The Roots (Band)

Rotation

Simply Beastie

Sound Check

Sound Check

Rotation

Letters

Rotation

Rooting Interest

The Roots make rap for both your hips and your head

Rotation

The Roots make rap for both your hips and your head

Rap Space

Will hip-hop ever find a home in Houston?

The pAper chAse

Grammy-nominated music producer fronts sinister Dallas rock quartet

The Bermondsey Joyriders

UK punk threesome is the real McCoy

Reprogram Your Life

An omnivorous three-headed DJ monster wants to rewrite your old musical code with hip-hop vibes

Gipsy Kings

An omnivorous three-headed DJ monster wants to rewrite your old musical code with hip-hop vibes

HPMA: Guess What? More Winners: Sideshow Tramps, Homopolice & A Dream Asleep, DJ Sun

Chris Gray​ Well, Little Joe didn't sit in with the Flamin' Hellcats, but Scarface sure did. Dude's got some serious Chuck Berry mojo going on. Who knew?Best Tribute Band: Beetle. Thanking a multitude of Houston music royalty. Beetle really is a sight to behold, and about a minute fraction of the ... More >>

Summer Stock

Chris Gray​ Well, Little Joe didn't sit in with the Flamin' Hellcats, but Scarface sure did. Dude's got some serious Chuck Berry mojo going on. Who knew?Best Tribute Band: Beetle. Thanking a multitude of Houston music royalty. Beetle really is a sight to behold, and about a minute fraction of the ... More >>

Things to Do This Weekend If You're (Almost) Broke

​Generationals, Floating Action. 5:30 p.m., Cactus Music. Free. Molly & the Ringwalds celebrate six years of "Time After Time" and "Livin' on a Prayer" at the Continental Club. 6 p.m., free. The Brilliance of Suffering, Vehement, Sinister Minister, A Cyanide Suicide, Based on Death, My Ending ... More >>

Incubus, the Duke Spirit

​Generationals, Floating Action. 5:30 p.m., Cactus Music. Free. Molly & the Ringwalds celebrate six years of "Time After Time" and "Livin' on a Prayer" at the Continental Club. 6 p.m., free. The Brilliance of Suffering, Vehement, Sinister Minister, A Cyanide Suicide, Based on Death, My Ending ... More >>

Alamo Heights

San Antonio's the Krayolas steam into their second act.

Aftermath: Common and The Roots Crew's Private Engagment at the Corinthian, With Special Guests (Cough, "Nite and Day")

Photos by Larami Culbertson​ 9:10 p.m.: We pull up to the front of The Corinthian and hand the car off to the valet. He says, "It's $20 plus tip." Oh, so it's $20, then? Got it. Thanks. 9:20 p.m.: Common just walked in. He's way more stout than we imagined him to be. His skin is also less clear th ... More >>

Tonight: Houston Filmmaker Raymond Gale's Electric Purgatory at Domy Books

Electric Purgatory screened almost two years ago at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, but Rocks Off still hasn't seen Houston director Raymond Gayle's film about the plight of the black rocker. We're gonna miss the next screening too - tonight at Domy Books - due to Thanksgiving travel, but we are ... More >>

Live with Me

The best Houston concerts of 2009: U2, George Strait, Kid Cudi, Jandek, Peaches and even T-Pain.

Aftermath: Booker T's Rock-Solid Soul And Farm-Fresh "Onions" At Wired Live

Photos by Brittanie SheyThat's right, Booker T also plays guitar.​ Booker T has had a hand (well, two hands) in crafting so many pop, soul and R&B staples that the hardest part of his pre-concert routine must be making out his set list. Where do you put "Green Onions"? How many of the dozens o ... More >>

Z-Ro's Heroin Due Next Month... Maybe

Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. ​Single of the Week: "I'm Hungry," Coota Bang Wire to Wire The "Dirty South" will be honored at this year's VH1 Hip-Hop Ho ... More >>

5 Rock Deaths That Shook Us Down

​It was sometime this past Saturday night that we first heard that Ronnie James Dio was dead. It was after midnight and we had just bellied up to the Mink's front bar when we checked our Twitter feed and saw that Dio had passed on. Our body froze every metal bone in our body ached for a few minute ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Levi Johnston - The Future's So Bright...

Let no man put asunder​Been a busy month for Levi Johnston. The 20-year old former hockey player and impregnator of Sarah Palin's eldest daughter not only saw his engagement to Bristol disintegrate over reports he wasn't so discriminating with his seed ("Levi is one of three possible fathers w ... More >>

Dr. John & the Lower 911

Let no man put asunder​Been a busy month for Levi Johnston. The 20-year old former hockey player and impregnator of Sarah Palin's eldest daughter not only saw his engagement to Bristol disintegrate over reports he wasn't so discriminating with his seed ("Levi is one of three possible fathers w ... More >>

The Ultimate Sandal-Rock Mixtape

​Tonight Craig's Hlist will drive all the way out the Woodlands to see Jack Johnson, one of sandal-rock's biggest superstars. He's like the Lady the Rolling Stones of sandal-rock. He's like the McDonald's of sandal-rock. He's James Taylor for people who shop at Whole Foods. He's the Sex Pistol ... More >>

HCC Professor Uses Hip-Hop To Jazz Up His Classes

RizohWilliam Moore in his element at HCC​William Moore can recite The Roots' "How I Got Over" from top to bottom, down to Black Thought's rhythm and cadence. The only thing he's missing is Thought's mean mug and dark shades; he prefers an amiable smile and rimmed glasses. ​Moore, a Hous ... More >>

The Top Five Hidden Rap Tracks

​Life bursts at the seams with mysteries we'll never fully understand, like the Texans' decision to pass on Vince Young, Kesha's entire existence and the strange concept of hidden songs. Some of them are superior to the ones that make an album's final cut and track listing. Why hide a song th ... More >>

Nine Rappers About To Be Eaten By Their Own Beards

musiconplay.net​In today's crowded music industry, it's becoming increasingly difficult for artists to stand out from the pack, but sometimes a facial package of ample weight and gargantuan growth will do the trick. Look out, these hip-hoppers are one hair strand away from disappearing into th ... More >>

Rap's Top 10 Heroes Of 2010 So Far, Part 1

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email it to introducinglisto ... More >>

The Top 10 Female-Friendly Rap Songs

streethop.comLadies Love Cool James: LL Cool J on The View​Chris Rock once said that women don't pay attention to rap lyrics. Truth be told, most casual hip-hop fans - male and female - rarely pay attention to lyrics. As long as the beat is catchy, they'll drop down and get their eagle on all ... More >>

What Is The Best Album Cover Ever?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. ​This Week's Panel: Bun B, Lil Flip, Hollywood FLOSS, hasHBrown, Kyle Hubbard, Renzo, Brad Gilmore and Nash White Not Invited: Kanye, bec ... More >>

The Rally To Restore Sanity: Did It Succeed?

Preaching to the choir?​What's the point?It was a question I asked myself more than once in the last month: while I was booking the hotel room, then sitting on the flight from Houston to Washington, DC, and finally walking with tens of thousands of others down Pennsylvania Avenue to attend the Ral ... More >>

Sane - and Afraid

The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C., leaves our correspondent hoping for true activism from the alleged silent majority.

Yo Gabba Gabba!'s Greatest Hits

​A year ago, in honor of Sesame Street's 40th birthday, Rocks Off brought you a list of the beloved television program's 10 Best Musical Appearances. But 41 years ago, Nickelodeon didn't exist. Now the network is known for its retro-cool vibe, thanks to bringing back shows from the golden age ... More >>

Ten Bizarro Christmas-Carol Covers

​Thanks to holiday-themed compilations like A Very Special Christmas and Little Steven's Christmas A Go-Go, we often hear our favorite modern artists putting their spin on holiday classics. But for those who are tired of forcing Mariah Carey's eight-octave "All I Want For Christmas" on their f ... More >>

The Rap Renaissance

Genre's local and national acts came back hard in 2010.

L.A. Rapper Gets Signed, Eats A Roach

​The members of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All - or Odd Future, if you're into the whole brevity thing - have been on the online radar since last summer, and have already managed to make the Coachella cut and late-night talk-show circuits in 2011. At the outset, however, the most recogniz ... More >>

Saturday: Questlove, Bun B & Jimmy Fallon At Red Bull Music Academy

Photos by Marco TorresQuestlove (left) and the king of the trill talk shop.​Red Bull Music Academy feat. Questlove, Bun B & Jimmy Fallon House of Deréon Media Center, Music World Entertainment March 5, 2011 See more photos of the "On the Floor!" event in our slideshow. Saturday night, Red B ... More >>

Tracy Nelson, Victim Of The Blues, Embraces Muddy & Lightnin'

Robert Hakins​Long acclaimed as one of the truly great singers of the modern era, at 66 Tracy Nelson still has the fire for performing great songs. Her latest project, Victim of the Blues, is a loving caress to her original passion: Old-school blues, particularly the Chicago variety. Nelson's ... More >>

Out Today: Tyler, The Creator's Goblin, The Cars Restarted...

​We now live in a world where Adele is a chart-topping artist, placing at number one slot the past few weeks, rubbing shoulders with the Foo Fighters, Katy Perry, Mumford & Sons, and Britney Spears. If Adele's 21 isn't on the top of everyone's best-of 2011 lists, there is no justice in the wor ... More >>

The Octanes

​We now live in a world where Adele is a chart-topping artist, placing at number one slot the past few weeks, rubbing shoulders with the Foo Fighters, Katy Perry, Mumford & Sons, and Britney Spears. If Adele's 21 isn't on the top of everyone's best-of 2011 lists, there is no justice in the wor ... More >>

The Best Episodes Of MTV's Unplugged

​MTV Unplugged was like health food for your soul during its heyday on the music channel, which was full of junk food. When artists stuck to the template and went untethered to electronic instruments and really dug into their music with new eyes it was amazing. Debuting in 1989 with Squeeze ... More >>

Johnny Winter's New Orbit: Roots, William Shatner & Sly Stone

bobmargolin.comLondon, 1979 (l-r): Bob Margolin, Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters​Beaumont-born bluesman Johnny Winter is having a very busy year for a man who is 67. Not only is he set to release his first album of newly recorded material in eight years, Winter is also featured on I'm Back! Family ... More >>

Five '60s Soul Stars Jay-Z & Kanye West Should Hit Next

thelocal478.comWelcome back to Billboard, Otis.​Say what you will about Watch the Throne - and people, including several members of Team Rocks Off, have said a lot - but it's all anyone in music seems to be talking about these days. Which makes sense; it's not every day that two megastars (the ... More >>

HPMA Preview: Get This Party Started Edition

Courtesy of GenesAddiction.net.Gene's Addiction (rock and roll all night and party...you know)​Music is primal. Sure, it can be intellectual, make you think and even change perspectives. But, at it's heart, music is about making you want to shake what your momma gave you. After all, rock and r ... More >>

Happy Birthday Paul Shaffer: Here Are Five Reasons Why He is Cool

​Back in the 1980's, there was a certain class of musician who considered a slot in the Late Show with David Letterman band as the ultimate gig. Of course, that lineup hasn't changed since 1983, but dare to dream. From the very beginning, there was Paul Shaffer. The quirky Canadian keyboardis ... More >>

Queen Bee

One of the best singers in the state has set up residency at an unlikely venue.