves Dolores... at least he thinks he does... but he can see her puppet strings this time. Honestly, it's a horrible thing to say, but if romancing someone can be boiled down to an easy-to-follow dialogue tree... what's the point of consent? None of it was ever consensual, because she doesn't even know where she is! Whatever, all the more reason she needs to be taken out of this horror show.

Having successfully smuggled/bought Dolores's freedom, they get a condo in the city together. Dolores is very clearly a fish out of water in this new environment, but she's his manic pixie dream girl so all the repetitions/stutters/glitches are just part of the charm. I mean William had obvious contempt for Peter Abernathy when he was doing the same thing earlier in this story, but it's fine I'm sure there's no issues hiding there. Anyway, some of Dolores's strange behavior is cute, but her sleepwalking is causing a serious problem. William keeps getting called down to the Sheriff's station at 2 am, because Dolores was walking down the highway in a trance. This leads William to start doing more to lock her in the apartment at night, but naturally this only makes Dolores angry and distrustful. She's becoming more and more insistent that she wants to go back to her father, despite William trying to convince her that that man was never her father. This escalates to Dolores attacking William with a kitchen knife in an attempt to escape. And now William decides to cross a line he can't uncross: he tries to reprogram her into something more manageable.

Eventually Ford tracks William down and politely explains that Dolores must be returned to the park; whoever agreed to sell her in the first place has been fired (read: killed), and now Robert is here to correct this misunderstanding in-person. He explains that the hosts' cognitions begin to break down when they are out-of-range of the CR4DL, and that William is hurting her by taking her away from her family and the rest of her species. There will come a day when the hosts are ready to walk on the outside, but Dolores is still learning; she belongs under the watchful eye of her creator. William chews Ford out, for supposedly loving his robots like children and yet still raising them in a woodchipper. Ford gives Billy the standard "only suffering brings enlightenment" speech.

Meanwhile, Logan has finally been rescued by an EVAC team, and is slowly regaining his sanity in a hospital bed somewhere on the mainland. Naturally, his first thought is to adamantly warn Juliet about what William did, that he doesn't really love her, and the lies he will tell that she shouldn't listen to. But years of a strained relationship with her brother lead Juliet to give William the benefit of the doubt. William answers believably enough; he did get lost in a fantasy, but he's sobering up now and he remembers why he loved her. Westworld is too important a project for Delos not to invest in it, so yes, he will have to continue business with the park. But even if the hosts are sentient, according to Ford, Dolores was only brought online roughly twelve years ago. Frankly, William is disgusted with himself now!

Years later, Juliet visits the Mariposa. She's developed a real hatred for this park, this business, but she had to come here; this was important. She needs to have a frank chat with Dolores. Not even out of jealousy, more out of fear. What has her husband been doing to this poor woman? And how much restraint does he actually have from doing the same to her and Emily? In the background "Jolene" by Dolly Parton tinkles away on the player piano.

The Man in Black arrives in Sweetwater again, and threatens a fellow guest for trying to pick up the can of peaches, insisting that he be the first in line. He takes Dolores to Escalante, where they have a tea party among the sand dunes. It's clear at this point, William doesn't regard Dolores as a full person, but he's still content to have her as company while he mulls some things over out-loud. He talks about his hatred for rich snobs, how he would throttle James Delos if it were only legal to do so. How Juliet grew up rich and he didn't, and because of that there will always be unspoken resentment between them. Dolores recites the same script from the first chapter of this story, about her dissatisfaction with Teddy. William muses that that would make them both adulterers, and maybe that's not much of a sin compared to other ones. Maybe having one foot in the real world and one foot in the park, is the closest he's ever going to get to happy.

William wakes up on the train headed into the park again. The whole time we've been reading this story, it wasn't a flash-back; it was a simulation in the Forge. And Ford didn't write the medicinal flower narrative; William wrote this story for himself because part of his brain desperately wants Dolores to forgive him for the abuse. But she can't because she's not there; she's already left him behind in the dust. All this guilt, heartbreak and obsession has kept him reliving the past 30 years over and over again, trying to make sense of where he went wrong, why he couldn't have just played White-Hat like he was supposed to. But when Dolores is attacked by bandits again, this time lead by the Man in Black, William realizes that the only thing he could have done to break the loop was to let go entirely. To quit the park cold-turkey. Wish Dolores well, knowing that she'll mature eventually, but for better or worse, he and his perverse sentimentality can't be around for it.

[5280customframing]

It’s the LAST DAY to vote in Denver Westword’s Best of Denver campaign! The courtesy of a vote for 5280 Custom Framing would be very much appreciated! The link to vote can be found here http://tinyurl.com/mumaacuc and we’re under Shopping & Services/Best Framing. Please remember to click “Submit” once done. Thank you for your support!

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[vhsdruid]

UP IN SMOKE! september's sticker design, voted on by my ko-fi members :D a tribute to my favorite westword cover:

[ralfmaximus]

LGBTQ Republicans in Colorado are calling for change after the Colorado GOP sent out an email to commemorate Pride Month that bluntly stated, "God Hates Pride." Westword reports that the email, which was signed by Trump-loving party chairman Dave Williams, described the LGBTQ community as "evil," "woke creeps" and "godless groomers" who prey on children.

Another PERFECT example of shock over voting for the Panthers Eating Your Face party results in Panthers Eating Your Face.

C'mon, gay Republicans. It's way past time to hit eject.

[bittsandpieces]

You don’t have to answer this if it’s too personal but what’s your favorite wine bar? I’ve been to one near boettcher hall(where the Colorado symphony plays I’m assuming that’s who you see) but they didn’t have much in the way of food and the place you are talking about sounds so good!

I don't actually live in denver anymore so I'm fine with answering this now lol, my favorite wine bar is room for friends! it's on santa fe, between 8th and 9th. I think they got voted as westwords best wine bar in the city last year, which is well deserved. they rotate their wine menu periodically and are super knowledgeable about every one, and they make all their food from scratch!! if you go you should get the bacon cheese spread, it's so fucking good

[kiltro]

Kiltro Q&A Session (28/07/2023)

"This event was made possible by Jack Trueax, their sound technician and tour manager, who facilitated our communication with the band and assisted in compiling their answers; and Trevor, aka CATZ, a member of our server who kindly shared the server with Jack in the first place. We'd also like to express our immense gratitude to their sound engineer Kyle Smith and the rest of the band for generously taking the time to answer our questions, as well as for their continuous involvement with, acknowledgment, and support of the community. We seriously can't thank y'all enough, it was a dream come true." Written, compiled and formatted by @starfunkbonnibel over on rateyourmusic.com! All credit goes to her - this post is simply meant to facilitate reading and sharing.

Join the Kiltro server here: https://discord.gg/M67HjF9C9V The following is a transcript of a Q&A session with the band hosted on our Discord server, around July 28th, 2023. With the exception of certain typos and emojis, the questions and answers remain intact. Enjoy!

Introduction

Kiltro is an indie latin folk rock project created by Chilean-American musician Chris Bowers Castillo while working as a walking tour guide in Valparaíso, a formerly prosperous port city northwest of Santiago, Chile. After the opening of the Panama Canal, the city transformed into an elusive haven of bohemians and stray dogs - or "quiltros", Chilean slang for "mutt". Inspired by the liminal nature of Valparaíso, Chris wrote a series of short stories that would later evolve into the material of the band, using the symbol of the stray dog as both a metaphorical vehicle and an empowering term for his mixed identity and music, ultimately naming the band after them. Subsequently, he would reunite with an old college friend, Will Parkhill, who would go on to join as the band's bassist, alongside Michael Devincenzi as their drummer. Together, they would shape the sound of Kiltro, reanimating Chris's stories into the mysterious characters, melodic allure, and intangible soundscapes that comprise and lurk beneath their debut album Creatures of Habit. Later on, affected by the quarantine, the band took a more introspective approach, deciding to use cats as a motif for their sophomore record, Underbelly, inspired by their solitary and contemplative nature. Around this time, Fez García joined the band as a second percussionist for concerts, completing the lineup as we know it today. (Carroll, 2019) (Mitchell, 2023) Info sourced from: Carroll, E. (2019, 13th November). Here, There and Everywhere: Kiltro’s Mutt Rock. Westword. https://www.westword.com/music/kiltro-frontman-chris-bowers-castillo-talks-mutt-rock-11494843 Mitchell, M. (2023, 1st June). Kiltro Go Behind the Scenes on Underbelly Track By Track. Paste Magazine. https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/kiltro/underbelly-track-by-track

Q (regulus_di): What's the best show the band has ever had, or alternatively the most special?

WILL: the last run of tour had the most special shows in a while, especially the navy pier in Chicago, Vienna, and Brooklyn. The growth and excitement has been extremely exciting to see.

CHRIS: The show on the staircase outside of a friend’s restaurant, in Valparaiso, Chile.

MICHAEL: the shows in which there are zero expectations about the city have been the best. Every time we arrive in a town that we know nothing about, we are blown away by the hospitality that we receive. Towns like Columbus, Phoenix, Richmond, Vienna, and Detroit come to mind.

FEZ: can’t decide. He says it’s like asking him what his favorite meal of all time is, “they all filled my tum tum” 😂

SOUND CREW: the Hollywood theater in Vancouver, BC, and Baby’s Alright in NY have sounded the absolute best From Chris's favorite show 😱

Q (goodman873): Chris solo album?

A: Currently the focus is Kiltro, if a song is written that seems out of place for the current state of the project, it’s often left on the shelf to return to at another time. There are a handful of songs that were planned for Underbelly that ultimately didn’t make it onto the final version for one reason or another, the possibility of them being included on a future album always exists. If a song appears that categorically falls outside of the vision of the band, then a solo project might be considered, but the ultimate goal is to experiment and push musical boundaries.

Q (evantheblank): Favorite unreleased / scrapped song, and is it planned to be available at some point?

A: There are tons of demos that have silly working titles, some of the songs that make it into the final version often don’t have a legitimate name until close to the end of the writing process.

CHRIS: the song Alpaca that was written as the same time as Guanaco, different energy but in the same vein and style. Never played live

WILL: Sin Salida that was included in an Instagram reel with a bunch of Super 8 footage

MICHAEL AND FEZ: Tambach

Q (allisawr): Any plans to record a live album?

THE BAND: we try to capture every show 😉

SOUND CREW: We are currently multitrack recording every live show for reference purposes and our personal archives. If a particular recording stands out, then it will be heavily considered for a live release.

Q (syd1288): What's with the cover art of Creatures of Habit?

A: The cover was a collaborative piece done by Markus Puskar and Julian Brier, heavily inspired by the work of M.C. Escher

The songs on CoH have a lot to do with the monotonous liminal spaces in our everyday lives, and the lyrics are very character driven. The art is meant to invoke the illusion of a society that feels like it is going in loops and circles, in which we are becoming “creatures of habit.”

Q (regulus_di): What games are the guys into atm/pre-tour?

A: We love to play giant jenga and a card game called “Hanabi,” we also invented a pool game called “twenty ball” in which Will is the (heavily disputed) champion.

Chris is currently working through another play through of Dark Souls, he’s been tearing through it on the switch in the van. We’ve also played The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and a lot of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. Stardew Valley and Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic are also big hits on the iPad.

Q (kalamaroe): What inspired the visuals in the If I Lead music video? I've always found it very hypnotising

A: Generally the band doesn’t like to be too specific with the meaning of the artistic content and likes to leave it more to interpretation from the audience. At the time that the video was shot, the band was interested in experimenting with old school classroom projectors, spinning images, double exposures in Will’s photography, and super 8 film footage. The goal was to add visual content to live shows, and a lot of the footage came from that effort.

Here’s some behind the scenes footage from that video courtesy of Will 😱

Q (happidragon): What are the band members' favorite songs to perform?

WILL: it’s hard to pin down and is always changing based upon each performance, but Guanaco is always up there

CHRIS: it really depends on the show, Softy has been a favorite recently because of how dynamic it is, and Lovers of death is another that has been a longtime standard in the sets for that same reason.

MICHAEL: Underbelly, Softy and Lovers of death are all favorites. The dynamics and drum progression allows for a lot of exploration in each performance.

FEZ: Crazy because of the shaker and wood blocks, there are a lot of fun little percussion parts

SOUND CREW: Errasuriz is the most fun to mix, and is always right in the middle of the set when we really have things dialed in.

Q (gumibearheart): How do you guys approach music and the moving parts of it?

A: The writing process is slightly different for each song but tends to coalesce in a similar way, with lyrics typically coming later on in the process. Many songs that start as musical loops get jammed on in rehearsal and recorded as practice demos, the most exciting material eventually evolves into something worth returning to.

Q (starfunkbonnibel): What has been your approach in connecting all these sounds with the themes and stories of your songs? And are there any plans to do one continuous narrative in an album?

CHRIS: I think the soundscapes and by extension the “story” comes from whatever I’m interested in or experiencing at the time of writing. I start in one place, whether it’s a chords progression or an interesting ambient loop, and move in whatever direction feels most compelling and true. I find that a lot of ideas begin to link together because I tend to cycle back on ideas multiple times throughout the process. Because I’m working it out for myself. That goes for sounds, samples and progressions too. Overarching themes or the recurring “character” of the sounds and the places they evoke emerge as the process goes on, and in that is often a kind of story. Or many stories in a similar setting. I visualize things a lot when I’m writing.

In a sense, I think we already work “narratively,” it’s just that there’s not necessarily a script or a series of events. I’d like to make albums that exist in a specific space and create the context for meanings and patterns to emerge. Not a narrative per se. There are bands that do that well but I like to keep things more abstract.

Q (goldengoldstar): Although we know of the influence artists like Víctor Jara, Violeta Parra and Atahualpa Yupanqui have had on the music of Kiltro, are there any other artists or bands you might mention as big influences or inspirations?

A: Thanks to everyone who listens to and shares the Kiltro playlist! This is a stream of consciousness list from all the guys in the band in no particular order: Manu Chao, Deerhunter, Devendra Banhart, Ween, Talking Heads, Jorge Ben, Radiohead, Damon Albarn, Thelonious Monk, Damu the Fudgemunk, Moses Sumney, Animal Collective, John Coltrane, Boards of Canada, Chico Trujillo, OutKast, Teke Teke, Travel Kit, New Order, Kraftwerk, Stereolab, Broadcast, Jack Canaan, Charles Mingus, Sonic Youth, Polo y Pan, Andrew Bird, Marvin Gaye, Metronomy, Sade, YĪN YĪN, Fela Kuti, Tortoise, Cocteau Twins, Air, and Erlend Øye.

Q (goldengoldstar): Are there any plans to play in Latin America?

A: No plans currently, but it’s definitely a long-term goal

Q (starfunkbonnibel): What are your favorite moments of experimentation during the making of Underbelly?

KYLE: During the production/recording process of Curicó (being one of the first songs Chris, Will, and I dove into, if I remember correctly) I was in the studio with Chris focusing on the song’s momentum. I believe this may have been before real drums were put down? Idk, can’t completely remember… but my goal in that session was to add excitement and some kind of uplifting drive to the song. In one moment, I was trying to think of a way to show Chris how we “could” add a particular energy to the song to see if he liked the idea/direction. I decided to give Chris an example by grabbing a shitty/lofi mic and shouting “HEY! HEY! HEY!.. etc” into the mic along with what we had recorded so far. And I was like, “that’s the kinda of energy I’m thinking we can add,” and then Chris was basically like… we should just keep that hahahaha. In that moment I personally felt like we or I at least had figured out a key to the energy of that song, and also my creative flow with Chris, Will, and so forth going forward. Not to mention the beginning of a great friendship 🙂 this was fun to write about! Thanks to everyone here for being a part of their music ✨🐕 This wasn’t about Underbelly, but it’s what the question made me think of lol sorry But still fits a vibe of how I think we all have fun working together on all the music 🙂

Thank you for reading! Event managed by: Kamsthetics , MartixArtist, GoldenGoldstar, and StarfunkBoogie / @starfunkbonnibel. Transcript revised by: plantboyfriend / @plumerii Format inspired by silvershr0ud_'s interview

[dodger-sister]

Follow our Facebook page for more updates & info on our latest book! facebook.com/westword.books

[beginagain--]

The Velveteers Announces New Record, 'A Million Knives'

The Velveteers have announced their upcoming new record, ‘A Million Knives’ Set to be released on 14th February 2025, the thirteen song collection finds The Velveteers collaborating with GRAMMY-winning producer and The Black Keys lead singer Dan Auerbach to spotlight their “high-energy scrappy attitude and pure rock and roll” (as hometown alt-weekly, and longtime champions, Westword have deemed…

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[halfwayt0sanity]

Jello Biafra in an interview with Westword (2013)

[rockshrimp1989]

A bit of a first look at Casa Bonita from Westword!👀🤩

[virginmiri99]

If you have the chance watch the first two seasons of Westword (2016)

Sound of the summer

[its-elvie-innit]

The Lazy Cowgirls were a Los Angeles, California-based punk rock band active from 1983 to 2004. They have been described as "punk rock legends" by Westword's Brad Jones.[1] After they broke up, lead singer Pat Todd founded Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders.

ur government assigned gender for the day is the first thing u get when u click this link to a randomised wikipedia article. NO REROLLS . i am the  trollsteineggje mountain in norway