They Might Be Giants

You Should’ve Been There: The Mathletes at the Proletariat

Q&A with John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants

Westheimer Block Party Crib Notes

Sound Check

Sound Check

Press Picks

Night & Day

March 19-25, 1998

Rotation

March 19-25, 1998

Rotation

March 19-25, 1998

'Bourne Again

March 19-25, 1998

The Phenomenauts, with the A.K.A.'s and Maldroid

March 19-25, 1998

They Might Be Giants are Still Blocks Away from Easy Street

John Flansburgh discusses the duo's career

The Mathletes

Local nerd rockers start the New Year off with a wave goodbye

Cat Scientist, Lick Lick, Three Fantastic

These ‘80s-infused Austinites are the cat’s pajamas

Less Pain Forever and Peachcake

Now We Have Something to Celebrate

Trout Fishing in America

Saturday, March 25, at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, 2524 Norfolk, 713-528-5999

The Hanukkah Songs

Wherein we find the coining of our new favorite word: Jewpergroup

Why?, with Aqueduct

Wednesday October 26, the Proletariat, 903 Richmond, 713-523-1199.

Freshen Up, Freshen Up

Pearland new-wave legends the Judy's reunite for a benefit show and possibly more

Playbill

Pearland new-wave legends the Judy's reunite for a benefit show and possibly more

They Are Too the Boss of You

They Might Be Giants enjoy life as a two-man industry

Torn Identity

Get real art for a hundred bucks at "5x7/Houston"

Playbill

Mike Doughty

Ghosts of Washington Avenue

Noise goes whistling through the scenester artery's music venue graveyard.

The Best of the New York International Children's Film Festival

These flicks ain't kid stuff

Jonathan Richman

These flicks ain't kid stuff

He Said She Said: Songs For A First Date, Assuming They Still Exist

​It's been a long time since the committed She Said has been on a first date, and while the romantic in her likes to think of how exciting, flustering and fun a first date can be, the realist in her knows that life is full of hundreds of awkward first dates and very few successful ones. She Said h ... More >>

True Blood: "Hitting The Ground" With Gordon Gano & PJ Harvey

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. Season 3, Episode 7: "Hitting the Ground" ​When things ... More >>

Wanted: "Reason-Filled" Musicians For Atheist Band

​Rocks Off often trolls through Craigslist looking for the very beginnings of some of Houston's next wave of notable musicians. Extremely prevalent throughout the Web site are requests for devout Christians to join together in a mission to glorify the love and word of God through the devil of ... More >>

Who Knew There Are So Many Songs About Rabies?

Centers for Disease Control Library​Monday night, as the crickets sang sweet songs into the early fall air, Rocks Off hung a wreath made of rubber bats on our door, and wrapped up copies of Old Yeller and Cujo to surprise our young daughter with when she awoke the next morning. Ahhh, is there ... More >>

"Rape Gaze": Worst Genre Name Ever? Not Quite...

myspace.com/wearecreep​Let's take a moment to think about labels and what they mean to us. Why do people feel the need to label things? The obvious answer is: It's the only way we know what stuff is. To anyone who automatically dismisses the very idea of labeling, just imagine what it would b ... More >>

Start Wearing Purple: No Bullies Allowed

​Bullies suck. Growing up, Craig's Hlist watched a lot of kids in school getting the brunt of the, quote-unquote, "cooler" people giving them hell for being big, gay, handicapped or just smart. They would start fights, make up songs or stories about them, or find ways to embarrass them in fr ... More >>

Bands Named After Movies, Characters & Other Film Stuff

​Ever wonder which of your favorite bands are named after movies? So have we. So we went out and did a little bit of research. BANDS NAMED AFTER ACTUAL MOVIES My Bloody Valentine: The seminal shoegaze act took their name from a low-budget 1981 horror movie about a guy who really, really hat ... More >>

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: Puppet Wing

Photos via WikipediaTMBG​Ladies and gentlemen, Rocks Off is pleased as rum punch to announce that The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has (not) added an official puppet wing to that fine institution. What's even better, they have (not) given us the opportunity to nominate some of the finest felt fe ... 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 >>

Lee Alexander Recording Zappa-Inspired Children's Album

Austin Miller​Lee Alexander remains one of Houston's most celebrated musicians. He is currently the best male vocalist in the city, but the list of accolades he has acquired over the years goes far beyond mere singing talent. After years composing and performing adult-oriented music, Alexander ... More >>

13 Lucky Songs For Friday The 13th

​Happy Friday the 13th, everyone. Unlike most Fridays, this one has gone pretty smoothly here at Rocks Off HQ, which means we must be in for a hellacious Monday. But hey, that's next week. Our luck may be holding up - for now - but we couldn't let the occasion go by unremarked (plus a couple ... More >>

RIP Ryan Dunn: 15 Car Crash Songs

film.com​Rocks Off has always been a Jackass fan. The exploits of Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O and the recently deceased Ryan Dunn may not be for everyone, but we've always maintained it's better to be a willing participant in mayhem and physical abuse than not (*cough* America's Fun ... More >>

1986: Best Musical Year Ever?

​For almost two weeks now, Rocks Off has been obsessed with the year exactly 25 flips of the calendar backward from this one. It started when Steve Earle did one of his "Time Machine" shows, where the singer-songwriter who plays House of Blues Wednesday spotlights a dozen or so of his favorite ... More >>

Atlantis Wake-Up Music So Far: Ranking The Good, The Bad & The Ugly On The Last Shuttle Trip

What's with all the damn Coldplay?​NASA, always on the lookout for good publicity, has made a cottage industry out of the wake-up music it uses to rouse crews orbiting the earth. They recruit artists to record messages that are played after the song, because the first thing you want to hear ... More >>

They Might Be Giants, But Terrance Zdunich Is The Bad Ass Russian

​We got to hang out with Terrance Zdunich, the creator of Repo: The Genetic Opera and the man who played Graverobber in the film, while he was down in Houston at Comicpalooza promoting his excellent comic The Molting. Either we clicked like true homies, or he's just really, really patient with ... More >>

Our Top 10 Music Videos of 2011

​Our obsession with the medium of music videos remains as strong as its ever been, and we've done our best to bring as many of the best of the newest releases to you in the digital pages of Rocks Off over the course of the year. We're pleased to round up the cream of the crop as we did this ti ... More >>

Quintron & Miss Pussycat

​Our obsession with the medium of music videos remains as strong as its ever been, and we've done our best to bring as many of the best of the newest releases to you in the digital pages of Rocks Off over the course of the year. We're pleased to round up the cream of the crop as we did this ti ... More >>

Quintron & Miss Pussycat

​Our obsession with the medium of music videos remains as strong as its ever been, and we've done our best to bring as many of the best of the newest releases to you in the digital pages of Rocks Off over the course of the year. We're pleased to round up the cream of the crop as we did this ti ... More >>

Last Night: Old 97's at House of Blues

Photos by Jay Lee​Oh, dutiful journalism, the places I will go in your name. Last night, one of those places just had to be House of Blues. It's always a pleasure to watch Old 97's and I would put up that good fight to keep my spirits high in what is arguably my least favorite venue in town. B ... More >>