Yoko Ono

Rocker Tony Sheridan, One-Time Beatles "Frontman", Dead At 72

In the realm of mainstream Beatles lore, Tony Sheridan gets largely forgotten. The British singer in fact lead an early incarnation of the band in their Hamburg days, when they were the Silver Beatles, a boozy club act. He played on the same circuit as the boys, and they acted as his backing group a ... More >>

Janis Joplin at 70: What Might Have Been?

Janis Joplin would have been 70 years old on Saturday, which means it's been more than 40 years since she died. But even today Joplin's name is practically a household word, thanks to one of the most powerful, emotional, expressive voices in rock history. Of course Joplin was one of the original '6 ... More >>

Music World Stands Up for Embattled Russian Punks Pussy Riot

Above: A burka-clad Madonna talks about Pussy Riot to her Moscow audience Rewind: Vladimir Putin: No Pussy Riot on His Watch Free speech is a valued thing in this country. It's why journalists, writers, musicians and artists exist and are able to do what they do. However, in Russia, it seems to be ... More >>

The Beatles' Rotted Apple Records Ripe for Rediscovery

Strange Fruit: The Beatles' Apple Records Chrome Dreams, 162 mins., $19.95. While the Beatles' formation of their Apple company had roots in a tax dodge, the foursome really did (at least originally) seek to create a haven where creative types across different genres from art and film and design to ... More >>

Burn! Music's 12 Best Insults & Jabs

One of the not-so-fun things in the world is to get insulted or, in the words of Kelso from That 70's Show, get "burned." Now, let's imagine what it would be like to be insulted by some musician on one of their albums -- that "burn" I can only imagine was magnified by a million. Nevertheless, som ... More >>

Joshua Tree: 7 Musicians Who Have Felt The High Desert's Pull

Twenty-five years ago today, U2 released their paramount record, The Joshua Tree. The record was intended to be a spiritual quest for Bono: A meditative dissection of the "spoiled child" he saw in American culture. Before Bono blessed the area with his humanitarian spirit, however, many other musici ... More >>

Songs For A Future Generation: Top 10 B-52's Deep Cuts

The B-52's are the quintessential alternative/New Wave/jam band. They can be both metaphorical and fun at the same time. However, what makes them different from other New Wave bands is that lead singer Fred Schneider provides a unique sprechgesang style to the genre. The band met after having a few ... More >>

Troubled Fantasy: Creepy Wax Figures Of John Lennon

It's a big week for Beatles fans, which is like saying it's a big week for people who like air and water. Yesterday was John Lennon's 71st birthday, and tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of "Imagine." The Martin Scorsese-directed doc on George Harrison's life, the beyond stellar George Harrison: Livi ... More >>

Five Life Lessons From John Lennon's "Lost Weekend"

​Rocks Off would like to wish a very happy 70th birthday to one of the coolest pop cats out there, Harry Nilsson. Four times out of five, whenever we play the jukebox at Warren's, we put on something from his Greatest Hits - like Martin Scorsese, we usually leave the lime in the coconut and ju ... More >>

10 Beatles Urban Legends: True Or False?

​When you're a band like the Beatles - who first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, 1964, 47 years ago today - tall tales and urban legends spring up all around... mostly because when a band is a worldwide cultural phenomenon, anything can seem possible or even plausible. Some of th ... More >>

Half a Century Late

Benjamin Patterson gets his due as Houston goes avant-garde.

Bluefinger

Catastrophic Theatre stages a rock opera redemption.

FAIL: Wyclef Jean, Richard Ashcroft, Mark Wahlberg, iTunes

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray​Wyclef Jean's Latest Vanity Project: President of Haiti: Wyclef Jean is best known for being the member of the Fugees who quite improbably enjoyed the most solo success. We would have bet on Lauryn Hill, but unfortunately, she went crazy. Crazy may be ... More >>

Masters of the Universe

Two artists explore pop culture and space imagery at Art Palace.

Sexual Napalm: Ill-Advised Rock-Star Hookups, Starring Our Boy John Mayer

Photo illustration by John Seaborn GrayLike this, John?​John Mayer: He is just fantastic. In a disastrous Playboy interview, Mayer opened up about many things. For example, we discovered that, although some white comedians have successfully worked the "N" word into their jokes, Mayer is not one of ... More >>

Great Moments in Douchebaggotry: Michael Jackson Takes Paul McCartney's Advice... In the Douchiest Way Possible

Great Moments in Douchebaggery is brought to you by Rocks Off's upcoming Washington Shore party, Thursday, February 11, at the Washington Avenue Drinkery. All types of douchebags are encouraged to attend. Sadly, the duo enjoyed only a very brief period of skipping merrily about together.​In the ea ... More >>

Get Lit: Blues & Chaos: The Music Writings of Robert Palmer

​Unfortunately, by the time that Robert Palmer (the writer, not the "Addicted to Love" guy) died from liver failure complications in 1997, his fierce brand of music journalism had been six feet under for years. Palmer was part of a loose cadre of scribes like Cameron Crowe, Greil Marcus, Lester Ba ... More >>

He Said She Said: Our Christmas Musical Wishlists

​She Said's music listening habits have become so lazy thanks to the Internet. She can barely bring herself to pay for a full CD any more when there's so much awesome music for free online. She can't even remember the last time she bought a full CD in the concrete, plastic wrap and all. That said, ... More >>

9 Musicians Tiger Woods Should Have Cheated With Instead of the Women He Did

Lily Allen: "Here, kitty, kitty..."​When initial word of millionaire golfer Tiger Woods' car accident in front of his home hit the news wires and Twitter the morning of November 27, the world waited with bated breath. None of us quite knew what his condition was or how extensive his injuries were. ... More >>

"Imagine" This: What If John Lennon Were Still With Us?

Today marks what would have been John Lennon's 69th birthday. Just let that sink in for a moment. He was only 40 when he passed away, but in those four decades he did enough to change the world and its inhabitants for pretty much the rest of natural human history - not just in music but also in for ... More >>

All the Katy Perry You're Going to Get, Because She Just Canceled Her Show

Update: Tonight's Katy Perry show at House of Blues has been CANCELED due to Perry's illness, says promoter Live Nation. Perry is expected to announce a make-up date soon, and all tickets for tonight's show, which was itself postponed from March, will be honored. She'll be here eventually, we guess, ... More >>

Save Our Houston Songs

A plea for monuments and musical preservation

Royal Treatment

The King of beats holds court

Letter to the Editor

Radio Daze

One man, one jambox and four walls. For 24 hours.

Classics Rock

Which Greek god is your favorite musician?

This Is It

Will Kimbrough makes a living making the records he wants

Up in the Air

Continental Airlines helps out Lee Brown's re-election campaign

Applying a Heavy Wash

Allison redefines the term "watercolors" for Colquitt gallery owners

Green Party

A child of the liberal folk movement, Dar Williams isn't above rocking out

Revolution in Chrome

In the '70s, Jim Harithas's radical chic collided with the CAM. Twenty-five years later, he's back, gunning his engines at the Art Car Museum.

Pushing the Envelope

Sushi via the U.S. mail? Velveeta boxes affixed with stamps? To Beth Jacobs, it's all art.

Rotation

Rotation

Same Old Waylon

The most rebellious thing Waylon Jennings has done is not change

Living With Lies

Cameron and Schwarzenegger take action movies in a new, and interesting, direction