Atlantic Recording Corporation

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 >>

10 Doug Sahm/Sir Douglas Quintet Albums You Need to Own

Tonight at the Continental Club, Austin's Freddie Steady 5 will head up a tribute to the late Doug Sahm focusing on Sahm's 2000 album The Return of Wayne Douglas, which he recorded only a few months before dying of a heart attack in November 1999. La Porte native Freddie Krc, leader of the 5, has ju ... More >>

Squeezing the Lemon: Led Zeppelin & the 10 Most Shocking Rock and Roll Reunions

Five years ago this week, Led Zeppelin fans young and old squeezed their pants full of lemon juice when the band's three surviving golden gods -- Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones - announced that they'd be reuniting for a one-off concert in London. John Bonham's son Jason would man the s ... More >>

Happy Birthday to Archie Bell, Houston's Multi-Hit Wonder

Sixty-eight must be a pretty significant number to Archie Bell these days. Not only was 1968 the year that "Tighten Up" -- his million-selling single with Archie Bell and the Drells -- was released, but the man himself turns 68 years old tomorrow. A seminal piece of endlessly danceable proto-funk, ... More >>

Garland Jeffreys, The Contortionist

Friend of the Boss, reflects on his well-lived rock-and-roll life.

Going The Distance: The Hot 100's 10 Longest-Charting Songs

Let us hop in our time machine and head back to a magical place in the past known as Dec. 23, 2010. Here is a snapshot of things going on at the time: Rocks Off was making wishes for the year 2011; Kanye West was knee deep in Album of the Year wins for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy; Eddie Vedder ... More >>

Melvins + Scion = ???

Are corporate-sponsored free records a good move?

Texas MC Snow Tha Product Signs With Atlantic Records

"You mean to tell me that you think I don't know that I ain't black? Or that I don't know that usually Latin girls ain't really been all up in rap? I didn't know that my color or gender could be the preventer of getting on tracks See the last time that I checked they play hip-hop in the hood And ... More >>

Lucero: Memphis Band Loves Horns, Texas "Knuckleheads"

It's always reassuring to know that some things never change - like Houston concert audiences' loutish reputation. "Houston is notorious for its knuckleheads," says Lucero lead guitarist Brian Venable, who doesn't seem to hold a grudge. If there were any doubt that the Memphis alt.country rockers ... More >>

Bummer, Dude: The 10 Big Musical Disappointments of 2011

Photo by Marc BrubakerThis guy's crazy rant at Fun Fun Fun Fest made the list.​All things considered, 2011 was a pretty bitchin' year for popular music. It wasn't all high-fives and Grammies for our musical heroes, however. More than few steaming flops, blown gigs and sour notes made the yea ... More >>

Hey, Baby, Que Pasó

Texas Tornado Augie Meyers, king of the Tex-Mex Vox organ, can tell some stories.

Christina Perri

Top 10 Louisiana Bands Of All Time

​Pardon the geographical pun, but besides Texas, our neighbor to the east may be the most musical state in these United States. And in terms of per capita, Louisiana, which ranks 25th in population to Texas' second, is probably second to none. Outside Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, the program m ... More >>

Terry Reid, Nearly Led Zeppelin's Singer, Resurfaces At Leon's

​Who Dat? When Jimmy Page began to put together his New Yardbirds, he scoured the British scene looking for the right vocalist. Eventually, Page offered the job in his new band -- now called Led Zeppelin -- to Terry Reid. Reid, who quit school at 15 and had played at the Royal Albert Hall b ... More >>

Lupe Fiasco: Four Ways He Will Write A Song About You

​Balls-deep in that miry slough of disappointment that seems to befall every major artist who wants to change the world, Lupe Fiasco has been in a controlled rage lately. That can only mean one thing: His next album will boast songs about anyone who so much as snickers at him. But poking the ... More >>

Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience

Top Five Teen-Idol Rehab Alumni

​Checking into rehab is no laughing matter. That said, we at Rocks Off often find inspiration in even the darkest of corners. So when it was announced, much to our surprise, that Dallas-born teen pop starlet Demi Lovato had checked into rehab an inpatient treatment center, we pondered celebri ... More >>

Sophia Fresh Work For T-Pain, Stay True To DJ Screw

Photos courtesy of Atlantic Records​Crystal, Skye and Cole Rose, collectively known as Sophia Fresh, may be one hit away from national fame, but they're unwavering in their loyalty to the Bayou City. Case in point: Sophia Fresh recently unleashed a remix of the DJ Screw classic "June 27" in ho ... More >>

Up on His Hustle

How Lucky Luciano went from pimping strippers to stacking six figures.

Listology: Blues In Hi-Fi DJ Clint Broussard's Favorite R&B 45s

​ Clint Broussard is a local boy who was born with the music of the Gulf Coast in his chromosomes. Broussard works as a bartender at Ginger Man, a clerk at Cactus Records and volunteer disc jockey with a great old-time R&B radio show on Rice University station KTRU. Rocks Off asked Broussard, ... More >>

Classic Rock Corner: Blues/Soul/R&B In Memoriam 2008

Ah, that nasty Grim Reaper took a lot of great musicians this year, and his scythe cut a wide swath across all genres, including many heavyweights in the blues and R&B world. The greatest loss comes in the form of someone who was a man, a song, and a beat all in one... Bo Diddley, singer-songw ... More >>

Classic Rock Corner: The Greatest Band Logos of All Time, Part 2

An early example of rock art... We're back to reveal the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the cappo di tutti cappi of classic-rock band logos evah! And when we say "greatest," we look for a combination of things including memorability, longevity, graphic design, influence and appearances. ... More >>

Tonight: Scott Miller and Mike McClure at McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Scott Miller, "Drunk All Around This Town" Long ago, Scott Miller had a brief essay on his website about playing writers-in-the-round gigs. In his eyes, such shows come down to you, the one good, talented, brilliant songwriter sitting there silently wishing these other hacks would finish ... More >>

Thom Bell and the Sound of Brotherly Love

While the ubiquitous songs of Detroit's Motown get anthologized and commercialized ad infinitum, and the critics salivate over the gritty southern soul of Memphis' Stax, the third great movement/label of '60s and '70s soul has always gotten short shrift. Until now, that is, with the release of the ... More >>

Buckcherry's Sweet Success

Drinking and drugging with crazy bitches sounds like more fun than the law will allow, but playing in a red-hot rock band is not always an all-you-can eat orgy. "I think people realize there's a lot more to this band than just fucking and partying," says Buckcherry guitarist Keith Nelson. That r ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Tell the Truth Until They Bleed: Coming Clean in the Dirty World of Blues and Rock 'n' Roll by Josh Alan Friedman

Coda

The TSU Toronadoes

The twisted history of "Tighten Up"

Little Brother

Bettye LaVette, The Scene of the Crime

www.bettyelavette.com

Houston's Very Best Songs Ever

...otherwise known as the H-Town 20

Drenched In Blog: Just Can’t Quit You Baby

Beat the Crowd

Borrowed Stories

Ruthie Foster on love and politics

Don't Fear the Reaper

The annual return of the Greil Marcus Rock Death Meter

Shadows Fall

Wednesday, August 2, at the Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-225-1717

Love, War and Leia

The circuitous path of UK balladeer heartthrob James Blunt

Prima Donnas

The femme fatale quartet's "straight-up cock rock" is pure Gold

Somebody's Gonna Feel This

Kid Rock leaves our scribe waiting and worried by the phone

Playbill

The Melvins

Leary of Home

The forgotten treasure found at King's X

Da Bombing

The postering of West Gray

Rotation

Jazzed Up

Static

Static

Grunge Schmunge

The Melvins don't give a damn, and so should you

Blowed Up Real Good

Hootie gets big while keeping its eyes on the small stuff

Pop Moment

New Blues

Alternative rock robs pop's cradle