The Beach Boys

Transcribing Is a Bitch: The Collected Craig Hlavaty Interviews

My last official day at the Houston Press is tomorrow, so these past two weeks I have been sifting through my body of work here at Rocks Off, almost seven years of words. I've been gleefully overdosing on nostalgia here at my desk, and I have (almost) no regrets. I'll have some more words on my depa ... More >>

Revisiting Robertson Stadium's Forgotten Concert History

After years of dreaming, planning and even a little begging, the University of Houston broke ground on a new on-campus football stadium this month. It's a pretty darn exciting development for the Cougars that marks the beginning of a new era of UH athletics: The program will play its first season in ... More >>

Top 10 Heartbreaking Holiday Covers

Last week we took a look at some of the most holiday spirit-dampeningly awful songs ever recorded. We aren't quite done ruining your holiday spirit just yet however, as this week we have compiled ten of the saddest holiday cover songs ever recorded. Rewind: The 10 Worst Holiday Cover Songs Ever ... More >>

The Top 10 Weirdest U.S. No. 1 Hits

It's not often that the pop charts will surprise you. After all, the average consumer in most countries doesn't have time to delve too deep into an artist's catalogue. They don't often pick up on songs that will stand the test of time. They like the ephemera record labels tell them is hot right now. ... More >>

Squeezing the Lemon: Led Zeppelin & the 10 Most Shocking Rock and Roll Reunions

Five years ago this week, Led Zeppelin fans young and old squeezed their pants full of lemon juice when the band's three surviving golden gods -- Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones - announced that they'd be reuniting for a one-off concert in London. John Bonham's son Jason would man the s ... More >>

Akron/Family

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 >>

Beach Boys Not Coming To Nutty Jerry's After All

Last week I told you about an upcoming Beach Boys date out in Winnie at Nutty Jerry's. The show sparked my interest since I was still on a B-Boys high from their show in the Woodlands earlier this month, and I was happy that the Houston-area was getting another go-round with the group. But today t ... More >>

The Beach Boys Coming to Nutty Jerry's In Winnie October 6

If you missed the reunited and augmented Beach Boys a few weeks back in the Woodlands, you will have a second chance to see the band on October 6 out at Nutty Jerry's in Winnie. Yes, it's a long drive, but this tour is worth seeing. As Rocks Off confirmed from Nutty Jerry's PR, this will in fact b ... More >>

Under the Streetlamp

A Sea Es

Friday Night: The Beach Boys at The Woodlands

The Beach Boys Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion June 8, 2012 The Beach Boys taught a generation of American kids how to be teenagers. With songs about the perils of love, the magic of cars, school ties, faceless authority, and depression and isolation, they wrote the book on high-octane hormonal roc ... More >>

When The Beach Boys Went To The Movies

The Beach Boys have embarked on a 50th-anniversary reunion tour this year, kicking off the media blitz with a Grammy performance featuring everybody from Maroon 5 to Foster the People. As one of the pioneering rock bands of their era, the Beach Boys made a return to the spotlight that was met with ... More >>

The Beach Boys' Endless Summer

Surviving bandmates reunite for a 50th-anniversary tour.

The Secret History of "You Are So Beautiful"

Six years ago today, on June 6, 2006, the world lost Houston-born musician Billy Preston. The session man, kind soul and all-around secret weapon was in the mix for some of the best and brightest moments of rock's heyday. The man backed up Little Richard and Sam Cooke, and as a child prodigy he play ... More >>

2012 Summer Guide: It's a Scorcher

A summer concert season to melt your face off.

New Beach Boys Book Digs Deep Under The Sand

The Beach Boys FAQ: All That's Left to Know About America's Band By Jon Stebbins Backbeat Books, 400 pp., $19.99. Backbeat's FAQ series of books are the perfect addendum for those who are already familiar with a band's basic origin and career. Part biography, part compendium of trivia and odd fact ... More >>

Hipster Lessons: 5 Ways To Make Indie Bands Less Annoying

My girlfriend got a new car recently and it has satellite radio. The result has been a lot of channel-surfing and among the more regular selections is Alt Nation. Though there are certainly some God awful songs that get played on there, on the whole, it isn't bad and has even led me to some interes ... More >>

Beach Boys Reunion Tour Hits Woodlands June 8

Dave Matthews Band opens new tour at Pavilion May 18 The Beach Boys, one of the most popular and celebrated bands to come out of America in the past century, announced a reunion tour this week, with Houston getting a set from Brian Wilson and the gang Friday, June 8 at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pa ... More >>

No-Fun Number Ones: The Worst Chart Toppers Since Tiffany

It's no secret that chart success is no real guarantor of musical quality. Hell, "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" went number one way back in 1952, pissing kids off so badly that they had to invent rock 'n roll. Twenty-five years ago this week, however, Billboard reached a new low when m ... More >>

Beach Boys Reunite for New Album, Ensure Armageddon.

Mason Lankford said, "There will come a day when we forget the Rapture ever even happened," but Rocks Off is keeping an eye out for signs of our impending Armageddon. We were wrong last time, but we're totally right this time! White House Photo OfficeThe Beach Boys with Ronald and Nancy Reagan̴ ... 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 >>

ACL: Batman's Bale At Bingham, Nick 13 is a 10 On Sunday Afternoon

Marco Torresoh hai Batman!​The widget on our phone says it's only 91 degrees here at Zilker Park but we don't believe that voodoo. The humidity and heat pounding the park reminds us of Houston. We smell Pasadena and our fair city's taco trucks all the way from Austin. Our day started by walk ... More >>

Pit Crew

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. prefer the Beach Boys to NASCAR.

Pet Sounds: Still Blowing Minds 45 Years Later

​Today is the 45th anniversary of the Beach Boys releasing the sonic and social landmark Pet Sounds The album influenced not only generations of bedroom producers and sad-eyed romantics, but also pushed the Beatles to create their own headphone masterpiece in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club B ... More >>

25 Famous Bands' Less Famous Previous Names

​As promised, here are the answers to Rocks Off's "Original Band Name" quiz from Tuesday. John St. Lee, if you'd care to email us, we'll see what we can do about getting you a prize. Do you like Devo? 1. Chicago: At about 25 or 6 to 4, the Windy City jazz-rockers realized The Big Thing sucked ... More >>

Match These Bands With Their Awful Original Names

​Provided they didn't take the easy way out and name themselves after a song (Rolling Stones), their hometown (Boston) or each other (Hall & Oates), almost every band that went on to sell millions of records, get tons of radio play and sell out arenas has had some form of the following convers ... More >>

10 Uncool Artists Primed For Hipster Rediscovery

Tumblr"Aw, dammit, I grabbed Dad's iPod by mistake. Paul Simon... is that one guy, or two Beatles?" ​Remember emo kids? Only a few short years ago, the nation's venues of the nation were filled with kids in all black, wearing ultra-skinny jeans, eyeliner, white belts, and identical chopped-mea ... More >>

Sleigh Bells: Not Just For Christmas Anymore

​Christmastime: A time for family, for giving, and much to the displeasure of many, a time for incessantly grating holiday music. Christmas spirit frozen in cheesy songs monopolizes radio stations and relentlessly stalks our every step. A key component of much holiday music is often the percu ... More >>

Five Ways Rock Stardom Is Like Your Boring Office Job

All photos from work.failblog.org​The Beach Boys are mired in a controversy resulting from accusations that they lip-synced at an Australian concert last Saturday. That just goes to prove something we've known all along. Namely, that being a rock star isn't all that different from being one of ... More >>

What If The Beatles Broke Up After Revolver?

​Thursday is the 44th anniversary of the release of the Beatles' pivotal Revolver, an album that continued their growth away from their boy-band roots and into something stranger, better and far more complex. 1965's Rubber Soul had started the transformation with its multiple psychedelic influ ... More >>

Distant Early Warning: Akron/Family, Beach Boys, Dark Star Orchestra, Jonathan Richman, Noah & the Whale, Xiu Xiu, etc.

​Akron/Family, Warpaint: Tue., Feb. 23. Walter's on Washington. The Beach Boys: Fri., March 19. Jones Hall. Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys: Fri., Feb. 26. Continental Club. The Boxmasters: Fri., Dec. 18. Fitzgerald's. Dark Star Orchestra: Thu., March 4. House of Blues. Eddie Griffin: Sat., Jan ... More >>

Tonight: Florida Indie Beach Boys Surfer Blood Sail Into Mango's

​Florida-based indie kids Surfer Blood pull into Mango's tonight, touring ahead of their upcoming Astro Coast LP. The band was recently anointed by Rolling Stone's online feature "Hype Monitor" as "bright and booming and hooky as FM radio in the late '70s." Rocks Off can hear traces of early "Blue ... More >>

Slide Show and Bonus MP3: Albums Influenced by the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds

Sgt. Pepper's was only the beginning... To celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the Beach Boys' sonically revolutionary album Pet Sounds - released May 16, 1966 - Rocks Off is featuring a cavalcade of albums which have, according to critics, fans, friends of the artist or even the artists themselves, b ... More >>

News on the March

"Gulf Coast Beach Boys" the Coastliners Return...with the Beach Boys

Still 'Alright'

The Queers

The Science of Pop

Do we really need a formula for perfect music?

Dr. Dog

dios (malos), with Swords and Go Spread Your Wings

Saturday, November 12, at Walter's on Washington, 4215 Washington Avenue, 713-864-2727.

Half Smile

Brian Wilson's long-delayed magnum opus fails to topple Pet Sounds from its pedestal

The Beach Boys

Hawthorne, CA: Birthplace of a Musical Legacy (Capitol)

Shelf Life

Long after Britney Oops her way to obscurity, these releases will continue to sing

The Imposters

Poseurs are performing under famous band names, including one with a Houston connection

Shored Up

Brian Wilson returns from hell to inhabit a self he hasn't seen since the '60s

Watt Go Surfing Now

The Beach Boys

Letters

Beach Gents

Good ole vibrations from the Beach Boys this summer

Reconstructing Brian

The troubled creative light behind the Beach Boys salvages himself and -- to an extent -- his music

Sound Check