Dolly Parton

The Rocks Off 100: Kimberly McCarver, Missouri City's Meadowlark

Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community -- a lot more than just musicians, but of course they're in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Sometimes a hunch will pay off. Kimber ... More >>

The Rocks Off 100: Jacqui Sutton, Houston's "Jazzgrass Lady"

Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community -- a lot more than just musicians, but of course they're in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Jacqui Sutton is the lead singer for t ... More >>

Saturday Night: The Band Perry at Reliant Stadium

The Band Perry Reliant Stadium March 13, 2013 Was anyone else as confused as I was on Saturday night with the Band Perry's concert at RodeoHouston? On paper, the Band Perry should be a fantastic live act to see. They're a wholesome, family-friendly group, perfect for what the rodeo tries to achie ... More >>

5 New Holiday Albums For Your Halloween Horror

Right now, as soon as you can either get to year nearest music retailer or click over to iTunes or Amazon, you can buy the first holiday-themed 2012 album we have heard of, Jason Gray's Christmas Stories: Repeat the Sounding Joy. If that sounds early to you, well, yeah, but we actually got the email ... More >>

Kenny Rogers' Luck: The Gambler's Story More Than Breaks Even

Luck or Something Like It: A Memoir By Kenny Rogers William Morrow, 304 pp., $27.99 Having recently produced a television special commemorating his 50 years in show business, this memoir from the Gambler seems long overdue. And indeed, during his '70s and '80s heyday, Kenny Rogers was an artist t ... More >>

Here Come the Trishas, Texas' 4-Part Harmony Queens

Does anyone else miss the Dixie Chicks? Is it even OK to say that in Texas? We hope so, because a week or two ago Rocks Off stumbled across "Tonight the Heartache's On Me" again and have been on a serious Chicks kick ever since. But as the song says, that trio is a long time gone at this point. The ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 42, Frito Pie at C&D Burger Shoppe

This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston® issue, we're counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston's cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least o ... More >>

Musically Speaking, What Is the Best Zodiac Sign?

Sometimes some musicians just can't even be put in the same sentence as one another. Depending on people's musical preferences. It's hard to compare and can be a bit confrontational. But one thing is for sure the day on which someone is born can't be changed. And then that's where astrology comes in ... More >>

Mail Dump: Janis, Little Richard, dBs, Donovan, Etc.

The mailbox has been truly kind the past several weeks. Sure, there are still piles of useless dreck to wade through/past/over. But those all get to go to the big box in the dark closet and await the apocalypse. But there are standouts and surprises almost daily. Let's begin with three important re ... More >>

EDC 2012: Calvin Harris Plays CDs of Himself Singing

Dance music is fighting for its soul. The charts are filled with tracks (Rihanna, Flo Rida) that borrow from the ecstatic trance and pulsing grooves of electronic dance music. The last time pop was so infatuated with the dance floor was 1979, the year disco died. This time around fans are more sa ... More >>

Gothic Council Sings Your Kids to Sleep

We hate you, Peter Murphy. Well, OK. Not really. Murphy is a good guy who is a joy to interview and who still puts out amazing music. That being said, we are getting thoroughly sick of his trademark voice. Our two-year-old daughter requests his song "The Line Between the Devil's Teeth (And That Wh ... More >>

Last Night: Miranda Lambert At Reliant Stadium

Miranda Lambert RodeoHouston, Reliant Stadium March 13, 2012 Miranda Lambert has been "doing this music thing for 10 years now," and her mantra is simple: She's all about girl power and being a sassy southern belle. A Texas-born blonde with attitude up to her ears, she doesn't apologize for being c ... More >>

10 Evil Songs Now Warping Our Toddler's Mind

Velia AlmazanPlaying drums is OK. Dating a drummer gets you grounded for a week.​When you have a kid, certain things are slow to change. For instance, in general you don't immediately throw away your death-metal albums and restock with Barney, because why would you? They don't know what they'r ... More >>

Rap Round Table: What Was Whitney Houston's Best Song?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: TroubleSum, O.N.E., Medicine Girl, D-Risha, Young Sensation, Kyle Hubbard, Zavey, B ... More >>

Remember Max Headroom?: Creepy And Stupid Christmas Videos From Holidays Past And Present

​Yeah! It's almost Christmas! With each minute we are all one step closer to the day when we can stop posting lists about things pertaining to the holiday. Seriously, by the second week in December you almost type "Christmas" instead of your own name sometimes, and your brain atrophies wheneve ... More >>

Oh Jesus! Rock's Top 5 Religious Conversions

Rocks Off understands the need for a good detox now and then, as most of our evening antics often leave us feeling less than bright-eyed and bushy-tailed come morning. We also imagine the damage inflicted by lifetime of hard partying and endless touring in the company of morally compromised music-in ... More >>

Father Figures: 100 Famous Musicians' Paternal Professions

If you're a Texan of a certain age, this week you've probably spent some time mourning the death of Jerry Haynes, the children's TV host better known as Mr. Peppermint. Haynes' show on WFAA-TV in Dallas, Peppermint Place, ran from the '60s to the '90s and was widely syndicated across the state, incl ... More >>

Everyone Loves You When You're Dead: Almost Almost Famous

​Neil Strauss Everyone Loves You When You're Dead: Journeys into Fame and Madness ItBooks, 554 pp., $16.99 While most music-journo compendiums usually collect a sonic scribe's most famous interview pieces into one book, Strauss - one of the finest currently practicing the trade - takes a whol ... More >>

Dark Side of the Moon: Best Blockbuster Album Ever?

​Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd's seminal album about mental illness, the inevitability of death, and anxiety born of living in modern society, turns 38 today. It remains one of the most successful... Wait a minute? DSotM is 38 years old? How is that possible? It seems like just yesterday ... More >>

Last Night: Miranda Lambert At RodeoHouston

Photo courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo​Miranda Lambert Reliant Stadium March 16, 2011 Shucks, ma. Our lil' ol' East Texas gal done all growed up. Sugar and spice and definitely everything nice, unless you piss her off, Miranda Lambert is a different kind of crossover act. A r ... More >>

Idol Beat: Idol Worship

Fox​The Daily Beast had a story up yesterday about how this season of American Idol might be the best ever: This year, the contenders have already proven energetic, and the audience is responding, with half a dozen developing breakout followings across the Internet, even before the finals hav ... More >>

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Charlie Louvin, Country Music Hall Of Famer, Dies At 83

​Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie Louvin, who with his brother Ira ranked with Ralph and Carter Stanley as one of the greatest duos in bluegrass history, passed away overnight. Louvin, 83, had been receiving experimental treatment for pancreatic cancer. Nashville-based entertainment ... More >>

Robert Plant Plays The Woodlands - Finally - On July 24

​ Robert Plant remembers Houston. In September 2008, the former Led Zeppelin singer and Allison Krauss were scheduled to play the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion behind their multiple Grammy-winning (and downright spectacular) Raising Sand album, but Hurricane Ike had other ideas, severely dam ... More >>

Aftermath: Puscifer at Jones Hall, the First Show We've Walked Out On In Years

Photos by Groovehouse​Aftermath considers himself a reasonably tolerant sort of fellow - you pretty much have to be to do this job. And we know for a fact we have a sense of humor, and a pretty off-color sense of humor at that, because it's gotten us in hot water more than once. ​Which is why ... More >>

He Said She Said: Songs from the Year We Were Born That We Still Listen To

Yes, we are older than MTV. Shut up.​The thing that struck She Said most when researching this list of songs that came out the year we were born (May 1980) was just how much of this music we regularly listen to now. 1980 marked the end of disco, the middle of New Wave and punk, and a damn good tim ... More >>

Steve Young

MP3 of the Day: Miss Leslie & Her Juke Jointers

 It seems for every great female country singer, there's a man who has invented a new way to break her heart, be it by leaving or simply not returning her desires. The latter is the case on Miss Leslie's HPMA-nominated "Between the Whiskey and the Wine." This song will make your heart ache. Thi ... More >>

Idol Beat: The Top 11

Photo by Ray Mickshaw / FOXPictured: Matt Giraud, exquisite gumline Traditionally, I've concluded the first Idol Beat of any given week with predictions as to who the American Idol judges or viewing public will send home the next night. This week I'm upending that, and predicting that no one will go ... More >>

Aftermath: Reba McEntire at RodeoHouston

Photos by Mark C. AustinReba McEntire is the closest modern country will ever get to the artistic heights of its pioneering female vocalists. Sure Tanya Tucker had her run but the booze, powders and Glen Campbell took their toll. Shania Twain was just a Nashville/Pat Benatar Frankenstein proje ... More >>

Rotation: Steve Martin's The Crow

Steve Martin The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo (40 Productions) www.stevemartin.com The scenario sounds laughable: comedian Steve Martin, a banjo and 15 original bluegrass songs. Is he kidding? Actually, no. Most of The Crow plays with as straight a face as Joaquin Phoenix ha ... More >>

Cutout Bin: The New Relations' Great Vibes with Mufftars

The New Relations Great Vibes with Mufftars (1978) Meet Don and Doug, the Gabriel brothers; better known as the New Relations. Their road to fame and fortune began one slow day at Don Sr.'s muffler shop in Iowa, when the old man decided he would make his sons their own guitars out of mufflers ... More >>

Texas Music on Sirius/XM's Outlaw Country

The Best Christmas Gift Idea Evar

Thanks to Idolator, Rocks Off nearly had a stroke when he saw Mattel's new "Goth Punk Barbie," available exclusively at the Hard Rock Cafe's online Rock Shop for the not-so-low, low price of $70. Bitchin' lemon-yellow guitar sold separately, though this bad-girl Barbie does come with her own s ... More >>

The Secret Life of Bees Is All Honey, No Sting

Buzz Kill

The improbable redemption of Ashlee Simpson

"La La" Love You

Patty Griffin

Children Running Through Ato Records

Piece of Ass

The Red Hog Saloon

Money Waters

The Porch (Soullsys Music/Noir Sound)

Norah Jones

Feels Like Home (Blue Note)

If That Ain't Country

Stampeding horses and twangy riffs at the HMNS

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Number One with a Bullet

Our take on "rare" Nirvana

The Great Escape

Baz Luhrmann makes movies--and audiences--in his own image

Yes, It Can-Can

The delightfully eccentric Moulin Rouge giddily juggles eras

She Sings Hard for the Money

Rotation

Wanted Man

Johnny Cash may just be a legend, but he's never sounded better

Press Picks

The Year of Living Anxiously

Are We Having Fun Yet? Or is it just the jangly buzz of advanced urban stress syndrome?