Nick Cave

Rock's Best Fiction Novelists and Poets

We writers are a masturbatory bunch, if you don't mind me saying so. We love to talk about our own work, the works of others, and generally just get into a huge hubbub over the art of the written word. So I don't think it should come as any surprise that some of our favorite musicians are also accla ... More >>

Top 20 Things We Need to See at SXSW Next Week

Next week the Rocks Off Action Team goes to Austin for Ess Ex Ess Dubya for another four days of fun, sun, eavesdropping, and live music. And swag, of the free kind, not the kind that Justin Bieber is still trying to make happen. This year at SXSW we're looking forward to many, many things, includ ... More >>

Brutal Promotions' Kahna Is Houston's Most Metal Unknown Poet

Back in October of 2011, I was chasing the story of promoter Mike Kelley, who once seemed like a bright hope for a rejuvenated live goth music scene in Houston, but instead ended up leaving a trail of disappointed bands and concertgoers behind him. But in the course of my research, I made the acquai ... More >>

The 5 Most Important Years In Goth Music: 1994

Over the course of the week Rocks Off will be looking at the biggest years for goth music and exactly what they meant for the genre. 1994 was a good year for a new kind of goth. Previously, for the most part the men had been sensitive artists, and even the ones who could be pretty brutal -- such as ... More >>

The 5 Most Important Years In Goth Music: 1983

All this week, Rocks Off will be looking at the biggest years for goth music and exactly what they meant for the genre. Just as Bauhaus was breaking up, a place in England opened up whose gothic importance cannot be overstated. Beginning in 1982, the Batcave intended to bring about a revival of the ... More >>

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 >>

Gothic Council Tries to Figure Out Nick Cave

A little while back, I was tasked with defining the seven ages of goth. Basically, the goal was to go from the birth of the genre to its modern forms and incarnations based on the years which each of those subgenres were at their height. It was a fair bit of writing that pleased pretty much no one b ... More >>

Career Editing: 6 Songwriters Turned Screenwriters

Last week singer-songwriter and dubious indie sensation Lana Del Rey told Australian Vogue that film work is her "happy place" and that she plans to make the transition into writing for film and "stay there." Whether this means she will stop making music or not is anyone's guess and whether that's a ... More >>

Hillbillies vs. Peacocks in Lawless

Looks trump plot in prohibition drama

9 Rock Stars & Their Favorite Books

Musicians like to read as much as the next person and being a creative lot they tend to draw inspiration from their favorite books. Which pieces of literature have struck a chord in the hearts of our favorite rock stars? 9. Billie Joe Armstrong, Catcher in the Rye: This probably isn't a surprise si ... More >>

Stephen Petronio Company: Underland

2012 Summer Guide: Summer Movie Preview

Artist Suggestions For A New Saturday Morning Tribute CD

On of the few CDs I still listen to in this amazing digital age is Saturday Morning: Cartoon's Greatest Hits. The album, which is still not available on iTunes, was a tribute to all the best cartoon theme songs of the '60s and '70s. Things like Scooby Doo and Sigmund and the Sea Monster, but with ba ... More >>

Hunx & His Punx

Flaming Lips And Their Fwends Set To Weird Up Record Store Day

In a few weeks on April 21, Record Store Day is yet again set to obliterate the wallets of record collectors around the country, and the Flaming Lips will have quite a release for fans on that day. What would you think if I said that they have been recording with none other than Ke$ha, Bon Iver, Nic ... More >>

Top 5 Most Awesomely Insane Things Done By Nick Cave

Nick Cave remains in a class by himself. On one hand, he's the most gothic person alive, but on the other he's so unique in his contributions that when we sat down to make a list of all the different eras of goth music, we simply had to leave him out because he doesn't fit anywhere. He's a statistic ... More >>

True Blood: Jinx Titanic & Super 8 Cum Shot for Dinner

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. ​The title of this week's column maybe one of the grossest th ... More >>

True Blood: Nick Cave & Neko Case Ditch Faeries For Zombies

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. ​Expectation. That's the word of the day, gentle readers, of ... More >>

Out Today: Danger Mouse In Rome, Nick Cave & Queen Reissued

​It's back to the usual grind for Rocks Off after last night's late-night Austin City Limits Festival lineup announcement. Sadly, we will not be seeing the Foo Fighters play songs from Wasting Light in Austin come September. And yes, still playing it, along with a steady diet of Guns N' Roses. ... More >>

True Blood: Nick Cave, Neko Case Open Season 4

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. ​We're a little more than a month away from the fourth seaso ... More >>

Music's Five Most Notorious Killers, Besides The Band

​On St. Patrick's Day 1985, serial killer Richard Ramirez (right) murdered two women in Los Angeles, beginning a killing spree that would eventually tally over 14 people and leave him with the nickname "The Night Stalker." From a young age, Ramirez was fascinated and inspired by the occult and ... More >>

The 10 Best Music Videos Of 2010

​The following should be heard in Ray Liotta's voice for maximum effect: As far back as we can remember, we always wanted to be a VJ. We grew up with MTV, and until we had to break it off after we found the channel hoing around with a pack of syphilitic realitysauruses, we never missed a cha ... More >>

Friday Night: Nitzer Ebb At Numbers

Photos by Groovehouse​Nitzer Ebb Numbers November 29, 2010 It was an odd feeling, watching Nitzer Ebb at Numbers Friday night. It was an odd feeling, because of the déjà vu. Nitzer Ebb was the first band Aftermath ever saw live - ever - opening Depeche Mode's Violator tour at the Woodlands ... More >>

Seven Songs To Mourn A Beloved Pet

R.I.P. Cholula​The Craig's Hlist family had an emotional time this past week, to say the least. We had to say goodbye to our chihuahua Cholula after 11 years of bright-eyed yapping and begging for scraps and cookies. She had a bad back, which basically rendered her hind legs paralyzed the last ... More >>

Nick Cave: Yes, He's Still A Creepy Weirdo (NSFW... Sort Of)

Every day Rocks Off trolls the tubes of you in search of videos to share. If you have something that you think deserves to be video of the day, send a link to jef_rouner at yahoo dot com. ​OK, Your daily VJ has brought some rather impressive bits of WTF over the course of this column and not ... More >>

"Rap Song Or Murder Ballad" Revealed

​ Rocks Off is really enjoying these little quizzes we've concocted, because it gives us a chance to revisit some of our favorite rap tunes and bask in the comforting knowledge that, whatever their time, place and circumstance of origin, songs about killing are pretty much all the same. We only wi ... More >>

Freak Flags Fly At Art Car Ball

Photo by P3t3rT​The best thing about Art Car Weekend is it's the one weekend in Houston where everybody can let their freak flag fly. Last night at the Art Car Ball, Rocks Off saw a woman wearing nothing but Koosh Balls on her tatas and a dude who was way more excited than necessary to be wear ... More >>

Listology: The American Heist Soundtracks Their Funerals

​ ​Of all the bands to emerge out of the Houston music puppy mill this year, none has been as steadfastly working class and punk rock as the American Heist. Rocks Off first spied the band opening up for Florida's Fake Problems in May. At the time they were still called Born Anchor, but a Seattle ... More >>

Westheimer Block Party Listology: Flowers to Hide Chooses the Saddest Songs In the World

All this week, Rocks Off is previewing Saturday and Sunday's Westheimer Block Party by asking WBP performers to fill out a list from Lisa Nola's Music Listography book we're so fond of. Next up, Jesus and Mary Chain-y alt-rockers Flowers to Hide tell us the saddest songs in the world. claudiabelle†... More >>

Dexter Romweber Duo

Five Tweeting Musicians Worth Following

The Style Scout Lily AllenBoy oh boy, Rocks Off is getting carried away with this Twitter business. As addictive as it is, though, it's not without its disappointments. We were amazed and flattered when Bjork decided to follow us, and then just a little heartbroken when a quick glance at her ... More >>

Oz the Great and Terrible

Happy Australia Day, everybody

The Year in Albums

Ted Nugent Reloads, and Lots of Gun Songs

Reverberations: The Rippers, Thee Exciters and Brimstone Howl

Nick Cave

CD Review

Favourite Sons

Down Beside Your Beauty

Poetry and Puncture Wounds

The Black Heart Procession, with The Castanets and Devics

Tuesday, July 25, at Walter's on Washington, 4215 Washington, 713-862-2513

Scott Faingold Listens to Everything

The man continues to randomly listen to every promo CD sent his way, regardless

The Bad Seeds

Nick Cave pens a new breed of revisionist western

Neko Case

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Rotation

Lhasa

The Living Road (Nettwerk)

Made With Love

Rosanne Cash is the friend who will say, or sing, what you can't

New Bands from Old

Or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Ignore Audioslave"

Nightmare Before Christmas

The Voodoo Organist brings his Beelzebub blues to town

Rotation

Pop Moment

New Blues

Alternative rock robs pop's cradle