Rick Nelson

Classic Rock Corner: Mudcrutch, Golliwogs, Mynah Birds, Moving Sidewalks and More

Songs Not To Play At Intercontinental Airport's New Karaoke Booth

So now there's a karaoke booth at Intercontinental Airport. According to the Houston Chronicle, travelers can choose from "hundreds of titles."We got to wondering this morning about what's in their song selections there and more to the point -- what isn't.We imagine that the management of IAH's kara ... More >>

Get Lit: Hot Burritos: The True Story of the Flying Burrito Brothers by John Einarson with Chris Hillman

Texas supergroup the Flatlanders (although it still exists) may have been "more legend than a band" but the same could also be said for the Flying Burrito Brothers (above, with female friends). The pioneers of country-rock were a short-lived act that went though numerous lineup changes, but record ... More >>

Death of an Informant

Donald Chaline died as he had lived: in a tangle of crime, alcohol and mystery.

Album of the Week: Pretenders, Break Up the Concrete

Pretenders Break Up the Concrete www.thepretenders.com Old punk rockers - or, in this case, post-punks - never die, they just go country. On the Pretenders' first album since 2002's barely-registering Loose Screw, Chrissie Hynde confronts middle age by revisiting the musical styles of the mid-2 ... More >>

Making a Killing

In the '70s, Walter Waldhauser arranged four contract murders. Nearly 20 years later, he has a new name and a new line of work -- but he still generates a profit from death.

Letters

In the '70s, Walter Waldhauser arranged four contract murders. Nearly 20 years later, he has a new name and a new line of work -- but he still generates a profit from death.

Happy April Fool's Day: Fools in Popular Music

Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray In the Tarot, "The Fool is the spirit in search of experience. He represents the mystical cleverness bereft of reason within us, the childlike ability to tune into the inner workings of the world." Hat sold separately.As you've hopefully been able to t ... More >>

Happy Birthday, "Louie Louie"

Forty-six years ago today, a group of teenagers gathered in a Portland, Oregon, studio to record a ridiculously simple anthem that would go on to become one of the most influential - and most misunderstood - songs in rock history. The group was the Kingsmen - none of whom was over age 17 - and the ... More >>

Pretenders: Break Up the Concrete

Forty-six years ago today, a group of teenagers gathered in a Portland, Oregon, studio to record a ridiculously simple anthem that would go on to become one of the most influential - and most misunderstood - songs in rock history. The group was the Kingsmen - none of whom was over age 17 - and the ... More >>

Two Hoots and a Holler

Austin wild man Rick Broussard gets things jumping at the Continental Club

Hope Springs Eternal

A northern suburb tops our third installment of rating greater Houston's taste in music

Funtime Is Over

It's the end of the road for AstroWorld

Best Place to Buy a Musical Instrument

It's the end of the road for AstroWorld

Aftermath: Har Mar Superstar, My Jerusalem and the TMI Brigade at Super Happy Fun Land

Photos by Brittanie SheyGive them drugs so they'll shut up (please): Har Mar openers My Jerusalem​ Rocks Off pulled into the parking lot of Super Happy Fun Land fashionably late Saturday night just in time to see Sean Tillmann (a.k.a. Har Mar Superstar, clad in street clothes instead of his usual ... More >>

For The Lebowski Bash: Five Dudes Better Than The Dude

The Big Lebowski has undergone a hell of a transformation since hitting big screens over a decade ago. A (very) mild financial success upon theatrical release, it's gone on to become a bona fide cult phenomenon, spawning "Dudeism" -- an online religion with over 60,000 ordained ministers -- and the ... More >>

Hit the Road, Jack: 10 More Notable Musical Deaths From the Past Decade

​ Looking back, this past decade wasn't too kind to rock and roll as a whole. We lost plenty of people who weren't exactly disgustingly huge as Michael Jackson or as monolithic as Johnny Cash. This decade took its share of people who were massively influential and iconic, but not on the grand worl ... More >>

When Rock Stars And Movie Stars Reproduce: Five Offspring Bands

​No, these aren't Offspring cover bands, which would be gross, since Offspring sucks pretty badly on their own. They aren't as cool as we thought they were in 1994. No, let's talk about what happens when famous folks let their children loose to be rock stars. Some fall while others find fame i ... More >>

Last Night: Chris Isaak At House Of Blues

Photos by Brittanie Shey​Chris Isaak & Silvertone House of Blues October 17, 2010 Aftermath would like to get a look at Chris Isaak's business card sometime. We're assuming he has one. Mostly, we're wondering what it would say underneath his name: "Musician," "Entertainer" or perhaps both. B ... More >>

Lynyrd Skynyrd, Plane Crashes And The Fall Of Icarus

The quicker us pick Icarus to be a stinker of a pilot, but anyone that near the sun ain't no shrinking violet. - Richard O'Brien, Ain't That to Die For ​ Lynyrd Skynyrd, "What's Your Name" Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the plane crash that killed Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant ... More >>

Top 10 Christmas Movie Soundtracks

​No doubt you have all been chin-deep in Christmas movies since you undid your belt on Thanksgiving evening. Rocks Off made sure to steal a copy of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation from our folks' house before the calendar even hit December. Unlike other blogs, we don't hate all Christm ... More >>

Top Five Songs About Horses

​Rocks Off's regular readers presumably know by now that we love few things more than offbeat anniversaries, and recently we came across one of the oddest yet. Thirty-two years ago Monday, on Feb. 28, 1979, the "actor" who played the original Mr. Ed in the 1960s TV show passed away. Yes, we're ... More >>

Solo Albums: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

​Tomorrow night, former Audioslave lead singer and (thankfully) current Soundgarden member Chris Cornell will be at House of Blues for a long-sold-out acoustic show. Recent set lists have included a number of Temple of the Dog songs, some solo work, the usual 'Garden and 'Slave tracks, plus a ... More >>

Last Night: Twilight Singers At Warehouse Live

Photos by Jason Wolter​Twilight Singers Warehouse Live Studio June 1, 2011 The Afghan Whigs are probably one of the most underrated acts to come from the grunge period, but they had all the best lines, a dynamic musical presence, plus one of the most delightfully rusty and eloquent voices in ... More >>

The Best Songs From 1958

​This Saturday is Craig's Hlist's father's birthday, and the man turns 53. Sorry to out your age, Dad, but it's for science. This week while doing other research, we found that most people whose art we enjoy were actually born in 1958. People like Alec Baldwin, Prince, Jello Biafra, Jools Holl ... More >>

10 Songs That Helped Make Nick 13's Country Debut

​Tiger Army's Nick 13 delivered his self-titled solo debut this year, and the lead singer of one of the past decade's biggest psychobilly bands has made one of the most enjoyable traditional country records of 2011 not called Photographs. Yes, this 10-song set from the man you first met on t ... More >>

Glen Campbell's 15 Greatest Hits - As A Guitarist

Yet another reason to love Pet Sounds.​In a few hours, Rocks Off will be down at the Stafford Centre, watching the sold-out first Houston-area stop on Glen Campbell's extended "Farewell Tour." It might be the only one, but the tour is booked well into 2012, so we figure there's got to be a Dos ... More >>