Chrissie Hynde

The Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Imagine Dragons, fun., etc.

Imagine Dragons House of Blues, February 12 You've seen the name all over, from Blog A to Blog B, and the haircuts should look mighty familiar. This Las Vegas act has a sound in the same vein as Passion Pit and AWOLNATION, two acts with a veritable stranglehold on the rock dollar these days. Their ... More >>

Janis Joplin at 70: What Might Have Been?

Janis Joplin would have been 70 years old on Saturday, which means it's been more than 40 years since she died. But even today Joplin's name is practically a household word, thanks to one of the most powerful, emotional, expressive voices in rock history. Of course Joplin was one of the original '6 ... More >>

Hey Ladies! The 10 Most She-Tastic Artists of All Time

Have you ever noticed this: Men and women have different musical tastes. At times, they do. Why? Because men and women have different interests, for the most part. Think about it, boys: while you may want to play some Metallica, your girlfriend (or mom) may want listen to Sheryl Crow or Madonna. A ... More >>

Top 5 Acts to Catch at Pride Weekend

See many more events this weekend in the Houston Press' 2012 Pride Guide. This Saturday, the streets around Westheimer and Montrose will be swamped with people for the 34th annual Houston LGBT Pride Celebration, one of the oldest and largest events of its kind in the South. Started to commemorate t ... More >>

Tears In Heaven: The 10 Best Songs To Come Out Of Tragedy

Since the dawn of time, great art has been birthed out of great tragedy, happening numerous times with playwrights, artists, and musicians. In many ways, expressing grief through music serves as a healing agent that gets the artist through tough things such as the loss of a loved one. It also helps ... More >>

Joan Jett's Bad Reputation Gets Her Booked

Bad Reputation: The Unauthorized Biography of Joan Jett By Dave Thompson Backbeat Books, 300 pp., $19.99. From her days as a Runaway (the band, not the teen social problem), to massive MTV stardom, to leaner years and her elevation as a godmother of riot grrls/girls who rock, Joan Jett's career ha ... More >>

Ten Musicians Who Played Other People on TV

Sebastian Bach on Gilmore Girls​Fictional television shows are full of gimmickry. Some of it is good and some of falls flat. Others are subtle in-jokes. However, it can be interesting when a popular artist appears on a television show because it gives the audience a glimpse into another side o ... More >>

Looking Back at A Very Special Christmas Track by Track

In the late 1980's, music empresario Jimmy Iovine cobbled together quite a collection of pop and rock artists to record songs for a Christmas album benefitting the Special Olympics. In 1987, A Very Special Christmas was released and rapidly became an instant holiday classic thanks to the star powere ... More >>

Punk Rock's 10 Most Potent Women

David EnsmingerExene Cervenka at Cactus Music​Women are the resilient backbone of punk, providing creative DNA for the movement since the "zero hour," including Houston's own MyDolls and members of AK-47 and Bevatron, among others. Up 'n' comers like Vivian Pikkles keep the faith as Zipperneck ... More >>

Slutwave: Pop Phenomenon Or Feminist Scourge?

"Every generation needs a new revolution." - Thomas Jefferson Marc BrubakerKe(Dollar Sign)ha at House of Blues, July 2010​As one of the few women on the Rocks Off writing team, we were fervently proud to take an introspective stab at the new, curiously named micro-genre that 2010 bestowed upo ... More >>

Apathy For The Devil: Adrift In The Snowblind '70s

​Apathy for the Devil: A 70s Memoir By Nick Kent Da Capo Press, 416 pp., $17.95. While Cameron Crowe's wonderful but fictional Almost Famous told a sanitized story of music-journalist-meets-bands in the '70s, Former New Musical Express writer Nick Kent's memoir is a warts/coke spoons/social d ... More >>

Last Night: Carrie Underwood At Toyota Center

Photos by Marco Torres​Carrie Underwood Toyota Center October 6, 2010 Carrie Underwood is perfect for Vegas. That's not a knock - mostly. Underwood is wholesome, engaging and dynamic. She's no Tina Turner, but she can strut onstage. Her voice is excellent - good range and control, on key and ... More >>

Cyndi Lauper Vs. Pat Benatar: An '80s Lady Grudge Match

​Honestly, if Rocks Off had been around in the early '80s, we would have been the biggest damned Cyndi Lauper fan in this city. Our second favorite female artist would have been Pat Benatar, because gruff chicks who snap their fingers menacingly at the camera are foxy. Also, Lauper sang about ... More >>

(Allegedly) Kinky ATF Agent Gets In Big Trouble In Big Easy

​What began as a routine investigation of a malfunctioning fire-alarm system at a suburban New Orleans Residence Inn ended with police discovering a scene worthy of Quentin Tarantino and Dennis Hopper at their most depraved and the arrest of 44-year-old Russell Vanderwerf, a Houston-based agen ... More >>

No Exit

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

Otep

Flashback: The Pretenders at House of Blues

Photo by Daniel Kramer Still high-kickin' in her "Boots of Chinese Plastic" as she approaches 60 years old, Chrissie Hynde and her hired guns known as the Pretenders - including Plexiglas-shielded original drummer Martin Chambers - thrilled a sold-out House of Blues crowd Saturday night with ... More >>

Pretenders: Break Up the Concrete

Album of the Week: Pretenders, Break Up the Concrete

Pretenders Break Up the Concrete www.thepretenders.com Old punk rockers - or, in this case, post-punks - never die, they just go country. On the Pretenders' first album since 2002's barely-registering Loose Screw, Chrissie Hynde confronts middle age by revisiting the musical styles of the mid-2 ... More >>

The Best Christmas Album of 2008 is... Metal?

Election Eve With Fred

Mick Jagger meets Gilley's

Some Girls Ride Bulls

Tonight: Heartless Bastards at Last Concert Cafe

Aftermath: Drive-By Truckers at Meridian

The Black Keys Doggy-Paddle from Akron to Stardom

Rubber City Roots

The Blog of Lists: 25 Vegan Musicians

Kings of Leon

With a No. 1 album in the UK, the Kings of Leon are all but exiled from Main Street, USA

Exene Cervenka & the Original Sinners

Friday, April 7, at the Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-629-3700

Sisters Are Punking It for Themselves

Mel Hell and Alice Sin lead the charge of the misfit boy-toys

The Voodoo Chile's Slight Return

Greg Ashley resurrects the Mirrors for a summer tour; also: beware of Zipperneck

Rust Belt Blues

The Black Keys bounce their Rubber Factory out of Akron, Ohio

Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza

Here are a bunch of hilarious misheard lyrics. Now send us more.

Hang the Airwaves

Danseparc, Substance and Stereo Bar reinvent the steel wheels

Higher Ground

The Blind Boys of Alabama can bring church to the people if not the people to church

Rocket Redux

Cleveland legends come roaring full-throttle out of the tombs

Albert and Gage

At Anderson Fair (Moonhouse)

Seven Come Eleven

After crapping out with Arista, Patrice Pike hits the creative jackpot with the Blackbox Rebellion

Jenny Toomey

Friday, November 2

Be Cool

Elmore Leonard finds fodder for fiction in the Stone Coyotes, a real-life rock and roll band

The Devil & Mr. Riordan

For author Rick Riordan, "research" was riding along with cops and drinking

Rotation

New Releases Reviewed

Rotation

Same Old Crue

Ready to Ride

Alice's Tin Pony breaks from the gate with Hate Book

Hip and Hawaiian

Good Girl, Bad Girl

Same Old Sir

Rotation

Molly's Resolution

Houston's matron of mean wants to settle down a bit in '96