The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips Keep Right On Terrorizing Mainstream Rock

Next Tuesday, Flaming Lips will release their long-awaited new album, The Terror. Though the band has been constantly busy with side-projects over the last several years to tide their freaky fans over, The Terror marks their first "official" entry into their primary discography since 2009's Embryoni ... More >>

The 10 Worst Things at SXSW This Year

This year Rocks Off and DC-9 at Night, the music blog at our sister paper Dallas Observer, teamed up to bring you only the most unfortunate moments from last week's SXSW madness. Security and Cops Gettin' Wild: Look, I get it. Every drunken dickhead in town "knows someone" or thinks he has pull at ... More >>

Skirting Visual Controversy: 4 Musicians Who Have Pulled Their Own Videos

Recently No Doubt pulled the video for their song "Looking Hot" in response to criticism that it was discriminatory against Native Americans -- ironic, considering November is Native American Heritage Month. Smooth one, Stefani. Still, the revived '90s ska band shouldn't feel too bad. They're in so ... More >>

Your Ultimate Batman Batsoundtrack Batplaylist

No doubt some of you are sitting bleary and bloodshot from seeing an overnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, and I am jealous of you. I didn't think to buy tickets early so now I will have to wait until like, next week to see it. First World Problems, dude. The ending of the Christopher Nolan ... More >>

Last Night: The Flaming Lips at Free Press Summer Fest

See Rocks Off's complete Free Press Summer Fest coverage. Be sure to also check out our slideshows: the sexy, sweaty Summer Fest crowds and the bands of Summer Fest 2012. The Flaming Lips Free Press Summer Fest, Eleanor Tinsley Park June 2, 2012 It's the fashion these days for artists to revisit t ... More >>

Best Of Free Press Summer Fest Day 1: Quintron, Big Freedia, Morris Day, Etc.

See Rocks Off's complete Free Press Summer Fest coverage. Be sure to also check out our slideshows: the sexy, sweaty Summer Fest crowds and the bands of Summer Fest 2012. Cory Garcia: Stage 7 isn't the most glamorous. Most of your set will be spent playing to the handful of people who came out to y ... More >>

Follow Rocks Off At Summer Fest, Wherever You Are

Rocks Off is about to wrap up our Free Press Summer Fest pre-game coverage for the afternoon... sort of. Really, it's just a pause. Of course we will be out at the festival all... weekend... long... and won't be shy about letting our readers know exactly what's going on. Even stuff besides the gorg ... More >>

At War with the Mystics

Flaming Lips front man Wayne Coyne talks Summer Fest, new music and Dark Side of the Moon.

Missed Connections: 5 Summer Fest Weekend Team-Ups We'd Like To See

In terms of pure variety, the weekend of June 1-3 may be the most stacked weekend of music Houston will see this year, and that's not just because of Summer Fest. In addition to the wide variety of acts playing Eleanor Tinsley Park there's the regular weekend mass of shows taking place across the ci ... More >>

9 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: Alkari, Black Bananas, Chico Trujillo, Etc.

Pot luck show of the weekend: ElecTrick, The Space Villains and Los Area 51 tonight at Rudyard's. Free. It's the big Art Car Weekend, if you haven't heard, and you can get a peek at Saturday's parade at Discovery Green tonight at 6:30 with two solid hours of a murderer's row of local blues greats ... More >>

Cover Story: Wanna See A Vinyl Record Get Pressed Before Your Eyes?

This week's Houston Press cover story, "Playing For Keeps," dives into the world of vinyl records, with interviews with local collectors and shop owners who are helping keep the medium alive in the Bayou City. Research for this cover story took me as far north as Dallas, where I visited with A&R Rec ... More >>

Trend Alert: 10 Artist/Brand Partnerships We'd Like To See

One of the most notable trends emerging from SXSW earlier this month was the increasing prevalence of financial partnerships between artists and brands. The highest-profile example of this phenomenon came courtesy of Lil Wayne, who taped a Mountain Dew spot from the stage at his Young Money/Cash Mon ... More >>

Flaming Lips And Their Fwends Set To Weird Up Record Store Day

In a few weeks on April 21, Record Store Day is yet again set to obliterate the wallets of record collectors around the country, and the Flaming Lips will have quite a release for fans on that day. What would you think if I said that they have been recording with none other than Ke$ha, Bon Iver, Nic ... More >>

Flaming Lips Return To Summer Fest With Avetts, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Descendents & Many More

Under cover of darkness, Free Press Summer Fest announced its 2012 lineup around 5 a.m. Monday morning. We'll get right to it: The Avett Brothers Snoop Dogg Willie Nelson Afrojack Primus The Flaming Lips (Performing Dark Side of the Moon)

Top 9 Comments On Summer Fest 2012: Where's The Women?

As most of Houston and the surrounding area knows by now, Free Press Summer Fest announced its 2012 lineup in the wee hours this morning. By now Rocks Off has had a few more hours to reflect on the festival, entering its fourth year at Eleanor Tinsley Park June 2 and 3, and also to take a shower. O ... More >>

Chafing 101: Rocks Off's 2011 Music Festival Odyssey

Music festivals are now a part of our lives, just like deadlines, angry commenters, lack of sleep, and eye fatigue. And eating at our desk. That sucks. But at least we have food and a desk, right? Rocks Off ventured all over the state -- OK, really mostly Austin -- to cover festivals for the blog. ... More >>

On The Road Again: Bikinis And Bands At The Hangout Festival

Photos by Craig Hlavaty Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, duh.​See the bands and bikinis of the Hangout Festival in our slideshows. Imagine the Austin City Limits Music Festival or even the rapidly approaching Free Press Summer Fest on pure, white sand just feet away from a (variably) blue ocea ... More >>

Crazy In Alabama: Hangout Festival Preview

jambase.com​This weekend this member of Rocks Off is heading to Gulf Shores, Alabama, for the Hangout Festival on the beach. Well, hopefully, considering the drive may take us through some rough waters due to the flooding in the deep South. Let us pray... Anyhow, this is the second year for H ... More >>

Top 10 Non-Traditional Christmas Songs

"Baby Jesus, born to rock..." ​Amidst the time of year when we're bombarded with cliché holiday tunes and trite Christmas-carol covers, Rocks Off will now take time to appreciate a few original nontraditional takes on festive songs. Whether they're dismal adaptations of holiday malaise, tale ... More >>

Our Readers Go Loco for Zelko Bistro.

Frickin' Lasers: Six Artists Who Could Really Use Them

Photo illustration by Monica FuentesNow that's more like it.​If you don't have tickets for tonight's Ghostland Observatory show at Warehouse Live, you are shit out of luck. Sorry to say, but the show is sold out, and when things sell out at that venue, they mean it. Seriously, you may have to ... More >>

ACL Fest Releases Schedule; Adds Black Lips, Silversun Pickups

black-lips.com via FlickrBrand-new ACL 2010 adds The Black Lips​The Austin City Limits Music Festival released the schedule grid for this year's gathering in Zilker Park Oct. 7-9. The festival also added several bands, including Atlanta garage-punks (and recovering exhibitionists) the Black Li ... More >>

Blogging From Bonnaroo: The Flaming Lips, Star Death and White Dwarf Do Dark Side of the Moon

Photo by Mark C. Austin/See the slideshowFlaming Lips play Dark Side Of The Moon at the Bonnaroo Music Festival​Houston artist Tyagaraja recently won the Ford Fiesta Team Houston Battle of The Bands, the grand prize of which was a trip to perform at the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee. Me ... More >>

Girl Talk Toilet Paper Mash-Ups Balloons = Party!

Marc Brubaker​ Aftermath didn't think it was possible to up the ante any more at this year's Summerfest until Girl Talk took the stage Saturday night. In our estimation, it was the biggest and baddest Summerfest party to date. We might even venture to say that achieved the biggest and baddest summ ... More >>

Mud And Dreams At Summerfest: A Personal Reflection

Jen Dulisse​ Due to a previous commitment to my Houston 48 Hour Film Project team, I missed Summerfest on Saturday, so it was with eager anticipation that I got into my car and started on the trip from my home in Friendswood to Eleanor Tinsley Park. And that was how I found myself thinking "I hope ... More >>

"Free Press Summerfest 2010" With The Flaming Lips, Girl Talk, Slim Thug, Stars, Lucero, Ra Ra Riot, Mix Master Mike, Medeski, Martin & Wood

Free Press Summerfest

2010 ACL Line-Up Goes Live And (Early) By Surprise

The line-up for the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival went live at the fest's website at midnight this morning while the rest of the world was snoozing. Luckily we are up and stirring to bring it to you. No Pavement and no Soundgarden, but we do have the Strokes down. More commentary coming in ... More >>

ACL Or Summerfest: Which Commercial Is Better?

Control Group A: The Flaming Lips are playing both Summerfest and ACL.​As you probably know by now, the Austin City Limits Music Festival released its 2010 lineup of the 130 acts playing Zilker Park October 8-10 under cover of darkness 'round midnight Monday. Meanwhile, Houston's scaled-down ... More >>

Stardeath & the White Dwarfs

Music Cities

Texas has its own brand of March Madness

The AP's Year-End Album List Proves What We Already Knew: Rock Critics Are Assholes

​Rocks Off has previously lamented the dearth of critically popular acts that truly rock many times. We just can't get over the fact that adding distortion to your guitar is a virtual guarantee you won't get scads of rock critics jizzing all over you with steamy loads of orgasmic praise (unless yo ... More >>

(Don't) Book 'Em, Dano: 42 Artists Who Have Absolutely No Business Touring Together

​ When Rocks Off received word last week that indie duo The Big Pink was embarking on a 2010 tour with NYC's A Place to Bury Strangers, our initial thought was, "Cool," followed closely by, "Ew." For once, there's a promo poster we really have no desire to see. But then our next thought was, "Coul ... More >>

Starlight Mints

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 ... More >>

Annuals, Jessica Lea Mayfield

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, ... More >>

Christmas on Mars

Web exclusive!

Colourmusic

Retro Active: 1987, Here We Come

Starlight Mints

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

Freestyle Fellowship

Sometimes awesome live bands also make magic in the studio

Super Furry Animals

Love Kraft

Various Artists

Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen

Can't Touch the MMMBop

A new boxed set excavates the '90s

Polyphonic Spree, with David Bowie

Thursday, April 29

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

Friday, March 12

Rotation

Quadruple Weird

"Experimental" doesn't quite describe Flaming Lips' Zaireeka

Powerful Tool