Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Summer of Love 45th Anniversary

2012 Summer Guide: Summer Movie Preview

2012 Summer Guide: It's a Scorcher

A summer concert season to melt your face off.

Preemo & Tawn P Team Up to Form All Day

Hip-hop, like any genre, changes and evolves, but one thing you could always count on (at least until the early part of the last decade) was the notion of the hip-hop group. When you look at MTV's rankings of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time, you'd have a hard time finding any group -- hell, ... More >>

Slow, Loud & Bleedin': haarp's New Orleans Sludge Backs Up Into Bayou City

If you're a metal band rolling into Houston for the first time, there aren't too many better guys to have backing you up than Phil Anselmo. The ex-Pantera front man is unabashedly worshipped as a metal god throughout Texas, and when he speaks, Houston's heavy music fans listen. Lately, Anselmo has ... More >>

Houston Scores Big-Time In Latest Edition Of Encyclopedia Of Country Music: Part 7

Three former Houstonians who have been included in the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Country Music defy all odds. To call Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett, or Steve Earle a "country songwriter" or a "country singer" is the grossest simplification. All three have a huge streak of the folk traditi ... More >>

Friday Night: Stryper At House Of Blues

Stryper House of Blues May 18, 2012 A dedicated legion of Stryper fans cheered on Friday night to bang their heads to the bands greatest hits along with a few excellent covers. Stryper came out in full yellow-and-black attire while lead singer and guitarist Michael Sweet crooned a version of "Bat ... More >>

Rap Round Table: The Most Ridiculous Rap-Related Crimes Of All

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Mac, Kiotti, D-Risha, Brad Gilmore Not Invited: The guys behind those World's Dumbest Criminals TV shows. This Week's Prompt: ... More >>

Disco Sucks, Long Live Disco: Your Essential Disco Playlist

Disco, that uniquely '70s, coke-laden, soulful, brash and flamboyant genre, was Public Enemy #1 for rockers and punks in the latter half of the Me Decade. Hippies and suburbanites cut their hair, stuffed their noses and took to the dance floors, tripping the light fantastic in their best polyester u ... More >>

RIP Robin Gibb: 10 Essential Bee Gees Classics

Bee Gees superstar Robin Gibb passed away Sunday afternoon after battling cancer and pneumonia, according to NPR News. He was 62. Gibb, alongside twin brother Maurice and older brother Barry, rocketed to global fame in the '70s as the Bee Gees became synonymous with disco. Three of the funkiest blu ... More >>

The 4 Most Ridiculous Lies Rock Music Ever Told Me

I'm part of the MTV generation, which means from the moment I was born I not only heard rock and roll, I also saw it in all its glory. It was complete sensory inundation on multiple fronts, and with an attack that powerful there is just no defense against the tide of complete lies. Music is an esca ... More >>

Stryper's Michael Sweet: "We Stick To Our Guns"

See more with Michael Sweet in this week's issue of the Houston Press. In the 1980s, contemporary Christian music was on the cusp of accepting a nice little jolt of electricity for headbangers everywhere. That jolt of electricity, my friends, was Stryper. They burst onto the scene and have since p ... More >>

Akinyele Puts His Money In Lollypops: This Week In The Music Biz

A great week for chest thumping and big money-making. Pop the hood for the goods. RACKS ON RACKS ON RACKS In news likely to make you hate your job, 90s also-ran Akinyele says he's bagging millions from his new strip club joint. Akinyele is famous for the potty-mouthed anthem "Put it in Your Mouth. ... More >>

Buckwheat Zydeco

A great week for chest thumping and big money-making. Pop the hood for the goods. RACKS ON RACKS ON RACKS In news likely to make you hate your job, 90s also-ran Akinyele says he's bagging millions from his new strip club joint. Akinyele is famous for the potty-mouthed anthem "Put it in Your Mouth. ... More >>

Stryper: Christian-Metal Kings

Michael Sweet explains what Stryper learned from Judas Priest and Van Halen.

Senze: Local R&B Loverman Lays It On Smooth

Each week, 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? E-mail their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com. You know what you can never have en ... More >>

Rap's Top 5 Motorcycle Videos

Life may begin at 30, but it doesn't get real interesting until about 150. -- Author Unknown One hundred fifty miles per hour, that is. It's true. The feeling of an open road and an open throttle is unmatched. Rocks Off loves motorcycles. At one point, we owned three, until we found our bike of ... More >>

Stryper

Life may begin at 30, but it doesn't get real interesting until about 150. -- Author Unknown One hundred fifty miles per hour, that is. It's true. The feeling of an open road and an open throttle is unmatched. Rocks Off loves motorcycles. At one point, we owned three, until we found our bike of ... More >>

Rest Of The Best: Houston's Top 8 Latin Nights

Note: This article was written by Rolando Rodriguez and Marco Torres. In March of this year, Houston beat the likes of Los Angeles and New York as the most ethnically diverse metropolitan area in the country and that landmark development was mainly due to the growth of Latinos. Back in 1990, Latin ... More >>

Burn! Music's 12 Best Insults & Jabs

One of the not-so-fun things in the world is to get insulted or, in the words of Kelso from That 70's Show, get "burned." Now, let's imagine what it would be like to be insulted by some musician on one of their albums -- that "burn" I can only imagine was magnified by a million. Nevertheless, som ... More >>

Saturday Night: Styx & REO Speedwagon At The Woodlands

Styx, REO Speedwagon Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion May 12, 2012 When dinosaurs roamed the earth, Saturday night in America was a pretty awesome place to party. Considering how many times both Styx and REO Speedwagon must have been through Houston, this weekend's stop on their tandem "Midwest Roc ... More >>

Thrice

Styx, REO Speedwagon Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion May 12, 2012 When dinosaurs roamed the earth, Saturday night in America was a pretty awesome place to party. Considering how many times both Styx and REO Speedwagon must have been through Houston, this weekend's stop on their tandem "Midwest Roc ... More >>

Darrell Scott: Loving Life Way Outside The Nashville Mainstream

Since moving to Nashville in 1995, 52-year-old Darrell Scott has had a career most who take that Hillbilly Highway to Music City USA would envy. A triple-threat talent, Scott was for years a session warhorse, a guy who could play about anything with strings on it as well as possessing a fantastic ea ... More >>

ACL 2012 Rumors: 10 Bands That Could Make the Cut (No, Not Radiohead)

Before we begin, Radiohead is in Europe for the duration of this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival. They will not fly 12 hours to play a field in Austin. Ah, it just wouldn't be May without ACL rumors running rampant. Rocks Off is guilty every year of stoking the fire, sometimes just one day ... More >>

Ask A Rapper: Krucial Picks Which 2012 Rap Tapes Will Be Crucial

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? E-mail sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>

Lynyrd Skynyrd Borrows Scarface Album Title For New LP

Something must be in the air, with this bizarre concurrence of Houston rap and classic rock. We blame the supermoon. This morning, Rocks Off told you about ZZ Top using the chopped-and-screwed standard "25 Lighters" in the Texas band's new commercial for flavored malt beverage Jeremiah Weed. Not an ... More >>

Rap Round Table: The Best Skit On A Rap Album Is...

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Kyle Hubbard, Preemo, Rob Gullatte, Chuckway, Propain, Delo, Renzo, Yung Truth, Show, Brad Gilmore, more. Not Invited: W. Balls ... More >>

Y'all, We Have All Been Doing "Punk" Wrong

When you think of punk rock, images of a bloodied Sid Vicious in a leather jacket may come to mind. Skinheads flipping off a camera. Henry Rollins and Black Flag destroying a crowd in a basement. Jello Biafra jumping into a surging pit of people after screaming about holidays in Cambodia. The Clash ... More >>

The Knux

When you think of punk rock, images of a bloodied Sid Vicious in a leather jacket may come to mind. Skinheads flipping off a camera. Henry Rollins and Black Flag destroying a crowd in a basement. Jello Biafra jumping into a surging pit of people after screaming about holidays in Cambodia. The Clash ... More >>

Perry Farrell Is Doing Just Fine

Jane's Addiction and Lollapalooza mastermind on Bin Laden and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Where to Party This Cinco de Mayo

Salt, tequila and lime

The Knux

Salt, tequila and lime

Corella Ballet Castilla y León

Salt, tequila and lime

Cinco Drinko at Berryhill Baja Grill

Salt, tequila and lime

Stick ’Em Up

Salt, tequila and lime

Ask A Rapper: Tha Centop's Top 6 Sports-Related Rap Songs

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? E-mail sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>

Avengers Assemble Soundtrack Butt-Rocks into the Future

Time was in the '90s that every big summer action movie came prepackaged with a great hard-rock soundtrack. As the industry went through growing pains it died off a bit, reducing a soundtrack to maybe one or two free downloads from a middling band close to the project. The heady days of hard-rock d ... More >>

Ranking The Local Sports Radio Shows From Worst To First

I've been listening to sports radio in the city of Houston a very long time. Too long, probably. While I don't remember much about Edmonds and Martini, I do remember when the only sports radio show in Houston was Sports Beat, which ran evenings on KTRH. Amazing to think that we've gone from one four ... More >>

Rap Round Table: Who's Going to Win the NBA Finals?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Bun B, Slim Thug, hasHBrown, Chane, Yung Truth, Preemo, Chuckway, Mac, Nosaprise, D-Risha Not Invited: Amar'e Stoudemire's brai ... More >>

Pink Floyd The Wall at 30: Would Pink Have a Facebook Page?

Rock stars: They're different from us. That's why we love them, and that's why sometimes they can fool themselves into thinking they're Hitler. That, as far as I can tell, is the message of Pink Floyd The Wall, Alan Parker's 1982 film based on the British rockers' 1979 album The Wall. Despite the g ... More >>

Friday Night: Rev. Al Green At Arena Theatre

Rev. Al Green Arena Theatre April 27th, 2012 Mark my words. If you check the local hospitals exactly nine months from now, you will surely see a spike in activity in the maternity wards. Al Green gets everyone and anyone into the baby-making mood. Even the comedian who opened the show alluded to th ... More >>

Friday Night: Lee Fields & The Expressions At The Continental Club

Lee Fields & the Expressions Continental Club April 27, 2010 A very few singers who missed out on being Al Green and Otis Redding when soul music first got big in the '60s and early '70s, people like Charles Bradley and Bettye LaVette, have been lucky enough to enjoy good second-act careers later i ... More >>

Charley Pride, Major League Legend

Singer was once a minor-league pitcher

Unscripted: Top 10 Actor/Musician Collaborations

Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson have been hanging out a lot lately. The actor joined the antichrist onstage a couple of weeks ago at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards show in L.A., and played guitar on "Sweet Dreams" and "Beautiful People." Depp also collaborated with Manson on a cover of Carly Simon' ... More >>

Pink Slipped: The 7 Best Artists To Be Dropped From Their Label

Once upon a time, record labels were the most important thing to an artist who chose to work within the music industry. They could make or break anyone and even world renowned artists knelt at the feet of their masters. Getting dropped from a label was, at one time, a death sentence. Even today man ... More >>

Katy/West Houston Jazz Festival

Once upon a time, record labels were the most important thing to an artist who chose to work within the music industry. They could make or break anyone and even world renowned artists knelt at the feet of their masters. Getting dropped from a label was, at one time, a death sentence. Even today man ... More >>

Double Duds: The 10 Worst Duets Since "Ebony and Ivory"

Thirty years ago this week, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder hit No. 1 on the charts with their duet, "Ebony and Ivory." The song spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and the past three decades as a joke. Perhaps history's most hackneyed call for racial harmony (which, admittedly, ... More >>

Readers Poll: Who Is the Most Overrated Artist in Rock History?

The concept of "overrated" and "underrated" has always confused me. There are groups that are critically lauded, yet got little commercial love, like The Band. And then there are groups that were almost universally reviled by critics, like Journey, who consistently managed to sell out shows, sell mi ... More >>

Girl Gone Wild: Madonna's Top 10 Dance/Club Chart-Toppers

For the past two weeks, Madonna's latest single, "Girl Gone Wild," has been sitting pretty at the top of Billboard's Hot Dance/Club Play chart. That's the chart that tabulates which songs are getting the most spins in discos and dance clubs. It's a cool, upbeat track about losing control of your de ... More >>

Nicky Hopkins: Classic Rock's Go-To Piano Man

...and on piano... Nicky Hopkins: The Extraordinary Life of Rock's Greatest Session Man By Julian Dawson Though his name is known mostly to classic-rock liner note readers, even the casual fan has heard his piano work: The wistful opening of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful," the pumping keys on ... More >>