Michael Bolton

Slip Slidin' Away: My Life as a Rock Journalist With the Houston Press

I had a hernia operation in the early summer of 2006, and had nothing to do all day but hobble around with cool cane a borrowed from Grandpa Hlavaty and play on the Internets for two months or so. I had developed the injury while working at Domino's, but it was cool because their insurance helped ... More >>

Time-Trippin': Great Houston Radio TV Ads From Yesterday

If I have learned anything over the past year at Rocks Off, it's that you guys really, really get heated when it comes to FM radio in Houston. From format changes, myopic classic-rock playlists, and controversial morning hosts, Houstonians care about their terrestrial radio choices. Hell, you do spe ... More >>

Dear Houston, Kindly Shut the Hell Up at Eddie Vedder

Pearl Jam lead singer and everything advocate Eddie Vedder pulls into Houston today for a two-night stand at Jones Hall, making up two shows he had to cancel back in the spring due to injury. Singer-songwriter Glen Hansard will also be on hand to open both shows, and he even helps out Vedder on a fe ... More >>

Top 5 Weirdest & Worst Musical Collaborations

In the history of music, there have been many meetings of the mind between people with similar attitudes, styles, and ideas. Some of these just felt right from the very beginning and you knew they were destined to produce greatness. That's what happened when Brian Eno met David Bowie and later when ... More >>

Top 5 New Rules for Internet Jukeboxes

Used to be, you'd have to hit bar after bar until you found one with just the right jukebox, and then that was your own personal lair of alcohol consumption from then on. The people demanded more freedom of choice, however, so most bars have already switched over to Internet jukeboxes, where one can ... More >>

Who On Earth Is Searching for "Hipster John Denver"?

Here at Houston Press HQ, Rocks Off has a program where we can see every search someone types into that window with the magnifying glass in the top right-hand corner of our home page and any of the four Houston Press blogs. That's right, we're watching you. Be careful. It's fascinating, the things ... More >>

Hey Ladies! The 10 Most She-Tastic Artists of All Time

Have you ever noticed this: Men and women have different musical tastes. At times, they do. Why? Because men and women have different interests, for the most part. Think about it, boys: while you may want to play some Metallica, your girlfriend (or mom) may want listen to Sheryl Crow or Madonna. A ... More >>

Readers' Poll: Does Music In The Workplace Make You More Productive?

A recent blog on the Bloomberg Businessweek site detailed a UK study that was done dealing with music in the workplace and its effect on worker productivity. 77 percent of surveyed businesses said that it boosted morale and made output soar. The rest of the 33 percent probably own sweatshops. Now I ... More >>

Other "Coachella" Festivals We'd Like To See

So, Coachella tickets sold out a few weeks ago. Evidently, the lineup is killer, accommodating to most tastes. Last year, the festival sold out in a week. This year, even with two weekends available, tickets sold out within a couple of hours. Don't have tickets to the show? Don't fret! What if ... More >>

La La Love You: Top Ten Cheesiest Love Songs For Valentine's Day

It's that time of year again. Everything is red and full of hearts. Chocolates and roses are marked up. Couples are showing off and singles are desperately searching online dating services for a quick set-up to give them their own special day. That's right, it's about to be Valentine's Day! Some are ... More >>

Tony Iommi: Music's Other Man In Black Proves His Heavy Mettle

​Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath By Toni Iommi with T.J. Lammers Da Capo Press, 416 pp., $26. Imagine this passage being read in your best "Behind the Music" narration: It was in the center of a dirty, grimy sheet-metal factory in Birmingham, England, when a 1 ... More >>

The Five Worst Music Movies Ever*

* That aren't actual musicals *eye roll*​It would be easy to pick out a bunch of terrible musicals to make fun of. First off, most musicals seem stuck in the 1930s, when every song everywhere sounded like a show tune, and therefore stank. Second, we're afraid of polarizing our audience. You ... More >>

Best Riffs Only: Krayolas Going For Tex-Mex Rock & Roll Master's

​Krayolas drummer David Saldana is not your average power pop rock and roller. While his resuscitated band continues to draw gobs of press and is grabbing some high profile gigs, Saldana's life is taking him in another direction. "I'm actually getting my Masters in education so I can be a pri ... More >>

Top 10 Texas Movie Soundtracks

​This weekend, as the rest of the world catches Harry Potter mania for (perhaps) the final time, Houston gets a serious dose of Urban Cowboy nostalgia. Theater Under the Stars' production of the Tony-nominated 2003 musical - which The New York Times called "a conclusive demonstration that it's ... More >>

Out Today: Tyler, The Creator's Goblin, The Cars Restarted...

​We now live in a world where Adele is a chart-topping artist, placing at number one slot the past few weeks, rubbing shoulders with the Foo Fighters, Katy Perry, Mumford & Sons, and Britney Spears. If Adele's 21 isn't on the top of everyone's best-of 2011 lists, there is no justice in the wor ... More >>

Top 20 Despised, Yet Wildly Popular, Bands And Musicians

Scott Stapp, lead singer of Creed (above), stops at House of Blues tonight on his current acoustic tour. More than likely you have already clicked off this blog, or at least already gone on auto-pilot to call him a fuck-ass in the comments section. We'll wait a sec for you to come back. OK, the ... More >>

This Week in Deliciousness

Photo by Dennis J.This arrangement of lemons symbolizes the New Year. If you don't get how, you're just not hip enough, man.​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where our Christmas leftovers are starting to get a little ripe. The week or so leading up to Christmas this ... More >>

Vote Quimby Bristol

​Is it really almost over? Why, it seems like only yesterday we were bidding farewell to "The Hoff" and Michael Bolton was taking offense at Judge Bruno's harsh comments about his "jive" dancing (while remaining curiously unaffected by similar criticisms of his music). But it's true: tonight s ... More >>

Last Night: Michael Bolton At Jones Hall

Photos by Craig Hlavaty​Michael Bolton with the Houston Symphony Jones Hall September 8, 2010 It was a little over a year ago that Aftermath saw Yanni, and just a few months back that we saw Kenny G. Wednesday night we saw Michael Bolton, forming a power-trio of artists that you're not suppos ... More >>

Our Eight Favorite Musical Moments From Texas-Shot Films

​If Chainsaws, Slackers and Spy Kids sounds like a titillating title for a book, it's only because the book itself deals with some of the most provocative indie films in recent cinematic history - many of them made by Texas-born filmmakers. The book is the work of Alison Macor, former film cr ... More >>

Twilight: Eclipse And Other Promising Summer Soundtracks

​Summer isn't just the time to look forward to astronomically budgeted, noisy, overproduced blockbuster films, it's also the time to look forward to astronomically budgeted, noisy, overproduced blockbuster soundtracks. Is Graeme Revell still dicking around with ProTools? He is? Oh, super! Anyway, ... More >>

Aftermath: Never Mind The Hipsters, Kenny G Blows Us Away

Photos by Craig HlavatyEd. Note: This is merch from the show and not a poster from Craig's room... we think.​ Aftermath shook hands Thursday night with Kenny G, a man who has arguably been one of the most reviled men in pop music now nearly 30 years. Why are we bringing this up? It's not to name-d ... More >>

Yes, We're Going To Kenny G. Got A Problem With That?

​Yes, tomorrow night Craig's Hlist will be at Kenny G with your mother and your weird aunt who likes to buy you fertility crystals for the summer solstice. Kenny G intrigues us to the no end. Along with Michael Bolton, he was a part of a tag-team duo of pop culture musical dregs in the '90s. But t ... More >>

For Opening Day: The Worst Pregame Renditions Of The National Anthem Ever

What so proudly we hailed... Can you pass the earplugs, please?​ You can be forgiven for not realizing Opening Day for baseball season was here already (yesterday, in fact). Maybe you've been too busy cursing the guy in your NCAA tournament pool that filled out his brackets using the coin-flip met ... More >>

Distant Early Warning: Al Green, Clint Black, Don McLean, Lightning Bolt, Ludacris, Miranda Lambert, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, Tony Joe White, Etc.

​Female Demand, American Sharks, Satin Hooks, Tow The Line: Sun., March 28, 8 p.m. Walter's on Washington. Al Green: Sun., May 16. Arena Theatre. Chuck Allen Floyd Band: Sat., June 12. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. Casiotone For the Painfully Alone, Magical Beautiful: Sat., April 17. Khon's. Clint Bl ... More >>

Ten Cover Songs So Bad They'll Shrivel Your Soul

Two nights ago, while carelessly patrolling the back alleys of the internet, Rocks Off stumbled across Hilary Duff's execrable cover of The Who's "My Generation". Well, what did you think, YouTube commenters? ​ You sure you're not being too harsh? ​ Yeah... ours too. Someday, when we ... More >>

WTF Island: Jackson Five, Kid Rock, Glenn Danzig, Rock Camp and Assteroids

Even as our economy continued to go up in flames like the Toyota Center, the carnival of WTF kept trolling along this week. It seemed that every day we saw something so asinine and foolish that we couldn't keep up. Jackson Family slavery museums, rock and roll fantasy camps, Kid Rock's new beer, "As ... More >>

Artist of the Week: Without a Face

Is It True That Pandora Is Dying?

The Wayback Machine

Houston's Very Best Songs Ever

...otherwise known as the H-Town 20

Musical Food Groups

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

Double Vision

Jess and Lisa Origliasso give teen pop a harmonic jolt as the Veronicas

James Hunter

ames Hunter appears Friday, May 26, at the Continental Club, 3700 Main, 713-529-9899

Feel This Man

If you think R. Kelly is anything less than the greatest recording artist alive, you're wrong!

The Hanukkah Songs

Wherein we find the coining of our new favorite word: Jewpergroup

USA-holes

Team America takes no prisoners and spares no swear words

A Thin Line...

Introducing the most hated men in rock (besides Sting)

Dead Again

There's fresh meat for the reaper in Final Destination 2

James Pineapple Esq. Is Dead!

But his creator, comic James Ladmirault, lives on

Easy on Friday Night

Rotation

Quadruple Weird

"Experimental" doesn't quite describe Flaming Lips' Zaireeka

Rotation

Impure, and Proud of It

Seaside Bliss

In Miami Rhapsody, just about everything goes right

Growed-up Stuff

Letters