Taylor Swift

The 10 Least Subtle Song Titles of All Time

Now I was a singer in a band, and that band wrote a song called "You Cannot Kill David Arquette." We wrote a lot of other songs, too, and most of them had more esoteric and poetic titles. Still, that's the one I like the best because it's just as bald as you can be. Here's David Arquette, and you ca ... More >>

Lady in Red

Pop star Taylor Swift brought her sticky-n-sweet stage show to Toyota Center May 16.

Taylor Swift at Toyota Center, 5/16/13

Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran Toyota Center May 16, 2013 There was a moment about a minute and a half or so into Thursday night's concert where Taylor Swift stopped, looked straight into one of the many cameras filming her show, and smiled. The crowd roared as if they had seen a miracle. It was the type ... More >>

A Gallery of Awesome Taylor Swift Memes

When I think of Taylor Swift, my mind immediately goes to the category it has labeled as "sheer hilarity." From the Kanye incident to the bleating goat videos, the poor girl has become synonymous with accidental antics, and those are the best kind in my opinion. Taylor, who has skyrocketed to fame ... More >>

Red, White, and Rehab: Country Music's 10 Douchiest Moments

It might be hard to believe, but the same musicians responsible for singing lyrics about big green tractors and diggin' up bones are also responsible for a lot of my Internet entertainment. You see, when famous people do douchey things, it makes me giggle. When those acts are committed by people t ... More >>

EPIC: The 20 Most Overused Terms In SXSW Band Bios

Before I take any trip to Austin and SXSW, I always take more than a few days to peruse the schedule and check out a few of the hundreds of names on the roster and read their bios. Some years there are more bands with "wolf" and "space" in their monikers than usual, and some years there are random ... More >>

The 5 Best Onstage Band Pranks

You might think that it's a little bit early for April Fool's, but pranks go on between musicians and bands year-round. Given that musicians are an immature, jocular sort, tied inherently to an adolescent dream of being a rock star, it should be no surprise that they get into all kinds of crazy insi ... More >>

Open Letter to the Jerks Who Killed Someone Over a Pair of Air Jordans

Dear A-Holes, Well done. You have reached the absolute lowest point on the criminal totem pole. You are now ranked down there with people who steal Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve and worthless lowlifes who literally take candy from babies. You killed a guy over a pair of shoes. I must confess I ... More >>

Rating 5 2012 EDM Crossover Attempts, Best to Worst

As 2012 comes to a close, it's time for all of us to take a look in the mirror and accept the truth: Whether we like it or not, EDM is a major force in music and is here to stay. We all knew it was coming; anyone who has spent time listening to mainstream radio has heard how house music has become ... More >>

Special Delivery: 5 Artists Who Could Be the Future Face of Pizza Boxes

Recently my partner in crime and I decided to have a pizza night. This is pretty typical for us, but what wasn't typical was the question Papa John's asked me while I was ordering: would I like to add a copy of Taylor Swift's new album Red to my order for only $13? I said no -- who pays $13 for CDs ... More >>

Taylor Swift Visiting Houston May 16

Now that Taylor Swift's new album Red is out, you may have noticed the recent media blitz that has brought her to the cover of Rolling Stone and a prime-time TV appearance on ABC's All Access Nashville Friday. So she might as well tour, right? The country-pop star, now one of the nation's biggest r ... More >>

Most Depressing Video Ever: Teens Listen to the New Taylor Swift Song

This week saw the premiere of Taylor Swift's new single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" online. It's about an ex-boyfriend, which comes as a shock because the rest of her catalog is pretty romantically ambiguous, and she normally never vaguely discloses anything about her personal life in ... More >>

True Blood: God, Gotye, and Why Neither Matters

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood -- which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. So, the vampires have decided that they are going to try and rule ... More >>

An Obamacare Playlist You Can Afford

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act has now been almost two weeks ago. If you keep up with national news, or maybe just don't avoid the Internet machine, well, you have probably observed that people are still noticeably buzzing about the ruling. It does happen to be one o ... More >>

NEEDTOBREATHE

We Tell You Who Will Win Grammys So You Don't Have To Watch Them

SPOILER ALERT​The best thing about the annual Grammy nominations and awards shows is the clamor of anger that rises up when the mere mention of the event even comes up. Immediately people begin calling it a travesty, trotting out all the people who have been snubbed -- Jethro Tull beats Metall ... More >>

Stunt-Casting A More Modern Disney Soundtrack

Photo by Katie Rommel-Esham​The other night I watched Beauty and the Beast for the first time in roughly forever. I was shocked by two things: How much of the plot I had forgotten, and how many of the songs I remembered. It's like that for most Disney classics: I can't tell you what happened but I ... More >>

Taylor Swift Continues Goth Transformation in Hunger Games Track

It started out as a joke, you know? Chris Gray threw us a curve ball and said, "Taylor Swift is coming to town. Do something with that, you little eyeliner-wearing fangster." Well we did sit down and listen to the young country superstar, and to our surprise we discovered that somewhere in what we'r ... More >>

The X Factor Gets Grateful

Last night's episode of The X Factor was all about gratitude. Contestants dedicated their performances to someone special in their lives, telling heartwarming tales designed to maximize viewer empathy and increase voting by tugging on the ol' heartstrings. And you know what? It worked. The theme res ... More >>

Saturday Night: Taylor Swift At Minute Maid Park

Photos by Marco Torres​See pics of Taylor Swift taking over The Juice Box in our slideshow. It's perhaps unfair to say Taylor Swift has "snuck up" on us, considering she's sold over 20 million albums and was featured on just about every one of last year's "top entertainer" lists. But that's w ... More >>

Taylor Swift

Saturday Night: Maná At Toyota Center

Photos by Marco Torres​Maná Toyota Center July 2, 2011 It takes a special combination of hype and talent to sell out a concert, let alone two in a row. In recent memory, only two other artists have been booked to perform on consecutive nights at Toyota Center: Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Me ... More >>

Taylor Swift Coming To Minute Maid Park November 5

Marco Torres​Taylor Swift added a new batch of dates to her Speak Now tour this week, with the pop-country idol and increasingly powerful media giant coming to Minute Maid Park on November 5. If we remember correctly, the last artist to fill up the Juice Box was Madonna back in November 2008. ... More >>

Tweens Shrug Off Influence Of So-Called Slutwave Singers

Purple Apple's Olivia, age 13, prefers Joan Jett to Katy Perry.​Earlier this year, Rocks Off took a curious delve into the bewildering appeal of today's successful female pop singers. When such artists are aptly and comfortably categorized into a subgenre called "Slutwave," it makes us wonder ... More >>

The Civil Wars

Music Sales Down 2.5 Percent In 2010

​Nielsen SoundScan released its annual report on music sales Monday, and the results were less than surprising. Physical sales continued to decline, digital sales continued to rise, and crap pop continues to reign supreme both at the cash register and on the airwaves. During the period of Jan ... More >>

Houston Gets Over-The-Air Country-Music Channel

​Believe it or not, some of us get by just fine without cable or satellite TV. When Rocks Off goes home at night - the odd evenings we stay home, that is - not only do we enjoy the finest network television has to offer, but the cornucopia of choices across the digital-TV spectrum: B- and C-mo ... More >>

Taylor Swift's Top Nine Future Feuds

​Still the No. 1 album in the country, Taylor Swift's Speak Now is awash in lyrics bashing her former flames, friends, lovers and Kanye West. The pop-country singer knows how to turn a bitter phrase, and we can only hope that she keeps getting better and better at it. She's not yet 21, but S ... More >>

Rap's 10 Most Hated People Of 2010

​Hatred is a popular sport in hip-hop. Players of this sport include everyone from fans to peers. There's no specific reason for loathing. Sometimes, being the best in your league is an egregious enough crime to inspire a strong dose of vitriol. Here are the 10 most hated hip-hop artists of 20 ... More >>

Taylor Swift's Ten Best Disses On Speak Now

​Taylor Swift has just released her third, and angriest, album, Speak Now. It's an alternately aggressive and poppy turn for the country girl, who is quickly shedding any previous genre trappings and very much becoming one of the pop industry's biggest stars. She combines female conviction wit ... More >>

Eight Halloween Ideas For Today's Hottest Pop Stars

Photo Illustrations by Monica FuentesJohn Mayer as Justin Bieber​Halloween is only a little over a week away, and the spirit of the season is in the air. Rocks Off knows everyone has already picked out their costumes: Girls are starving themselves to fit into that slutty nurse or cop uniform, ... More >>

So What's Up With Kanye's "Power" Video?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday or pre-empted by HPMA showcase coverage, Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Paul Wal ... More >>

The Situation: Seven Stupid Things He (Or A Very Good Imposter) Said On His Flight To Houston

Laugh all you want -- he's getting a Bentley for his birthday​The Situation is in town!! He's here for a show, but you probably already knew that. Hey, hey -- that's not an insult. We're not saying you're the kind of person who follows The Situation's career or anything. Just that you're a d ... More >>

Words Without Songs: Making Music For Everyone with Ally ASL

Allyson Townshend, or

Finally! Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" In American Sign Language!

You know what makes Rocks Off sad? The knowledge that the approximately one million Americans who are functionally deaf don't have someone expressing the absolute poetry of Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" to them in American Sign Language. Until now! Sure, you can read a line like, "Boys tryin' to touch my junk, ... More >>

Taylor Swift, Neo-Feminist Keyhole To The Future

Photos by Marco Torres​The waves of the audible bubble bath wash over you as they gurgle their way to the milk veins of your heart, and then your mom tucks you in to the sound of the woosh woosh cherry wind while you dream your little dreams of a smile. Taylor Swift makes us feel like adject ... More >>

Taylor Swift Madness at the South Regional Semis in Houston

​Yesterday was media day at the South Regional, and while the players and coaches got used to the Reliant Stadium court set-up, and while fans got a sneak-peek of just how bad the seating and sight lines actually are, we media got busy coming up with the story lines that will guide you fans th ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: John Conquest Turns Both Barrels on Country-Music Poll

People have often referred to Lonesome, Onry and Mean as a curmudgeon (look it up), as a guy with a permanent hangover, bad temper and well... you get the idea. But compared to Austin-based 3rd Coast Music publisher (and main writer) John Conquest, LOM is a pussy cat, a cookie and a warm glass of m ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: "Nashville Phantom" Goes Off on the Scene's Country Music Poll

​Another 30-plus-year vet of Viet Nashville got his bowels in an uproar about the Nashville Scene's country music poll. In a long email to Lonesome Onry and Mean, this denizen of the songwriting trenches and the recording alleys who has had songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris and other g ... More >>

The 11 Stupidest Events from the World of Music, 2009 Edition

Hi there, 2009. Please have a seat. Are you comfortable? Would you like some coffee, or perhaps a cigarette? No? Okay, good. Let's just cut straight to the point, then. You suck, and frankly we're sick of your bullshit. You were an awful year, filled not just with economic collapse, scary right-wi ... More >>

DJ Hero: A Review

​The geniuses that first let you rock 'n' roll with guitar legends in Guitar Hero decided to bring out a new instrument for gamers to party on. This time, Activision brought out the turntables for their newest title, DJ Hero. Available for the Playstations 2 & 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, DJ ... More >>

He Said She Said: Songs We Are Least Thankful For, Part 2

​This was the first year that He Said made a conscious effort to listen to what was going on outside his self-imposed protective bubble of metal and proto-punk. We sort of took it as one of the facets of our job to actually pay attention to the stuff that was going on in the greater sphere in the ... More >>

Tween Dreams

Sound Off on The Kanye's Jackassery at Sunday Night's VMAs

This is what happens when MTV pulls all its VMA footage from YouTube... their lawyers were up early this morning.​ By now you've seen or at least heard about Kanye West's latest bit of spotlight-grabbing at Sunday night's MTV awards - Rocks Off doubts morning-drive DJs are talking about little els ... More >>

Aftermath: Bamboozle Roadshow at House of Blues

Photos by Meredith Baker The Perfect Scene: Techno-pop rockers Mercy Mercedes radiate some "extra energy." This year's Bamboozle Roadshow, which passed through Houston Thursday night, fused together a variety of musical flavors among up-and-coming bands Mercy Mercedes, NeverShoutNever!, The C ... More >>

Aftermath: Taylor Swift at RodeoHouston

Photos courtesy Houston Livestock Show and RodeoTeenage girls turned up in droves for Taylor Swift at RodeoHouston Friday night, letting out piercing screams in between every song, rivaling the intensity of those at the Jonas Brothers concert. Swift already belongs among that small cadre of ar ... More >>

Could Alternative Country Work at the Rodeo?

RodeoHouston Hideout Schedule

Two Tons of Steel/ bbqfilm.com Music at RodeoHouston doesn't necessarily mean doe-eyed ingenues like Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers, leathery country veterans like Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson or tube snake boogeymen like ZZ Top, you know. Although there's no hog-calling contest - ... More >>

Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demol ... More >>