Pet Shop Boys

Book of Love: Open Book

Synth-pop band Book of Love's sunny '80s sound is suddenly back in vogue.

Molly Flogs Houston

Flogging Molly makes the walls sweat at the House of Blues.

Yoko Ono Turns 80, Still Weird as Hell

Yoko Ono, never one to bend to the rules of societal convention, has got this old-age shit down to a science. Screw bridge club and Metamucil; this soon-to-be octogenarian is putting your grandma's ideas about the twilight years to shame. True to form, the famed conceptual artist/musician/fashion- ... More >>

Generationals

Quietly, For a Dance Club, Rich's Reopens Under New Ownership

Rich's, the popular but troubled Midtown dance club, has quietly reopened under a new ownership group after the landlord evicted previous tenants in May. The venue at 2401 San Jacinto is now operated by a group of investors calling itself Rich's Sacred Ground Inc. According to Texas Alcoholic Bever ... More >>

Music World Stands Up for Embattled Russian Punks Pussy Riot

Above: A burka-clad Madonna talks about Pussy Riot to her Moscow audience Rewind: Vladimir Putin: No Pussy Riot on His Watch Free speech is a valued thing in this country. It's why journalists, writers, musicians and artists exist and are able to do what they do. However, in Russia, it seems to be ... More >>

Erasure

1986: Best Musical Year Ever?

​For almost two weeks now, Rocks Off has been obsessed with the year exactly 25 flips of the calendar backward from this one. It started when Steve Earle did one of his "Time Machine" shows, where the singer-songwriter who plays House of Blues Wednesday spotlights a dozen or so of his favorite ... More >>

La Roux Puts House Of Blues Under Its Electro-Pop Thumb

Photos by Jason Wolter​ The past year has been a year of renewal for pop music when it comes to new roles for women. In these previous 12 months, the archetype of what a female pop singer is supposed to look and sound like has been completely gutted and reconstituted, leaving room for the more inv ... More >>

Craig's Hlist: Our Grandmother Gave Us Food Poisoning, You Get These Songs

​ This is the debut of Craig's Hlist, wherein the Hlavaty side of He Said She Said backs off from his weekly HSSS duties to record a bi-weekly solo blog of sorts. If HSSS was the Velvet Underground, then Craig's Hlist is his Transformer or something. Though at best, it probably just Steve Perry's ... More >>

He Said She Said: 10 Artists Who Never Got Their Due, Part Deux

It's the plight of every musician. You struggle and struggle to make it big in the business, only to find that even the most modest margin of fame barely comes with a modicum of respect. Even artists with a lot of influence on later, more popular musicians fall by the wayside in the annals of rock ... More >>

Aftermath: Flight of the Conchords at Jones Hall

Photos by Craig HlavatyThe thing about musical comedians is that if the humor is there but the tuneage is not, you can pretty much cash your chips in and give up and steal some of Louis CK's jokes and start selling out basketball arenas. New Zealand's Flight of the Conchords almost has too much musi ... More >>

Flight of the Conchords

Smiths Reunion Rumored at Morrissey's Jones Hall Show

Strangeways, here they come: Rocks Off has learned that former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has requested passes for his ex-bandmate Morrissey's sold-out April 11 show at Jones Hall, leading to speculation that the two will perform onstage together for the first time since the influential Manch ... More >>

Aftermath: The Killers at Verizon Wireless Theater

Photos by Torey Mundkowsky Next year this decade will be over, and very few new bands have distinguished themselves either at the turnstiles or the cash register. Even one of the main ones that has, the Killers, chose to hit the theater circuit this winter after releasing its th ... More >>

The Killers: Day & Age

A Black Friday Soundtrack

It's become a tradition. You spend two days cooking, slaving over a hot stove, sweating into the family green bean casserole, making gallons upon gallons of iced tea for assorted loved and loathed ones. But instead of taking the next day off to go comatose and let the fullness subside, what do yo ... More >>

Last Night: The Killers and Louis XIV at Reliant Arena

Retro Active: 1987, Here We Come

Fischerspooner

Friday, May 6, at HUSH, 15625 Katy Freeway, 713-330-HUSH.

Club Directory

The Naked Truth

Plus: Osteen's Off, Extra Innings at Rogers, All That Jazz

No Free Meals?

Plus: Movie Props, Blame the Magnets, Crossed Out

Rotation

Sound Check