Mariah Carey

Top 10 Heartbreaking Holiday Covers

Last week we took a look at some of the most holiday spirit-dampeningly awful songs ever recorded. We aren't quite done ruining your holiday spirit just yet however, as this week we have compiled ten of the saddest holiday cover songs ever recorded. Rewind: The 10 Worst Holiday Cover Songs Ever ... More >>

The Voice Is Still Gone: 10 More Singers Who Have Lost It Live

Per your comments, we here at Rocks Off realized that a whole lot more singers have lost their voices over the years than just Axl Rose and the five included in last week's look at the subject. It's unfortunate, but it seems that many, many pop and rock singers are struggling along in their middle-t ... More >>

Last Night: Mary J. Blige & D'Angelo at Toyota Center

Mary J. Blige, D'Angelo Toyota Center September 2, 2012 There's a wildly popular scene in comedian/actor Jamie Foxx's hit late 90s television show, The Jamie Foxx Show, in which he dresses up -- or undresses, actually -- as funk singer D'Angelo in penance for some slight done to his girlfriend. In ... More >>

The Best Beer Labels

The most iconic and creative on Texas shelves.

Movies You Should Watch: Five Oscar Losers That Were Also Worth the Win

The movies that win the Oscar for Best Picture aren't the only ones that deserve your attention. Here are five films that were nominated, but lost, that we think are worth a screening.

Hail, Santa: The Top 10 Metal Christmas Carol Covers

​Rocks Off likes to believe that Christmas is such a merry holiday, even some of Satan's most stalwart servants can't help but get into the act. Of course, it could be that heavy metal musicians record Christmas music for the same reason as Mariah Carey: Because there's a crapload of money to ... More >>

Looking Back at A Very Special Christmas Track by Track

In the late 1980's, music empresario Jimmy Iovine cobbled together quite a collection of pop and rock artists to record songs for a Christmas album benefitting the Special Olympics. In 1987, A Very Special Christmas was released and rapidly became an instant holiday classic thanks to the star powere ... More >>

Justin Bieber's Voice Changes Just In Time For Christmas Album

"Say shawty, Merry Christmas, or whatever year-end holiday greeting that makes you happy." ​Children and adults alike are getting their holiday wish granted early this year, and they don't have to wait until Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or even Christmas morning to receive it. Justin Bieber's v ... More >>

The X Factor: Rain Delay and Judges' Houses

Photo by FOXJust wait until the "Judges' moms' houses" round!​First, this recap was delayed because the Wednesday night baseball playoff game was rain delayed, canceling that night's X Factor episode--yet another reason for me to hate baseball. Second, naming the latest round of competition "t ... More >>

The X Factor Does Dallas (And Miami)

Fox​Audition round two of The X Factor is held in Miami and Dallas, and they tell a different story than Los Angeles. In my first recap, I was impressed with the consistently great talent The X Factor delivered, keeping the freak-show acts to a minimum. When the judges hit Miami, the dearth of ... More >>

The 10 Most Horrible Music-Biz Bosses

​The movie Horrible Bosses comes out today, and while the heinous supervisors in question all work in areas unrelated to entertainment, this shouldn't be taken to mean the music industry is free of bad managers and executives. Rocks Off knows if anything, the music biz has had more than its fa ... More >>

Bikes on Easements

North-south cycling trails could be a go!

Idol Beat: Some Girls

​I missed most of last night's introduction because I was still trying to get my head around how they're going to milk tonight's selection show for two freaking hours. American Idol is just another example of domestic ineffeciency: take what should be -- at best -- a thirty minute program and ... More >>

"Auld Lang Syne," In All Its Many Colors

​Harry: What does this song mean? My whole life, I don't know what this song means. "Should old acquaintance be forgot" - does that mean we should forget old acquaintances, or if we happen to forget them, that we should remember them, which is not possible because we've already forgotten them? ... More >>

Ten Bizarro Christmas-Carol Covers

​Thanks to holiday-themed compilations like A Very Special Christmas and Little Steven's Christmas A Go-Go, we often hear our favorite modern artists putting their spin on holiday classics. But for those who are tired of forcing Mariah Carey's eight-octave "All I Want For Christmas" on their f ... More >>

The Ladies Strike Back, Actually

Rocks Off is following our sister Houston Press blogs into the choppy waters of "Comment of the Day," choosing a comment or a handful of comments from the previous day we find especially enlightening, infuriating or just plain hilarious. We're glad our readers have opinions, whatever they are, about ... More >>

Top Eight Worst Musician Vanity Film Projects

​Rocks Off won't speak for everyone, but if we ever found ourselves a platinum-selling artist, we kinda doubt we'd press our luck by veering off into the world of acting. We mean, it hardly ever works from the opposite direction (right, Don Johnson?), so what good can possibly come from assumi ... More >>

Last Night: Die Antwoord At Stereo Live

"He is singing into a penis..." Photos by Groovehouse​Die Antwoord, Rye Rye Stereo Live November 1, 2010 For more photos from the show, see our slideshow here. It was industrial, grating, disorienting, sweaty, funky, hilarious and altogether like nothing we had ever seen in our lives. The w ... More >>

Rap's Top 10 Heroes Of 2010 So Far, Part 2

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. thepaparazzionline.com (if you ... More >>

Eminem: 6 Ways He Can Still Screw Up His Comeback

​Marshall Mathers III has certainly enjoyed great success, but it hasn't been easy for the guy. He's had difficulty overcoming addiction and depression, and like many of us, he keeps returning to that one bad relationship over and over again. His latest album, Recovery, has brought him back in ... More >>

MTV Struggles to Remain Relevant By Naming A Twitter Jockey

​This week MTV announced an online campaign looking for the network's first-ever TJ, or Twitter Jockey. Unlike the video jockeys of the cable station's past, these folks would instead live-tweet from MTV events for a year, earning a salary, and live in New York City. In addition to Twitter, th ... More >>

Aftermath: VNV Nation Cry Victory, Not Vengeance, At Wired Live

Sketches by Bret and Rachel Harmeyer (this one is Rachel)​When two skanks are grinding on each other in the front row, and the audience cares not at all because they can't take their eyes off the band on stage, that's a good show. VNV Nation is an act that has been fermenting a strange and heady v ... More >>

The Big Secrets In Bill White's Tax Returns, Revealed

​You know things have gotten off on the wring foot challenging Rick Perry when the state's leading political writer compares your operation to Kay Bailey Hutchison's.Here's how things have gone in the Texas governor's race since the primaries: Rick Perry has been in Patton mode, ostentatiously "ac ... More >>

Turning the Screw: Bun B, Z-Ro, LeBron, Prince, Ice Cube, The Kanye, Aziz Ansari, Omarion, Waka Flocka Flame (Just Read), Ja Rule and More

Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "O.G." C. Loc, Bun B and Z-Ro Wire to Wire Bun B is still leaking tracks from his non-mixtape mixtape i ... More >>

Aftermath: Rocks Off's Buddy's Bachelor Party at House of Blues, Leon's, the Darkhorse and, Suprisingly, Not Jail

Craig Hlavaty​ Like we wrote last Friday, Rocks Off attended a bachelor party this past weekend for our friend Brett, who gets hitched this coming Saturday. (It took us a few days for our head to clear.) It was a star-studded event that included a faux Kings of Leon sighting, Luis Scola, a Led Zep ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Golden Bozos

You know awards season is in full swing when all the celebrities converge upon the Beverly Hilton to get drunk and act like receiving an award from the same organization that once honored Pia Zadora is something to be proud of.That's right, it was Golden Globes night last Sunday. And while the just ... More >>

Tender Mercies

Bombing survivor Sam Baker comes to grips with forgiveness on Cotton.

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

Dancing With the Stars: Suck It, Maxim Model!

Kelly Osbourne gives her best "suck it, you model bitch" pose.​This is it. The ninth week of Dancing With the Stars has now come and gone. Only now do I understand the bittersweet joy of watching a baby grow up. This week's pointless encore command performance was Mya's salsa, which had earn ... More >>

Black Lightning

Top-notch songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson stops by Conroe.

Beyonce Scheduled to Perform at Michael Jackson Memorial

Daniel Kramer ABC News is reporting that Beyonce, who sang tributes to Michael Jackson at her Toyota Center concert and at New Orleans' Essence Music Festival over the weekend, will perform at Jackson's funeral in Los Angeles this afternoon. Also expected to attend are Justin Timberlake, P Diddy, Sm ... More >>

Michael Jackson, You Will Be Honored...And Twittered

The Most Important Event Ever....Will Be Twittered!!!!Our colleagues at West Coast Sound, the music blog of our sister paper L.A. Weekly, will be in attendance when The Nation Stops at noon tomorrow (Houston time) to give a final send-off to Michael Jackson at Los Angeles' Staples Center. So far St ... More >>

Realizing You Don't Have What It Takes To Want To Be A Millionaire

Photos by Blake WhitakerOn the way to our first ever game-show tryout today, we saw what we took at the time to be cosmic encouragement. Competing for space in Airline Drive's forest of signage was the Moonlight Inn marquee, which spoke to us: "You are awake. Don't dream it -- do it." Of cour ... More >>

Idol Beat: The Top Eight Results

Photos by Frank Micelotta/ Fox Guests of the Sheik: Flo Rida and his "harem."First things first: in yesterday's Idol Beat, I made reference to how excited I was for Idol Gives Back, a wildly successful annual event/trainwreck wherein the program brings a ton of celebrities on in an effort to ... More >>

American Idol Returns Tonight... Yawn

Come back Kelly Clarkson, all is forgiven... If you've been lucky enough to spend the past several months in a media-deprivation tank - or maybe you just don't read the Houston Chronicle - then you no doubt know Fox's shrill-singing flagship series American Idol returns tonight at 7 p.m. (As ... More >>

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 >>

HPMA Aftermath: Small Sounds, Yoko Mono, Katie Stuckey and the Swagger, Espantapajaros, Buxton, Los Skarnales and Thee Armada

Miranda Lambert

Drenched In Blog: Remembering Ol’ Dirty Bastard

Tech? No!

An imaginary history of electronic music

Blue Monday

Louise Glück and Franz Wright keep it solemn

The Academy Is..., with Panic! At the Disco, Acceptance, Hellogoodbye

Wednesday, February 22, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, 713-629-3700.

Swing Time

On-site clubs are increasingly popular for fans of instant gratification

French Kissed

Hollywood Frame Gallery goes Gallic with "March de Triomphe"

Exile in Whinerville

The hostility flung at Liz Phair's new record is senseless, sexist and abominably stupid

Rotation

Riding the Rap

A new book chronicles the bloody rise and fall of Death Row Records

Static

Rap Gets Puffy

Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs fathers a return to hip-hop pop

Bill-bored

At least Tom Jones left the mesh shirt at home