Blondie (Band)

Rotation

All That Jazz

Robert Altman finds his way home to Kansas City

Static

Robert Altman finds his way home to Kansas City

Rotation

Robert Altman finds his way home to Kansas City

Simple Case

Robert Altman finds his way home to Kansas City

Rotation

Robert Altman finds his way home to Kansas City

Rotation

Robert Altman finds his way home to Kansas City

Rotation

Robert Altman finds his way home to Kansas City

The Judy's Come Back

Just in time for SXSW, the Pearland New Wavers brush off the mothballs

No Doubt

Just in time for SXSW, the Pearland New Wavers brush off the mothballs

Frozen Fast Food Frenzy

I, for one, welcome our new McFlurry overlords.It's hot as balls in Houston. You can do your best to hurry from air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned movie theater / bar / restaurant / etc., but at some point you're going to be forced to spend more than 30 seconds out ... More >>

Single-Album Sets We'd Like to See, Part 2: Blondie, Green Day, U2 and More

There are so many artists coming to Houston this summer and fall who should pick up on the "classic album" trend Rocks Off could hardly stop at just five. See our picks for Nos. 6-10 here. 5. Blondie (Arena Theater, August 23) Album: Eat to the Beat (Chrysalis, 1979) After 1978's Giorgio Moroder-ass ... More >>

Five Ways to Improve 107.5 the Eagle

Paging the Purple One... the Eagle Needs You!For Houston music commentators, picking on the sorry state of the city's commercial airwaves is even more fun than sportswriters must have making fun of the Astros. But on the rare occasion a new format does come along - even if it's hardly "new" - it sti ... More >>

Peter Case benefit

Paging the Purple One... the Eagle Needs You!For Houston music commentators, picking on the sorry state of the city's commercial airwaves is even more fun than sportswriters must have making fun of the Astros. But on the rare occasion a new format does come along - even if it's hardly "new" - it sti ... More >>

Are You Ready for That Great Atomic Power? Songs That Go Nuclear

This past week marks the 64th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S., on August 6 and 9, respectively, bringing an end to World War II. The subsequent decades have brought us a Cold War, explosive proliferation, and largely fruitless attempts to ... More >>

No Exit

Blondie casts a wide net indeed on the band's Last.fm station.

Aftermath: Blondie, Graceful and Casual at the Arena Theatre

Photos by Daniel Kramer​ Even at today's prices, dreaming is free. That's why an evening with Blondie is such a bargain. Sandwiched between the Donnas (who sounded tight and sassy from the will call line) and Pat Benatar (still "Invincible"), Debbie Harry's crew navigated the Arena's revolving sta ... More >>

Comrade Ambassadors

Mumiy Troll, the biggest rock band in Russia, hopes for a belated U.S. breakthrough.

Westheimer Block Party Listology: Bright Men of Learning Remember Their Parents' Favorite Music

All this week, Rocks Off is previewing Saturday and Sunday's Westheimer Block Party by asking WBP performers to fill out a list from Lisa Nola's Music Listography book we're so fond of. It's not too late for your band to be up here, either; just email chris.gray@houstonpress.com by noon Thursday if ... More >>

Aftermath: Metric's New Wave Coming-Out Party at Warehouse Live

[Ed note: Yes, we stayed for the entire show this time, but then... oh, never mind.] Photos by Marc Brubaker​ When Aftermath first walked into Warehouse Live Monday night, we figured there must be some sort of secret Canada-to-Houston information pipeline we'd never heard about. We didn't think To ... More >>

Beer, Pizza and Monster Truck Racing at Spaghetti Western

​We were on North Shepherd last week and stopped into the Spaghetti Western Italian Cafe to start off my day. We began with a house-made bellini -- vodka and peach schnapps is a great way to get things going. We spotted the Italian nachos -- fried wonton chips covered with alfredo sauce, mozza ... More >>

2009 Concert Rewind, August: Weezy, Blondie, Depeche Mode, JoBros, Katy Perry, Mos Def, De La Soul, Blue October, Green Day and an Audience With King George

Shea Serrano​ Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, House of Blues, August 1: "[Cudi has] tapped John Goldstein, Kanye's famed stage light guy, to help him create an actual feel to his show. Hipster rappers get derided a lot as not being "real rappers," but they put on a hell of a show. The crowd is already his." ... More >>

He Said She Said: Our Musical Resolutions for 2010

​It's barely a week into 2010, and we still find ourselves writing 2009 on invoices and checks. We can't seem to shake that last quasi-awful year out of our heads. It seemed like one of the most interminable years we had ever had the bittersweet pleasure to find ourselves mired in. Little wonder t ... More >>

Songs We Play When We Play With Guns

​After almost 27 years, Craig's Hlist has found himself immersed in gun culture. It's not so much a masculine phallic thing (believe us, we have questioned it), as much as it is a family bonding experience. It's easier to go to a gun range with our family out in Pearland on a Sunday afternoon than ... More >>

The AIDS-Spreading German Popstar And Four Other Horrifying Rock Legends

​Hanging out backstage with Ronan Harris of VNV Nation last Sunday, his synth-excellency imparted a tale that Rocks Off hoped to the gods was not true, and led us down the path of myth and rumor to bring you a list of five of the most horrifying legends in pop-music lore. The tale Ronan told is th ... More >>

4 Summer-Movie Soundtracks We Already Hate

​Last week, we told you of some upcoming summer-movie soundtracks that look like they're going to be fantastic. If positivity is your thing, go read that article. This one is going to be all about the upcoming soundtracks that make us wince so hard it feels like someone's chopping our balls with a ... More >>

Ten French Lyrics Google-Translated For Bastille Day

​Here at Rocks Off, we loves us some French culture. French toast, French horns, French breakfast, The French Connection, French ticklers... wait, never mind. We even took a whole semester in college once. Seriously, though, we are big fans of Bizet, Berlioz, Debussy, Edith Piaf, Air, Justice ... More >>

Million Miles Away

Plimsouls rocker Peter Case bounces back from heart ­surgery.

Mullets & More: 17 Signature Musical Hairstyles

​If you have hair, Craig's Hlist hates you. Not in a "you shot my whole family" or "you are the serial killer who dissolved my sibling in a vat of acid" way, more in a "you got the last sausage and cheese kolaches at the office" way. Our hair loss began sometime in high school, when we were ... More >>

Famous Juggalos Throughout Music History

Photo illustrations by Monica FuentesBig Money Hustla, My World 2.0​This weekend Rocks Off and photographer Marc Brubaker head once more into the Juggalo breach, to bathe in Faygo at the Insane Clown Posse concert Saturday night at Warehouse Live. It's somewhat become our beat, what with las ... More >>

This Week in Deliciousness

When we first heard of oxtails, we were like "Oxtails?" Then we actually tried some, and now we're like "OMG OXTAILS!!!"​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where our enemies are chopped up and fed to their relatives. It's a succulent dish we like to call "Long Pork An ... More >>

Last Night: Of Montreal And Janelle Monae At Numbers

Photos by Marco Torres​Of Montreal, Janelle Monae Numbers November 4, 2010 At ACL we lamented that The Flaming Lips performances have evolved to be less about the music and more about the floor show. You know what you're getting when you pay for a Lips concert ticket - Wayne Coyne will get in ... More >>

Stars

Photos by Marco Torres​Of Montreal, Janelle Monae Numbers November 4, 2010 At ACL we lamented that The Flaming Lips performances have evolved to be less about the music and more about the floor show. You know what you're getting when you pay for a Lips concert ticket - Wayne Coyne will get in ... More >>

SXSW Last Night: Queens Of The Stone Age At La Zona Rosa

Craig Hlavaty​Rolling Stone magazine surely knows how to throw a showcase, bringing forth Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis, Mini Mansions, and Black Angels to open for a reinvigorated Queens Of The Stone Age on Wednesday night. Every band on the bill coalesced with each other beautifully and succinctl ... More >>

Born This Way: The Ultimate Soundalike Playlist

​When Lady Gaga released her new single, "Born This Way," in February, it took less than a minute of the title track from her upcoming disc for fans and detractors alike to scream "Express Yourself!" in unison. Yes, it does sound like an amped-up version of the 1989 Madonna track. A lot. Thi ... More >>

Summer Fest Saturday: A Sizzler With Beirut, Big Boi, Black Joe, Fucked Up, Sharon Jones, Ween & More

Ed. Note: We're not done yet... Chris GrayRusted Shut​Chris Gray: I think the quickest way to sum up Summer Fest, environmentally, is in fact biologically: In eight hours at the festival Saturday, hydrating continuously with mostly water, I made my own water once, shortly before Beirut. Sunda ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "George Gittoes: Witness to War" "Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang" "Musicians Who Make Art" "Nathan Green: Fill the Sky" "Perspectives 174: Re: Generation" "Voodoo Pop: Mary Hayslip and Trey Speegle"

Ed. Note: We're not done yet... Chris GrayRusted Shut​Chris Gray: I think the quickest way to sum up Summer Fest, environmentally, is in fact biologically: In eight hours at the festival Saturday, hydrating continuously with mostly water, I made my own water once, shortly before Beirut. Sunda ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "Evergreen: Original Contemporary Prints" "George Gittoes: Witness to War" "Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang" "Just Press Print!" "Musicians Who Make Art" "Voodoo Pop: Mary Hayslip and Trey Speegle"

Ed. Note: We're not done yet... Chris GrayRusted Shut​Chris Gray: I think the quickest way to sum up Summer Fest, environmentally, is in fact biologically: In eight hours at the festival Saturday, hydrating continuously with mostly water, I made my own water once, shortly before Beirut. Sunda ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "The Clearing — Joey Fauerso," "Evergreen: Original Contemporary Prints," "Exurb: Input/Output," "George Gittoes: Witness to War," "Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang," "Jenny Schlief Stock Photography: From the Woman Series"

Ed. Note: We're not done yet... Chris GrayRusted Shut​Chris Gray: I think the quickest way to sum up Summer Fest, environmentally, is in fact biologically: In eight hours at the festival Saturday, hydrating continuously with mostly water, I made my own water once, shortly before Beirut. Sunda ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Alternative Songs for the 2012 Candidates

Please god, no.​Poor Michele Bachmann, first the John Wayne/John Wayne Gacy thing, now Tom Petty's piling on as well: The inaugural music-related strike of the 2012 presidential race comes from Tom Petty, who issued a cease and desist letter to Michele Bachmann's campaign to get her to stop ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Songs In The Key Of [Presidential] Fail

Please god, no.​Poor Michele Bachmann, first the John Wayne/John Wayne Gacy thing, now Tom Petty's piling on as well: The inaugural music-related strike of the 2012 presidential race comes from Tom Petty, who issued a cease and desist letter to Michele Bachmann's campaign to get her to stop ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "The Clearing — Joey Fauerso" "Exurb: Input/Output" "George Gittoes: Witness to War" "Jenny Schlief Stock Photography: From the Woman Series" "Mitch Dobrowner: New Work" "Musicians Who Make Art"

Please god, no.​Poor Michele Bachmann, first the John Wayne/John Wayne Gacy thing, now Tom Petty's piling on as well: The inaugural music-related strike of the 2012 presidential race comes from Tom Petty, who issued a cease and desist letter to Michele Bachmann's campaign to get her to stop ... More >>

Iggy Pop, the Bordeaux Connoisseur: The Funniest Food Requests on Riders

ITO EN, you're all that I wanted in a tea.​The next time someone calls you a picky eater, direct them to Weezer's backstage rider for their 2010 tour. Weezer demands that both regular and Canadian bacon be available for breakfast, that there be almond butter but no peanut butter, that there m ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "The Clearing — Joey Fauerso" "Exurb: Input/Output" "George Gittoes: Witness to War" "Jenny Schlief Stock Photography: From the Woman Series" "Liz Hickok: Jiggling Geography" "Mitch Dobrowner: New Work" "Musicians Who Make Ar

ITO EN, you're all that I wanted in a tea.​The next time someone calls you a picky eater, direct them to Weezer's backstage rider for their 2010 tour. Weezer demands that both regular and Canadian bacon be available for breakfast, that there be almond butter but no peanut butter, that there m ... More >>

25 Essential Eponymous Albums

​Eponymous: (of a literary work, film, etc) named after its central character or creator: The Stooges' eponymous debut album. On this day in 1983, a young woman from Michigan who had recently given up on a career as a hard-rock singer released her first album of electronic dance-pop, an album ... More >>

Capsule Stage Reviews: Arline Fisch: Creatures from the Deep, Hardbodies, "Liz Hickok: Jiggling Geography", Lynda Benglis: Glass Masks, Marc Swanson: The Second Story, "Mitch Dobrowner: New Work", "Musicians Who Make Art"

​Eponymous: (of a literary work, film, etc) named after its central character or creator: The Stooges' eponymous debut album. On this day in 1983, a young woman from Michigan who had recently given up on a career as a hard-rock singer released her first album of electronic dance-pop, an album ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "Collections: Annual HSPVA Juried Show", "Dan Kopp: TIMEAWAY" and "Josh Bernstein: Galveston", Hardbodies, Marc Swanson: The Second Story, Mitch Dobrowner: New Work, Musicians Who Make Art

​Eponymous: (of a literary work, film, etc) named after its central character or creator: The Stooges' eponymous debut album. On this day in 1983, a young woman from Michigan who had recently given up on a career as a hard-rock singer released her first album of electronic dance-pop, an album ... More >>

Wild Moccasins: What They Can't Live Without On Tour

Photos by Jason WolterWild Moccasins at BestFest, September 25​Still younger than springtime, the Wild Moccasins are getting to be old hands at this touring thing. (If you missed their set at BestFest - it was way early - you missed something special.) Lately it seems like the sunny Houston fi ... More >>

Last Night: The Sounds at Fitzgerald's

Photos by James Bricker​Aftermath wasn't sure whether the tank top that Maja Ivarsson was wearing last night was meant to be ironic or not. It didn't really matter anyway; when the Swedish, platinum blonde lead singer came to the stage with The Sounds, every red-blooded American in the audienc ... More >>

Friday Night: Tontons, Wild Moccasins, A Sea Es at Fitzgerald's

Photos by Jim BrickerThe Tontons​Check out pics from the Tontons' tour kickoff in our slideshow. Friday night's wonderful assortment of tasty sweet indie pop was just that -- delicious! Now, you're probably wondering if you can you have some cheese with that opening description. Why yes, ... More >>