Omaha

Dissecting the Dirty Dozen

Houstonian Kady Malloy = Early American Idol Front-runner

Drenched in Blog: Weird SXSW Alert: Care Bears on Fire

Denise Richards is Getting Her Own Reality Show…Next Up, My Postal Carrier Inks a Deal with E!

Tonight: Macon Greyson, Broken Teeth, Tilly and the Wall and More

Top Ten Americana Albums of 2008

Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen Trapper's fantastic ... More >>

Crit Picks

Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen Trapper's fantastic ... More >>

Letters

Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen Trapper's fantastic ... More >>

Fight Songs

Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen Trapper's fantastic ... More >>

Rotation

Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen Trapper's fantastic ... More >>

The Faint: Fasciinatiion

Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen Trapper's fantastic ... More >>

Reverse Fairy Tale

From Beverly Hills to Omaha with Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis

Tilly and the Wall, now with added drummer

Beat Happening

Don't Faint

Beat Happening

Alt-Weeklies Provide Web Links to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Home Address

Action Taken in Solidarity with Phoenix New Times

Lost in Rotation

Rounding Up Recordings by HPMA Nominees

Eyes on the Prize

Everyone's All-American Joe Savery and the top-ranked Rice Owls fight for college baseball glory

Magik Markers, with Lambsbread and Rusted Shut

Friday, June 30, at the Proletariat, 903 Richmond, 713-523-1199

Of Montreal, Tilly and the Wall, with Spain Colored Orange

Saturday, June 11, at Mary Jane's Fat Cat, 4216 Washington Avenue, 713-869-5263.

Deep in The Throes

Tired of guitar-and-drums blues duos? You haven't heard Two Gallants yet.

For Whom the Hell Tolls

Heights residents fear the toll road authority's new land acquisition plans

Cornfed Keyboards

America is bullish on the Faint. But can the band pick stocks as well as it spots trends?

Love on the Rocks

The story of a doomed relationship makes up Album of the Year, the Good Life's absorbing new record

Mannheim Steamroller

Sunday, December 21

Hardest Art

Tim Kasher of Cursive plays The Ugly Organist. The rest is up to the listener.

Minibill

The Faint

Racket

In his first 24 years of life, Brad Turcotte has already become a music-business veteran

Beyond Teens

Savvy Election shows ageless appeal

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Maria Taylor's LadyLuck

During his Fourth of July road trip to San Antonio, Lonesome Onry and Mean found himself listening to Maria Taylor's excellent LadyLuck and wondering how he could have been so remiss in not reporting on such a fine record. Producer, singer, writer, arranger, Taylor is a huge multi-threat talent who ... More >>

Pete Yorn

During his Fourth of July road trip to San Antonio, Lonesome Onry and Mean found himself listening to Maria Taylor's excellent LadyLuck and wondering how he could have been so remiss in not reporting on such a fine record. Producer, singer, writer, arranger, Taylor is a huge multi-threat talent who ... More >>

Pump Up the Volume

St. Louis post-punks So Many Dynamos are ready for battle with The Loud Wars.

Houston 101: A Convention Center Built In 64 Days

​In 1928, Jesse Jones -- grand poobah of Houston, Lord of Suite 8-F -- was determined to bring national glory to his town by hosting the 1928 Democratic convention. Cleveland, San Francisco and Detroit also wanted the prize, but Jones took a $200,000 check to the bidding committee and got the nod. ... More >>

MP3 of the Day: "Omaha ICU," Inspired By Our Own Lonesome Onry and Mean

Michael Patrick O'Leary​ Baltimore country songwriter and performer Arty Hill has found Rocks Off to not only be food for thought, but food for songwriting. Readers might recall his previous song "Texas Ganja Man" which was inspired by one of LOM's comments on a blog about Bob Marley. Well, Hill, ... More >>

Aftermath: Box Elders at Mango's

Photo By Craig Hlavaty​ Sometimes Aftermath gets so used to covering big venue rock shows that he temporarily forgets about just how small, intimate, and concise a show can actually be. That's why last nights Box Elders show was like a booster shot of reality before he commences a month of huge du ... More >>

Cursive

Photo By Craig Hlavaty​ Sometimes Aftermath gets so used to covering big venue rock shows that he temporarily forgets about just how small, intimate, and concise a show can actually be. That's why last nights Box Elders show was like a booster shot of reality before he commences a month of huge du ... More >>

The Agony of the Cobnoggins

​Overconsumption of roasted corn, or elote con crema, is believed to be responsible for a disformity of the cranium known as cornhead. The condition, which is mainly confined to the cornbelt state of Nebraska, can also cause delusions that lead the afflicted to believe they can beat the Texas ... More >>

Todd Whitting Takes The Reins As UH Baseball Coach

Whitting on the basepaths​The University of Houston baseball squad wasn't very good last season.There was some talent on the roster, but too often the team appeared dispirited and just didn't seem to be putting forth a full effort.Though Rayner Noble had been a successful coach, and had won ... More >>

It's a Brand-New Day for Cougar Baseball

John RoyalCodey Morehouse throws a pitch during Friday's practice​The sun was bright and high Friday afternoon. The temperature warm. The breeze slight. It was one of those absolutely beautiful days that make one happy to be alive. It was, quite fittingly, the first practice under a new co ... More >>

The Rice Owls Set Aim on Omaha

John RoyalHolt McNair tosses a pitch during practice​If Rice Owls athletics exceed at any one thing, it's producing an exceptional baseball squad year after year. Things are supposedly no different this year as the Owls are ranked in the top 25 of every one of the seemingly 5,000 college base ... More >>

Meet Anthony Rendon, Rice Baseball's Newest Whiz Kid

John RoyalMeet Anthony Rendon​His name is Anthony Rendon. You might have heard of him if you're a fan of Rice Owls baseball, or if you follow college baseball. You might also have heard of him if you're one of those people who follow Houston-area high school baseball. If you're a fan of the ... More >>

Cougars and Owls: Hey, What Do You Know? At Least Some Houston Teams Can Win Baseball Games

John RoyalHouston's Caleb Ramsey knocks a first-inning two-run triple on Friday night​The expectations for the Houston Cougars baseball team are almost nonexistent. Hustle. Stay competitive. Aim toward being better next season. The expectations for the Rice Owls are high. Win Conference U ... More >>

Food Fight: Battle Reuben Sandwich

Spec's.​ When you order a Reuben sandwich, you're telling the rest of the world (or at least anyone within 20 feet of you for the rest of the day) that they, too, will be having a Reuben. It's a strong move. I once ordered a Reuben at the legendary Brent's Deli in Northridge, California, but c ... More >>

The United States Of Women In Music

​Rocks Off is no He-Man Woman Hater's Club. We like women quite a bit, actually, especially those women brave enough to wade through the rivers of bullshit in the male-dominated music business. If you'll page back a few weeks, you'll remember the discussion of our favorite female artists from ... More >>

Skarnales, Escovedo, Gaines Make Rockin' Nightlife Tour

Photos by Lisa RosatoLos Skarnales​Friday was one of those nights when Rocks Off wished we operated one of those "show you the nightlife" tour buses filled with people from Omaha, Chicago, Des Moines, and Berlin. When's the last time Houston had a gentle north wind cooling the evening in mid-M ... More >>

Oh Jesus! Rock's Top 5 Religious Conversions

allmusic.comJesus was always a knockin' for the Reverend Little Richard.​Rocks Off understands the need for a good detox now and then, as most of our evening antics often leave us feeling less than bright-eyed and bushy-tailed come morning. We also imagine the damage inflicted by lifetime of h ... More >>

Fantasy Island

Alexander Payne's Hawaiian excursion might be the feel-good movie of the year. Uh oh.

Failure Breeds Success

Alexander Payne's pessimism is good for business.

The Top Moments In 2011 Rice Owls Sports

John RoyalRice's Anthony Rendon became a very rich baseball player this summer​It's that time of year. The time for end-of-year lists and bests of, etc. And I'm not immune to tossing off an easy post. So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here are the Top 25 Events in Rice Ow ... More >>

Older Is Better: The Five Best Antique Malls in Houston

And the Lord said: Let Me be embroidered.​What better way to honor your living relatives than with gifts from someone else's dead relatives? Wait, no, we want you to like antique malls! Let me try again: Shopping for an older relative, who remembers the days before iPads? And Wii? And even ce ... More >>

Free Download: "The Sun and Moon" from Cursive's New Album

Photo via cursivearmy.com​Via Rolling Stone, the Saddle Creek princes Cursive have released, for your free listening pleasure, the first single titled "The Sun and Moon" from their forthcoming seventh album I am Gemini out February 21. The concept album is described on the band's site as "th ... More >>