Internet Music Services

I Want My MP3

Give Us a Hand

Download: Pimp C, 1973-2007

Rap-a-Lot’s J. Prince Sues Apple, BET

My First Guitar Hero Lesson

When Online Got Off Base

Or: How Mark Cuban would have--and could have?--saved the music biz

Artist of the Week: Debbie Forrest

Or: How Mark Cuban would have--and could have?--saved the music biz

Digitalia: iTunes' Top Holiday Songs

The holiday season is a time to enjoy favorite pastimes like expanding your credit-card debt, eating way too much food, and arguing with your relatives. And of course, there's the best staple of them all: butchering holiday jingles. Never finding a song they didn't want to shill, iTunes offers an e ... More >>

Post-Valentine's Day Relationship Rescue Songs

Dwight McCannSo Valentine's Day is over, and you spent all your dough on Cupid swag for that special sweetie, which hopefully bought your way out of the doghouse for the time being. But if not, Casanova, your Rocks Off homies still have your back - provided you have an iTunes account. Sentime ... More >>

Meiko

Dwight McCannSo Valentine's Day is over, and you spent all your dough on Cupid swag for that special sweetie, which hopefully bought your way out of the doghouse for the time being. But if not, Casanova, your Rocks Off homies still have your back - provided you have an iTunes account. Sentime ... More >>

Girl In A Coma

Dwight McCannSo Valentine's Day is over, and you spent all your dough on Cupid swag for that special sweetie, which hopefully bought your way out of the doghouse for the time being. But if not, Casanova, your Rocks Off homies still have your back - provided you have an iTunes account. Sentime ... More >>

Kate Voegele

Dwight McCannSo Valentine's Day is over, and you spent all your dough on Cupid swag for that special sweetie, which hopefully bought your way out of the doghouse for the time being. But if not, Casanova, your Rocks Off homies still have your back - provided you have an iTunes account. Sentime ... More >>

Kate Voegele

Dwight McCannSo Valentine's Day is over, and you spent all your dough on Cupid swag for that special sweetie, which hopefully bought your way out of the doghouse for the time being. But if not, Casanova, your Rocks Off homies still have your back - provided you have an iTunes account. Sentime ... More >>

Zookeeper

Dwight McCannSo Valentine's Day is over, and you spent all your dough on Cupid swag for that special sweetie, which hopefully bought your way out of the doghouse for the time being. But if not, Casanova, your Rocks Off homies still have your back - provided you have an iTunes account. Sentime ... More >>

Hard Like Satin

Dwight McCannSo Valentine's Day is over, and you spent all your dough on Cupid swag for that special sweetie, which hopefully bought your way out of the doghouse for the time being. But if not, Casanova, your Rocks Off homies still have your back - provided you have an iTunes account. Sentime ... More >>

No Phishing

Dwight McCannSo Valentine's Day is over, and you spent all your dough on Cupid swag for that special sweetie, which hopefully bought your way out of the doghouse for the time being. But if not, Casanova, your Rocks Off homies still have your back - provided you have an iTunes account. Sentime ... More >>

Critic's Dictionary

The A's

The Shout Out Louds

Sunday, November 27, at the Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-225-1717.

Gibby Haynes and His Problem

Gibby Haynes and His Problem (Surf Dog)

Napster's Spawn

File-sharing copycats keep free music alive on the Net. The Big Five labels still call it theft.

Ransom Notes

Can one man convince millions of people to pay for their "free" music?

Byte This

Consumers try hawking "old" digital music files through new Web sites.

Are MP3s and Downloading Eroding Music's Communal Properties?

​ Although Rocks Off had every intention of rambling about something different this week, we thought it would be a lost opportunity to not examine an issue that seems to have been revealed by readers' responses last week. Although many fantastic points were made, we were fascinated to detect that ... More >>

Our Decade In iTunes, Ol' Dirty Bastard Through the Fleshtones and Good Ol' Morrissey

​Maybe the biggest evolution in music this decade has been the availability of online downloads, starting with Napster and ending with half a dozen legitimately - licensed venues for purchasing music over the tubes. Rocks Off will admit it. Back in the day, we were illegal downloaders. Waiting 20 ... More >>

Melissa Savcic, Not Jessica Alba But Both Band And Kickboxing Singer-Songwriter

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com.​The other day President Obama* ... More >>

"Record Store Day 2010" With Freddie Steady Five, Grandfather Child, sIngs

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com.​The other day President Obama* ... More >>

FAIL - Billy Corgan, Courtney Love, Justin Bieber, Celene Dion, Apple

If you're reading this, you're either on the Internet, or else you've mastered multi-dimensional thought-projection processes that would make Michio Kaku cry like a little girl. We'll assume the former, and just in case you don't already know, the Internet has decided that the word "failure" is too ... More >>

Adios, Garageband.com

​Being a struggling, unsigned musician involves a lot of faith and superstition. You begin to believe that fame, fortune, and hot and cold running groupies are just around the corner, and if you can just complete that one magical task, it will all be yours for the taking. Once upon a time, yo ... More >>

FAIL: Wyclef Jean, Richard Ashcroft, Mark Wahlberg, iTunes

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray​Wyclef Jean's Latest Vanity Project: President of Haiti: Wyclef Jean is best known for being the member of the Fugees who quite improbably enjoyed the most solo success. We would have bet on Lauryn Hill, but unfortunately, she went crazy. Crazy may be ... More >>

iPod: Happy Anniversary, You Little Devil

Can somebody please tell us what the hell Firewire is? Nine years ago today - November 10, 2001 - Apple unveiled a new kind of MP3 player known as an iPod. About the size of a deck of cards, the device contained five gigabytes of memory, enough for about 1,000 songs, and cost $400. Four. Hundred. ... More >>

The Beatles: Are They Too Late For iTunes?

​This morning the Beatles and Apple announced, rather quietly, that the band was officially on the iTunes roster of artists, joining millions of others with their thirteen albums. In a statement to the press this morning, Apple chief Steve Jobs said, "We love the Beatles and are honored and ... More >>

The Pomplamoose Revolution

How a band with no CDs or record deal is changing the music industry

Prince Royce

How a band with no CDs or record deal is changing the music industry

App of the Week: Alfred

A quick search using Alfred yielded really helpful results.​App: Alfred Platforms: Mac OSX Web site: Alfredapp.com Cost: Free (Power Pack add-on for about $20) Normally, this space is reserved for apps for the phone and the occasional Web site. This week, we're going to talk directly to M ... More >>

Tracy Nelson, Victim Of The Blues, Embraces Muddy & Lightnin'

Robert Hakins​Long acclaimed as one of the truly great singers of the modern era, at 66 Tracy Nelson still has the fire for performing great songs. Her latest project, Victim of the Blues, is a loving caress to her original passion: Old-school blues, particularly the Chicago variety. Nelson's ... More >>

Apple's iCloud and Cloud Computing: 10 Key Questions Answered

Apple's iCloud service was introduced June 6​The Apple World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) keynote address -- the way Steve Jobs and crew announce new initiatives to fanboys (and girls) -- was even more anticipated than usual this year, so much so that Jobs made a special appearance despite ... More >>

Jay-Z & Kanye West Bringing The Throne To Houston October 26

​This morning Live Nation announced that Jay-Z and Kanye West, two rappers you may have heard of, will bring their brand-new group The Throne's "Watch The Throne" tour to Toyota Center October 26. Rocks Off applauds the duo for reigniting mass interest in Otis Redding via their single, "Otis, ... More >>

How Jay-Z & Kanye West Kept Watch the Throne From Leaking Online

howfresh2.comJay-Z's business plan: Don't leak the masters, get a Rolex.​The kingdom is safe. The throne has been watched. In an age where albums spring leaks like baby diapers, Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne arrived on the appointed date without even as much as a drip. For the first ... More >>

What Google & Motorola's Marriage Means To The Music Industry

The Daily Beast​Google stunned the tech world last week when it tied the knot with Motorola for $12.5 billion. But it's the music business that should be raising its brows at the union. Like any typical suitor, Google weighed Motorola's considerably large assets in its decision to get in bed ... More >>

Facebook Music Coming To A Computer Near You

Jason611 via Flickr​No one's willing to confirm anything, but all indications point to the same scoop: Facebook is planning to launch a new music service this fall. Here's what we know so far. CNBC's John Fortt broke the news Kanye West-style - in ALL CAPS: "YES INDEED NEXT MONTH IS GOING TO ... More >>

5 Ways Apple Revolutionized the Music Industry

​No other company has changed the music industry as much as Apple. For the better part of the last decade, the late Steve Jobs and his co-conspirators have empowered music consumers in ways no one would have ever imagined. The monstrous iTunes store made it possible for anybody to buy music w ... More >>

Is Spotify Ripping off Artists?

​Spotify made one hell of an entrance in July. Swedish-founded and U.K.-headquartered, Spotify arrived the States three months ago to adoring fans. Like a new bride, glowing in the light, flashing that pizza smile logo at us. Everyone wanted a piece of the sexy digital jukebox. Now that the ve ... More >>

Black Keys Not Licensing New Record to Streaming Services

​There's been a furor brewing among people who love streaming music services like Spotify and Rdio over bands like Coldplay denying licensing to those services for new releases. Older albums are available, but bands have essentially delayed the release to streaming services. That was all well ... More >>

A Roundup of the 2011 Music Industry Based Strictly on Band Names

XL/Columbia​Theologians love saying things like "Man is created superior to animals" and "Animals can't be equal with humans." And then we go scouring philosophy books to see if animals have immortal spirits and if this means we'll someday meet our pets in heaven. That's a bunch of horse dung. ... More >>

Houston's thelastplaceyoulook Gets Into The Christmas Spirit With "Do You Hear?"

Photo by Groovehouse​Rocks Off is getting into the Christmas spirit, slowly but surely, and now that it's finally December, all your Facebook posts concerning your holiday plans have become much more tolerable. The music, classic though it may be, has needed an update for quite some time. In ... More >>

Best Of... App Gets a High-Five From iTunes

​It's the end of the year, which means lots of best-of lists, and we're happy to announce that our own Best Of... app made the iTunes 2011 Rewind's list off best travel apps. The app, which was released in March, contains all of the Best of Houston winners, as well as winners from our sister ... More >>

12 Music Business Predictions for 2012

Photo by Robert Bejil​Where were we? Oh yeah, crystal ball and prophesies. You ready for this? OK. What follows is a list of events we expect to befall the music industry in 2012. Yes, these are etched in stone and should be regarded as gospel. Full prophetic titillation ahead.

Five Factors That Will Influence the Growth of Streaming Music in 2012

​We all know that in December of 2012, the Mayan calendar ends as will the world, but before that fateful day, I've got a lot of music to listen to and, like many, I seem to be doing that increasingly on my computer and via streaming music services. Whether it is Pandora or Grooveshark or Las ... More >>

In Memoriam: Megaupload (2005 - 2012)

​Yesterday, one of our favorite file sharing sites was struck by a government takedown around the early portions of the morning. It was swift, it was brutal and it could have been blamed on Kim Kardashian. Losing MegaUpload was a giant blow to musicians who love uploading zip or rar files ... More >>

8 Things We Learned from the IFPI's 2012 Report

Marc Brubaker​The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) released its 2012 report this week, confirming that the music industry may finally have a reason to be cautiously optimistic about its future. The industry saw its first year-over-year growth since 2004, piracy notw ... More >>