Rick Rubin

Last Night: HorrorPops at Meridian

Drenched in Blog: Nick Cave Digs Lazarus

SXSW: Spank Rock at Levi’s/Fader Fort

Beards of a Feather: Rick Rubin to helm ZZ Top session

ZZ Top Signs to Rick Rubin's American Recordings

Butthole Surfers Part 3: Tom Bunch on Signing With Capitol, the Media's Problem with the Name, Babysitting the Buttholes, Gibby vs. Paul and the End of the Affair

Turning the Screw: Promise Pseudo, Soulja Boy, Scarface, Rick Rubin, Akon, T.I., Doug E. Fresh, the Bee Gees and 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: "Sunny," Promise Pseudo Wire To Wire We disliked Soulja Boy, and then we read this Scarface inte ... More >>

Rotations

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: "Sunny," Promise Pseudo Wire To Wire We disliked Soulja Boy, and then we read this Scarface inte ... More >>

Post-Christmas Clearance

John Frusciante and Hildegard von Bingen never went to Festus, Missouri

Rotations

John Frusciante and Hildegard von Bingen never went to Festus, Missouri

Strange Phenomena

Love and Rockets conjure up some spirits to keep things interesting

Decay Becomes Him

Ex-Chili Pepper John Frusciante sleepwalks through a rock and roll nightmare

Rotation

Ex-Chili Pepper John Frusciante sleepwalks through a rock and roll nightmare

Wanted Man

Johnny Cash may just be a legend, but he's never sounded better

Rotation

Johnny Cash may just be a legend, but he's never sounded better

Turning the Screw: OG Ron C, Bun B, "5000" Watts, DMX, The Kanye, Rihanna/Chris Brown, Big HAWK and 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: "Killa Joe," Michele Thibeaux Wire To Wire Houston's OG Ron C, head honcho of the GO DJ Coali ... More >>

ZZ Top, Aerosmith Hit Woodlands July 17

Mark C. AustinMonday morning, word came down from Aerosmith and ZZ Top's respective camps, via Billboard, that the two boogie-rocking bands are teaming up for a massive world tour. After some digging, Rocks Off found out the tour makes its Houston-area stop Friday, July 17, at the Cynthia Wood ... More >>

The Year in Albums

Mark C. AustinMonday morning, word came down from Aerosmith and ZZ Top's respective camps, via Billboard, that the two boogie-rocking bands are teaming up for a massive world tour. After some digging, Rocks Off found out the tour makes its Houston-area stop Friday, July 17, at the Cynthia Wood ... More >>

Rage Against The Machine

Renegades (Epic)

The Geto Boys Reunite

Renegades (Epic)

Radical Chick

You can't tell Natalie Maines to Shut Up & Sing

Rollins Band/X

Monday, August 28, at the Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-225-1717

Dixie Chicks

Taking the Long Way

Spank Rock

Yoyoyoyoyo

The Hanukkah Songs

Wherein we find the coining of our new favorite word: Jewpergroup

Neil Diamond; Bobby Bare

12 Songs; The Moon Was Blue

Swede Emotion

Capitalism gives the leftists in the (International) Noise Conspiracy a raw deal

Jet

Get Born (Elektra)

Slide Show: Albums That Went Darker

​ For most rock acts, the traditional way to deal with success is to rework their lyrics, image and sound to become palatable to a larger audience. Usually this means brightening the subject matter, cleaning up the bad words, softening the sharp edges on those power chords and getting haircuts tha ... More >>

In Honor of Michelle Obama and "Shortsgate," the Best Ass Songs of All Time

In a year when the biggest news stories aren't about war or the environment but a mentally unbalanced woman having a litter of children and the death of a creepy pop singer who hadn't put out a decent album in 25 years, it should come as no surprise that so many people would be up in arms ... More >>

Crosby, Stills & Nash

In a year when the biggest news stories aren't about war or the environment but a mentally unbalanced woman having a litter of children and the death of a creepy pop singer who hadn't put out a decent album in 25 years, it should come as no surprise that so many people would be up in arms ... More >>

Crosby, Stills & Nash's Skeletal, Primitive Demos

Crosby, Stills and Nash Demos (Atlantic/Rhino)​These are resurging times for this harmonic trio. They're in the midst of a 40th anniversary tour (which stops in Houston at the Woodlands tonight), were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June, and are headed into studio with Rick Rubin fo ... More >>

Get Lit: Neil Diamond is Forever: The Illustrated History of the Man and His Music by Jon Bream

​Neil Diamond's hipster cachet has increased greatly in the past few years: The Rick Rubin albums, Saving Silverman, ultimate Neil tribute band Super Diamond and Will Ferrell's deadly funny SNL impression, in which "America" is presented as an anti-immigration number. But his fans have long been a ... More >>

Another Side - Several, Actually - of Willie Nelson

It's easy for older Willie Nelson fans to overlook his modern works, where he saw his influence dig out tributaries away from the safer riverbeds. In the past two decades, he has ventured out from his hearty country roots into reggae, spooky Daniel Lanois-produced noir, pop standards, Spanish-tinte ... More >>

FAIL: Kanye And Taylor, Lupe Fiasco, Kings Of Leon

​Taylor and Kanye Need To Move the Hell On: The MTV Video Music Awards happened this past Sunday, so you had to know there was going to be at least one sizable fail in there somewhere, and of course they didn't disappoint. Taylor Swift took the stage and sang a melodramatic tune she'd written ... More >>

Nine Rappers About To Be Eaten By Their Own Beards

musiconplay.net​In today's crowded music industry, it's becoming increasingly difficult for artists to stand out from the pack, but sometimes a facial package of ample weight and gargantuan growth will do the trick. Look out, these hip-hoppers are one hair strand away from disappearing into th ... More >>

Top 10 Musical Wikileaks We'd Like To See

Bigger than Bowie and Bing, we tell you.​Ever since WikiLeaks began the publication of what is claimed to be over a quarter-million United States embassy cables last week, we've been pondering what secrets, phenomenon and other ephemera could be lingering out there in the music world, awaiting ... More >>

Billy Gibbons And Tequila A Winning Combination

ZZ Top's recording date with Rick Rubin inching closer, he says... Photos by Marc Brubaker​Thursday afternoon, Rocks Off got an invite to a launch party for a new tequila on the scene, Pura Vida Tequila. Where else would this party be at but at the newest tequila joint on Washington Avenue, T ... More >>

Buxton, Wild Moccasins Join New West Records

Here at Rocks Off, we try our best to cover all the local music news, both large and small. Where else are you going to read that you can play Slim Thug on Words With Friends? It is reasons such as these that we trudge the war zones of RSS feeds, seeking out crucial tidbits of information. Buxton o ... More >>

ZZ Top To Receive Texas Medal Of Arts

Jim BrickerZZ Top at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, September 2010​While they take their sweet time getting around to record that long-anticipated, Rick Rubin-produced next album - which, at this point, could well come out a solid decade after their last, 2003's Mescalero - ZZ Top has be ... More >>

Last Night: Linkin Park At Toyota Center

Photos by Groovehouse​Linkin Park, Paper Tongues Toyota Center March 3, 2011 "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference." Rock writers cannot change what we see, but we can change how we see them. We ... More >>

R.I.P.: Remembering The 27 Club - Jimi, Jim, Janis, Kurt...

​As a student of rock music since he was born and sat in front of MTV and VH1, Craig's Hlist has grown up hearing constant aching throb of the number 27, the end-marker for a collection of rockers who died at that hallowed age, due mostly to their own chemical and/or personal misadventures. ... More >>

Weezer: The Good, The Bad & The Downright Ugly

​This Sunday night, Weezer headlines Free Press Summer Fest III, and the influential pop-rockers have been a part of indie lore for the past 17 years. With 1994's self-titled "Blue Album" and 1996's Pinkerton, the band created a cult following whom they would promptly weird the fuck out with s ... More >>

2011 Rewind: Concert Tickets From An Alternate Universe

This originally ran on June 8, but seeing that the year is coming to an end, we are looking back at some of our favorite blogs we gave to you these past 12 months. ​One of the best dreams we ever had was of covering a Clash show for Rocks Off. Yeah, dreaming about work isn't something to bra ... More >>

ZZ Top Will Release New Album By Year's End, Gibbons Says

Jim BrickerZZ Top at The Woodlands, September 2010​After years of hemming and haw-haw-haw-hawing about how far along it is, who they are working with, and whether or not it even actually exists, ZZ Top singer/guitarist (Rev.) Billy F. Gibbons said the trio plans to release its first studio alb ... More >>

Our Ten Favorite Glenn Danzig Pictures

Marc Brubaker​Today is Glenn Danzig's 56th birthday, and the former Misfits and Samhain frontman is as evil and cantankerous as ever as he stalks this cursed Earth, darkly reaping the senior discounts of the innocent. For a year now he has been able to buy black jeans and black shirts from Ros ... More >>

2 Become 1: Musical Match-Ups We'd Like To See

​Kanye "Hitler" West and Jay-Z released their (overused music writer word alert) epic Watch the Throne album this week, to mostly great reviews. This fall the first fruits from the recently announced Lou Reed/Metallica collaboration should be on the store shelves, which still sorta weirds us o ... More >>

Purple, Possessed & Pervy: Rock's Top 10 Houses

harleyslist.blogspot.comJohn Lennon and Yoko Ono in a happy pose in front of their home (and future site of Lennon's assassination).​Celebrity homes will always be a source of fascination, offering a glimpse at the intimate, private side of those who live their lives in the public eye. And it' ... More >>

10 Facts About Slayer's Reign In Blood

​Last week, Slayer's 1986 album Reign In Blood turned 25 years old. We were so wrapped up in doing that dog-ass Pink Floyd facts blog - that we paid dearly for in the comments section - and getting ready for our high school reunion, that we forgot all about this anniversary. We apologize for l ... More >>

Never Say Die!: Black Sabbath Reforming In 2012 For Tour & Album

​Today in Los Angeles, legendary, pioneering heavy metal group Black Sabbath convened in front of reporters at the Whiskey A Go Go to announce a 2012 reunion tour and album, set for a fall release. The event, hosted by Henry Rollins, was telegraphed by a countdown clock on the band's official ... More >>