Shania Twain

Blame Canada

The Blog of Lists: 25 Vegan Musicians

The Blog of Lists: 20 Teetotaling Musicians other than Ian Mackaye

Another Time, Another Country

Hick Hop

Trent Summar puts the booze and bad attitude back in country music

Mosquito Dope

Hayflick Limit's punk has been baked by the heat of the Lone Star State

Static

Hayflick Limit's punk has been baked by the heat of the Lone Star State

Rotation

Hayflick Limit's punk has been baked by the heat of the Lone Star State

Adam and Eve Hit the Sauza

Hayflick Limit's punk has been baked by the heat of the Lone Star State

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 >>

It Takes One

Lonestar returns to the Lone Star State in a blaze of glory

The Killer-est B

Forget Biggio, Bagwell, Bell. Move over, Barkley. The sports figure of the decade is...

RIP, KIKK

A redneck institution drowns in a flood of syrupy smooth jazz

Redneck Renaissance

Gretchen Wilson’s return to town makes us wonder, What’s really behind all these songs about Wal-Mart, cheap beer and NASCAR?

If It's Not Scottish, It's Crap!

Wack puts this whole Franz Ferdinand thing into context

Buggin' for Bling

Michael Stadther's Treasure's Trove is a real gem

Americana Pie

Grab a slice of 2004's best roots music while it's still hot

Americana Pie

Grab a slice of 2004's best roots music while it's still hot

Say Wha? Say Why?

Searching for the meaning of life in a movie that barely exists

Classics Rock

Which Greek god is your favorite musician?

Gay Play

The nightlife scene is alive and well in the Montrose. Meet some of its stars.

Drastic Unilateral Action

Universal hopes to JumpSTART flagging CD sales with aggressive price cuts. Who benefits the most?

F.Co

The King of Texas (F.Co Music Management)

Rocker Robbery

The theft of his trailer capped a bad week for John Evans

RodeoHouston: Some 'Splainin to Do

Secret correspondence from the rodeo

Hear Them Tweet

The Dixie Chicks get spunky

Notes on Cool

Elusive and ineffable, style itself cannot be sold, except perhaps at Buffalo Exchange

Have Voice, Will Travel

Austin's Kelly Willis gets to see a lot of country as she plays it

Rotation

New Releases Reviewed

The Dukes of Earle

Steve Earle has beaten the country-music establishment by staying true to his muse

Chucking It All

Bryn Tustin was an electrician from New Jersey who became a punk-music DJ in Houston, opened a record store and remade himself into Chuck Roast.

Letters

Bryn Tustin was an electrician from New Jersey who became a punk-music DJ in Houston, opened a record store and remade himself into Chuck Roast.

Idol Beat: A Lot of Hot Air In the Windy City

​So here we are with our pants on the ground, in the second week of American Idol, and it'll be another month before auditions end. At first I was pleasantly surprised to find that last night's episode was just an hour: I did my time in the trenches with Dancing With the Stars and assumed tha ... More >>

American Idol: A Lot of Hot Air in the Windy City

​So here we are with our pants on the ground, in the second week of American Idol, and it'll be another month before auditions end. At first I was pleasantly surprised to find that last night's episode was just an hour: I did my time in the trenches with Dancing With the Stars and assumed that ... More >>

He Said She Said: Songs That Make Us Feel Like a Natural Woman

​ Despite what Shania Twain may think, feelin' like a woman isn't always about going totally crazy in men's shirts and short skirts. The life of a modern woman is often more about balancing work and social obligations, maybe even with motherhood, while still trying to look good (if you even care a ... More >>

Idol Beat: Twice the Twain

Yes, she's back. Again.​There's an unmistakable air of fatigue in the American Idol proceedings at this point in the season: "Idol Gives Back," which raised $45 million for worthy causes, has come and gone; the judges' save has been used; and we're down to just six contestants, which means we' ... More >>

American Idol: Twice the Twain

Yes, she's still alive. Yes, we were surprised, too.​There's an unmistakable air of fatigue in the American Idol proceedings at this point in the season: "Idol Gives Back," which raised $45 million for worthy causes, has come and gone; the judges' save has been used; and we're down to just six ... More >>

Idol Beat: So Long, Siobhan

​I think last night's American Idol was supposed to be country-themed, to go along with the Shania Twain songs the contestants sang on Tuesday, but as I should have known, any organization that thinks of Shania Twain as country is going to have some weird ideas about genre. Rascal Flatts stopp ... More >>

American Idol: So Long, Siobhan

​I think last night's American Idol was supposed to be country-themed, to go along with the Shania Twain songs the contestants sang on Tuesday, but as I should have known, any organization that thinks of Shania Twain as country is going to have some weird ideas about genre. Rascal Flatts stopp ... 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 >>

Scumbag Karaoke

[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 >>

HISD's K12 Radio Has Odd Definition Of Local Music... For Now

​The stated goal for HISD's K12 Radio is a local station powered by the students and teachers of the district dedicated to local music, but when Rocks Off tuned into the online stream earlier this week, that's not what we heard. First up we got Shania Twain's "Forever and For Always." Twain i ... More >>

Last Night: Fred Eaglesmith At McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Photos by Jason Wolter​Fred Eaglesmith McGonigel's Mucky Duck February 22, 2011 Rocks Off Sr. wanted to know, and he wanted to know now. "What kinda crowd is this? Canadians?" "Yeah, some, for sure." Aftermath understands these things. Instinctively. It's like drinking good whiskey. "But l ... More >>

Idol Beat: Idol Worship

Fox​The Daily Beast had a story up yesterday about how this season of American Idol might be the best ever: This year, the contenders have already proven energetic, and the audience is responding, with half a dozen developing breakout followings across the Internet, even before the finals hav ... More >>

Last Night: Martina McBride At RodeoHouston

Photos by Marco Torres​Martina McBride Reliant Stadium March 9, 2011 Ain't no use in complaining, when you've got a job to do. With SXSW bearing down on us like a freight train and the Rodeo squeezing us like a vise, Aftermath basically wants to kill everyone but our cat right now. Then when ... More >>

Idol Beat: Seven And The Ragged Tyler

The Monotonous Seven​Nothing like a medley from this season's losers (Pink's "So What") to make us all feel better about voting them off in the first place. The most notable thing about the performance by *deep breath* AshthonKarenThiaNaimaPia and Paul was trying to figure out who looked the l ... More >>

Eight Shows MTV, VH1 & BET Should Bring Back

​We live in a time where crappy reality television has taken over three of the networks that were once originally dedicated to music videos, artist interviews and delivering current events from the younger generation's perspective. With all the flack that MTV (Music Television) gets about not ... More >>

Your Biggest Fan: When Rockers Get Stalkers

cinemafestival/shutterstock.com​This past week a statement by pop institution Madonna helped put away one of her newest stalkers, Polish citizen Grzegorz Matlok, who broke into Madge's London home and the residence of her ex-hubby Guy Ritchie. Madonna submitted the statement to Southwark Crown ... More >>

Happy Biebermas: 2011's Bumper Crop Of Holiday Albums

Wishing You An Adorkable Christmas...​The Christmas season started back in the late summer for Rocks Off when we began getting PR e-mails about so and so's new Christmas album, and then in October they started showing up in our stacks of snail mail. This year the biggest complaint amongst ev ... More >>

Taking Apart Yesterday's Facebook Music Screed

​Yesterday, about a half-dozen of my Facebook friends forwarded a gloom-and-doom listicle from a site called Buzzfeed entitled "12 Extremely Disappointing Facts About Popular Music." Now up to over one million hits, the doom-and-gloom piece is subtitled "This is the saddest thing you'll read a ... More >>