Violent Femmes

The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend: Lost Bayou Ramblers, Daft Punk Tribute, etc.

Will Downing Bayou Music Center, May 10 Known for his rich baritone vocals and an unabashed devotion to romantic ballads, Will Downing may be the quintessential ladies man, so keep a close eye on your woman as he croons a blend of contemporary jazz and R&B that would make even Luther blush. With a ... More >>

Midnight Oil Reopens the Blue Sky Mines On Essential Oils

In the U.S., Midnight Oil are probably best known for their single "Beds are Burning." The video helped define late-'80s MTV by showing the group (most notably tall, gangly, bald singer Peter Garrett) dancing amid native tribespeople in the desert, while the lyric forcefully argued that their ancest ... More >>

10 Songs That Influenced Shovels & Rope

Tonight Shovels & Rope plays two sets at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, a venue that is quickly becoming their natural habitat here in Houston. The duo, made up of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst, is currently touring behind O' Be Joyful, released this past summer. Obviously, the group is gaining mucho s ... More >>

Texans-Titans: The Best Rapper Tweets

UPDATED: Memorable Houston Concerts of 1992

UPDATE (2:03 p.m.): Alice In Chains was advertised but dropped out, and was replaced with Australia's Baby Animals. The year 1992 was an important one for me as far as Houston concerts are concerned: It's the first time I went to a concert within the Houston city limits, the "Outside Broadcast" leg ... More >>

Facebook Weirdness

A&M Shooter Thomas Caffall's Disturbing Facebook Page: Yoda, Emily Dickinson, Commie Guns

Thomas Caffall's mother told the media yesterday that she had been worried about her son's mental state, and from looking at his Facebook page, it's easy to see why. Having a right-wing gun nut in the family is one thing. Having one who goes around quoting Yoda and Emily Dickinson is another. Caffa ... More >>

Gothic Council Sings Your Kids to Sleep

We hate you, Peter Murphy. Well, OK. Not really. Murphy is a good guy who is a joy to interview and who still puts out amazing music. That being said, we are getting thoroughly sick of his trademark voice. Our two-year-old daughter requests his song "The Line Between the Devil's Teeth (And That Wh ... More >>

7 Songs Produced By Birthday Dude Jerry Harrison

If you know the name Jerry Harrison at all, it's most likely from his work as guitarist/keyboardist for Talking Heads. But he's had just as prolific a career as the owner of Sausalito Sound as he has had creating music with one of my favorite bands. After leaving Talking Heads and releasing a handf ... More >>

Langhorne Slim

Four Local Bands to Keep an Eye On in 2012

At the tail end of 2011 these bands seemed to be popping up on bills more and more frequently. And it looks like they have no intentions of slowing down. Now, some of y'all grumps out there might just see them as competition, but not me, I look forward to seeing the audiences for these up and coming ... More >>

25 Essential Eponymous Albums

​Eponymous: (of a literary work, film, etc) named after its central character or creator: The Stooges' eponymous debut album. On this day in 1983, a young woman from Michigan who had recently given up on a career as a hard-rock singer released her first album of electronic dance-pop, an album ... 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 >>

The Best Tony Hawk Video Game Soundtracks

​It sounds like heresy to most older folks, this writer included, but for about the past decade, a lot of younger gamers have been discovering punk rock, ska, and classic and indie hip-hop through the Tony Hawk series of skateboarding video games. The idea may be repellent to those of us who r ... 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 >>

Jonathan Richman

He Said She Said: "Fergitrocious" and the Worst Songs of the Decade

In a perfect world, The Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" would actually be called "My Bumps," and it would be an ode to Stacy Ferguson's rampant misadventures with meth addiction, because that would be the only thing that could make that horrible, horrible song bearable. You might think it's harsh for Sh ... More >>

5 Real-Life Rock-Star Stereotypes More, Well, Flaming Than Adam Lambert

​We hate to be those people, but it's true: stereotypes exist for a reason. Our theory is that stereotypes propagate themselves from the insecurities of people who believe they're "supposed" to be some kind of archetype, whether it's the toughest gangsta, the punkest punk rocker or the hick with t ... More >>

Twelve Musical Fuck Yous Better Than Gov. Ah-nuld's Coded Message

​Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​We admit, we never thought he had it in him, but apparently the Governator is capable of human cleverness - just like all non-cybernetic organisms. That is, if we accept that the acrostic in this veto message here isn't just a coincidence (read the first ... More >>

Armadillo World Headquarters

The Goode family's shrine to all things Texas could use a shootout or two.

Top Ten Dance Collections of 2008, Both Mixed and Unmixed

Any knucklehead with DSL and a laptop can now make an electronic track. With a half hour of clicking and fiddling, you can sample enough cheesy beats and mashups to clog arteries from here to Berlin. Simple dropdown mouse maneuvers can transform electro tracks into progressive house tracks (from dry ... More >>

Ten Gruesomely Good Halloween Songs Pt 2: Violent Femmes, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nick Cave and More

The 2008 Houston Press Music Awards Showcase Is Filled with Talent and Absurdity

Some of the best rock and roll in town right now is en español

HPMA Aftermath: Indian Jewelry, Wild Moccasins, Espantapajaros, Poor Dumb Bastards and More

Aftermath: Peter Murphy at Meridian

The Whigs: Mission Control|What Made Milwaukee Famous: What Doesn't Kill Us

Sitting Down with La Porte's Buxton

Q&A with John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants are Still Blocks Away from Easy Street

John Flansburgh discusses the duo's career

Drenched in Blog: Hall of Fame Nominations a Big Cleveland Steamer

The Gospel According to Gnarls

Cee-Lo breaks down the genius behind St. Elsewhere

Getting Violent

Between the Cracks

Profiling local bands

Super-Size Relief

Sean Carnahan and Roni Size drop beats for a good cause

Play "Free Bird"!

Using the Bob-O-Meter to rate cover songs

I'll Drink to That

Fuel your New Year's Eve with these boozy sing-along tunes

Adios, KLOL

For the first time in Houston, Clear Channel makes a refreshing change

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

Friday, March 12

Letters

Drat!

Racket proposes a rock radio revolution. Clear Channel beats him to the punch.

Deep Thoughts

Lost and Delirious makes Jack Handey sound like Kant

Mosquito Dope

Hayflick Limit's punk has been baked by the heat of the Lone Star State

Ready to Rock?

Supagroup and the Violent Femmes

Raw Power

Stooges add to punk lore with the release of a seven-CD box

'Bourne Again

Ready for Recess

Soul Men

Okay, the name is stupid. But Soul Coughing is still a great band.

Rotations

The Violent Femmes Perk Up

Milwaukee's finest recapture your youth