Distant Early Warning: The Cult, Billy Joe Shaver, English Beat, Fall Out Boy, Talib Kweli and More
Asleep At The Wheel: Sat., Aug. 1. Sengelmann Hall (Schulenburg). Balaclavas, Cave, Twisted Wires: Thu., June 4. Mango’s. Babasonicos: Thu., Aug. 20. House of Blues. Billy Joe Shaver: Tue., Aug. 4. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. “Sean Hannity Freedom Concert” with Billy Ray Cyrus, The Charlie Daniels Band, Lee Greenwood, Michael W…
Brandon Backe Is A Free Man!! But He Still Can’t Pitch, For Crying Out Loud
A Galveston County grand jury has refused to indict Houston Astros pitcher Brandon Backe on any charges stemming from what sounds like a fun wedding in the off-season that involved a brawl with cops. (As many good weddings do.)The Houston Chronicle reports the decision came today.Thirteen cops were disciplined for…
Farm Stand Junkie: Watermelons and Field Peas
The old split watermelon trick — works every time. On me, anyway. On the way home from a Memorial Day car trip yesterday, I saw a wagon full of watermelons out on Highway 6, just before the entrance to 290, and I pulled the car over. I hate to pass…
Texas Deer Hunters: Your License Plate Is No Longer Oh So Gay (UPDATED)
Texas deer hunters, as you head to your comfortable blinds to await as unsuspecting deer saunter across your line of fire in search of strategically dropped food pellets, you no longer need fear being thought of as not macho.According to the state of Texas, that is. With all the appropriate…
Can’t Get It Out of My Head: “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”
Jay Lee Rocks Off would wholeheartedly like to wish Ms. Stevie Nicks a very happy birthday today; since she’s the epitome of a rock and roll lady, we’ll refrain from revealing her actual age. At Fleetwood Mac’s Toyota Center concert earlier this month, Nicks seemed to be walking with a limp,…
Recession Snacking: Chinese Tea Eggs
Stewed in black tea, soy sauce and spices, Chinese tea eggs are ideal as snacks or placed on top of a bed of noodles. The flavor is savory and a little bit salty. The shells are gently cracked before the eggs are steeped in the marinade, leaving brown marbling on…
Bayou Body Count: Death Doesn’t Take A Holiday
Unfortunately, murder doesn’t recognize holiday weekends, as evidenced by the following homicide investigations recently opened by area law enforcement.A man was killed following a shootout with Humble police late this morning. Details are limited, but the incident occurred outside an employment officer in the 9800 block of FM 1960 Bypass,…
Turning the Screw: Flatline & Trae, Eminem, T.I., Jay-Z, Nas & Kelis, The Kanye, Danger Mouse, Devin the Dude and More
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: Flatline feat. Trae, “Fuckin’ With Texas” Wire To Wire Eminem says he’s the reason for the Chinese Democracy-ness of…
Vince Young Can’t Beat Out A Has-Been QB, But He Can Make It Rain
Okay, imagine you’re a third overall draft pick, and two years into your football career, you’ve lost your job as starting quarterback to an aging, recovering alcoholic, racist retread. You’re teetering on the brink of being labeled one of the biggest busts in recent football history. What’s more, your team…
Oaxaca Meat Market in Dickinson
FM 517 in Dickinson, Texas is an unremarkable stretch of country road that’s the main gateway to San Leon, Texas, and the legendary Gilhooley’s Oyster Bar. Oysters lovers from around the world have made the pilgrimage down FM 517 to the little oyster shack on Galveston Bay. But nearby, other…
Bikini Season Is Here; Cue The Slideshow
What is Memorial Day without bikini pictures to scroll through and rate in your typical hot/not-hot way? (Rating performed, usually, by a guy who would never, ever himself land in the “hot” category.)The weekend’s weather was iffy, but that didn’t stop people from heading to Galveston; thankfully, some of them…
Rocks Off Mercilessly Mocked on National Anti-Hipster Blog
Rocks Off would like to extend our congratulations – we guess – to our lieutenant, Craig Hlavaty. Craig’s picture of him sitting on Santa’s lap (above), culled from his slideshow of Houston-area mall Santas last December, went bad and nationwide Sunday, appearing on the hilarious picture blog Look At This…
From The Movies: Five Worse Picks Obama Could Have Made For The Supreme Court
President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court. Now begins the long and — hopefully — entertaining confirmation process where we’ll hear about her support of eugenics and that one time in high school she smoked clove cigarettes behind the band hall. As bad…
Where Are We Eating?
Sunday is the Lord’s Day at this beloved Houston restaurant. Can you guess where we’re eating this week? Only those with a keen eye and an adventurous palate will figure out this week’s entry…
Aeros’ Improbable Playoff Run Finally Ends
The Cinderella Calder Cup playoff run of the Houston Aeros finally ended last night with the Aeros losing to the Manitoba Moose 3-1. But the fact that the Aeros actually made it to a Game Six should mean something, especially as, at this time last week, the Aeros were down…
Aftermath: Gavin Rossdale at House of Blues
Picture yourself as a snail-sized shovel with the mind of an eight-year-old in the backyard of your parents’ house during summer vacation in the suburbs, slowly digging in the dirt looking for nothing in particular, your mom yelling at you to stop or you’ll dig your way to China. Gavin…
Rice Hosts NCAA Baseball Regional, Doesn’t Get Top Seed
Yesterday saw the announcement of the NCAA’s 64-team bracket for the College World Series, and it was a mixed bag for local fans.Good news: Seven Texas teams are in it.Bad news: Rice didn’t get a top regional seeding, for the first time in three years, kind of a slap to…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: How Much Does Nick Lowe Rule?
I first heard Nick Lowe – and Stiff Records mates Dave Edmunds, Wreckless Eric, Ian Dury and Elvis Costello – when I lived in Europe in 1977. That Live Stiffs album not only saw me through a stint in northern Europe, it stayed with me for seven more years as…
Getting Trapped In The Magic Of Grey Gardens
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Spicy Tofu Soup and Bulgogi Tacos: Lunch at Hagawon
Hagawon on Richmond at Kirkwood is the latest addition to our fast-growing Korean tofu and barbecue-restaurant category. The interior is bright and shiny with wacky Korean graphics. I love the poster about making tofu by hand “like god intended.” I ordered the $8.95 bulgogi lunch special there the other day…
Miss Pop Rocks: Pop-Culture Proms That Were Cooler Than Yours
It’s prom season, y’all. That means it’s time to get your corsage to match your cummerbund, find a flask to hide the whiskey, and coerce everyone to chip in money for the limo, so you can all stick your heads out of the sun roof and go, “Woooo!!”The American Prom…
Blue Notes: 1959 – Jazz’s Greatest Year?
It was the year a jungle rebel named Fidel Castro took over Cuba, Barbie made her debut on toy-store shelves, and Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state. But was it also the apex of quality and creativity in jazz? That’s the theory posited by the folks at Columbia Records, who…
Battle On The Light Rail: The (Not Really) Shocking Video
With it just being Memorial Day Weekend and all, perhaps it’s not the best timing for this post, but what the hell. On May 2, Rice employee and local historian Lauren Meyers was riding the MetroRail up to the Fleetwood Mac concert at Toyota Center. At some point, she violated…
