VH1 Television Network

The Best Concerts In Houston This Week

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Fitzgerald's, January 21 The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion has been back preaching the blues gospel and garage wail for three years now, since reissuing their catalog to rave reviews and excitement from fans young and old. The trio -- Jon Spencer, Judah Bauer and Russell S ... More >>

Essential Rock and Roll Literature For Budding Music Writers

Right about now young, budding rock writers and nerds are sitting on gift cards and credit from the holidays, and may need to know what books to pick up at the local bookstore or Amazon to further their education. It's not enough to just read every new music blog or (gasp!) pick up a few music mag ... More >>

Hey Ladies! The 10 Most She-Tastic Artists of All Time

Have you ever noticed this: Men and women have different musical tastes. At times, they do. Why? Because men and women have different interests, for the most part. Think about it, boys: while you may want to play some Metallica, your girlfriend (or mom) may want listen to Sheryl Crow or Madonna. A ... More >>

Rich Hopkins Finds Houston Humidity Suits Him

Living most of his adult and professional life in Tuscon, Arizona, former Sidewinders/Sand Rubies front man Rich Hopkins has recently relocated to Houston. For those who don't remember, Hopkins and his mates in the Sidewinders hit the charts at the tail end of the '80s with "Witch Doctor" (1989) an ... More >>

Skits: This Week In Music-Biz WTFery -- Katy Perry, B.o.B., Etc.

The music business fuckery continues. A game so destructive it only benefits the top dogs (and even so, temporarily), while the actual players continue to eat sand out of peanuts. Who's winning? Who's losing? Dig in for this week's music-bidness shenanigans.

Double Duds: The 10 Worst Duets Since "Ebony and Ivory"

Thirty years ago this week, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder hit No. 1 on the charts with their duet, "Ebony and Ivory." The song spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and the past three decades as a joke. Perhaps history's most hackneyed call for racial harmony (which, admittedly, ... More >>

Last Night: Anvil at Warehouse Live

Most rock bands don't last 34 days, let alone 34 years. But that's exactly how long Canadian heavy metal trio Anvil has spent recording and touring -- mostly in complete obscurity. Despite ample opportunity, Anvil refused to quit, and in 2008, filmmaker (and former Anvil roadie) Sacha Gervasi shon ... More >>

French Onion Soup & Deathbugs: Our Nine Musical Turkeys Of 2011

Danzig Shame on us for thinking that a Danzig show would go off without a hitch, and infinite shame on Glenn Danzig for the debacle that was his "appearance" at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. We will never look at French onion soup ever again without bellowing "Mother". Lulu We're not mad at Metall ... More >>

"Get Thru This": Art of Dying is the Art of Living

It's a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we're trying hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. Photo by Travis Shinn​Fun fact, Rocks Off is always sort of thinking about killing ourselves. Part of it is the music we listen to, part of ... More >>

RIP Jani Lane: A Piece Of "Cherry Pie" For Breakfast

​Last night, word came out of Los Angeles that Warrant lead singer Jani Lane had passed away in his Woodland Hills hotel. The former Warrant lead singer was just 47, and he leaves behind a treasure trove of great '80s glam anthems like "Cherry Pie" and "Heaven," which lit up rock radio and MTV ... More >>

MTV's Early VJs: Where Are They Now?

vegastripping.comMTV's original VJ crew (l-r): J.J. Jackson, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn and Alan Hunter​When it comes to the attention spans of teenagers, entertainers are on borrowed time. Which might explain the turnover rate of MTV's Video Jockeys, or VJs for short. Currentl ... More >>

The 25 Most Influential Music Videos Of All Time

​It's hard to fathom a time before music videos, and it's even sadder to remember when channels like MTV and VH1 were wall-to-wall music videos. In between there was a golden age, when with every clip that you watched could spark a revolution in you, or at least change your fashion sense. It's ... More >>

A Rock in a Hard Place

The sweet smell of secession​In five years, we will mark the 150th anniversary of the end of the bloodiest war in U.S. history, and yet a stupefying number of people still don't comprehend how flying a flag associated with treason and -- more to the point -- racism might not be the best idea: ... More >>

Porn-ing in America

A Reagan-era bacchanalia succumbs to soggy nostalgia.

Five Musicians More Embarrasing For Your Mother To Have An Affair With Than Bret Michaels

​Every thorn has its prick: The reason Miley Cyrus' parents are splitting after 17 years of marriage: Mom Tish had an affair with rocker Bret Michaels, reports the new Us Weekly. When Billy Ray learned of it - as well as at least one other fling - he filed for divorce Oct. 27, sources tell U ... More >>

Five Memorable Athlete-Musician Hookups

​In a few hours, Carrie Underwood will be onstage at Toyota Center. Besides being an all-around American girl who will mess you up if you cheat on her, Underwood once dated Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and married Mike Fisher of the Ottawa Senators back in July. That's right, a hockey ... More >>

Shock Therapy: Would Sinead O'Connor Still Cause An Uproar?

​Sunday night is a special night. It's the 18th anniversary of Sinead O'Connor's infamous Pope-a-ripping on Saturday Night Live. For the extremely small number of you who somehow have the Internet but not VH1, the facts are these: O'Connor, always the most peaceable and least controversial of ... More >>

Chamillionaire Addresses Foreclosure In Freestyle

Courtesy of OGPR TMZ fails to catch Chamillionaire ridin' dirty.​ Chamillionaire has recently been getting a lot of media attention from the likes of TMZ and Perez Hilton for the Houston rapper's so-called "business decision" to let his Houston-area house go into foreclosure - or, more accurately, ... More >>

Justin Bieber For BET's "Best New Artist"? Recognize.

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: "Rain Drops," Yung Redd feat. T.C. This is a leak from the soon-to-be-released Eviction Notice 4. You ... More >>

Rock And Roll Saved Steve Almond's Life - Here's How

​It's one thing to enjoy music as the kind of casual background noise to a car ride, jog in the park or commercial extolling the incredible mileage of the new Honda. Fiction writer, memoirist and former Miami New Times music writer Steve Almond (My Life in Heavy Metal, Candyfreak) is not that kind ... More >>

He Said, She Said: Gone Too Soon

A rash of recent musical deaths (Michael Jackson and DJ AM among others) have led us here at Rocks Off to do some speculating of our own: Which musicians do we feel were taken from us too soon? Obvious answers like the Famous Js (John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin) or the dual ... More >>

Turning the Screw: Chamillionaire, Kid Cudi & Jay-Z, Mike Epps, The Kanye, T.I., Chris Brown, DJ AM, Slim Thug, etc.

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: Chamillionaire, "Good Morning" Wire To Wire Despite what you initially want to think about Cham's new s ... More >>

Aftermath: Davila 666, Puerto Rican Garage Punk Badasses

Craig Hlavaty ​ It's been a good while since Aftermath could be seen dancing in front of a band, let alone anywhere in public. Sure, there have been the stray moments at Boondocks where he shook his ass for the last thirty seconds of a Stones song, but that was pretty much it. Last night at Mango ... More >>

Aftermath: Wooden Birds at Walter's on Washington

Craig Hlavaty For a thirsty crowd looking to begin their Independence Day weekend in earnest, there was no better place to be last night than Walter's off Washington. As of late, there has been a swelling resurgence in the earthy tones and folk-carnie vibe of bands like The Band. One could blame t ... More >>

Aftermath: Nickelback at Toyota Center

Photos by Craig HlavatyAftermath is of the mind that the best way to tackle something that is reviled or feared is to confront it head on. Like global terrorism, street gangs, or gingivitis, you must take it on at its source, even if doing so makes you feel insecure, vulnerable or wholly fooli ... More >>

Sober House: Vegas Odds

Okay, so I don't actually understand betting odds. (Like, if it's five to one are those bad odds or good odds? Or what?) Regardless, I can tell you I've been making my own little guesstimates on who is going to survive VH1's "Sober House" (which is the more measured, more intimate "Celebrity Reh ... More >>

The Hurricane Bear Is Getting The Most Out Of His 15 Minutes

Gimme Shelter

See the Rolling Stones’ wildest concert ever

Miss Pop Rocks: Surprise, Surprise, The Hills Is as Fake as Heidi’s Breasts

Brandi Carlile, A Fine Frenzy

Miss Pop Rocks: Pop Culture Dealbreakers

Last Night: Ben Kweller at Walter’s on Washington

Royal Flush

Burning the Yule Log

Impossibly Passable

Reach for the Stars

Astra Heights returns from L.A. with a major-label deal in hand

Houston Press' top DVD picks for the week of September 6

Rogue Bosoms, Bouncing Booties and Pac-Man Raps

Looking back on the '04

Gabba Gabba Henh

The Ramones bopped toward history and an unhappy end

How Long, Oh, Lord, How Long

Another outpost of crap plops onto the Houston dial, as this open letter reveals

Rock and Roll Never Forgets

Classic rock finds a new generation of fans and keeps on keepin' on into the new millennium

Feel the Steel

It'll all pan out at this weekend's Pan Jam Fest

Dancing with Dinosaurs

The natural science museum sheds its stuffy image

Spiraling, with Ice-9 and James Catholic

Tuesday, February 4

Glamorous Youth

Sharon Osbourne put the local kids of Pure Rubbish in front of millions on MTV. Then things fell apart.

Best Movie Shot on Location

Going Independent

Kittie

Sunday, July 21

Where Is He Now?

Rik Emmett of Triumph, after we return

Night & Day

March 18 - 24, 1999

Come to Her Window

From the closet to the charts, Melissa Etheridge is out and rising