www.cheese-burger.net

​It's that time of year again. Everything is red and full of hearts. Chocolates and roses are marked up. Couples are showing off and singles are desperately searching online dating services for a quick set-up to give them their own special day. That's right, it's about to be Valentine's Day! Some are sickened by its Hallmark commercial appeal, while others find it romantic and love to go all out for their partners.

Personally, I've only had a date one Valentine's Day of my life purely by circumstances working against me, but I'm also an atheist Jew that loves Christmastime. Just because you don't have a reason to celebrate doesn't mean you can't get into the spirit.

So as we near that special day, I'd like to present a list of what I feel are the greatest cheeseball lovey dovey songs ever written. Yeah, these songs may sound saccharine and trite to even the least jaded listener, but that doesn't mean you can't "feel the love tonight" when you listen to them. Call it a guilty pleasure if you must, but these are the 10 best songs for getting in the mood for V-Day - and pissing off your bitter friends out there.

More >>

Welp, it's been a year to say the least. There has been so much great music, amazing shows, new discoveries, many sad and happy milestones, and Rocks Off tried to cover all of it these past 12 months.

Next year will be even more awesome, for so many reasons, which we will get into the next two weeks. Which local rapper is about to sign a big record deal? Which local rock act is set to set SXSW on fire in March? Where will we be seeing shows in 2012? Will 2012 end in a great ball of fire and madness as the Mayan calendar predicted? There is no way to know, but we're sure Rocks Off will be there to make a Top 10 list about.

"Top 10 Songs To Listen To As The World Falls Down Around You!"

We have partnered with some of yours and our favorite locals to give you some free music this weekend. Some donated whole albums, while others are giving you select songs. Most of the links go to these artist's Bandcamp or Soundcloud pages that allow you to hear even more music from them. If you are into that.

Oh, and sorry-slash-you-are-welcome for that Christmas art above. A happy Whoop Whoop to you and yours this holiday season.

More >>

​Rocks Off likes to believe that Christmas is such a merry holiday, even some of Satan's most stalwart servants can't help but get into the act. Of course, it could be that heavy metal musicians record Christmas music for the same reason as Mariah Carey: Because there's a crapload of money to be made. Whatever their motives, even metalheads can put away the devil horns and celebrate the birth of our savior without feeling like total pusses thanks to this collection of ten of the best heavy metal Christmas carol covers ever crooned!

More >>

Over the holidays, we're looking back at some classic Christmas albums taking some track by track and just digging on others.

​Let me just get this out of the way right off the bat: I don't care for Mannheim Steamroller. I think their music is odd and a little creepy. But, that doesn't mean 1984's Christmas isn't a classic or that people love this damn thing. It is and they do.

As we draw to a close this Christmas season and the list of classic Christmas albums, I'd be remiss if I didn't drop in a nod to this very well liked new age holiday record. It has sold nearly 3.5 million copies according to SoundScan, but more than 6 million copies have shipped to stores since it was released and it's apparently great for timing your Christmas lights display (see video below).

More >>

Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray

I want to believe.

​Just the other day, Rocks Off sat at the computer, blank-faced and still, the cursor blinking uninterrupted. See, normally at this time of year, we come up with a list of depressing Christmas songs. This year, though, there was a problem. Last year's songs were so intensely, crazily sad, we couldn't find any to top them. Plus, it's been kind of a rough year, and Rocks Off's heart just wasn't in the search. What to do? It made us sad to buck what was becoming a Christmas tradition; so sad, in fact, that all we could do was turn on some wonderfully bizarre Christmas music in order to cheer ourselves up.

And now you get this list. It's a Christmas miracle! (Buckle up, this shit is gonna get pretty weird.)

More >>

Over the holidays, we're looking back at some classic Christmas albums taking some track by track and just digging on others.

​There is an admission that I have to make having written all these Classic Christmas posts this year. When I think of Christmas, I don't think of carols or choirs or chamber orchestras or classical music. I don't think of chipmunks or children singing or dogs barking. When I think of Christmas, I think of jazz.

In fact, when I don't even really care to listen to jazz in the summer. I just feels like a winter artform, like the middle of the city on an overcast day when it's cold as hell outside and everything is in black and white. It's clearly a bias that hasn't impacted my desire to listen to music that isn't jazz around the holidays, but I've been guilty of making playlists that include both holiday music and non-holiday jazz because they seem to go together.

When it comes to jazz singers of the female persuasion, Ella Fitzgerald is near the top of my list with Sarah Vaugh, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne. I had forgotten she had a classic Christmas record until I downloaded the soundtrack for Elf (don't judge!) a few weeks ago and her version of "Sleigh Ride" was on it. My next download was Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas.

More >>

​We're a generous bunch at Rocks Off. We just give and give and give until it hurts, and then we give some more. That's just how we roll. And when we give, well, it may seem obvious, but we tend to give the gift of music. Our friends and family are appreciative, though we do think grandma is just being nice when she unwraps her present to find we gave her a mixtape of our favorite really obscure indie bands who only released one song and then broke up. Maybe you should try to be cooler, GRANDMA!

Anyway, several of us got together and discussed what was going under the trees and into the stockings of our loved ones this year and we got some pretty interesting answers. Tell us what you are giving folks in the comment section. If you say "iTunes gift cards," we'll have to kill you, so comment wisely.

More >>

photo by Marco Torres

Navidad en el Barrio

​We here at Rocks Off love our Christmas music, except when we don't. Seriously, big box retailer and car commercials? Why must you always try to force the Christmas spirit on us a full two weeks before Thanksgiving? But then, about a week before the big day, when it is totally appropriate to do so, we get really hooked.

Personally, this member of Rocks Off has been a bit of a grinch these last several years. But in an attempt to turn away from our Scrooge-like ways, we'd like to offer an alternative list of Christmas songs that you can play while visiting family, opening presents, or eating an unhealthy amount of tamales.

More >>

Over the holidays, we're looking back at some classic Christmas albums taking some track by track and just digging on others.

​Originally titled The Magic of Christmas, when it was released in 1963, this collection of Christmas songs was basically cobbled together in support of what many -- myself included -- consider the greatest version of the greatest holiday composition ever recorded, "The Christmas Song."

Cole had recorded the song -- sometimes referred to by it's first line, "Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire" -- three times prior to this one with tremendous success, with this being quintessential version and the first to be recorded in stereo. This is the one you hear on the radio and streaming from the speakers at the mall. It is a transcendant performance that even Mel Torme, who penned the tune, considers the best ever of his song.

More >>

​No matter what year it is or how old you are, if you love music, there is nothing like finding some new music tucked under the tree or crammed into your stocking. iTunes gift cards are easy. So are gift cards to Tiffany's, but we bet your girl would be a lot more receptive to the blue box. That's how music fans feel about music at Christmas. Despite the ability to download songs on a whim, we love the hard copies.

Here at Rocks Off, we've all gotten music over the years, some better than others. We asked our writers to offer up their memories when it came to music from Christmases gone by. As we suspected, our peeps have some interesting stories.

Feel free to add your own in the comments.

More >>