Luther Vandross

Rotations

Critic's Choice

Executive Sax

Sound Check

Executive Sax

Sound Check

Executive Sax

Out of the Swamp

Executive Sax

Baby, It's Him

Burt Bacharach isn't making a comeback -- he never left

"Fly" Boys

Burt Bacharach isn't making a comeback -- he never left

Shake Your Sheilas

Burt Bacharach isn't making a comeback -- he never left

Skybar's Saturday-Night R&B "Party With A View"

Up, Up and Away

Travis Tritt

Up, Up and Away

The R&B timeline in reverse via Cotton Exchange and The Real Sammie

Franklin Mint

“Dancin’ in the Street…Motown & More Revue”

Uptight? Everything is all right!

Musical Food Groups

If singers were cheese, what kind of cheese would they be?

That Was the Year That Was

Looking back on the local scene in '06

Muck a Duck

Must-see shows at McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Dream Girl

Tasheba Bryan on an open mic

Stairway to Heaven

Gauging 2005's rock deaths with the Greil Marcus Death Meter

Hedberg and the Angry Lynch

The PC and the un-PC make nice at the Verizon

Classics Rock

Which Greek god is your favorite musician?

Getting Out

Too scared to leave her house, Sandy has one last chance: a county crisis team that will come to her

Black Gold

A gusher lay beneath the surface, but you had to drill deep

Maller, Shot Caller

CONXTION 2000 is hippin' and hoppin' despite its mall address

Ruff Rockers

CONXTION 2000 is hippin' and hoppin' despite its mall address

[S]hit

Behind current blaxploitation pulp literature is - surprise! - the music biz

Who R. You?

The enigma that is R. Kelly keeps audiences enthralled, guessing

Rotation

The enigma that is R. Kelly keeps audiences enthralled, guessing

OK, Maybe the Eagle Does Play Some Black People

As we usually do when we get into work, Rocks Off tuned into Dean & Rog on the Eagle and lo and behold, they were talking about our suggestions to improve the station we posted here Tuesday. D&R especially seemed to enjoy the part where we said it wouldn't kill the Eagle to play some more pe ... More >>

A Bizarre, and Sometimes Electrifying, Tribute to Michael Jackson, Luther and Marvin at Miller Outdoor Theater

​Saturday Rocks Off and a friend attended Keeping the Music Alive, a free concert at Miller Outdoor Theatre. The show was a tribute in honor of the late Michael Jackson, the later Bernie Mac, the even later Gerald Levert, the later still Luther Vandross, and the even yet later still Barry White - ... More >>

A Third Ward Pawnshop iPod and the Mysterious Fate of Previous Owner "Scooby"

Whoever he is (was?), Scooby's iPod wasn't short on R. Kelly.​So a couple of weeks ago, after three or four years of increasingly faltering service, Rocks Off's 30 GB iPod finally died. Completely. Out of sheer broke-assedness, we had held on to it for longer than most. By the end, its quirks and ... More >>

Kick 'em While They're Down: The Worst Songs Ever Recorded For Charity

Please take this thing away from me. Please.​ When Rocks Off received an email touting Sting's new MySpace charity video for the Prince of Wales' Rainforest Project, we almost chipped a fingernail hurriedly clicking on the link, which promised oodles of celebrities such as Olivia Newton-John, Rich ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 11: Z-Ro's Let the Truth Be Told

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Z-Ro Let the Truth Be Told (Asylum, 2005)​This is our second entry from Jos ... More >>

Glee: Marking Time

​At the outset, it looked like another Sue Sylvester-heavy episode. First, she gave Mercedes (and, less emphatically, Kurt) an ultimatum to lose weight or be dropped from the squad, then she commandeered the McKinley High auditorium for an entire week, forcing New Directions to secure a new l ... More >>

Glee: Marking Time

​At the outset, it looked like another Sue Sylvester-heavy episode. First, she gave Mercedes (and, less emphatically, Kurt) an ultimatum to lose weight or be dropped from the squad, then she commandeered the McKinley High auditorium for an entire week, forcing New Directions to secure a new lo ... More >>

Exclusive: Trae Leaks First Can't Ban Tha Truth Single "Cop A Drop"

Trae also released a new episode of his online cartoon series The Adventures of Trae Tha Truth Monday.​Here's what you have to appreciate about Trae: He will always let his feelings be known. Always. Always. You've got a better chance of finding someone in Houston to say something nice about ... More >>

Idol Beat: Male Fraud

​Steve Tyler wore a shirt with lips all over it. I couldn't decide if he was being knowingly self-referential or it was the work of the same costume designer who put him in that leotard in the "Love in an Elevator" video.neither way, it fulfilled its purpose of distracting me from the show for ... More >>

1986: Best Musical Year Ever?

​For almost two weeks now, Rocks Off has been obsessed with the year exactly 25 flips of the calendar backward from this one. It started when Steve Earle did one of his "Time Machine" shows, where the singer-songwriter who plays House of Blues Wednesday spotlights a dozen or so of his favorite ... More >>

Beanz N Kornbread Cook Up Good Weather Muzik

Marco Torres​When Rocks Off ran into the production duo Beanz N Kornbread at SXSW back in March, we were advised to stay tuned for a big project set to drop sometime this summer. Well the summer is here, and that project is the impressive Good Weather Muzik. We caught up with the team to inqui ... More >>

Tommy Davidson

Marco Torres​When Rocks Off ran into the production duo Beanz N Kornbread at SXSW back in March, we were advised to stay tuned for a big project set to drop sometime this summer. Well the summer is here, and that project is the impressive Good Weather Muzik. We caught up with the team to inqui ... More >>

Whitney Houston In Houston: A Brief Retrospective

All morning, the world woke up to the shocking, but not altogether surprising, news that troubled pop/R&B superstar Whitney Houston died Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. Houston, 48, was pronounced dead at around 3:55 p.m. at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, according to Reuters. No cause o ... More >>