Subject: The Flaming Lips

• Confessions of a Classic Rock Whore, or One Man’s Journey

  July 13, 2007

• Retro Active: 1987, Here We Come

  August 2, 2007

• Prodigal Players

  August 9, 2007

• This Weekend: The Flaming Lips' Christmas on Mars at the Alamo Drafthouse

  Hmm, the science-fiction film Christmas on Mars bills itself as "a fantastical film freak-out featuring the Flaming Lips." Considering the Lips are one of the country's wildest psychedelic bands, this ought to be interesting. The cast features ex-Houstonian and Lips drummer Steven Drozd, as Major Syrtis. Wayne Coyne, the band's frontman and mastermind, appears as the Martian. And Steve Burns, astronaut No. 1, was the host of the kid's show Blue's Clues before going on to be a respecte

  December 12, 2008

• Were These Really the Best Songs of 2008?

  The Gutter Twins Maybe Rocks Off spent a lot of 2008 with his head in the archives, but he was paying attention to new stuff too. Occasionally. It's as easy as satellite radio, channel 47's (Ethel/Alt Nation) weekly new-music hour Submission/Transmission. Monday night, S/T happened to be playing its picks for the past year. One thing is immediately apparent: the '90s are back, big time. The Black Keys' "Strange Times" is total Soundgarden, the Kills' "Tape Song" almost out-Breeders Kim Deal

  December 30, 2008

• Powerful Tool

  April 14, 1994

• A Uniquely Pervis Perspective

  December 8, 1994

• Sound Check

  July 27, 1995

• Same Old Sir

  May 16, 1996

• Labor of Love

  January 29, 1998

• Quadruple Weird

  February 12, 1998

• Local Rotation: Young Mammals' Carrots

  Young Mammals Carrots www.myspace.com/youngmammals Carrots is the former Dimes' first full-length, and first physical product of any kind since 2006's Animal EP netted the quartet a slew of Houston Press music awards and set the local indie-rock community's hearts atwitter long before a "tweet" was anything besides the sound certain birds make. Three years (and one drummer) later, Carrots adds a Flaming Lips-like sense of wonder to the Mammals' propulsive sound. It's a huge-sounding

  March 2, 2009

• Rotation

  July 1, 1999

• (Another) Local Album of the Week: Spain Colored Orange's Sneaky Like a Villain

  Spain Colored Orange Sneaky Like a Villain www.myspace.com/spaincolouredorange Thanks to differences with Spain Colored Orange's former label Lucid Records, the songs on the local psych-pop quintet's brand-new disc Sneaky Like a Villain are already old hat to the band members. For the rest of us, though, Sneaky - released on Brooklyn's Shout It Out Loud Music - is a mellow, eclectic album that sounds both cagey and carnivalesque, accessible and exotic. Some passages recall the Beatles' Sgt.

  April 3, 2009

• Spain Colored Orange

  Gilbert Alfaro and Eric Jackson sound off.

  April 9, 2009

• Spring Cleaning

  March 5, 2009

• Annuals, Jessica Lea Mayfield

  February 12, 2009

• Can Lil Wayne Overcome His Spotty Live Track Record?

  Weezy Peezy

  December 18, 2008

• Christmas on Mars

  Web exclusive!

  December 11, 2008

• Colourmusic

  October 30, 2008

• The Best of ACL Fest

  October 2, 2008

• Dark Meat with Quiet Hooves

  May 8, 2008

• Dizzy Pilot: Shit Out the Bones

  December 13, 2007

• Downloading Music

  Linking you to the best in legitimate, artist-approved exclusives

  March 8, 2007

• Band of Horses

  Saturday, June 24, at Walter's on Washington, 4215 Washington Avenue, 713-862-2513

  June 22, 2006

• Screw October

  June 1, 2006

• Starlight Mints

  Thursday, June 1, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, 713-225-LIVE

  June 1, 2006

• The Flaming Lips

  At War with the Mystics

  April 13, 2006

• Grind It Out with Pam

  February 16, 2006

• Bayou City Music Mindbender, Part II

  Another chance to test your knowledge of local lore

  January 12, 2006

• Freestyle Fellowship

  Sometimes awesome live bands also make magic in the studio

  December 8, 2005

• Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, with Drop Trio

  Thursday, December 1, at the Engine Room, 1515 Pease, 713-654-7846.

  December 1, 2005

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

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

  November 10, 2005

• Super Furry Animals

  Love Kraft

  October 27, 2005

• Letters

  September 8, 2005

• Setting the Stage

  August is over, and a new theater season is upon us

  September 1, 2005

• Letters

  August 25, 2005

• Various Artists

  Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen

  August 18, 2005

• Can't Touch the MMMBop

  A new boxed set excavates the '90s

  August 4, 2005

• Like a Prayer

  FrenetiCore's latest production sings praise without being preachy

  August 26, 2004

• Polyphonic Spree, with David Bowie

  Thursday, April 29

  April 29, 2004

• Starlight Mints, with Dressy Bessy, Four Men Walking and Deathray Davies

  Friday, March 12

  March 11, 2004

• Singapore Sling

  Sunday, November 9

  November 6, 2003

• Starlight Mints

  June 25, 2009

• Aftermath: The McKenzies, the Howlies and Springfield Riots at the Mink

  Photos by Chris GrayThe McKenzies To Aftermath, the Mink's Backroom has always seemed more like a house than a music venue - especially inside, with the dark floors, corner bars and abundant, comfortable seating, it's like one of those cozy but spacious multi-resident dwellings where we all went to at least one party in college. Judging by the average age of the crowd at Tuesday night's show, that's pretty much what it was.

  July 8, 2009

• The Distillery: Rancid's Let the Dominoes Fall

  What it do, Rancid? What's crackin', formerly crusty-punk rude boys? Been a long time since we last hang, bros. When Dan Zeller lent me Let's Go during senior year of high school, I knew y'all were onto something special: three-billy-goats-gruff sung scrabbling punk anthems and routs with just a hint of ska. ...And Out Come The Wolves was what really sold me, though, as you found a slightly more commercial sound that brought MTV rotation (for "Time Bomb"), plus a platinum plaque. Our interest be

  July 17, 2009

• ReFried Rice: In the Hot Seat with Chris Wise from Buxton

  ​Chris Wise was going to do an interview but instead he decided to try and pick up Geoffrey Muller from the SideShow tramps. The two are currently discussing Muller recent stroll down dress lane at the I am Mesmer CD release show. Oh, Muller just said he would "be honored" to help out with the next Buxton release. Wise is happy about that. Muller: What would I do? Just hang out in my dress?Wise: It helps the Sugarhill vibe.Okay, Chris, now it's time to get in the hot seat.Who are you here to

  July 26, 2009

• Ghosts of Washington Avenue

  September 10, 2009

• Never Mind Twilight, Here Are the Best Werewolf and Vampire Music Videos

  ​ Werewolves and vampires have been at each others' throats long before Twilight: New Moon (opening tomorrow) had them making pouty duck-faces at one another. Thankfully, the tradition of the vampire and the werewolf in the art of the music video is a much richer one than the antics of the crybaby douchemobiles in the Twilight series would suggest. The Kills, "Black Balloon" This video puts a gritty, almost documentary-style spin on the vampire, which is a refreshing change from the usual gla

  November 19, 2009

• He Said She Said: Songs That Remind Us of Our Exes, Part 2

  ​ Oh lord. This could get ugly. Sorry, mom. When it comes to - ahem - unresolved issues in a relationship, almost nothing is better to help us commiserate, haterate and self-medicate than music. She Said sometimes likes to image what the soundtrack of her life would look like. The songs below would be played during the sappy scenes, where one lover meets another or leaves another. As tempting as it is for us to hit below the belt (pun intended), we'd like to think of ourselves as a little mor

  November 20, 2009