Pat Benatar

Last Night: Paramore at Bayou Music Center

Paramore, Kitten Bayou Music Center April 25, 2013 During what I like to call the great Zumiez boom of the 2000s, emo bands moved from depressing and mopey to more pop-punk. Like any other musical trend, this era eventually came and went. Very few of the bands that had once filled stadiums and poss ... More >>

Last Night: Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo at Stafford Centre

Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo Stafford Centre April 17, 2013 If you grew up during a particular window of the early 1980s, there were certain things you couldn't escape: economic malaise, the San Francisco 49ers, and MTV. If you were an early enough adopter of Music Television, you were more than fam ... 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 >>

Journey, Pat Benatar

You Better Run: 10 Other Great Pat Benatar Songs

Pat Benatar is one of the greatest vocalists of all-time, the woman behind numerous memorable hits such as "Heartbreaker," "You Better Run" and the ever-popular "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." However, she has had many other great songs throughout her career, from albums such as In the Heat of the Nig ... More >>

Switcharoo: 10 Artists Who Tried Other Genres

Have you ever bought an album of an artist you were familiar with and thought, "wow... that's different?" In fact, many artists try out other genres than the one where they originally became popular as a way for them to grow as artists. But a big question remains: Will the audience grow with them a ... 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 >>

Wait a Minute! Who Is That? Top 10 Videos With Famous Actor Cameos

When you are an actor, you take basically whatever will feed you just as long as you get to perform. Many actors either got their start in music videos or they will appeared in one after they got famous. Oftentimes, they are pretty memorable.

The 10 Greatest Summer Concerts I Never Saw

Well, kids, summer has arrived. If you have ever noticed, all the good concerts seem to come during the summer -- with May being more like a pre-show. My parents, when I was younger, took me to many concerts at some of these venues, mainly Contemporary Christian concerts. I myself had only been to ... More >>

Top 10 Musical Moments on The Arsenio Hall Show

One of the greatest late-night talk show hosts of all time was Arsenio Hall. He was the quintessential Ed Sullivan for the '80s and early '90s. He featured all kinds of musical artists, but most importantly, he helped introduce rap music into the mainstream. Hall, who won Donald Trump's most recent ... More >>

Welcome To My World: 10 Musicians Who Deserve Their Own Reality Show

Ever since The Real World hit the MTV airwaves in the early '90s, reality television has been all the rage. However, since The Osbournes debuted in 2002, some of that reality programming has catered to music fans. Even such music artists as country artist Tanya Tucker, rapper/minister Reverend Run ... More >>

The American Bandstand (Extended) Hot 100

Somehow it's hard to believe that Dick Clark was only 82 years old when he died after suffering a "massive heart attack" Wednesday morning in Santa Monica, Calif. (Since I managed to survive one myself, I've noticed that anytime someone dies of a heart attack, it's always "massive."). Despite his yo ... More >>

A Very Special Message: The 10 Best Rock-Star Public Service Announcements

Ever since the Ad Council introduced the "Rosie the Riveter" poster, public service announcements have either warned us of the dangers of such risky behaviors as having unsafe sex, as well as reasons you should vote, or even to spay and neuter your pets. As rock and roll became more popular, artists ... More >>

Here's The Pitch: Top 10 Commercials Starring Musicians

Madonna's infamous "Like a Prayer" Pepsi ad, 1989​Every now and then, name-brand companies need a little extra pizzazz when it comes to advertising, and often they turn to the music world to do this. Either way, it's a win-win situation for both the artist and the company because the artist us ... More >>

Crazy Times: 5 Festivals That Need DVD/Blu-Ray Box Sets

Music festivals have played an indefinite part of pop culture history. From the various Woodstock festivals, Us Festivals, and even Lollapalooza - they have played a part in defining their generations. Unfortunately some of these amazing festivals have only seen the light of day in the form of eit ... More >>

Lita Ford & Five Other '80s Hard-Rock Hotties

​Best known for her stint all-girl proto-punkers The Runaways and her bitchin' solo career, Lita Ford will take the stage tonight at Warehouse Live with locals Souls of Agony, Five Eyes Wide and Hounds of Jezebel as opening support. The blonde bombshell was one of the most visible women in har ... More >>

MTV's Early VJs: Where Are They Now?

vegastripping.comMTV's original VJ crew (l-r): J.J. Jackson, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn and Alan Hunter​When it comes to the attention spans of teenagers, entertainers are on borrowed time. Which might explain the turnover rate of MTV's Video Jockeys, or VJs for short. Currentl ... More >>

The First Ten Videos MTV Ever Aired

​Closing out this week of celebration, and a little mourning, on the occasion of MTV's 30th anniversary , we reached back into the YouTube vaults to present to you the first 10 videos Music Television ever aired. On August 1, 1981, The Buggles' awfully prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" b ... More >>

Last Night: Rock of Ages At Hobby Center

Ed. Note: This is the second half of Rocks Off's "reviewer exchange program" with Art Attack. Dan Lippitt/Theatre Under the Stars​Rock of Ages Hobby Center June 7, 2011 Hair metal makes for great show tunes. That's what we left with last night when Rocks Off went back to a "sexier time" of " ... More >>

Rock Of Ages: Big Hair, Big Fog, Big Cliches

Ed Note: Rocks Off and our sister blog Art Attack are conducting a "reviewer exchange program" for the '80s musical Rock of Ages. One of our "rock and roll" people will review the show soon, but the visiting team bats first. Dan LippittThe cast of Rock of Ages​The Setup: '80s Sunset Strip roc ... More >>

Last Night: Selena Gomez At RodeoHouston

Photos by Groovehouse​Selena Gomez Reliant Stadium March 6, 2011 Teen-pop star Selena Gomez showed off a new, deeper register during her kid-friendly Sunday night set at RodeoHouston. It's easy to forget that these kids can age just like everyone else, even as they make us feel old. Since her ... More >>

Slutwave: Pop Phenomenon Or Feminist Scourge?

"Every generation needs a new revolution." - Thomas Jefferson Marc BrubakerKe(Dollar Sign)ha at House of Blues, July 2010​As one of the few women on the Rocks Off writing team, we were fervently proud to take an introspective stab at the new, curiously named micro-genre that 2010 bestowed upo ... More >>

Top 10 Pop Songs With Children's Choruses

​On the way home from ACL this past Sunday night, Craig's Hlist had his Rdio account humming over the speakers playing one of his playlists (phlayhlist?), but not the sad-bastard mix we rocks whenever we are at work alone. It was the life-spanning one we have been making since we got on the mu ... More >>

The Eight Stupidest iPhone Music Apps

​Apple's foray into the social-network field failed big-time last month with the release of Ping, the iTunes-linked program that promised to connect you to your favorite artists, as long as your favorite artist is Justin Bieber. When it comes to iTunes, we at Rocks Off are a discerning sort. ... More >>

Friday Night: Pat Benatar At House Of Blues

Photos by Groovehouse​Pat Benatar House of Blues August 13, 2010 For more photos from Friday's show, see our slideshow here. For some reason whenever we saw people after Friday night's Pat Benatar show and they asked what we thought, all we could do was shrug our shoulders. Usually after a s ... More >>

Loverboy, Patty Smyth & ­Scandal, Fabulous Thunderbirds

Pat Benatar

Cyndi Lauper Vs. Pat Benatar: An '80s Lady Grudge Match

​Honestly, if Rocks Off had been around in the early '80s, we would have been the biggest damned Cyndi Lauper fan in this city. Our second favorite female artist would have been Pat Benatar, because gruff chicks who snap their fingers menacingly at the camera are foxy. Also, Lauper sang about ... More >>

Remember ABN's It Is What It Is?

Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Assholes By Nature It Is What It Is (Rap-A-Lot, 2008) ​A.B.N. is Z-Ro and Trae's unduly short-li ... More >>

Taylor Swift, Slapping Away Romantic Defeat At Toyota Center

[Ed. Note: We sent two reviewers to Taylor Swift Tuesday and flipped a coin to determine which to publish first. The next one will be up at 10:30 a.m. Boys.] Photos by Marco Torres​ It's not easy being a teen girl... Aftermath presumes. You are engaged in what feels like romantic combat with male ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Hope Justin Bieber Dies Before He Gets Old

​Oh, calm down. This isn't a call for the murder of American's favorite prepubescent pop idol. Sure, the former YouTube sensation from Stratford, Ontario who dresses and talks (and Tweets) like a diminutive Tupac Shakur has made more money in the last two years than you or I will see in ten li ... More >>

Glee: Tonight At McKinley High School: Everyone Gets Laid

​It's fitting that the Madonna episode would feature not one, not two, but three cherry popping story arcs: Rachel deciding to give herself to Jesse, Finn submitting to Santana's years of experience, and Emma peeling off the cardigan for Will. That only one of the three actually went through w ... More >>

Darden Smith, Dan Navarro

Aftermath: Blondie, Graceful and Casual at the Arena Theatre

Photos by Daniel Kramer​ Even at today's prices, dreaming is free. That's why an evening with Blondie is such a bargain. Sandwiched between the Donnas (who sounded tight and sassy from the will call line) and Pat Benatar (still "Invincible"), Debbie Harry's crew navigated the Arena's revolving sta ... More >>

Aftermath: Reba McEntire at RodeoHouston

Photos by Mark C. AustinReba McEntire is the closest modern country will ever get to the artistic heights of its pioneering female vocalists. Sure Tanya Tucker had her run but the booze, powders and Glen Campbell took their toll. Shania Twain was just a Nashville/Pat Benatar Frankenstein proje ... More >>

Weekend Music: Setting Things Straight

Patricia Vonne

Firebird www.patriciavonne.com

That Was the Year That Was

Looking back on the local scene in '06

With Her Best Shot

South By Southwest

Pink / Damone

I'm Not Dead / Out Here All Night

Women of the Street

Shake it with the horned-up East Coast ladies of Avenue D

The Sounds

Friday, April 23

Back to School

Big Daddy Kane and friends revisit the era of the flattop

DJ Skribble

Saturday, January 31

Tough and Well Preserved

Joan Jett and Pat Benatar team up for a tour

Racket

Clear Channel keeps the air free of insensitive songs

Urbana Renewal

The chef has changed, but the party rolls on

Beat the Heat!

1996 Summer Guide

Sound Check