Eddie Vedder

The 10 Worst Rock Singers of the '90s

In about 12 hours or so, the editor of Rocks Off expects to be a very happy man. One of our favorite bands of all time, and one that we haven't seen live in almost 17 years, is playing tonight at Bayou Music Center: Soundgarden. Certainly Soundgarden has a lot to recommend them. Guitarist Kim Thayi ... More >>

Pro-Gay Marriage Willie Nelson Returns With A New Album April 16

As Willie Nelson inches towards 80 years of age on April 29, his schedule doesn't seem to winding down one bit. He tours at an astounding clip, and it seems like he was in the Houston-area at least four times in the past year. In fact, we reviewed his latest Arena Theatre gig here on Rocks Off earli ... More >>

Five Rock Supergroups That Actually Worked

NOt long ago, we finally saw the release of the long-awaited album from Radiohead/Red Hot Chili Peppers supergroup Atoms for Peace and it got me thinking: supergroups are a tough trick to pull off. We all fantasize about our favorite musicians playing together, but when it actually comes to fruition ... More >>

The 5 Worst Disasters In Benefit Concert History

Benefit concerts are great. The practice of bands playing to raise money for a cause can be as local as helping a fellow unsigned musician pay for their son's hospital bills to as international as world hunger. Though we may pinch our noses at the perceived sanctimoniousness of people like Bono and ... More >>

MTV's Best Year: The Top 5 Videos of 1992

In 1992, the recording industry was riding high. The compact disc had become a major success, with music lovers purchasing new albums and old releases in astonishing numbers despite the format's comparatively steep price tags. And the music-video juggernaut known as MTV was helping major labels to b ... More >>

Is There Any Chance the New Thin Lizzy Album Won't Suck?

This week, Rolling Stone and NME got wind of the fact that '70s hard-rock heroes Thin Lizzy will hit the studio this fall to record their first new album since band founder/leader/icon Phil Lynott's death 26 years ago. The news was actually broken by HotPress.com last week, but it took a while for w ... More >>

Happy Belated Birthday, Scott Stapp: 10 Gift Ideas for a Rock Icon

Well, we've done it again. Creed singer Scott Stapp's birthday came and went this week (he's 39), and we didn't get him a thing. Didn't even shout him out on Twitter. After the considerable musical gifts this man has given us over the years, that's completely unacceptable. There's only one way to ... More >>

From Beyond: A Excellent 9-Minute Year

Once upon a time I fell in love with a band called Thunderkunt... because they were called Thunderkunt. What can I say? I am a man of simple pleasures. Sadly, that band didn't quite hold its center, and from its decaying orbit send it slowly onto the sun rises From Beyond, helmed by former Kunters ... More >>

What A Friend We Have In Marilyn Manson: 18 Years With The God Of (Expletive Deleted)

Born Villain, Marilyn Manson's first album since 2009's The High End of Low, marks his debut as a cheeky pop-culture gawker, a far cry from where he was just a decade and a half ago. I wrote about some of the best Manson myths on the occasion of his birthday back in January. He's not the snarling, ... More >>

Going The Distance: The Hot 100's 10 Longest-Charting Songs

Let us hop in our time machine and head back to a magical place in the past known as Dec. 23, 2010. Here is a snapshot of things going on at the time: Rocks Off was making wishes for the year 2011; Kanye West was knee deep in Album of the Year wins for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy; Eddie Vedder ... More >>

Last Night: Creed At Bayou Music Center

Creed Bayou Music Center April 30, 2012 Villains are infinitely more interesting than heroes, and have way better origin tales. All human mythology features roguish baddies, who are actually more engaging than their lily-hearted counterparts. Kids of all ages dress up like Darth Vader and the Joker ... More >>

Distant Early Warning: Dick Dale, Gemma Ray, Lincoln Durham, William Shatner, Meshuggah

Active Child, Balam Acab, Superhumanoids: Sat., May 5. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak Bastard Sons Of Johnny Cash: Thu., March 8. Continental Club, 3700 Main Battery (Metallica Tribute): Mon., April 16. Scout Bar Clear Lake, 18307 Egret Bay Blvd. Black Market Syndicate, The American Heist, Dead To ... More >>

Distant Early Warning: Andrew W.K., Stryper, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Wicked Poseur, Say Anything

Photo By Katharine ShilcuttParty. Hard. ​Andrew W.K.: Sun., March 18. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. The Boxer Rebellion, Canon Blue: Thu., April 12. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. Brian Jonestown Massacre: Sat., April 28. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. Cas Haley: Fr ... More >>

Mosquitoes: A Tiny, Highly Annoying Musical History

​The Texans are in first place (for now), the Texas Rangers may become the Lone Star State's first-ever World Series champions tomorrow (ouch), and early voting for the November 8 mayoral/City Council election started Monday. The Houston Press Music Awards showcase is less than three weeks awa ... 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 >>

Pop Rocks: Can't We Just Leave D.B. Cooper Alone?

On the plus side, maybe this guy can get a new gig.​This November marks the 40th anniversary of the hijacking of Northwest Flight #305 by a man calling himself "Dan Cooper." The hijacker, later erroneously referred to in the media as "D.B.," jumped out of the plane at an altitude of 10,000 fee ... More >>

Movin' Out: Songs That Will Scare Off Bad Roommates

​Often times in our young adult lives, we come across a roommate who initially seems like a good match. They're capable of paying their rent on time and seem nice enough, so the possibility of your living arrangements blossoming into a sitcom looks fair. Then in a month's time, the Friends r ... More >>

Last Night: Stone Temple Pilots At The Woodlands

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Stone Temple Pilots, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion September 19, 2010 It took a good hour past their stated stage time to get Stone Temple Pilots in front of the crowd at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sunday night. But that hour in ... More >>

Last Night: Jack Johnson At The Woodlands

Photos by Liana Lopez​Jack Johnson Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 18, 2010 Check out a slideshow from last night's concert. The dirty secret about Jack Johnson is that he may be the closest thing this generation has to the iconic singer-songwriters our parents grew up with in the lat ... More >>

Uprising

2009 wasn't a great year for albums, but songs were a different story.

He Said She Said: Songs We Are Least Thankful For

​ She Said heard her first holiday song Monday, at around 9 p.m. in the Montrose Walgreens, and suddenly she was transported to her own personal hell - one filled solely with late-night pharmacy shoppers and Mariah Carey's

Just When You Thought All the ACL Aftermath Was Over...

Photos by Mark C. AustinKate Pierson of the B-52's​You could roam, as the B-52s put it during their early afternoon set Sunday on the AMD Stage. But as Mudstock 2009 came to a close (let the debate about the later-in-the-year dates begin) most members of the muddy-stocking clan were losing their l ... More >>

ACL 2009 Day Three: Mud!

Photo by Craig HlavatyNo, that is not Rocks Off.​At this point Rocks Off is so jaded from mud, rain, bro-dudes, and janky taxi-cab politics that Eddie Vedder himself could be standing before us and we wouldn't know him from Adam Lambert. As Willem Dafoe said in Platoon "The worm has turned for you ... More >>

Flannel File: Pearl Jam's Ten Redux

In my last Flannel File entry, I asked if there was any file more flannel-y than that of Screaming Trees. Well, embarassingly enough, that rhetorical question has an answer: yes, and that file belongs to Pearl Jam. Let's step in the time machine and go way, way back to one month ago, March 2009, whe ... More >>

The Story of Los Volcanes and Neil Diamond

A chance Texas encounter gives a Seattle conjunto band the shot of a lifetime

Tom Petty Day, Part 2: TP&HB Videos

Stranded by Oscar: Into the Wild, Radiant City, SNL in the '80s: Lost and Found, The Love Boat: Season One, Volume One

Last Night: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at Super Bowl XLII

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Sending up the biopic, this film sells cheap laughs, lame cameos and lifeless Cox

Into the Wild

Sean Penn delivers a soulful road movie and refuses to define his subject

Kings of Leon

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

Radio Daze

One man, one jambox and four walls. For 24 hours.

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Rogue Bosoms, Bouncing Booties and Pac-Man Raps

Looking back on the '04

We're Not the World

Morrissey tells America where it can shove its hamburger

Playbill

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.

Use Your Illusion

Velvet Revolver is the best hope in a dismal lot of Guns N' Roses substitutes

Cattle Call

Boozing with a few aggrieved bad seeds at the American Idol audition

Number One with a Bullet

Our take on "rare" Nirvana

Ruffled Feathers

The Dixie Chicks and other musicians are fighting for their rights -- and a bigger check

Sam I Slam

Sean Penn plays retarded for Oscar, and audiences aren't rewarded

Green Horns

Naderites have got the art car crowd and ample altruistic ardor. But they're still searching for a sporting chance.

Rotation

No Fooling Around

Success has been anything but a cinch for Atticus Finch

Letters

Rooting Interest

The Roots make rap for both your hips and your head

Rotation

Rotations

Celting Point

Plus: Less Donna McK., archiving Texas folk music, and Iggy's eats Jelly