The Strokes

Who Stole the Roll?

Moby Pick

Beaumont's Barbara Lynn lucks out with a song that almost died

New Year’s Eve Rundown

The haps at Notsuoh, Boondocks, The Proletariat, Warehouse Live and more

Elisabeth Smith

Artist keeps it light

Tokyo Police Club, Ra Ra Riot

Tokyo Police Club and Ra Ra Riot perform Monday, July 30, at Red Room in Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-225-1717.

Interpol

Our Love to Admire

Albert Hammond Jr.

Albert Hammond Jr. performs Friday, January 19, at Verizon Wireless Theatre, 520 Texas, 713-230-1666. Incubus also performs.

The Strokes, with the Eagles of Death Metal

Wednesday, March 15, Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas, 713-230-1666

The Strokes

First Impressions of Earth

Heartless Bastards

Thursday, June 30, at Rudyard's, 2010 Waugh Drive, 713-521-0521.

Too Sexy for Their Rock

Fashionable retro-rock has jumped the shark. Here's why.

Guitar Wolf

Love Rock (Narnack Records)

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand (Domino)

The Strokes

Sunday, March 21

Robbers on High Street

Fine Lines (Scratchie/New Line)

NYC Re-Nu-al

The Strokes started it, but now stellastarr* and other artsier bands are washing their own scum off the streets

The Mooney Suzuki

The Strokes started it, but now stellastarr* and other artsier bands are washing their own scum off the streets

'80s Babies

The twentysomethings in Longwave resurrect the Reagan era's cool underbelly

The Evolution Control Committee

Plagiarythm Nation (Creations/Seeland)

The Natural History

Monday, June 9

The Exies

Inertia (Melisma/Virgin)

The Vines

Saturday, July 27

The Strokes

Thursday, January 24

The Strokes

Is This It? (RCA)

Rocks Off Is Going to Become a Kings of Leon Fan Today If It Kills Us

​Rocks Off has always been a little puzzled we're not more of a Kings of Leon fan. It definitely puts us in the minority when it comes to our social circle, because everyone from cranky music critics and their musician sons to, well, pretty much every female friend or acquaintance we've got is in ... 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 >>

He Said She Said: Albums From the Past Decade of Our Lives

​When this decade began, He Said was but 15 years old, bored, jobless and chubby. It ends with him 26, overworked, overstimulated and chasing away his self-imposed demons with too much of everything and too little of most things. But the one constant has been the power of music to lead him out of ... More >>

Our Decade In iTunes, Ol' Dirty Bastard Through the Fleshtones and Good Ol' Morrissey

​Maybe the biggest evolution in music this decade has been the availability of online downloads, starting with Napster and ending with half a dozen legitimately - licensed venues for purchasing music over the tubes. Rocks Off will admit it. Back in the day, we were illegal downloaders. Waiting 20 ... More >>

He Said She Said: Songs For A First (Perhaps Only) Date, Part 2

​He Said is going to admit right here and now that he has never been a master of the first date. True it is that we have dated some very awesome and artistic women, but we always lack when it comes to that first swing out of the box. He Said is way better at the weeks, months and years after that ... More >>

Your Sex Is On Tour: Kings Of Leon Announce Second Houston Date In A Year

Nashville alt-rock pin-ups the Kings of Leon are hitting Houston again for the second time in a year, with a newly announced date at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion September 22. The band has been on a tear since the release of 2008's Only by the Night, shedding their scruffy, twangy indie imag ... More >>

Fails Of The Week: The Runaways, Pete Doherty, The Strokes And Liam Gallagher

If you're reading this, you're either on the Internet, or else you've mastered multi-dimensional thought-projection processes that would make Michio Kaku cry like a little girl. We'll assume the former, and just in case you don't already know, the Internet has decided that the word "failure" is too ... More >>

Aftermath: Julian Casablancas, Once A Stroke, Always A Stroke At House Of Blues

Photos by Groovehouse​ It was literally just a decade ago that the Strokes were basking in an adoration by rock critics that they had only previous lavished on the Smiths, or maybe even the Beatles to a bigger extent. The New York band was a breathe of fresh and scuzzy air after what felt li ... More >>

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 >>

How Is Houston Doing ACL-Wise?

Marco TorresThe Eagles have flown, at least as far as Houston is concerned.​If you have even bothered to venture out of doors during these days of 105-degree heat indices and "Unhealthy" air-quality advisories, you may have noticed that things have been a little light on the roadshow front lat ... More >>

Austin City Limits Festival Releases Preshow, Aftershow Lineups

​This morning C3 Concerts, the folks behind the Austin City Limits Music Festival, announced the schedule for the pre- and after-show gigs surrounding the festival. As with this past March's SXSW, those without official credentials aren't totally being shut out of the fun. Starting Wednesday ... More >>

Bright Men of Learning

​This morning C3 Concerts, the folks behind the Austin City Limits Music Festival, announced the schedule for the pre- and after-show gigs surrounding the festival. As with this past March's SXSW, those without official credentials aren't totally being shut out of the fun. Starting Wednesday ... More >>

ACL Day 1 Recap: Sonic Youth, Spoon, The Strokes, Nice People...

Brittanie SheySonic Youth​ For lots more pictures from Friday, see our slideshow here. Rocks Off wonders what kind of guitar budget Sonic Youth has. They aren't very gentle with their instruments. This occurred to us as we were standing a few feet from the large screens projecting their exte ... More >>

ACL Day 1 Recap: Vampire Weekend, More Strokes & Sonic Youth, Sulking

Photos by Marco TorresVampire Weekend​ For lots more pictures from Friday, see our slideshow here. Friday night at ACL began with Aftermath charging our phone up until 6:45 p.m., then sulking because the Internet was down in the media tent (duh), and then stocking our man-satchel with cans o ... More >>

ACL Day 2 Recap: M.I.A., Gogol Bordello, Deadmau5, Mouse Masks

credReturn of the Bamboo Banger: M.I.A.​Aftermath was eager to catch Gogol Bordello, only because our companion had missed their last Houston show at Meridian in 2008. We were convinced he'd get a kick out of them so we dragged him over to the AMD stage early in order to get a good view. One ... More >>

Top 10 Recent TV-Show Soundtracks

​A few choice adjectives come to mind when musing on bawdy Eastbound & Down character Kenny Powers. "Inspiring" is not one of them. However, as Rocks Off watched this week's season finale of the side-splitting HBO series, we were pleasantly surprised as we heard indie troubadour Kurt Vile's a ... More >>

Guns N' Roses, Rolling Stones, Prince Coming In 2011?

Sind Axl und Slash wieder Freunde geworden?​Rocks Off is in the concert business for all intents and purposes. We scour Pollstar and other Web sites and almost hourly looking for new shows and tours to tell you about around the clock. In the span of writing this introduction we just listed Luc ... More >>

The Most Anticipated Albums Of 2011

​NATIONAL White Lies, Ritual: They killed at festivals in 2008 and 2009, but do London's Interpol-styled lads have longevity? Dr. Dre, Detox: It's been on hold or gestating since at least Clinton was in office. Will it continue to be hip-hop's Chinese Democracy? R.E.M., Collapse Into No ... More >>

Ten Years After: Our Favorite 2001 Albums

​This hlist is kind of funny now, seeing that the dearly departed White Stripes are smack-dab in the middle with White Blood Cells. We swear this final hlist was made Tuesday afternoon, before Wednesday's breakup announcement. Funny how the band has actually been on the tips of our lips for a ... More >>

SXSW Last Night: The Strokes At Auditorium Shores

Craig Hlavaty​Of all the free shows going on around Austin this week, the biggest ones can be found over at Auditorium Shores. They may not have free finger foods and booze galore, but they do have some pretty stellar acts most of the time. Case in point, last night's sundown set from The Stro ... More >>

Shot In The Dark: How The Whole Mess Started

Mark C. AustinKings of Leon at Verizon Wireless Theater, October 2008​Just a couple of days now before Rocks Off - the person and the blog - proudly presents Shot In the Dark: Houston Press Concert Photography, our first-ever exhibit of live pics we've collected in about three and a half years ... More >>

Neon Trees

Mark C. AustinKings of Leon at Verizon Wireless Theater, October 2008​Just a couple of days now before Rocks Off - the person and the blog - proudly presents Shot In the Dark: Houston Press Concert Photography, our first-ever exhibit of live pics we've collected in about three and a half years ... More >>

Sia

Mark C. AustinKings of Leon at Verizon Wireless Theater, October 2008​Just a couple of days now before Rocks Off - the person and the blog - proudly presents Shot In the Dark: Houston Press Concert Photography, our first-ever exhibit of live pics we've collected in about three and a half years ... More >>

The Modern Age: 10 Facts You May Not Know About The Strokes

Marco TorresThe Strokes' Julian Casablancas at ACL 2010​This week marks 12 years since the Strokes debuted as a live band, at NYC's Spiral on September 14, 1999. The crowd, they recall, was five paying customers and assorted band girlfriends - humble beginnings for a band that would be both ex ... More >>

Father Figures: 100 Famous Musicians' Paternal Professions

Mr. Peppermint: Sire of a Surfer.​If you're a Texan of a certain age, this week you've probably spent some time mourning the death of Jerry Haynes, the children's TV host better known as Mr. Peppermint. Haynes' show on WFAA-TV in Dallas, Peppermint Place, ran from the '60s to the '90s and was ... More >>

5 Bands Lou Reed Should Have Called Instead of Metallica

​As mentioned in Nathan Smith's "Bummer, Dude: The 10 Big Musical Disappointments of 2011", Lulu, the not-at-all-anticipated-by-me aural abortion resulting from the un-Godly union of The Progenitor of All Things Cool, Three Insufferable Man-Children & Kirk Hammett, SUCKED. This was crushing fo ... More >>