Joe Jackson

Craig's List

Our Hlavaty's Top 10 local albums of 2012.

Rocks Off's 10(ish) Favorite Local Albums of 2012

Continuing with our year-end panorama, Rocks Off asked our contributors a simple question with a not-so-simple answer: What was your favorite local album of 2012? ALEXA CRENSHAW: Whatever I say here, I'm going to want to take back shortly because there's so much good stuff out there, y'all. Althoug ... More >>

Marvin Gay, Sr., and the 10 Worst Rock-Star Parents of All Time

Twenty-eight years ago this week, Marvin Gay, Sr., received a six-year suspended sentence and five years of probation for the voluntary manslaughter of his son, the R&B legend Marvin Gaye. Gay pled guilty after shooting his namesake dead in the L.A. home given to him and his wife by Gaye, who was 44 ... More >>

Rest Of The Best: Houston's Top 8 Jukeboxes

Along with pickled pig's feet and a steady supply of Slim Jims, a good jukebox is a prime element for any great bar. But, like dinosaurs, jukeboxes are a vanishing breed. Unlike digital jukes, iPods or DJs, jukeboxes require love, care and maintenance, as well as -- among the truly great ones -- som ... More >>

Friday Night: Spoon At House Of Blues

Spoon House of Blues April 13, 2012 Spoon has two types of songs: Songs that cut and songs that groove. But they all sting. The songs that cut are choppy and a little clenched, like "Small Stakes" or "Got Nuffin'." The songs that groove are about as fluid as I think it is for music to possibly be; ... More >>

Executive Entertainers: America's Most Musical Presidents

Big-money supporters were treated to the first indelible moment in Barack Obama's reelection campaign last Thursday when the President crooned the opening lyric from Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" from the stage of the Apollo Theater in Harlem. It was just the sort of off-the-cuff instance that c ... 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 >>

Your Shameful Musical Secrets Collected: #gotcha!

​For the past few days on Twitter, Rocks Off has been imploring our followers, our precious 3,250 friends (and counting), to tell us their shameful musical secrets by using the hashtag #shamefulafternoonsecrets or #shamefulmorningsecrets, the latter which could sound like a sordid booty call h ... More >>

When the Rain Came

There was, indeeed, wet stuff from the sky this morning. Feel free to celebrate. It's amazing what crazy can do / When every good citizen's sane / When heaven's a desert / We'll go to our place in the rain / It's amazing what comes into view / When you just connect your heart back to your brain / W ... More >>

Chane: Rapper's Late Father Was Partner, Mentor, "Maestro"

This is our weekly Artist of the Week spotlight, and a continuation of an interview with rapper Chane that was started yesterday in the weekly Ask A Rapper column. ​Rocks Off: Were you ever of the brain that people might see the video as exploitative? For the record, we didn't feel that way ... More >>

Clint Broussard Has Blues In Hi-Fi After Car Wreck

Lauren Summerville​Longtime KTRU disc jockey Clint Broussard, whose popular show Blues in Hi-Fi has been a Wednesday-night staple for more than 12 years, is recuperating at home after two surgeries on his leg. Broussard's leg was "separated below the knee" during a collision on U.S. 59 near th ... More >>

William Shatner's Greatest Hits: The Man Transformed

​Rocks Off would like to wish a very happy 80th birthday to the one and only Mr. William Shatner. He may not be the best actor out there, or the best singer, but he is without a doubt the best William Shatner there ever was or ever will be. The way he has totally erased the line between sincer ... More >>

Will You Be the Idiot Who Forgets About the Time Change?

For some reason it seems to be sneaking up on people this year, but Sunday is Daylight Saving Time. Spring forward, fall back, lose an hour's sleep, more sun in the evening, all that stuff. So don't forget. Each year when this happens, of course it brings about one pressing question: Who does the ... More >>

This Week In Set Lists: Pixies, Kings Of Leon, Tom Petty, Rush, Etc.

GroovehouseKings of Leon, Toyota Center, October 2009​Rocks Off has been both eagerly anticipating and dreading this week for months now. Anticipating because several of our all-time favorite bands are playing within the span of a few days, as are a couple of our favorite newer bands (though n ... More >>

FAIL: Courtney Love, Joe Jackson, Gravity

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray​Courtney Love Is Not Having an Easy Time of It: First, the lawsuit involving Courtney's share of Nirvana's musical rights was settled, most likely for less than she wanted. We have a hard time mustering up any sympathy there, but even we get uncomfortab ... More >>

The Day Michael Jackson Died: A Look Back

​One year ago tomorrow, one of the strangest, most volatile lives in American pop-culture history came to an end. Michael Jackson left this mortal coil on June 25, 2009, and in his wake we were left to not only deal with all of our conflicted and cherished memories of him, but also the public ... More >>

SXSW Aftermath: Mexican Spazz-Punk, Sulky Broken Bells, Spoon In The Pocket

Photos by Craig HlavatyMexico's scuzzy Hong Kong Blood Opera​ We stopped off Red River at Barbarella to see Mexico City's Hong Kong Blood Opera, decent Blood Brothers-style spazz-punk, buoyed by electrics and plenty of howling by the band's co-singers. If anything, they engaged the crowd and we hu ... More >>

Great Moments in Douchebaggotry: Michael Jackson Takes Paul McCartney's Advice... In the Douchiest Way Possible

Great Moments in Douchebaggery is brought to you by Rocks Off's upcoming Washington Shore party, Thursday, February 11, at the Washington Avenue Drinkery. All types of douchebags are encouraged to attend. Sadly, the duo enjoyed only a very brief period of skipping merrily about together.​In the ea ... More >>

Paternity Suit Aside, At Least Matthew Knowles Isn't as Bad as These Manager Dads

​In news that was greeted with yawns outside of Houston - and not exactly shouted from the rooftops here - Matthew Knowles, father of Beyonce and Solange, has been slapped with a paternity suit by an actress in Los Angeles. This obviously wouldn't be much of a story if not for his famous offspring ... More >>

Five Ways to Improve 107.5 the Eagle

Paging the Purple One... the Eagle Needs You!For Houston music commentators, picking on the sorry state of the city's commercial airwaves is even more fun than sportswriters must have making fun of the Astros. But on the rare occasion a new format does come along - even if it's hardly "new" - it sti ... More >>

Michael Jackson in Real Bad Shape... R.I.P. Jacko

[Update: at 5:15 p.m. Houston time, the Los Angeles Times confirmed Jackson's death, citing "city and law enforcement sources." The King of Pop was all of 50 years old.] As if there wasn't enough going on today - Farrah, Roky, Jenny Lewis - the Internet is now exploding with reports of Michael Jack ... More >>

$13 at Potbelly Sandwich Works

$13 at Potbelly Sandwich Works

HouStoned Rocks Mixtape

Jones Family Singers

9 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at the Continental Club, 3700 Main, 713-529-9899

Vagina Music Roundup

A scintillating survey

Funtime Is Over

It's the end of the road for AstroWorld

Fear, and the Toasters

Friday, January 30

Chasing Mandy

A pop-star-turned-actress tries to move into her "mature phase"

The Class of '03

Grab your gift certificates and trade in your white elephants -- here's what you really wanted for Christmas

Big Bang

The bygone days of the Insurance Man

Spiraling, with Ice-9 and James Catholic

Tuesday, February 4

Ultimate Fakebook

Friday, March 29

Joseph Murrail Jackson Memorials

Friday, January 18 and Sunday, January 20

Green Party

A child of the liberal folk movement, Dar Williams isn't above rocking out

Letters

Static

Static

Hillbilly Revenge