Billboard.com

Seven Recent Albums By '60s Artists That Don't Suck

Age gets us all eventually. I'm only in my early twenties and already I'm having to do stupid things like eating healthier, quitting the smokes, and watching my blood pressure. So it really shouldn't come as any surprise that musicians start to slow down in their old age, especially if they've been ... More >>

Fans Mourn Popular Mexican-American Banda Singer Jenni Rivera's Death

Fans reacted with a mixture of sadness and disbelief to the news that Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera, "la Diva de la Banda," was apparently killed in a plane crash in Northern Mexico early Sunday. Rivera's brother Gustavo told CNN that his sister was traveling with at least five other people. ... More >>

Jan Hammer and the Top 10 TV Theme Songs of the '80s

Not a lot of television shows win multiple Grammys. Then again, not a lot of television shows ever sounded (or looked) like Miami Vice. The cutting-edge series perfectly captured the pastel zeitgeist of its time when it debuted in 1984, influencing film, fashion, design and music in a way that few T ... More >>

Sign o' the Apocalypse: "Gangnam Style" Hits No. 1 on the Rap Chart

Unless you decided to paint the town in Austin with Iggy Pop and the Chilli Peppers then you know Psy's "Gangnam Style" has pretty much swept the country up by storm much like the "Macarena" in terms of catchiness (and infuriation). Over the weekend, the popular EDM-fueled single did something even ... 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 >>

The Top 10 Weirdest U.S. No. 1 Hits

It's not often that the pop charts will surprise you. After all, the average consumer in most countries doesn't have time to delve too deep into an artist's catalogue. They don't often pick up on songs that will stand the test of time. They like the ephemera record labels tell them is hot right now. ... More >>

Y2J Forever: Fozzy's Chris Jericho Steps Out of the Ring and Onto the Charts

This weekend the last of the big touring festivals rolls into town in the form of the Uproar Festival. The 2012 edition of the tour brings some of the bigger names in hard rock's past (Godsmack, Staind) and present (Shinedown, Adelita's Way) to The Woodlands. Listed among the bands playing on the s ... More >>

Lila Downs

RIP Donna Summer: Disco Queen Dies At 63

Donna Summer, the disco queen whose salacious songs sometimes clashed with her traditional values, has died of cancer at age 63, TMZ is reporting. Boston native Summer, born LaDonna Andre Gaines, sang in her church choir as a teenager before winning five Grammys and becoming one of the top-selling ... More >>

Skits: This Week In Music-Biz WTFery -- Katy Perry, B.o.B., Etc.

The music business fuckery continues. A game so destructive it only benefits the top dogs (and even so, temporarily), while the actual players continue to eat sand out of peanuts. Who's winning? Who's losing? Dig in for this week's music-bidness shenanigans.

The 5 Browns

Songs For A Future Generation: Top 10 B-52's Deep Cuts

The B-52's are the quintessential alternative/New Wave/jam band. They can be both metaphorical and fun at the same time. However, what makes them different from other New Wave bands is that lead singer Fred Schneider provides a unique sprechgesang style to the genre. The band met after having a few ... More >>

10 Things Rock Music Should Do This Year to Regain Former Glory

When I saw School of Rock for the first time, I was struck by just how accurate Jack Black's character was when teaching kids the meaning behind rock music. Telling the one girl with the great voice to listen to "Great Gig in the Sky" or letting his students know that "one great rock show can change ... More >>

12 Music Business Predictions for 2012

Photo by Robert Bejil​Where were we? Oh yeah, crystal ball and prophesies. You ready for this? OK. What follows is a list of events we expect to befall the music industry in 2012. Yes, these are etched in stone and should be regarded as gospel. Full prophetic titillation ahead.

Rap Boom Reload

In 2005, rappers put Houston on the map. Then the spotlight moved on. Some musicians are working hard to turn it back this way.

Top 20 Throwback TV Theme Songs Part 2

Only a big dummy wouldn't have this show on the list.​Yesterday, we hit you up with the best ten TV theme songs that didn't quite make the top of our list. We heard a few quibbles from fellow television aficionados, but their cries of frustration were muffled by the sounds of "The LOOOVVE BOA ... More >>

What's The Leading Cause Of Poor Record Sales?

​Last week, the music world laughed up a hiccup as Lil Wayne pranced around the VMA stage in nut-suffocating, Le Tigre-inspired jeggings. While that performance affirmed that Wayne is no fashion guru, his chart performance a week later reminded us that he's very good at something else-selling ... More >>

George Strait's Top 20 Songs Of All Time: Nos. 15-11

​Today's installment of our 20 favorite George Strait songs, which we began Wednesday, comes with word that Billboard is projecting his brand-new Here For a Good Time to debut on top of next week's Billboard 200. It will take some work, but he could just knock off Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV. Wi ... More >>

Five '60s Soul Stars Jay-Z & Kanye West Should Hit Next

thelocal478.comWelcome back to Billboard, Otis.​Say what you will about Watch the Throne - and people, including several members of Team Rocks Off, have said a lot - but it's all anyone in music seems to be talking about these days. Which makes sense; it's not every day that two megastars (the ... More >>

Pop Rocks on Sting: "Rock Stars...Is There Anything They Don't Know?"

You rotten flexible bastard.​ Sting. He's the artist we love to hate: Sting, everyone's favorite somnambulant acoustic pop star, has developed a somewhat checkered experience in Central Asia. In 2009, Gulnara Karimova--herself a fledgling pop singer under the name GooGooSha and daughter of ... More >>

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap: Music Fans Love Their A-Holes

You rotten flexible bastard.​Sting. He's the artist we love to hate. From The Atlantic: Sting, everyone's favorite somnambulant acoustic pop star, has developed a somewhat checkered experience in Central Asia. In 2009, Gulnara Karimova - herself a fledgling pop singer under the name GooGooSha ... More >>

Prince Royce

Soul City: The Amazing Jazz Crusaders

Black History Month is always a great time to recall some of Houston's greatest musical innovators and leaders. Rocks Off will highlight some of them during the remainder of February. "Hey, let's get back to that down-and-dirty old-school chicken-shack sound" mosaicrecords.com​While Houston ... More >>

Surrender Dorothy: Five Better Dark Side Of The Moon Films

​Tonight at Miller Outdoor Theatre, a group of musicians will play Pink Floyd's legendary album Dark Side of the Moon live, in its entirety, with each and every instrument that was used to record it back in 1972-'73. With 45 million copies sold, Dark Side is still the third best-selling album ... More >>

Saturday Night: Michael Franti & Spearhead At House Of Blues

Photos by Jason Wolter​Michael Franti & Spearhead House of Blues October 2, 2010 Check out photos from the show. Hands are in the air immediately with the stupidly fun show opener "Love Don't Wait," as Michael Franti and his Spearhead instrumentalists file out onstage. Franti is a big dude, ... More >>

Bronzing the Garbage: Good Reviews of This Decade's Worst Albums

​You've no doubt surmised this from previous articles, but poking around Metacritic is one of Rocks Off's favorite ways to kill time. Recently, we had a look at their list of all-time lowest scores, and were surprised. We like to call music critics assholes, but we use the term "asshole" in a pret ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Concluding Our African-American Country Series With O.B. McClinton

One other Charley Pride contemporary who cut a wide swath through country music in the '70s and '80s was Mississippian O. B. McClinton.. After failing to break into R&B, although several of his songs were cut by other artists, McClinton hit the Billboard country charts twice in 1972 with "Six Pack ... More >>

Aventura

Lucky Luciano: Boss of Houston's Latino Rap Family

​ Deep underground; way below the mainstream music land of Top 40 Billboard Charts and MTV countdowns thrives another existence entirely, made up of independent, Houston Latino hip-hop artists who didn't get the memo. You know the one. It reads: "All aspiring artists must plead big record compani ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: The Rockabilly Country Soul of Big Al Downing

Maybe the most successful African-American country artist of the post-Charley Pride period was Big Al Downing. Talk about a guy who could blur the line between country and soul. An affable Oklahoman, Downing had a huge baritone voice that could melt hearts. Downing's career began in rockabilly. Aft ... More >>

Remembering Fever Tree's Don Lampton

Besides Michael, Farrah, Ed McMahon and Sky Saxon of the Seeds, last week's bumper crop for the Grim Reaper also claimed Don Lampton, a founding member of '60s local psych-rock band Fever Tree. Lampton, 61, played keyboards and rhythm guitar for the Bostwick Vines, which became Fever Tree after husb ... More >>

ZZ Top, Aerosmith Hit Woodlands July 17

Mark C. AustinMonday morning, word came down from Aerosmith and ZZ Top's respective camps, via Billboard, that the two boogie-rocking bands are teaming up for a massive world tour. After some digging, Rocks Off found out the tour makes its Houston-area stop Friday, July 17, at the Cynthia Wood ... More >>

Overnight Express: Simply Red Does Bobby "Blue" Bland

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

‘90s hip-hoppers return to tha stage

The 5 Browns

The SPA hosts a homecoming for the Juilliard quintet

Pro Athlete Musicians

Athletes step off the field and into the studio

One Small Step for Billboard, One Giant Debut for the Eagles

Hanson

Sean Kingston, Lil Scrappy, Slim Thug, Paul Wall

Paul Wall Update

The Crüxshadows

The Crüxshadows perform Thursday, January 11, at Numbers, 300 Westheimer, 713-629-3700.

Brian Keane, Wayne Sutton and Rachel Loy

Friday, February 10, Dan Electro's Guitar Bar, 1031 East 24th Street, 713-862-8707.

Can't Touch the MMMBop

A new boxed set excavates the '90s

The Neptunes

Clones (Star Trak/Arista)

Up Close and Personal

Jamaican dancehall stars bring back the lovers' rock

De La Soul

Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (Tommy Boy)

Six Strings Under

Unlike many of his rock guitar god peers, Joe Satriani has yet to flee to audiences overseas

Static

Dave's World

Bill-bored

At least Tom Jones left the mesh shirt at home