Spoon (Band)

Why Has the Strokes' Comeback Tanked?

The great hope of rock and roll critics at the start of the 21st century, the Strokes, released their newest record Comedown Machine last month. It was met with the sort of lukewarm reviews that the band has been receiving for years now; about the greatest compliment anyone can give it is that "it's ... More >>

Har Mar Superstar Brings Bye Bye 17 to Mango's Tonight

Har Mar Superstar hits Mango's on Wednesday night a week before his newest album, Bye Bye 17, hits physical and digital shelves. The collection of songs are heavily-influence by vintage soul and R&B, but still have his cheeky, lovelorn swagger going for them. He recorded the album in Austin at Pub ... More >>

The 30 Best Texas Albums

Ranking the 30 best Texas albums of the past 30 years seemed like an impossible task. We did it anyway.

Behold the Texas 30, Plus Albums 40-31

At this point, hopefully you know what the Texas 30 is and why Rocks Off is counting down to the Top 30 Texas albums of the past 30 years, as determined by a statewide panel of professional music writers. The short answer is, of course, because we can, and because it was a great excuse to listen to ... More >>

The Texas 30: The Second Runners-Up, Albums 50-41

On our computer, Rocks Off has been looking at that damn Texas 30 spreadsheet so long our eyes are frosting over. Monday we said about 400 different albums were spread across the ballots we received from almost 25 music-media wags across Texas. We looked at the sheet again after that and it was actu ... More >>

Top 5 People Who Should Be Judging American Idol

Over the weekend American Idol, struggling to remain relevant in the face of the televised singing-competition series it spawned like The Voice and X Factor, announced its final judges' panel for the upcoming 12th season that begins in January. According to Entertainment Weekly, joining the previous ... More >>

Wouldn't It Be Cool If the Houston Texans Only Played Texas Music at Games?

Much like most Houstonians, I will be in front of a television on Sunday watching our Houston Texans play the Miami Dolphins at Reliant Stadium. It's a big and promising year for our team, one of only professional sports franchises in town that are successful. Did you know that Billy Ray Cyrus is ... More >>

Readers Poll: What Are Your Favorite Summer Albums?

You know technically if you live in Houston, summer never really goes away. It just sort of lingers on top of the region, every now and then rousing from slumber to pound us with heat and humidity. Northern parts of the country have a firm line separating the seasons, but thankfully global warming ... More >>

Bayou City Art Festival

Friday Night: Spoon At House Of Blues

Spoon House of Blues April 13, 2012 Spoon has two types of songs: Songs that cut and songs that groove. But they all sting. The songs that cut are choppy and a little clenched, like "Small Stakes" or "Got Nuffin'." The songs that groove are about as fluid as I think it is for music to possibly be; ... More >>

Spoon

Local Musicians, Up Early, Remember Late Nite Pie

Photos by Chris GrayThe flames at Late Nite Pie had been extinguished by 6:45 a.m.​Midtown pizza restaurant Late Nite Pie burned some time after closing in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. ABC13.com reported that the popular post-show destination suffered "major damage" and that Houston Fir ... More >>

Our Top Ten Picks For Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011

Photo By Marc BrubakerBest Coast at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010​This weekend the Rocks Off team will cover their third Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, at the festival's new home Auditorium Shores. Each year this fest seems to get bigger and better, without losing it's grimy luster. Is it the Austin City ... More >>

Fun Fun Fun Fest Adds Spoon, Black Lips, Cannibal Corpse

​That probably spooked you all, huh, thinking we added those three to our own BestFest, right? In addition to previously announced biggies like Slayer, The Damned, Public Enemy, the Hot Snakes reunion gig, and the Danzig Legacy project, these new three only sweeten the deal for FFFF attendees ... More >>

Out Today: Bon Iver's Bandwagon Bait, Weird Al Goes Gaga

Greetings From Bon Iver Land! Now, grab a rifle. It's almost dinner time.​In the next few weeks, you may be reading about the new Robert Ellis album, Photographs, so we are just giving you fair warning. It's a stunner through and through, and goes nicely with early morning traffic. Have you ev ... More >>

Eight Halfway Decent Songs With Godawful Titles

​So, we listened to Coldplay's new single, "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" for the first time and, try as we might, we just can't hate it. Now, it's not great. One could argue that it only barely crosses the line into "good" territory. It sounds like Chris Martin locked himself in a room and l ... More >>

Born This Way: The Ultimate Soundalike Playlist

​When Lady Gaga released her new single, "Born This Way," in February, it took less than a minute of the title track from her upcoming disc for fans and detractors alike to scream "Express Yourself!" in unison. Yes, it does sound like an amped-up version of the 1989 Madonna track. A lot. Thi ... More >>

Ten Years After: Our Favorite 2001 Albums

​This hlist is kind of funny now, seeing that the dearly departed White Stripes are smack-dab in the middle with White Blood Cells. We swear this final hlist was made Tuesday afternoon, before Wednesday's breakup announcement. Funny how the band has actually been on the tips of our lips for a ... More >>

Last Night: No Age At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Marc Brubaker​No Age Fitzgerald's January 12, 2010 For more pics from last night's show, including lots of crowd shots, check out our No Age slideshow. We are only a little less than two weeks into 2011, and Aftermath may have seen the first best show of the year, with 50 weeks lef ... More >>

Top 10 Worst Top 10 Lists Of 2010

​Now that's a headline, ladies and germs. It has the added benefit of being succinct as well. That's exactly what we're summing up here, the worst Top 10 lists our peers have written this year. Let's get started, as we've got a lot of ground to cover. 10. This One Not really, this is just t ... More >>

Capital Steps

Dispatches from ACL 2010

ACL Day 3 Recap: Flaming Lips, The National, And We're Out!

Photos by Marco Torres​If there was one band this member of Aftermath was most looking forward to seeing at ACL this weekend, it was the Flaming Lips. But explaining why requires a bit of a backstory. From 1980 to 2003 (the first 23 years of our life) we lived in Oklahoma City. In the early-' ... More >>

ACL Day 2 Recap: M.I.A., Gogol Bordello, Deadmau5, Mouse Masks

credReturn of the Bamboo Banger: M.I.A.​Aftermath was eager to catch Gogol Bordello, only because our companion had missed their last Houston show at Meridian in 2008. We were convinced he'd get a kick out of them so we dragged him over to the AMD stage early in order to get a good view. One ... More >>

ACL Day 1 Recap: Sonic Youth, Spoon, The Strokes, Nice People...

Brittanie SheySonic Youth​ For lots more pictures from Friday, see our slideshow here. Rocks Off wonders what kind of guitar budget Sonic Youth has. They aren't very gentle with their instruments. This occurred to us as we were standing a few feet from the large screens projecting their exte ... More >>

Austin City Limits Festival Releases Preshow, Aftershow Lineups

​This morning C3 Concerts, the folks behind the Austin City Limits Music Festival, announced the schedule for the pre- and after-show gigs surrounding the festival. As with this past March's SXSW, those without official credentials aren't totally being shut out of the fun. Starting Wednesday ... More >>

How Is Houston Doing ACL-Wise?

Marco TorresThe Eagles have flown, at least as far as Houston is concerned.​If you have even bothered to venture out of doors during these days of 105-degree heat indices and "Unhealthy" air-quality advisories, you may have noticed that things have been a little light on the roadshow front lat ... More >>

FAIL: Jeff Beck, Jonas Brothers, Lilith Fair, ACL Fest

If you're reading this, you're either on the Internet, or else you've mastered multi-dimensional thought-projection processes that would make Michio Kaku cry like a little girl. We'll assume the former, and just in case you don't already know, the Internet has decided that the word "failure" is too ... More >>

Solange Knowles Admits She's A "Blipster"

​ As a white thirtysomething male who digs Merle Haggard, Al Green and Skynyrd, Rocks Off is well aware our hipster cred is pretty much in the toilet. Even the bands we do like that were once considered at least kinda "cool" - Wilco, Spoon, Phoenix - now share air time with Jack Johnson and the Da ... More >>

Austin City Limits Festival Tickets On Sale Tomorrow At 10 A.M.

We're not saying Soundgarden is playing ACL, but you never know...​That's right. Now why would Rocks Off make something like that up? Hope you have $180 lying around and don't have any meetings or classes or anything like that tomorrow morning, because they're going to go quick. Better go ahead an ... More >>

White Rabbits

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

SXSW Aftermath: Here's To The Most Accessible, Personable Festival In Years

Katharine ShilcuttAt SXSW, everywhere is a venue, including the back alley where we came across these ladies Thursday afternoon.​SXSW is a festival that tries to beat you down like the drip-drip of acid on the blink-blink of an eyeball, and more times than not it succeeds. But if you're able to co ... More >>

SXSW Aftermath: The Broken-Hearted Passion Of Frightened Rabbit's Deafening Drums; Basia Bulat Is Simply Beautiful

Craig HlavatyBrandon was still in line when Scotland's We Were Promised Jetpacks played at the Parish Wednesday, but we caught them earlier at the Fader Fort: "Surprisingly catchy. They may be hype-ridden but we could give them another spin."​Aftermath assumes that the people who perpetuate the my ... More >>

Hlavaty On The Hloose At SXSW: Roky Okkervil Close, Stoner Blooze, Nigerian Neo-Soul, Silver Robots, Green Dreads...

Craig Hlavaty5:19 p.m.: "That's respect. Lording over Sixth Street."​ 5:08 p.m.: "This is how Roky should sound." 5:09 p.m. Rocks Off Sr.: "How's that?" 5:09 p.m.: "Starry Eyes. Man, when he's backed by true fans he is on fire. Will and the guys and lady do him more than justice."

How Much Can MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Etc. Really Help Bands Promote Themselves?

Sometimes getting signed to a major is no guarantee they'll push your music either... just ask Spoon's Britt Daniel. The likes of Facebook and MySpace have made it easier than ever for musicians' music to be available worldwide, but it crossed our minds that it also might be much more difficult to ... More >>

Still Not Sold On SXSW? How About Smokey Robinson, High On Fire, She & Him, Band Of Horses, Drive-By Truckers, Deer Tick, Anya Marina, Black Angels, Major Lazer...

Today the organizers of the SXSW Music Festival announced their showcase schedule for the music portion of the industry fest starting on March 17. This is the news Rocks Off has been looking for, so let's get it on. We are now one month away from Sixth Street and one of the world's biggest conglome ... More >>

Aftermath: Gold Sounds Top a Four-Band Texas Variety Pack at Walter's

Photos by Adam P. NewtonThe Small Sounds​While we're sure that some people feel that Aftermath engages in a bit of hagiography regarding the music of our fair city, we find it mildly difficult not to regularly and frequently express our love for the many excellent artists who call Houston home. We ... More >>

Happy Anniversary Texas Music Magazine, or "Austin and (Maybe) Everything After"

​Towards the end of last week, Rocks Off got the latest issue of Texas Music magazine in the mail, which just happens to mark the quarterly periodical's tenth anniversary. Naturally, as just about every publication does when it reaches such an august milestone - no mean feat for a magazine in this ... More >>

Spoon to Engage In Transference at Stubb's SXSW Wednesday

Yes, Houston, they'll be back...​Whenever Rocks Off thinks about Spoon - which, over the past decade, has been quite a bit - the one word that always comes to mind is "punctuation." No other band we can think of consistently crafts songs that are so heavily punctuated, from Britt Daniel's sharp-a ... More >>

Love and Theft

The decade with no name left behind plenty of memorable music.

Previewing the Year Ahead In Local Releases

​ 2010 looks like it's going to be a banner year for music in general. We can look forward to a new Arcade Fire opus, another Spoon outing, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and a Beach House record that is already getting Animal Collective-like buzz. Rocks Off is chomping a ... More >>

Uprising

2009 wasn't a great year for albums, but songs were a different story.

Inquiring Minds: Garage-Rock Fireman and Kiwi-Punk Buff Jay Reatard

​Tonight Jay Reatard plugs in at Walter's On Washington, playing the first of three Texas dates before ending his fall tour behind August's Watch Me Fall release. On New Year's Eve, he opens up for Austin's Spoon in Milwaukee. Memphis' Reatard, born Jimmy Lee Lindsey, has been a polarizing for ... More >>

The Boys Are Back

Kansas City's Get Up Kids have Something to Write Home About all over again.

MP3 of the Day: You(genious)'s Sticky-Sweet "Sex on a Spoon"

You(genious) (left) and DJ Good Grief​ Hello, ladies. Come on in. Allow Rocks Off to take your coats. What's that? It's August? You don't have any coats? No matter. Would you care for a glass of wine? Perhaps some Hennessy? Help yourself to this plate of fine cheeses, please. Half off at Spec's, y ... More >>

Five Hour Energy

The 2009 Houston Press Music Awards Showcase in 300 minutes or less.

HPMA Aftermath: Ozeal & the Eulypians, Nosaprise, Benjamin Wesley, Tha Fucking Transmissions, Kristine Mills, Peekaboo Theory, Versecity and Spain Colored Orange

Chris Gray​Five hours is not a long time. It is if you're driving from Houston to Texarkana or Uvalde, maybe. But when hopscotching all over downtown trying to take in as much of the Houston Press Music Awards showcase as you can until your feet and your ears cry uncle, those 300 minutes go by in ... More >>

2007 Music Year in Review

Static

Been There. Done That. Doing It Again.

Cotton Mather propels pop plagiarism back to the '90s