Cee Lo Green

Rocks Off's Rodeo Concert Guide for "Bros":
Bruno Mars

The Rocks Off Rodeo Concert Guide is our annual helpful(?) primer for those of you unsure about your HLSR music choices for the big event at Reliant Stadium.Date: March 7 Name: Bruno Mars AKA: "Not that Bruno."

T.I. Unveils Trouble Man at Houston's Wire Road Studios

T.I. is no Marvin Gaye. Or is he? Both men were blessed with supreme talent as musicians and songwriters. Both men exhibit an overflowing charisma and a flair for the dramatic. Both men chose acting as a supplementary alternative expression of their talents. Both men were also cursed with an unfor ... More >>

Hall & Oates

Love And Madness: The Top 5 Songs Named "Crazy"

Starting in 1992, October 10 has been known as World Mental Health Day. Started by the folks at the World Federation For Mental Health, it's a day that helps promote awareness and education of depression and other mental health illnesses. It's one of those "days" that isn't nearly as big as those t ... More >>

Why Is Cee Lo Green's "Blitzkrieg Bop" Cover Not a National Emergency?

The United States has a lot on its plate these days. Things like the looming presidential election, whatever the hell is going on in the Middle East at the time of this writing, and just a general feeling of panic, paranoia and resigned fear. Rewind: Say No to Cee Lo: 5 Musicians Who Should Get Sit ... More >>

Say No to Cee Lo: 5 Musicians Who Should Get Sitcoms Instead

This past week, it was announced that Cee Lo Green and NBC are working together to develop a new autobiographical sitcom based on and starring the soul singer. This is, of course, a terrible idea. Sure, Cee Lo is a great singer and he's done some acting, but would his life really make a great sitcom ... More >>

The Creepy and Bizarre World of Kidz Bop Videos

It's hard to talk about Kidz Bop. Sure, it's easy to make fun of the series of albums' watered-down version of modern pop, but it also feels like going after low-hanging fruit. That doesn't mean that the music isn't awful, because it is, but one could argue Kidz Bop provides a necessary service. Mu ... More >>

R U On the List Tour

Top 5 Ringtones For People You Want to Avoid

Sometimes we just don't want to hear from certain people. Unfortunately we pick up the phone and see who is calling, and it just puts a damper on our day. Why can't we have some better warning to not pick up the phone? We all have that creepy ex who calls or texts wanting to hang out, or that one- ... More >>

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 >>

8 Cool & Cheap Things To Do This Weekend

Scoremore presents a release party for up-and-coming local rapper Doughbeezy for his new CD Blue Magic at Warehouse Live tonight ($15). The album features Dough's collaboration with Killa Kyleon, "F*ck You," which should not be mistaken for the Cee-Lo song of the same partially censored name. Watch ... More >>

Pulling A Cee-Lo: 11 More Contemporary Artists Who Need Their Own Vegas Residency

​Cee-Lo Green raised eyebrows a couple of weeks ago when he announced that he was settling down -- in Las Vegas. The Grammy-winning "Fuck You" singer says that his new semi-permanent show, "Loberace," will launch Aug. 29 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Vegas Strip and run at least throu ... More >>

Top 5 Musical NBA Players

The NBA All-Star Game is coming up in a couple of weeks. There may not be any Rockets on the roster - even ex-Rocket/Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin didn't blow up in time to be added as a reserve - but musical names such as Kanye West, Rihanna (the halftime entertainment), Lenny Kravitz, Josh Groban, ... More >>

We Tell You Who Will Win Grammys So You Don't Have To Watch Them

SPOILER ALERT​The best thing about the annual Grammy nominations and awards shows is the clamor of anger that rises up when the mere mention of the event even comes up. Immediately people begin calling it a travesty, trotting out all the people who have been snubbed -- Jethro Tull beats Metall ... More >>

Jack Donaghy: Executive Superhero and Web Exclusive's General Lack of Appeal

NBC recently debuted an animated Web tie-in series for 30 Rock called either The Jack Donaghy Files or Jack Donaghy: Executive Superhero. The titles appear to be interchangeable, which really highlights the level of commitment and confidence the network has in the production. The three-minute segm ... More >>

Super Bowl XLVI: M.I.A.'s Bird Is The Word

On its best day, you can say the musical portion of the Super Bowl ranks somewhere below the fifth time you see the latest Go Daddy commercial and somewhere above that pre-game segment featuring an offensive lineman and his mother. I mean, who really looks forward to a halftime show, post Nipplegate ... More >>

Five Prop Bets For Music Lovers This Super Sunday

Photo by Allison Wagoner​It's time to be honest with each other for a moment: some people out there don't care about the Super Bowl. They may not care about sports at all. In fact, they might hate sports completely. Listen close and you can hear them roll their eyes at yet another blog post a ... More >>

Rap Round Table: If You Could Only Listen To One Musician For All Of Time, Who Would It Be?

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: Killa Kyleon, Zavey, kyle Hubbard, Brad Gilmore, Mac, Doughbeezy, A.D.D., Medicine Girl, more. Not Invited: The guy at our sons' ... More >>

Nurses: "Fever Dream" is a Minor Madness

​Here we go with the latest bit of musical and cinematic awesomeness from our buddy Mick Cullen over at Subterranean Radio. When he says, "You've got to see this video" then we know that we'll be discovering something amazing. This is Nurses and the official video for their song "Fever Dream. ... More >>

Five Curiosities from the Grammy Nominations List

The Grammy nominations were officially presented last night. Not surprisingly, Adele, who is considered a front runner in nearly every category she is nominated in, cleaned up with six nominations for her album 21, but was beaten out by Kanye West who had seven, though curiously not among them a nod ... More >>

Ask A Rapper: Scooby on Officially Being a Solo Artist (But Also Still Part of a Group)

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? Email introducingliston@gmail.com ... More >>

30 Seconds With Astronautalis

Rocks Off hitched a ride on a space whale in order to hook up with Andy Bothwell, also known as Astronautalis to see what we could learn about our biggest hope for rap in 30 seconds. paperocean​Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Astronautalis: "Love in an Elevator" by Aerosmith. ... More >>

Eight Shows MTV, VH1 & BET Should Bring Back

We live in a time where crappy reality television has taken over three of the networks that were once originally dedicated to music videos, artist interviews and delivering current events from the younger generation's perspective. With all the flack that MTV (Music Television) gets about not really ... More >>

Broke Down: A Playlist From The Middle Of Nowhere

motiontowing.com​There are eight spark plugs in the Eddie Bauer edition of Ford's 2001 Expedition. Eight. And if one of them isn't working properly - if it becomes loose or stripped or a gremlin sneaks under the hood and gobbles it up (a common problem in Fords) - the whole car is pretty much ... More >>

10 Things We're Probably Doing At ACL This Year

villagevoice.comBjork at ACL '07, when part of her staging caught fire.​This is the Rocks Off team's (well, Craig Hlavaty and Chris Gray) fifth year covering the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The first year this smart guy wore black jeans and a black shirt to try to look cool, which made ... More >>

Health Department Roundup

Does passing out on the light rail count as sleeping on the subway?​Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty How can you lose? Well, Petula, one surefire way to lose when you're downtown is by operating a restaurant without the ... More >>

Buddy Holly Raves On Into 21st Century

​Lonesome Onry and Mean's buddy doesn't like the new tribute to Buddy Holly, Rave On, which features a major-league lineup of artists ranging from Sir Paul McCartney, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, and Graham Nash to youngsters like Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Black Keys and the unlikely inclusio ... More >>

Friday Night: The Gourds & Doyle Bramhall Sr. At Miller Outdoor Theatre

Photos courtesy of Miler Outdoor Theatre Advisory BoardDoyle Bramhall Sr.​The Gourds, Doyle Bramhall Sr. Miller Outdoor Theatre July 22, 2011 It was all Texas big beat Friday night as old-school Austin blues-rocker Doyle Bramhall Sr. and those funny, funny Gourds cut a groove in the Miller Ou ... 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 >>

ACL Fest Schedule Released; Your Guide To The "Death Duels"

Stevie Wonder on FacebookStevie Wonder: Even My Morning Jacket will be watching.​This morning, the organizers of the Austin City Limits Music Festival announced the schedule for the September 16-18 Zilker Park throwdown. We all knew there would be some tough choices, but Rocks Off found that w ... More >>

Out Today: New West Strikes Gold On Robert Ellis, Old 97's Discs

​It's a light batch this week as far as new releases go, with the Independence Day holiday cutting into the label's schedules. As it stands now, Rocks Off is holding a jug of coffee in our hands to try to wake up from the food and chill-time coma we embarked on last Friday. We are surely not in th ... More >>

What Was The Biggest Surprise At Sunday's BET Awards?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday (or thereabouts), Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photos illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Bun B, Slim Thug, Killa Cal Wayne, Kiotti, Mac, Yung Chill, C ... More >>

Cee-Lo Green Dropped From Rihanna Tour

Stay classy, Cee-Lo.​Live Nation has just announced that rapper, singer, The Voice judge and Twitter foot-in-mouth expert Cee-Lo Green has dropped off the remainder of RIhanna's "Loud" tour, including the scheduled July 9 date at Toyota Center. According to the quite brief press release, the ... More >>

An Affiliated Soldier Explains What Is And Isn't Gangster

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? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Aff ... More >>

A Dream Austin City Limits Weekend For Houston

Craig HlavatyColdplay at The Woodlands, July 2009​Summer is creeping in, which means the fall concert calendars are filling up fast, and we should know which Austin City Limits Music Festival artists will book side dates in our area sooner rather than later. The standard disclaimer: Rocks Off ... More >>

Beyonce Nude, Still A Texas Gal At Heart

Funny, she seems to have clothes on here...​Rocks Off has been clicking our "This Week In Beyonce" category more and more lately, and we expect to keep doing so as the hype builds surrounding her latest album, 4, which is scheduled to be released June 28 but leaked to the Internet Wednesday. ... More >>

On The Road Again: Bikinis And Bands At The Hangout Festival

Photos by Craig Hlavaty Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, duh.​See the bands and bikinis of the Hangout Festival in our slideshows. Imagine the Austin City Limits Music Festival or even the rapidly approaching Free Press Summer Fest on pure, white sand just feet away from a (variably) blue ocea ... More >>

Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, And Kanye West Lead ACL 2011 Lineup

Marc BrubakerGoin' back to Zilker: Arcade Fire at The Woodlands, May 4​Moments ago, the Austin City Limits Music Festival announced its lineup for the 10th-anniversary weekend, scheduled for Sept. 16-18 in Zilker Park. Top names include Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, Kanye West, and Bright Eyes. P ... More >>

Rise Of Lil B And Odd Future Both A Gift And A Curse

​So you've written the greatest song the world has never heard. You spent a good two-and-half hours on those brain-melting metaphors, and another three laying them on wax. Every bar requires repeated listening to fully digest. Your ad-libs are on point like Chris Paul. The beat knocks harder ... More >>

ACL 2011 Rumors: Ten Bands Who Could Make The Cut

Marco TorresWill ACL close with classic rock again, like with the Eagles last year? Neil Young?​The Austin City Limits Music Festival's big 2011 lineup announcement is imminent, scheduled for May 17, and Rocks Off will surely be on top of the news after it hits. Last year we sat on the compute ... More >>

Shot In The Dark: The Ones Who Got Away (So Far)

UPDATE (3:23 p.m.): Promotional video by Monica Fuentes added after the jump. Jay LeeLittle Joe Washington at the Continental Club's 10th anniversary, July 2010​Slowly but surely, Rocks Off has been getting ready for our "Shot In the Dark" photo exhibition at Warehouse Live's Studio next Thur ... More >>

Friday Night: DJ Scratch at the Drake

Photos by Marco Torres​DJ Scratch and J.Cole The Drake April 1, 2010 Roc Nation descended upon Houston Friday night as Smirnoff presented rapper J.Cole as host of the grown and sexy Final Four weekend edition of Drake Fridays. The fashionable club on Washington Avenue was transformed into eve ... More >>

Ukuleles: Suddenly The Hippest Instrument Going

​Trends in music can be as prevalent - and subsequently fleeting - as they are in fashion. Though the eagerness to join trendy-indie bandwagons can be puzzling, music's most recent instrumental trend, the ukulele, grabbed our attention, especially after SXSW. Among the dozens of SXSW-related ... More >>

Balaclavas, Moccs, Fat Tony Place In Pazz & Jop Poll

Show of hands, everyone who is surprised this is No. 1.​Music writers all know that once they get their Village Voice Pazz & Jop ballot in their e-mail inbox, that it's time to tally their loves from the last year. It's sort of like the leaves changing or the first freeze of winter coming. You ... More >>

Rocks Off's Favorite Songs Of 2010

​Editor's Picks: Jamey Johnson, "Lonely at the Top": Ouch. Merle Haggard, "I've Seen It": Double ouch. Patty Griffin, "Move On Up": Help me, Jesus. Please.

Music's Biggest Surprises Of 2010

Faith Silva​Editor's Pick: The renewed, and continuing, interest of local indie-rockers and hipsters (and people who are a long way from neither) in traditional honky-tonk as played by Robert Ellis & the Boys and as documented by a certain Lonesome Onry and Mean and myself this summer. Encoura ... More >>

Old Familiar Friend

Brendan Benson relaxes after The Raconteurs.

Taylor Swift's Top Nine Future Feuds

​Still the No. 1 album in the country, Taylor Swift's Speak Now is awash in lyrics bashing her former flames, friends, lovers and Kanye West. The pop-country singer knows how to turn a bitter phrase, and we can only hope that she keeps getting better and better at it. She's not yet 21, but S ... More >>

Capital Steps

Dispatches from ACL 2010