Conor Oberst

Remembering Phil Ochs, the "Singing Journalist"

Phil Ochs was never Bob Dylan. Oh, he wanted to be Dylan, but ol' Zimmy booted that bastard right out of his limo. "You're not a folksinger, you're a journalist." If only Phil had accepted himself as "the singing journalist." After failing to find the commercial success he so desired, Ochs turned ... More >>

Happy Birthday Kurt Cobain: Where Would He Be Today?

Last year on this date in honor of what would have been late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's 45th birthday, I wrote a blog supposing where the grunge icon would have been in 2012. It got a lot of traction and people loved and hated it. Imagining him as a dubstep DJ was really for grins and shock valu ... More >>

Readers Poll: What Are Your Favorite Summer Albums?

You know technically if you live in Houston, summer never really goes away. It just sort of lingers on top of the region, every now and then rousing from slumber to pound us with heat and humidity. Northern parts of the country have a firm line separating the seasons, but thankfully global warming ... More >>

Robert Ellis' Whiskey Wednesdays Returning... In Austin

Rocks Off thought we had written everything about Robert Ellis & the Boys' Whiskey Wednesday shows there was to say. After all, the weekly beer-soaked no-cover night of Texas-heavy vintage honky-tonk covers ended back in April. So we were a little intrigued when someone forwarded us this link earl ... More >>

Kurt Cobain At 45: Where Would He Be In 2012?

​Had he not died in April 1994 by his own hand -- or sinister forces working for Courtney Love (insert maniacal laugh) -- Kurt Cobain would have turned 45 years old today. The rock icon killed himself at the age of 27, leaving behind not only a daughter to fend for herself against the wiles of ... More >>

Oprah Vs. Bob Dylan: A Side-By-Side Showdown

Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​In case you've been under a complete self-imposed total media blackout - how do those work, by the way? - you no doubt know this week is a pretty important milestone in the lives of two of America's most important cultural figureheads. Maybe the two most ... More >>

Pete Yorn

Lyrics That Make Terrible Facebook Status Updates

DTF for sure.​Ever seen a nonsensical, irrelevant Britney Spears or Drake lyric on your Facebook news feed that made you cringe? We have - about 56, and the workday isn't even over yet. Some lyrics should stay on the radio and off the Facebook circuit. Perhaps instead of simply asking, "What' ... More >>

Neil's Nephews: Indie-Rock's Brightest Young Acolytes

​Neil Young has spawned many children in the indie/folk-rock community, many of whom have directly constructed their style based on the Canadian humanitarian's more acoustic oeurve rather than the ragged-glory feedback cues that goosed grunge gods like Pearl Jam a generation ago. In the tradi ... More >>

The Nutcracker, Now With Karen O And Conor Oberst

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray​Have you ever seen The Nutcracker? It's pretty weird. We can't think of another story in which the main plot gets resolved in the first half and the second half is just one big-ass party. Seriously, the conflict is resolved so thoroughly by the end of t ... More >>

Ten Iconic Musical Nicknames, And 25 You May Never Guess

​You know what sucks? Getting saddled with a really awkward family nickname when you are younger and it following you until it takes a frenzied freak-out to stop it. We were once called "Pooter" by our mother until an eight-year-old Rocks Off gave her a terse look right before third grade star ... More >>

Last Night: Silversun Pickups And Against Me! At Warehouse Live

Photos by Faith SilvaAgainst Me!​Silversun Pickups, Against Me! Warehouse Live July 20, 2010 Against Me! opening up for Silversun Pickups would be like the Replacements opening up for My Bloody Valentine in 1991. Except that Against Me! isn't on the wane of their career and Silversun has way ... More >>

Acts We Think - OK, Hope - Are Playing ACL Fest This Year

​By this time Tuesday, we will all know who is playing the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October. Damn, it seems like we have speculating about the line-up since, well, we got the last of the "Dillo Dirt" out the middle of our toes after last year's muddy and rainy ACL weekend. Tuesday brig ... More >>

Aftermath: Local Music Takes Center Stage at The Festival at the Mink

Photos by Marc BrubakerElectric Attitude​Here at Aftermath, we're aware that some people don't always appreciate a good festival, especially when in terms of the logistics: attendance requires you to stay in relatively one place for an extended period of time and share the same small set of bathro ... More >>

Paolo Nutini, Moby, Pink, Lady GaGa and Other Artists Manlier Than John Mayer

​We don't always hate John Mayer. No, really. Sometimes dude seems downright likable, like when he's hanging out in the Comedy Cellar in NYC, or releasing self-effacing web videos, or popping up for cavalier, amusing chats with our XM favorites Ron & Fez. Even his Twitter account is worth read ... More >>

My Ding-a-Ling: Iggy Pop, Tommy Lee and Rock's Other Dirk Digglers

This album isn't called Fore! because Huey Lewis likes to play golf...​So the other day, Rocks Off wrote briefly about Huey Lewis in regards to the Back To The Future soundtrack, not even thinking to chime in just a little bit about his reportedly huge male member. You know that certain part of th ... More >>

Merle Haggard

Aftermath: Rascal Flatts at RodeoHouston

Photos by Mark C. AustinAnyone who thought that '80s-style power ballads had long gone away with Kurt Cobain's green sweater and Crystal Pepsi is dead wrong. They are kept alive, nightly, by Columbus, Ohio's Rascal Flatts. Bundled-up couples of all ages walked hand-in-hand, and apple-lot ... More >>

Top Ten Americana Albums of 2008

Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen Trapper's fantastic ... More >>

Led Zeppelin Pulls a Van Hagar

Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst

Tilly and the Wall, now with added drummer

Beat Happening

Kevin Devine, the Jealous Girlfriends

Drenched in Blog: Oh, Incarcerated World

Confessions of a Classic Rock Whore, or One Man’s Journey

Protest Songs for George W.

That's my Bush!

Bright Eyes

Cassadaga

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, the Elected

Rabbit Fur Coat|Sun, Sun, Sun

Comeback Clips

A music-video renaissance is afoot -- but it's strictly on the download

The Hipster's Guide to Rock and Roll Vendettas

And you thought rappers were the only ones who had beefs

Play It Pretty for Cabaret Voltaire

A Rice grad stakes his claim as the inventor of the ironic "Freebird" request; also: there's a Lanky new kid on H-town's burgeoning pop-rock scene

M. Ward, with Norfolk and Western

Sunday, April 3, at Mary Jane's Fat Cat, 4216 Washington Avenue, 713-869-5263

I Love Me

Joseph Arthur says narcissism is the only way to make real art

Apocalypse Pretty Soon!

No hipster or Christian will survive Eef Barzelay's dry rage

Ultra Man

Champa is the champ of our DJ competition at South Beach

Rotation

Bright Eyes

Lua / Take It Easy (Love Nothing) (Saddle Creek)

A Thin Line...

Introducing the most hated men in rock (besides Sting)

Rock and Roll Dream Team

Forget the office-football draft, dude. Here's a far cooler way to waste your time and your employer's money.

Family Feud

Hip-hop turns 25, and the battle lines are drawn

Statistics

Leave Your Name (Jade Tree)

Hardest Art

Tim Kasher of Cursive plays The Ugly Organist. The rest is up to the listener.

Bright Eyes, with the Bruces and M. Ward

Thursday, October 3