Hey 2013. We need to talk. You've already produced a number of good albums, some even by new bands. But I've got a bone to pick with you, and it's about this new song by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams. It's called "Get Lucky" and it's making waves with its disco revival sound that I'm guessin ... More >>
With a perfect combination of sun, clouds, and breeze, It felt as if Houston was making love to me as I escaped the treacherous, life-sucking fluorescent lighting of my Westchase office and moon-walked my way towards a Friday night full of booze, buds, and Budweiser. (I'm more of a Saint Arnold's dr ... More >>
Ed. Note: Brought to you by our tired, dusty and very tolerant friends at LA Weekly and OC Weekly. Here's everything that bothered us about Coachella's second weekend. Hey, at least there was no dust storm! Native American Headdresses These have still not gone away. In fact, one particularly irrit ... More >>
Ed. Note: This one comes to us from our friends at LA Weekly's West Coast Sound. No, Seriously, Is Daft Punk Playing Coachella? This is, so far, the burning question of this festival, being asked everywhere from the campsites to the press tent. Even though the French dance-punk duo officially squa ... More >>
I remember going to SXSW a few years ago without a place to sleep, less than $100 to spend, no agenda, badge, wristband, or RSVP. I bar-hopped up and down Red River, made friends, snuck into Stubb's, ate cheese pizza and drank Lone Star. After years of busting my ass as a music photographer and wri ... More >>
In the past year, the hip-hop scene has traded in a great deal of its diamond-encrusted Jesus pieces and record-label logo necklaces for items with a bit more "vintage designer" style. From coast to coast, we are now seeing entertainers and tastemakers flash their vintage Chanel and antique Versace ... More >>
T.I. is no Marvin Gaye. Or is he? Both men were blessed with supreme talent as musicians and songwriters. Both men exhibit an overflowing charisma and a flair for the dramatic. Both men chose acting as a supplementary alternative expression of their talents. Both men were also cursed with an unfor ... More >>
Rewind: The 2012 Houston Press Music Award Winners Meet the Niceguys Monday night in front of a small gathering of hand-picked compatriots and friends, The Niceguys allowed their recording home of Wire Road Studios to turn into an open house. The multi-million dollar recording palace rolled out it ... More >>
I have a hard time explaining the 1980s to my daughter. Mostly because she's, you know, two years old. Still, I imagine that even when she reaches an age where she's more willing to endure a conversation that doesn't involve strawberries and Dora the Explorer I won't be able to convey the strangene ... More >>
Remember that one awesome party, the invite-only one with the open bar that was sponsored by a liquor company, where everyone was beautiful and hip, and you got to mingle with Big Boi or Pharrell Williams or Bun B? Either you do remember, because you wish that every party you attended was half as am ... More >>
"I gotta stay paid 'cause I like fly shit." -- Le$, "Gangsta" There was this time where, on Twitter, Le$ remarked that someone -- a street tough, presumably- had told him that his shoes were ugly. He Instagramed the right one. It was an Ice Cream sneaker, an explosion of colors and ideas from prod ... More >>
Photo by Marco TorresDJ EQUE at the launch party for Pharrell's Qreme liqueur, Las Vilas, September 23, 2011DJ EQUE has been making her mark in the industry for more than 10 years, but it was never something that came easy for her. The Houston-bred beauty had a lot to prove before she was tak ... More >>
Photo by FOXJust wait until the "Judges' moms' houses" round!First, this recap was delayed because the Wednesday night baseball playoff game was rain delayed, canceling that night's X Factor episode--yet another reason for me to hate baseball. Second, naming the latest round of competition "t ... More >>
This Week's Rapper: Le$ (pronounced "Less," though it's way more fun to call him L-E-dollar sign) This Week's Topic: Underappreciated albums, mixtapes, songs, etc. Last year, Le$ released a very good mixtape called The Beautiful Struggle. It was almost entirely overlooked. So, we asked L-E-dollar ... More >>
Photos by Marco TorresPharrell Williams wears many hats. He's a Grammy-Award winning producer, singer, songwriter, rapper, and successful clothing designer. Amongst those things, Williams has picked up one more project to juggle. Friday night, Williams dropped into Houston for the launch of ... More >>
exclaim.caNarduwar (left) and the patron saint of 4/20Nardwuar The Human Serviette from "Vancouver BC Canada" knows all of your favorite bands, artists, and rappers better than you, and better than they know themselves. At first glance, he kind of resembles a Canadian Matthew Lesko (the free- ... More >>
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. Slim Thug Boss of All Bosses (Koch, 2009) Boss of all Bosses is Slim Thug's official sophomore ... More >>
Photos by Jim Bricker Gorillaz Toyota Center October 19, 2010 For more photos from the show, see our slideshow here. Gorillaz may have overspent on their first-ever extended tour. True, the entire concept is that the group is officially made up of four cartoon characters, so there kind of ... More >>
Artists have many ways of expressing admiration for their peers. Name-dropping those who inspire them in liner notes and offering them groupies on the tour bus are just a couple of ways of showing respect. Covering one of their popular songs? Now that's the ultimate tip of the hat. That's an ... More >>
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place -lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good- so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email it to introducingliston@ ... More >>
Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Slim Thug Already Platinum (Geffen, 2005) Already Platinum was Slim's official debut album, but mor ... More >>
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: Juicy J & Project Pat feat. Slim Thug & New Genesis, "Ike Turner Pimpin'" "I'm a motherfuckin' ... More >>
Photos courtesy FoxYou thought the funeral was over? You thought all those tears were dried up? You were wrong, my friends - so very, very wrong. Aye, verily, the bloodletting continued unabated as Hollywood Week wound down. Hey, Ryan Seacrest warned us at the outset: "The stakes are as high ... More >>
Photos by Daniel Kramer “Did you cry?” Aftermath asked a new friend during the mass exodus from Minute Maid Park after Madonna’s first Houston show since she opened 1990’s Blonde Ambition tour at the Summit. “Yes,” she said, and from what Aftermath could gather from an informal stra ... More >>
The Nose Knows
The Why Chromosome
Rappers and their ten-figure dreams
Blackout
The King of beats holds court
Monday, May 15, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, 713-629-3700
Slim Thug has paid the cost to be the Dirty South boss
Five bands' worth of Urban Outfitters employees grace Cardi's stage with shopworn licks and attire
Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon you've been jamming, and dig this year's buried black-music treasures
Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon you've been jamming and dig this year's buried black-music treasures
Handsome Boy Modeling School, Molotov and Rufus Wainwright
Another outpost of crap plops onto the Houston dial, as this open letter reveals
Fly or Die (Virgin)
Cee-Lo Green... Is The Soul Machine (Arista)
Tasty (StarTrak/Arista)
Clones (Star Trak/Arista)
Wednesday, August 27
Kenna doesn't care if you see him. He just wants you to hear him.
A gusher lay beneath the surface, but you had to drill deep
Lord Willin' (Star Trak/Arista)
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