Grammys Wrap Nominations, Performances Into Live Show Tonight

Categories: TV Party

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​In this week's edition of "no one cares so do whatever you want," the Grammy's will be announcing nominations tonight for their annual awards presented in February. Normally, a simple press conference would suffice, but NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) thinks it would be a good idea to have a nomination show complete with performances from artists. It's tantamount to having the major league baseball draft during the home run derby.

But, in a continued bid to prove to us that we should totally buy music at the prices they want, "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! -- Countdown To Music's Biggest Night" (yes, that's the "official" title) will air tonight on CBS at 9 p.m. Fortunately, the made the decision that an hour was more than enough time to bore us to tears.

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Yo Gabba Gabba's Creator Talks Bands and Stage Diving Kids

Categories: TV Party

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Courtesy photo
Yo Gabba Gabba's Brobee and Plex with Chromeo.
​What do you do when you have kids but you can't stand any of the TV programming geared toward them? Get together with a long-time buddy and make a low-budget version of what you'd like to see on television.

That's how Christian Jacobs, lead singer of the punk band The Aquabats, and friend Scott Schultz created Yo Gabba Gabba the kids' TV show that's equally as popular with non-kid-having adults, thanks to its retro charm and indie spirit.

This Friday, Yo Gabba Gabba Live! is coming to Verizon Wireless for two shows. Rocks Off talked to Jacobs about the show's inspiration, his favorite bands, and teaching little kids to stage dive.

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If the American Music Awards Fell in the Forest, Would Anyone Hear Them?

Categories: TV Party, Whatever

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Male street dancers are powerless against J-Lo's Fiat-powered hips.
​Last night, the American Music Awards were broadcast on ABC to record low ratings. A show that featured typically lackluster performances from artists far more interested in choreographed dance moves than actually singing and playing bordered on all-out awful at times, which begs the question: Are music awards shows even relevant anymore?

The Academy Awards and even the Golden Globes are Hollywood events that bring in viewers simply because they want to see the celebs. Winners and losers are secondary. The problem with music is no one gives a shit about the artists, at least not in an awards setting, and they know what they'll mostly get in terms of performances are watered down lip synching and/or uncomfortable (rather than inspired) pairings.

Just for a minute, let's contemplate the aftermath of the AMAs.

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Top 20 Throwback TV Theme Songs Part 2

Categories: Lists, TV Party

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Only a big dummy wouldn't have this show on the list.
​Yesterday, we hit you up with the best ten TV theme songs that didn't quite make the top of our list. We heard a few quibbles from fellow television aficionados, but their cries of frustration were muffled by the sounds of "The LOOOVVE BOAT..."

Today, we return with the best of the best. Truth is, lists are not our thing even if we do them with regularity. There are certainly a few that didn't make our list that are worthy. Hell, it was tough trimming down from the 30-plus tunes that got us started. Plus, as we mentioned yesterday, throwback for us means shows in the 70s and 80s. But, somebody has to lose and somebody has to win and, when it comes to classic TV themes, we think we all do pretty damn well.

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Top 20 Throwback TV Theme Songs Part 1

Categories: Lists, TV Party

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​We grew up on television. Whether it was Saturday morning cartoons, afternoon re-runs, Sunday Disney and Wild Kingdom or Thursday night "must see" TV, we saw it. We noticed that on November 2, 1985, the Miami Vice soundtrack went to number one on the Billboard charts where it would stay for 11 weeks. As Archie Bunker might say, "Those were the days."

So, we took a little trip down nostalgia lane and made our list of the top 20 throwback theme songs. We limited our selections to television shows that aired in the 70s and 80s to keep with the whole throwback thing. As a result, you won't see Gilligan's Island, The Addams Family or Mission Impossible, as good as they may be. You also won't see references to Friends or Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, for example. 

We'll start with 20-11. Check back Thursday for the top 10.

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Lyle Lovett Writes Song for KHOU Channel 11 (with video)

Categories: TV Party

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Photo by Jason Wolter
​Around here, we love us some Lyle Lovett. The home-grown country singer-songwriter has always held a special place in our hearts and we've followed his career from the early days at Anderson Fair through his multiple-Grammy-award-winning success as a quirky, Texas troubadour, which is why a commercial for KHOU's morning show the other day left us both happy and confused.

According to the promo, Lovett would be appearing on the morning show debuting a song he wrote for the station. It was great to see him promoting his new album, Please Release Me, which he said will be out in January. This is his first independent release after leaving Curb Records, where he had been for 25 years. But, a song for channel 11?

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TV Party: Beavis & Butt-head Return with "Werewolves Of Highland/Crying"

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​Rocks Off has always championed the arts, and Beavis & Butt-head are no different. We've shown you the bands that we got into because of the shows '90s run, and last year we listed our favorite music videos from the series.

So earlier this year, when Beavis & Butt-head creator Mike Judge and MTV announced that the animated pair of metal-loving, non-scoring, fire-obsessed teens was returning to the cable channel to take aim at the second decade of the 21st century, our pants exploded with happiness.

An appearance at San Diego Comic-Con this summer delighted those of us who grew up with the show and the sound of the boys sends us into giggle fits that sound eerily like their own. Not too long ago I changed my ringtone to the show's jammy theme song, much to the chagrin of those around me.

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The X Factor: Learning To Let Go

Categories: TV Party

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Photo by FOX
​Wednesday night The X Factor extended its two-hour format to two and a half hours, allowing us to see each team - Boys, Girls, Over 30s, and Groups - perform, as well as the judges' elimination decisions. While 2.5 hours is quite long, the fact that the show didn't get crazy and make us wait over lengthy commercial breaks for the judges' decisions, but got right to the point with judges making their final choices immediately following their team's performance was good. I call that refreshing reality television. Oh yeah, and host Steve gets to dress up and be the only person in the camera shot a whole bunch of times! No longer a bridesmaid!

Each judge was required to move three contestants forward, which means L.A., Paula, and Nicole had to cut one act while Simon had to cut two. If you recall, at the end of the "judges' house" round of competition Simon had a change of heart and added a fifth, previously-eliminated contestant, Melanie Amaro.

So who will move on to the next round of live shows?

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The Simpsons' Top 11 Musical Guests

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​When The Simpsons completes its last (contracted) season in 2014, it will have set staggering new broadcast records for longest running sitcom (over 550 episodes) and longest running prime time scripted TV series (25 seasons). These are all American records, of course, because the Japanese come hardcore.

The show has long passed the point where we could simply refer to it as that show where "an old drunk made humans out of his rabbit characters to pay off his gambling debts (RIP, Phil Hartman). The Simpsons' merchandising reach rivals that of KISS, it's introduced new words to our very language, and briefly gave us all a reason to watch Fox.

For Rocks Off's purposes, however, the show has also showcased a large number of old and new musical acts. Here are a few of our favorites.

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Huh-Huh-Huh: 20 Bands Beavis and Butt-Head Turned Us Onto

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​Next Monday, Beavis and Butt-Head returns to MTV with original episodes for the first time in 14 years. The final episode of the show's original run aired on November 28, 1997, and marked the closing of a chapter of our lives. Not only were they instrumental in forming our vocabulary - fartknocker, buttmunch, bunghole, stiffy - the show also became somewhat of a way for us to discover new music, even when the boys were trashing the videos.

This time around though the show won't be showing too many music videos, relying on reality television and YouTube poop for the boys to unload on (huh-huh-huh). When the show debuted in 1993, creator Mike Judge was using music video clips from the '70s, '80s and '90s, allowing us to see disco, punk, metal, and pop videos by bands we had never heard of.

Just as 120 Minutes and Headbanger's Ball were each an education, so was B&B in its way.

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