Michael Buble

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 >>

Clockwork Angels

Veteran rockers Rush brought their steampunk-themed concept album to Toyota Center December 2.

Rest of the Best

Houston's top 5 local music venues.

10 Surprising Things About This Year's Grammy Nominations

This year music has been dominated by viral pop like "Call Me Maybe" and "Gangnam Style," songs that initially became "hits" from outside the music business' traditional delivery system, usually YouTube. Thursday, the Grammys recognized that by nominating "Maybe," by 17-year-old Justin Bieber proteg ... More >>

The Best & Weirdest PR Email Subject Lines of 2012

Rocks Off gets at least 6,000 emails a week. Aight, it's more like 30 a day, I guess, more if it's SXSW season or the holidays, or if my co-workers get into a rousing conversation about chicks in our one of nightlife slideshows. Out of all those emails, we may gleefully respond to a dozen, and d ... More >>

So This Is 5 Years of Listening to Sunny 99.1's Christmas?

2008: An Hour in Sunny 99.1's Holiday Hell Every year, Sunny starts playing non-stop, 24/7 Christmas tunes by the end of November. You can pretty much bet that by the time you hop in the car after Thanksgiving dinner that Perry Como will be riding shotgun with you up to the gas station for smokes ... More >>

Crisia Of The Capitol At St. Germain Will Make You Anything You'd Like...Even If It's Captain Morgan And Root Beer In A Wine Glass

St. Germain might be the patron saint of the abandoned, but you'll feel very well attended to and cared for during dinner and a show at The Capitol at St. Germain. The Capitol may be a newish kid on the block, opening last November, but it's got an old soul, harking back to the days of the supper ... More >>

Are SNL's Divisive Musical Guests Making It Relevant Again??

Even as sketch comedy tastes have changed, and a segment of the population has sadly written it off as an unfunny relic, NBC's Saturday Night Live is still pulling in cutting-edge, marquee musical guests each week, in the process creating national stars or pariahs. Or sometimes both. Case in point ... More >>

Where Did Matisyahu's Beard Go? We Found It!

​Rapper Matthew Paul Miller, stage name Matisyahu, made waves this week by tweeting a picture of his face, shorn of the trademark Chassidic beard, along with a message promising "an amazing year filled with music of rebirth." The message on his personal site also mentioned "rules" in his chose ... More >>

Rocks Off's Annual Descent Into Sunny 99.1's Christmas Music K-Hole

Since 2008, I have spent an hour listening to Sunny 99.1 FM's Christmas music for the Rocks Off blog. Right after Thanksgiving, it's the first thing on my checklist, right next to finding new, weird holiday music for you and trying not to gain 20 pounds in merriment by January. Most of the time on ... More >>

Happy Biebermas: 2011's Bumper Crop Of Holiday Albums

Wishing You An Adorkable Christmas...​The Christmas season started back in the late summer for Rocks Off when we began getting PR e-mails about so and so's new Christmas album, and then in October they started showing up in our stacks of snail mail. This year the biggest complaint amongst ev ... More >>

Freeway View

The scenery ain't much, but Azul Lounge is a bubbling little Southside R&B cauldron.

Iggy Pop, the Bordeaux Connoisseur: The Funniest Food Requests on Riders

ITO EN, you're all that I wanted in a tea.​The next time someone calls you a picky eater, direct them to Weezer's backstage rider for their 2010 tour. Weezer demands that both regular and Canadian bacon be available for breakfast, that there be almond butter but no peanut butter, that there m ... More >>

13th Annual Moores School of Music Jazz Festival

Robin Thicke

Queen Bee

Upper Kirby's got a brand-new bag.

Houston Texans Turn The Corner -- 5 Winners, 5 Losers

Neil Rackers -- He's no Kris Brown​I shouldn't enjoy carnage as much as I do, but I have to admit that a few hours after Neil Rackers' 35-yard field goal sailed through the uprights, sending the Houston Texans to an improbable 30-27 overtime win over the Washington Redskins yesterday afternoon, My ... More >>

Friday Night: Michael Buble At Toyota Center

Photos by Groovehouse​Michael Buble Toyota Center July 16, 2010 "I think Michael Buble speaks three languages: English, Sinatra and vagina," said the girl sitting next to us, who we will call Tammy, at the Canadian singer's sold-out gig Friday at Toyota Center. Walking into the venue that nig ... More >>

Michael Buble: Why Are We Going Tonight?

Text by Craig Hlavaty; Graphic by Monica FuentesClick here to enlarge​Canadian neo-jazz crooner Michael Buble plays Toyota Center tonight, touring behind his latest album, last October's Crazy Love. For the most part Buble is beloved among women. The dude has a massive voice, and ladies love t ... More >>

Absolutely Fabuloco

East L.A.'s Los Fabulocos have big zapatos to fill — and are up to the challenge.

Distant Early Warning: The Dead Weather, Frightened Rabbit, Hockey, Jeff Beck, Moe Bandy, Michael Buble, etc.

​Dave Matthews Band, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears: Fri., Sept. 10. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The Dead Weather: Sat., May 1. House of Blues. Dillinger Escape Plan, Darkest Hour, Iwrestledabearonce, Animals As Leaders: Sun., March 21, 6:30 p.m. Meridian. Dollyrockers, Mooseknuckle, ... More >>

Can Rocks Off Withstand an Entire Hour of Sunny 99.1's Holiday Programming?

​Since Thanksgiving night, local dentist office-core radio station Sunny 99.1 FM has been pumping out non-stop Christmas tunes as they have been doing now for quite a few years. It's a Houston phenomenon and an ominous bellwether for the coming holiday. You pretty much know when you can hear Vanes ... More >>

Dancing With the Stars: Puppet Theater of Doom

Goodbye, sweet douchebag. Fare thee well.​It's the eighth week of Dancing With the Stars, and I think we all deserve a warm thanks for making it so far. Although really, most of you aren't watching the show and only read these blog posts with a sick fascination to see if I've actually snapped ... More >>

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. in Song

In the Name of Love

Cool Out on Your Commute

2009 is only a few days old, and Houston's radio climate is already improving. Not on the FM dial, which remains a wasteland north of 91.7 (same as it ever was), but starting at 4 p.m. today, commuters can immerse themselves in the swinging sounds of Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, B.B. Kin ... More >>

Long Snaps with Bryan Pittman: Fantasy Football, Gays in the Locker Room, Michael Bublé and Britney Spears

Local Motion

Odd Couples

Strange musical pairings

Rock and Roll Autobiographies

Stars' tell-all stories

Chart Check

Hope Springs Eternal

A northern suburb tops our third installment of rating greater Houston's taste in music

Never Go to a Party in Friendswood

Where does your town rank in the Houston-area good-taste stakes?

Houston Music Map

Queen Norah reigns, Josh Groban pains, and lots of Natalie Maines