Conan O'Brien

Five Bands Who Could Replace The Roots On Late Night

This past Sunday, NBC announced that Seth Meyers will officially take over as the host of Late Night, when Jimmy Fallon succeeds Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show in early 2014. But with Meyers set to inherit a show with a tradition of turning talk-show hosts into late-night greats (David Letterm ... More >>

Fitz & The Tantrums: Don't Call Them "Retro"

Fitz and The Tantrums, a group Rolling Stone named one of its "bands to watch" last year, will be gracing Houston with their presence Sunday at Free Press Summer Fest. The six-piece soul-influenced indie-pop band likes to embrace difference. Influenced by Motown and Stax, the band lacks guitars, but ... More >>

Rockin' Bluesman Joe Louis Walker Ignites Hellfire

While many young'uns spent their years 'twixt 12 and 20 just listening to music and attending concerts, Joe Louis Walker was a bit more proactive. At age 16, he became the house guitarist for the legendary San Francisco rock club The Matrix, he played with or opened shows for everyone from Jimi Hend ... More >>

Top 5 Podcasts You Should Be Listening To

Every couple of weeks, someone on Facebook inevitably poses the question, "Which podcasts should I be listening to? Not This American Life." It's the second most frequent post after "I lost all my numbers. Text me ur cell." If you are one of these curious people, or have a friend who is, then this i ... More >>

Pop Rocks: The Simpsons Last Stand?

"Who knows what adventures they'll have between now and the time the show becomes unprofitable?" - Troy McClure A salary dispute is threatening to end one of television's most beloved comedies. The actors who provide the voices for the long-running cartoon hit "The Simpsons" are at odds over a new ... 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

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"

Last Night: Charlie Sheen's "Violent Torpedo of Truth Tour" At Verizon Wireless Theater

Craig Hlavaty​Charlie Sheen's tour stop in Houston last night wasn't a wash-out, a bomb, or the expensive meltdown that most in town had hoped for. In fact, he was embraced at every turn by fans of all stripes, with men and women alike fawning over him like he was a surviving Beatle, or at lea ... More >>

Ginger Rap Song Fights Spread Of "Rojophobia"

​If you're like Rocks Off you woke up this morning hung over with a broken hand and not enough Cadbury Crème Eggs, and while that is not the most promising start of a day we took comfort in the fact that no one was going to make us stare at the pixilated image of orange-tinted naughty bits. ... More >>

Two Stoners, One Race: Lessons from Last Weekend's Warrior Dash

Photo by Monica FuentesMmmm...muddy.​Two stoners, two very different results at this weekend's Warrior Dash near Conroe. (View the Warrior Dash slideshow) The event, a three-mile obstacle course/run that Red Frog stages across the country, encourages participants to unleash a kind of inner ... More >>

Six Things The White Stripes Leave In Their Wake

​In the wake of the White Stripes' official breakup last week, the music world reeled with the loss of one of the defining bands of the past decade. Some applauded the end of a band they saw as too simplistic, buoyed by a sub-par drummer and warbling attention-addict. Different strokes, y'all. ... More >>

Get Your Meat Sculpture

​Yes, this is it. Carpe Diem, people. Bacon Kevin Bacon is up for grabs on EBay. The oversized head, measures 14.25" x 8" x 11.5", comes with a marble base, and bears an odd resemblance to Conan O'Brian. It was commissioned by Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow of J&D Foods, and created by artist ... More >>

The Week In TV: Futurama Lives!

​I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a summer of transcredible exploits. This was the week in TV Land: • Last week I asked what you watch during the summer, and the responses covered the bases for summer shows: Burn Notice, Leverage (really?), The Closer (really?!), sporting events, ... More >>

The Week In TV: What Do You Watch During The Summer?

With Treme off the air, what are you going to watch the rest of the summer?​Blah blah basketball blah blah soccer blah blah I miss real shows. This was the week in TV Land: • Treme wrapped its first season last night with an episode that was probably among its best so far, though it also hi ... More >>

The Week In TV: Just Let The Office Go With Dignity, Please

​The humidity is back, the TV season's almost over, and I need a non-gay way to ask you to go camping with me. This was the week in TV Land: • I saw Conan O'Brien in Austin on Friday. He took his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour through the state briefly, stopping in ... More >>

Five Graduation Speeches Better Than What You'll Hear This Year

It's Graduation Season, and that means it's time for commencement speeches.Usually delivered by someone you at best only vaguely have heard of, they all start with rueful self-deprecation about how "Once, long, long ago, I too sat at a graduation ceremony and listened to some long-winded boring spe ... More >>

The Week In TV: Oh, How The Mighty [Simpsons] Have Fallen

I wash myself with a rag on a stick.​What the hell, let's jump right in: • Conan O'Brien's exit deal with NBC included a number of stipulations about when he could appear on TV again and when he could resume his late-night hosting duties for another outlet. Well, after a few months away, ... More >>

The Week In TV: NBC Comedies Are Finally Back

We've missed you.​My parking lot's flooded, I had my first crawfish on Friday, and I feel like funkin' it up. This was the week in TV Land: • Ah, the joys and frustrations of the endless news cycle: Not a couple hours after last week's round-up column went live -- in which I ruminated on C ... More >>

The Week In TV: So Long, Julia Sugarbaker

Even with my dependable shows in reruns, it feels good to be back in the stern embrace of David Simon. This was the week in TV Land: • Thank God for Hulu, you know? The video site is the only reason I actually keep up with Saturday Night Live most weeks. The show's had a real hard-on for tweens ... More >>

The Week In TV: New Cable Shows Worth Watching

​I'm confused by the weather, recovered from South By Southwest, and forbidden from re-enacting Ghost. This was the week in TV Land: • I'm a week behind on HBO's The Pacific. This is my own fault; between this show and others, sometimes things get put on the back burner. The good news is t ... More >>

The Week In TV: Mad About Mad Men Barbie Dolls

The Barbie version of Joan appears to have just escaped from Dachau.​I have no idea what day it is, my veins run thick with taquitos, and I took my shirt off in public. This was the week in TV Land: • I'm a little amazed at the amount of TV I was able to watch this past week considering I' ... More >>

The Week In TV: Hope for Haiti (and Coco)

Move over failwhale: NBC ushers in the era of the failcock.​I'm loving the weather, thinking of overthrowing Comcast, and still humming "Free Bird." This was the week in TV Land: • So, I'm pretty sure we all watched Conan O'Brien's last episode as host of The Tonight Show. Nielsen ratings ... More >>

Farewell, Conan: Don't Give Yourself Away

Fare thee well, Conando.​About two weeks before I graduated from college, my best friend got out of the poisonous relationship he'd been in for five years. He was ecstatic at the possibilities before him, and those final moments of school held for him a wonder and freedom he didn't even know h ... More >>

So It's Come to This: An Office Clip Show

Ten minutes of screen time? THANKS.​I'd hoped to see a new episode of The Office last night; the show's been on a winter break since the Christmas episode that aired December 10, back when we all thought Conan O'Brien and health care reform could be counted on. But though last night's episode, ... More >>

I'm Bound To Pack It Up: A Playlist for Team Coco

​Former management at NBC was smart enough to stick with Conan O'Brien's Late Night franchise despite an unsteady beginning, and were rewarded when Coco went on to build one of the most reliably solid shows in late-night history. He was afforded no such wisdom from Jeff "Soul Suckin' Jerk" Zucker, ... More >>

King Cry Baby: A Team Leno Playlist

​If you've been keeping up with the business going on between Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, odds are you've already picked a side. Every team needs its fight songs, and although Team Leno looks a lot smaller than Team Conan - in fact, Rocks Off isn't sure if we've even met anyone on Team Leno - they ... More >>

The End Is Near for Conan O'Brien

​I can't believe it's come to this. As most people know by now, Conan O'Brien will be exiting The Tonight Show, likely after Friday's show. It's a bitter end to his truncated run on the show, and the real hell is how easily it could have been avoided if things had just played out the way peop ... More >>

The Week In TV: We're With Coco

​The weekend's gone, the sun is out, and the only marathon I did this weekend consisted of Whataburger taquitos. This was the week in TV Land: • So! Conan and Jay are probably not going to make buddy comedies together any time soon, or ever. The growing animosity between the two -- mainly ... More >>

This Week In TV: NBC Imploded. Again

​I had no idea Houston could get this cold, I'm tired of reruns, and I still think your Batman voice sounds like Cookie Monster. This was the week in TV Land: • So, NBC imploded. Again. As last week drew to a close, rumors started spreading that NBC was going to reorganize its late-night s ... More >>

Sotomayor and cojones vs huevos

Miss Pop Rocks Watches the Super Bowl

Oh God, my stomach is so distended. WHY do I do this to myself every Super Bowl Sunday? I watch one football game each year and it's this one, and the only reason I watch it is to have an excuse to eat snacks and watch commercials. A few thoughts on this year's game: First of all, choirs are ver ... More >>

David Anderson, Conan O'Brien and the String Dance

Get Lit: No Regrets: The Best, Worst, & Most #$%*ing Ridiculous Tattoos Ever, by Aviva Yael & P.M. Chen

Highly Anticipated Albums of 2008

Get Lit: Fame Us: Celebrity Impersonators and the Cult(ure) of Fame, by Brian Howell

Retro Active: A Nuclear Era, But I Have No Fear

Seasons in the Sun

The G.R.A.B.

ALEXA'S SWEET KISS

Miles to Go

Renowned saxman Joe Lovano blows into town

Destroy All Monsters of Rock!

Please come see Shonen Knife's powerful activity!

That '60s Show

Oliver Beene goes against fake millionaires and phony idols

End of the Road

Trio is the network where great shows go to die, and so much more

Richter's Scale

Andy Richter deserves to control the universe, if only Fox would let him

Moment in the Sun

Clem Snide's Eef Barzelay talks about God, Zionism and rock and roll manners

The Dollhouse Is Burning

Storytelling ups the ante on Solondz's bluster of sex, rage and insanity

Drag King

Actor-comic Eddie Izzard just wants to be loved

News Hostage

Conan Was a Warrior

Extra Poppy

Jimmie's Chicken Shack reveals the Colonel's recipe for mainstream ska-rock

Mack Attack

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