Apple iTunes

The 2013 Houston Press Music Award Nominees

Without fail, the Houston Press Music Awards sneak up on us. Last year, when the HPMAs returned to the dog days of summer after a one-year Thanksgiving holiday, only a few short months fell between the 2011 trophies and 2012 nomination ballot. This time it's been several months longer, but feels jus ... More >>

Why Greatest-Hits Albums Matter, and 10 Greatest-Hits Haikus

A solid album, to me, is what I have dubbed a "Front-to-Back." I have two definitions for Front-to-Backs: 1) albums that are structured to listen to as an entire piece of artwork (like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, or Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea); and 2) alb ... More >>

Kirko Bangz Hits Cover of XXL's "Freshman 10" Issue

Congratulations to Houston rapper Kirko Bangz for making the cover of XXL magazine's annual "Freshman 10" issue this month, only a couple of years after he first drew national attention with the single "Drank In My Cup," and several months after "Drank" hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart. ... More >>

Last Night: Pitbull at Reliant Stadium

Pitbull Reliant Stadium March 14, 2013 Pitbull, for those of you who don't know, used to be a rapper. In fact, he was a pretty good one. In the early 2000s, he even joined the Anger Management tour alongside Eminem and 50 Cent, performing crass hits like "Dammit Man," "Back Up" and "Culo" off his d ... More >>

Houston's Top 5 Jazz Clubs

5. RED CAT JAZZ CAFE Admittedly, Red Cat has its hits and misses, but for a jazz neophyte looking to make his or her debut into the world of Fitzgerald and Armstrong, this "cafe" is a good place to start. Its relatively new Franklin Street address places Red Cat at the very beginning of downtown, an ... More >>

Taylor Swift Visiting Houston May 16

Now that Taylor Swift's new album Red is out, you may have noticed the recent media blitz that has brought her to the cover of Rolling Stone and a prime-time TV appearance on ABC's All Access Nashville Friday. So she might as well tour, right? The country-pop star, now one of the nation's biggest r ... More >>

Notes on Nashville: The Thief of Hearts

I'll try and keep this relatively brief, because I've been at the dentist all morning. Wednesday's Nashville was considerably more pleasant. At this point the show has done about all the establishing shots it can, and Wednesday it slipped a few new wrinkles into the plot (both subtle and not-so-subt ... More >>

5 New Holiday Albums For Your Halloween Horror

Right now, as soon as you can either get to year nearest music retailer or click over to iTunes or Amazon, you can buy the first holiday-themed 2012 album we have heard of, Jason Gray's Christmas Stories: Repeat the Sounding Joy. If that sounds early to you, well, yeah, but we actually got the email ... More >>

A Houston Rap Album Worth Buying: LeCrae's Gravity

Tuesday, Houston native LeCrae delivered his sixth full-length album Gravity on his own imprint Reach Records. It's unapologetic (as it should be), eye-opening and features a man who's taken his newfound success (BET appearance, his Church Clothes mixtape hosted by DJ Don Cannon) and carried it furt ... More >>

Explaining Classic Rock Bands to Kids

This past Sunday, The New York Times ran a piece by Paul Greenberg where the author explained how important the Beatles were to music and pop culture to his five-year old son. The child didn't know that the band had albums, but only knew the Fab Four from iTunes playlists. "When the Beatles record ... More >>

Band of Skulls

Give It Away: Music We're Gifting to Friends for Christmas

​We're a generous bunch at Rocks Off. We just give and give and give until it hurts, and then we give some more. That's just how we roll. And when we give, well, it may seem obvious, but we tend to give the gift of music. Our friends and family are appreciative, though we do think grandma is j ... More >>

Fa La La La La: Favorite Records Rocks Off Got for Christmas

​No matter what year it is or how old you are, if you love music, there is nothing like finding some new music tucked under the tree or crammed into your stocking. iTunes gift cards are easy. So are gift cards to Tiffany's, but we bet your girl would be a lot more receptive to the blue box. Th ... More >>

Artist of the Week: The Curious, Courageous Second Lovers

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com. ​Few bands in the history ... More >>

Houston's thelastplaceyoulook Gets Into The Christmas Spirit With "Do You Hear?"

Photo by Groovehouse​Rocks Off is getting into the Christmas spirit, slowly but surely, and now that it's finally December, all your Facebook posts concerning your holiday plans have become much more tolerable. The music, classic though it may be, has needed an update for quite some time. In ... More >>

Black Keys Not Licensing New Record to Streaming Services

​There's been a furor brewing among people who love streaming music services like Spotify and Rdio over bands like Coldplay denying licensing to those services for new releases. Older albums are available, but bands have essentially delayed the release to streaming services. That was all well ... More >>

Gothic Council Mutinies Over "This Corrosion" Cover

We still haven't gotten around to setting up our iTunes account on the new phone yet. Since we mostly listen to the NPR live stream in the car anyway it's not a big deal, but every once and a while we get a sudden urge for a certain tune. Usually YouTube solves the trick nicely, and it was during a ... More >>

What Google Music Means To The Music Industry

techonzo.com​Google is finally launching its own music service. Google Music is a full-scale music service/store designed to compete with Amazon and Apple. Android boss Andy Rubin says they're very close to launch. About a dozen independent labels are have already joined forces with Google and ... More >>

Funny HPMA Nomination Ballot Fails

​It does Rocks Off's heart good to see that our Music Award nominations have stirred up so much debate. As we mentioned Tuesday, according to our Web people, there were some 9,000 nominations submitted across our 43 categories. Of course there's no way for us to really know, but as far as we ... More >>

Full Swag For Das Racist, No Swag For Astros & Paul Wall

​Das Racist is Rocks Off's favorite joke-rap group, ever. It annoys most people we know -including our boss, who is like, "All right, no more Das Racist for everyone's sake, please." That's being nice - Ed. Earlier this year, we traveled to SXSW strictly to catch every show, and we're planning ... More >>

How Jay-Z & Kanye West Kept Watch the Throne From Leaking Online

howfresh2.comJay-Z's business plan: Don't leak the masters, get a Rolex.​The kingdom is safe. The throne has been watched. In an age where albums spring leaks like baby diapers, Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne arrived on the appointed date without even as much as a drip. For the first ... More >>

NFL Owners Celebrate New CBA, Now They Just Need The Players To Sign It

Or is it?​ "I'm pleased to report that the definitive agreement that we've negotiated with the union, the owners approved it today by a vote of 31, with one abstention, and I'm quite pleased. It's a 10-year agreement." -- Houston Texans owner Bob McNair on a conference call Thursday night I ... More >>

Biophilia: Bjork Releasing The First App-Based Album

​Your humble narrator is being dragged kicking and screaming into a future of iPhones and whatnot, both by being married to a loyal Apple convert and the innovations of the music industry. Though Rocks Off still tracks down local acts and releases the old-fashioned way - online concert listing ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Twilight vs. Harry Potter And 9 Other Geek Throwdowns

Still the only crossover I'd pay to see.​Anyone watch the MTV Movie Awards? Anyone? I didn't think so, mostly because I suspect the majority of Hair Balls/Art Attack readers are over the age of 12. And while I have no intention of revisiting the whole "'Music?"Television line of jokes, I did ... More >>

Tracy Nelson, Victim Of The Blues, Embraces Muddy & Lightnin'

Robert Hakins​Long acclaimed as one of the truly great singers of the modern era, at 66 Tracy Nelson still has the fire for performing great songs. Her latest project, Victim of the Blues, is a loving caress to her original passion: Old-school blues, particularly the Chicago variety. Nelson's ... More >>

App of the Week: Alfred

A quick search using Alfred yielded really helpful results.​App: Alfred Platforms: Mac OSX Web site: Alfredapp.com Cost: Free (Power Pack add-on for about $20) Normally, this space is reserved for apps for the phone and the occasional Web site. This week, we're going to talk directly to M ... More >>

Mantis: Prolific Internet Phantoms Surface Hungry

​Two months ago, we happened across a performance by Mantis, an eagerly funky and inwardly quirky indie-rock band we'd heard mentioned but never actively sought out. Their show, in short, was quite remarkable, an effort spearheaded by vocalist/keyboardist/bow-tie enthusiast Nick Greer. Writin ... More >>

Houston Rodeo: Now There's an App for That

Houston Rodeo: Where high tech meets low tech.​Last week members of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's marketing and public relations team held a press conference to present some of the rodeo's new-for-2011 offerings, chief among them a feature-rich smartphone app meant to improve all aspe ... More >>

Black Queen Speaks: The Perfect Band Web Site

​Not too long ago, we did a name dissection of Black Queen Speaks. As we prepared for the article, we did something we rarely do anymore, and that's go to the band's actual Web site rather than just sampling them on Facebook or (ugh) MySpace. For some reason, we decided to go straight to the o ... More >>

Remember hasHBrown's Sounds from the Backseat?

Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. ​hasHBrown Sounds from the Backseat (Council Music Group, 2009) In prepping to write our forth ... More >>

A Deep Discussion Of Thug Life With Thugz Of Normandy

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email it to sheaserrano@gmai ... More >>

FAIL: Wyclef Jean, Richard Ashcroft, Mark Wahlberg, iTunes

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray​Wyclef Jean's Latest Vanity Project: President of Haiti: Wyclef Jean is best known for being the member of the Fugees who quite improbably enjoyed the most solo success. We would have bet on Lauryn Hill, but unfortunately, she went crazy. Crazy may be ... More >>

FAIL - Billy Corgan, Courtney Love, Justin Bieber, Celene Dion, Apple

If you're reading this, you're either on the Internet, or else you've mastered multi-dimensional thought-projection processes that would make Michio Kaku cry like a little girl. We'll assume the former, and just in case you don't already know, the Internet has decided that the word "failure" is too ... More >>

Melissa Savcic, Not Jessica Alba But Both Band And Kickboxing Singer-Songwriter

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com.​The other day President Obama* ... More >>

Ask A Rapper: Candi Redd Discusses Possible Ways to Help Haiti

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place -lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good- so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email it to introducingliston@ ... More >>

Answer an Urgent Appeal to Heal Haiti by Getting Some "Swagger"

[Ed. Note: Please email any news of further music-related relief efforts to chris.gray@houstonpress.com.] Bobby Moon & Lil Flip - Swagger from AK Kurji on Vimeo. If you're looking for a way to contribute to the Haitian relief efforts, Houston-based international pop artist Bobby Moon is going to ... More >>

Five Spot: Killa Kyleon's Purple Punch 3

Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and, albeit sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It's five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. ​One of the guys that we always (usually) enjoy listening to is the ... More >>

Pop Rocks: I'm Shocked, Shocked To Discover Britney Spears Was Lip-Synching

​To think, I almost found myself agreeing with John Mayer.His response to the simmering Britney Spears lip-synching scandal -- mocking those who expressed outrage at the fact Spears was faking it during her concert in Perth, Australia last weekend -- would appear to be dead-on. One could even take ... More >>

The Music of True Blood, Episode 1.5: Playing Chicken With the Train, and an AIDS Burger

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. With Season 2 just completed, Rocks Off is now working our way backw ... More >>

Tween Dreams

Artist of the Week: Electro-Proggers The Live Lights Assure Us the "Sky Will Fall"

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com.Photos by Elias Ibanez​ S ... More >>

Aftermath: Common and The Roots Crew's Private Engagment at the Corinthian, With Special Guests (Cough, "Nite and Day")

Photos by Larami Culbertson​ 9:10 p.m.: We pull up to the front of The Corinthian and hand the car off to the valet. He says, "It's $20 plus tip." Oh, so it's $20, then? Got it. Thanks. 9:20 p.m.: Common just walked in. He's way more stout than we imagined him to be. His skin is also less clear th ... More >>

Fur Sure

Midtown's casually hip The Mink rededicates itself to live music.

Frat Friendly Fun

Relive those Greek glory days (if you had them) at Midtown's Vintage Lounge.

Tonight: Street Dogs at Warehouse Live

Most people don't associate humanitarianism with tough, working-class street punks whose artistic bent tends toward songs about drinking and fighting. For Street Dogs, a band of politically minded Boston-scene all-stars fronted by a war vet turned fireman, community is the whole point in the fir ... More >>

Artist of the Week: Small Sounds

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. It seems contradictory, ... More >>

Racket vs Racket Jr

Explain Your Most Played

The Bards of Baytown

Scattered Pages' urban art-country music is as pretty as its hometown is ugly

The Shout Out Louds

Sunday, November 27, at the Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-225-1717.