Dinosaur Jr.

Five Covers of the Cure That Don't Suck

For this latest edition of "things that don't suck," we decided to look at one of the most talked-about and anticipated headliners of this year's Austin City Limits Festival: the Cure. The Cure's legacy in pop-culture history is inestimable. A generation of teenage goths owes their ethos to front ma ... More >>

The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend: Bruce & Kelly, KTRU Outdoor Show, etc.

Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis McGonigel's Mucky Duck, March 8 Spouses tempting fate by naming their new record Cheater's Game? Nah, just the "First Couple of Texas Country Music" rewarding fans with the couple's first-ever full-album collaboration, to go with any number of guest spots on each other' ... More >>

Nosaprise Opens His Book of the Dead Vol. 1

You have to hand it to Nosaprise, although you can't help but worry a little too. This month The Houston rapper/musician's grownup job as an arts teacher presented an opportunity for him to attend a lecture in Nigeria -- travel expenses paid -- and he stuck around to visit family and perform a littl ... More >>

Your Guide to the Bajillion New Guided By Voices Releases

Boy, Guided by Voices has released a lot of albums lately, huh? Since their reunion, Bob Pollard's classic indie-rock band has been producing almost nonstop, releasing three albums -- Let's Go Eat the Factory, Class Clown Spots a UFO and The Bears for Lunch -- in 2012, and an EP called Down by the R ... More >>

Coachella 2013 Takes It Back to the '90s

Coachella, the Only Music Festival That Matters (or so we're told), announced its 2013 lineup late Thursday night, no holograms or Rolling Stones included. Instead, two beloved '90s UK acts whose popularity in the U.S. is spotty at best, Blur and the Stone Roses, headline the first night of the tw ... More >>

5 Bands Who Pioneered Modern Indie-Rock... Besides the Smiths

Legendary guitarist Johnny Marr is set to release his first ever solo record next month after years of being a sideman for other bands, some rather important. In anticipation, he's had some choice words to say that one would have expected more from his less level-headed ex-Smiths compatriot Morrisse ... More >>

Friday Night: Dinosaur Jr. at Fitzgerald's

Dinosaur Jr. Fitzgerald's October 5, 2012 According to the scene at Fitzgerald's Friday night, the '90s are alive and well. Fans flocked to the venue to see reigning hard rockers Dinosaur Jr. -- and many were turned away, as the show sold out. The last time we'd seen Dinosaur Jr. was at Chicago's ... More >>

6 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: Dinosaur Jr., Some Stones, Big K.R.I.T., Optimo Radio, etc.

Dinosaur Jr. Friday, Fitzgerald's Dinosaur Jr. may be one of the most underrated indie-rock acts of the past 25 years. They weren't as sexy as Pearl Jam or as populist as Nirvana, but the music dripping from the instruments of the criminally-unsung J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph has ... More >>

Dinosaur Jr.

Dust Off Your Flannel

Does the looming '90s revival presage a Nirvana-style breakthrough?

Web Extra: The Rebirth of Underground Rock

I remember the first big boom in underground rock, because I was definitely not part of it. Instead, I was one of those kids for whom Nirvana's Nevermind (and their January 1992 Saturday Night Live appearance, in my case) kicked open the door to a much cooler musical world than the one I had been li ... More >>

Mission of Burma

Bartender Chat: Emily Hynds of Double Trouble

Double Trouble Caffeine and Cocktails 3622 Main 713-874-0096 With leather and bamboo patio seating behind imposing yet beckoning rebar gates, Double Trouble is one of the newest residents of the so-called "Main Street Island." Residing one block south of the HCC/Ensemble light rail stop on Main and ... More >>

How Far Can We Get From the Velvet Underground?

Since Rocks Off bought a smartphone this past January, we have downloaded almost 400 songs from iTunes. We know, we need help. But we have become fascinated with the damn thing. One of the features we like the best is "Listeners Also Bought" at the bottom of each album's page, which we assume ranks ... More >>

Heat Index: The 10 Summer Album Releases We're Sweatin' the Most

Most places in the world, summertime is easy living: No school, no snow and no real responsibilities beyond mowing the lawn every couple of weeks. Here in Houston, summer is a little more intense. Triple-digit temperatures, hurricane warnings and Astros baseball present an annual threat to our city' ... More >>

Summer Fest Round Table: What About Next Year?

Assuming we all survive this weekend, and then the supposed Mayan apocalypse, Free Press Summer Fest will return to Eleanor Tinsley Park in June 2013. Pegstar's Jagi Katial and Jason Petzold told the Houston Press this week that they'll start booking next year's acts in about a month, so Rocks Off p ... More >>

Jane's Addiction & Other Big 1987 Debut Albums

Tonight Jane's Addiction comes to the Bayou Music Center, touring behind last year's The Great Escape Artist, only their fourth studio album in their nearly 27 years as a band. A few weeks back Rocks Off talked to lead singer and Lollapalooza honcho Perry Farrell about the band's future and what cou ... More >>

Swamp People

Recent local releases by Screwtape, John Egan and Southern Backtones have Houston on the brain.

Cloud Nothings

Rocks Off Lists Our Favorite Downloads of 2011

It's getting to be that time of year, when the temperature drops and the lists start rolling in. Read any blog, magazine or newspaper and you're bound to run across at least a handfull of year-end lists, particularly when it comes to music. We all like to talk about the stuff we like. It's just what ... More >>

Last Night: The Meat Puppets At Fitzgerald's

The Meat Puppets Fitzgerald's October 2, 2011 Last night was a special night in Houston, and for a couple of reasons: First, we felt our first taste of autumn, with temperatures dipping into the low 60s; more importantly, in this instance, was the city's opportunity to see veteran hard-rockers and ... More >>

True Blood: Best. Episode. Ever. Song Ain't Bad, Either.

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. ​For some reason, Gothtopia has spent the last decade complet ... More >>

The Best Albums Of 2011 (So Far)

​The year isn't quite half over, but as of today, "summer" is officially here - even if the calendar needs a few weeks to catch up - and by the time summer is over, so will 2011. Or close enough. So Rocks Off asked our staff to give us their favorite two albums of the year so far, plus one out ... 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 >>

PS I Love You

He Said She Said: Our Favorite Fictional Performers, Part 2

​Why is that sometimes the fictional bands in movie and television are cooler than real bands? Sadly, some of He Said's favorite bands don't even have albums or videos to speak of, because they don't even exist. The fun part is imagining how awesome their full-length records and tours would be. Th ... More >>

Werewolves Got Fingered: The 5 Worst Movies (Besides Twilight: New Moon) With the Best Soundtracks

​Good news, all you fans of condensed screen versions of self-indulgent Mormon vampire pseudo-erotic clit-tease fantasies: Twilight: New Moon is being released in only eight days. Rocks Off, accustomed to scorn from literary snobs for his steadfast support of the Harry Potter series, actually pick ... More >>

Aftermath: Dinosaur Jr., Built to Spill and a Whole Lotta Gear at Warehouse Live

Photos by Jody Perry​ Fans in the crowd at Warehouse Live's Dinosaur Jr. show Friday night should have known what was in store for them when J Mascis' roadies began setting up his equipment. Six amps for a single guitar player. If you thought the show was loud, imaging standing three feet in front ... More >>

Dinosaur Jr., Lou Barlow

Sounds of the Universe

Synth-pop icons Depeche Mode do read their reviews.

Hell on Earth

Long Island hardcore quartet This Is Hell thrashes till the sun goes down.

The Last Roundup: Wild Moccasins Almost Home, Michael Jackson's MC Friends and More

Kim DouglassThat's right, we're using it again...IndieHouston is keeping up with those crazy kids in Wild Moccasins, who will be home next weekend playing Mango's for Buxton's 7-inch release party. Hands Up Houston is giving early warning all over the place: Dinosaur Jr and Built to Spill at Warehou ... More >>

The Brits Love Them Some "Blastbeats"

Leave it to the British music press to read more into something than it merits. Any new fad they see pop up they immediately have to make a celebratory month for, or start spending thousands of pounds on to trace its source. It's a dirty habit. They can't leave well enough alone. That's how you get ... More >>

Rosa's Photo Corner: Pasadena Rocks, Balaclavas and J. Mascis

"The sign that Pedro is wiping his ass with says 'Pasadena rules.'"

A compendium of Cure-related information

The Only One

Psychedelic Horseshit

Columbus threesome offers up dancey, non-crappy, shoegazer rock

The Axiom

Remembering the Axiom, 20 years later

Meat Puppets, Rise to Your Knees

CD Review

Dinosaur Jr.

Dinosaur Jr performs Sunday, June 17, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel St., 713-225-5483.

A Blighted Slough of Smells, Steel and Chemicals

Touring bands sound off on Houston

Where You Been?

Alt-rock pioneers Dinosaur Jr. return to the freak scene as seniors

The Foxymorons

Hesitation Eyes

Remaking the Band

Will the Pixies 2.0 thrive like Mission of Burma, or stumble like Urge Overkill?

Unchecked Egos

Rotation

Lo-fi, High Expectations

Will Sebadoh end up ruling the DIY world it helped create?

Critic's Choice

All Bottled Up

Live Shots

Karp, the Good Crap

Rotation