Subject: Mary J. Blige

• Jazz 101

  March 11, 1999

• Miss Pop Rocks: The Head-On People Need to Check Themselves

  August 20, 2007

• Last Night: Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige at Toyota Center

  April 11, 2008

• Welcome to the Funhouse

  April 20, 2000

• U2 Lace Up Their Dirty "Boots"

  Among, you know, a few other things, the past 24 hours have been the start of a very, very big year for the band Rocks Off affectionately refers to as the Best Band Ever. U2 appeared alongside Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, "One" pal Mary J. Blige and many more as Barack Obama's opening acts at yesterday's massive "We are One" concert on the National Mall in Washington D.C. "Restraint" is not a word normally associated with Bono and the boys, but they showed it yesterday. Not so much in th

  January 19, 2009

• Press Picks

  August 24, 1995

• Idol Beat: Hollywood Week, Part 1

  [Note: Because a lot of people are apparently into American Idol, Rocks Off asked contributor Ray Cummings to keep track of this season for us. This is his first report.] "Hollywood Week" marks the point in American Idol's grist-mill rigamorole calendar where the kid gloves come off, when being cute 'n' quirky with the hint of a decent set of pipes isn't enough anymore, when it's time to separate the Kimberly Caldwells from the Josiah Lemings, when the cavalcade of Ford product placement be

  February 5, 2009

• Rotation

  June 19, 1997

• Bully Boys

  September 25, 1997

• Rotation

  October 9, 1997

• Rotation

  November 20, 1997

• Holiday Gestures

  November 27, 1997

• Symphony of Setbacks

  August 6, 1998

• Rotation

  September 17, 1998

• Idol Beat: The Top 11

  Photo by Ray Mickshaw / FOXPictured: Matt Giraud, exquisite gumline Traditionally, I've concluded the first Idol Beat of any given week with predictions as to who the American Idol judges or viewing public will send home the next night. This week I'm upending that, and predicting that no one will go home. That's right: all eleven of the remaining finalists are safe as houses. "But how is that even possible," you ask, you cry, you pound the sides of your PC monitor. Well, the judges have that

  March 18, 2009

• Another Rock Mag Bites The Dust: Performing Songwriter Says Goodbye

  Print publications focusing on music continue to fall like pine trees in a hurricane. The latest to close its doors is 16-year-old Performing Songwriter. Editor/publisher Lydia Hutchison announced Wednesday that the June issue would be the last. The magazine joins No Depression, Blender and Country Standard Time, all of which ceased print operations in the face of a bad economy, shrinking record industry, and heated competition for a dwindling advertising base. Decatur, Georgia-based Paste ma

  June 5, 2009

• Industrial Icon Martin Atkins Knows From Touring

  Road Warrior

  March 19, 2009

• The R&B timeline in reverse via Cotton Exchange and The Real Sammie

  Franklin Mint

  October 30, 2008

• Single File

  August 7, 2008

• Soul and Blues Festival

  Betty Wright, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Willie Clayton headline a mega-jam

  July 31, 2008

• Kanye, Jay-Z, Mary J. and Rihanna Clamor for Diva Status

  May 1, 2008

• The-Dream

  Love Hate

  January 17, 2008

• Mary J. Blige: Growing Pains

  January 3, 2008

• Leela James: Let's Do It Again

  April 23, 2009

• The Essence of Soul

  Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige and more hit H-town

  June 29, 2006

• Little Brother

  Little Brother performs Friday, June 29, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, 713-225-5483. Orgone and DJ Haul also perform.

  June 28, 2007

• Devin the Dude

  Waitin' to Inhale

  April 5, 2007

• Amy Winehouse

  Back to Black

  April 5, 2007

• Song Title Scrabble

  Mixed-up monikers

  March 1, 2007

• Mary J. Blige

  The Breakthrough

  January 26, 2006

• Jamie Foxx

  Unpredictable

  January 5, 2006

• The O.G. of Love

  Johnny "Guitar" Watson gets his due with a terrific two disc set

  October 13, 2005

• The Chocolate Bayou Festival, Featuring Angie Stone

  Saturday, September 3, and Sunday, September 4, at Sunnyside Park, 3502 Bellfort. Step Rideau, Sherman Robertson, Rick Marcel, Kyle Turner, Bridgette Taylor, Michael Ward, Werner Richard, Rayvon Foster, Caliente and Ernest Walkerd are also on the bill.

  September 1, 2005

• John Legend, with De La Soul and Rahzel

  Saturday, August 13, at HUSH, 15625 Katy Freeway, 713-330-HUSH.

  August 11, 2005

• Swan Balls

  The Nightfly's feathery tribute to Björk

  June 16, 2005

• Who's Your Diddy?

  It's Cristal and basketball with Coach Combs

  June 16, 2005

• Windows of the Seoul

  Getting to know South Korea through music videos

  February 17, 2005

• Classics Rock

  Which Greek god is your favorite musician?

  September 2, 2004

• Pop-Up Pop Stars

  With the help of city government, Matthew Knowles hopes to find the next Destiny's Child. You got a problem with that?

  August 19, 2004

• On Da Lingo

  Tracing Houston roots in three omnipresent hip-hop terms

  July 15, 2004

• Cruel Summer

  Are we hearing the death rattle of the sheds?

  July 8, 2004

• Mary J. Blige with Musiq and Glenn Lewis

  Sunday, May 16

  May 13, 2004

• Drastic Unilateral Action

  Universal hopes to JumpSTART flagging CD sales with aggressive price cuts. Who benefits the most?

  September 18, 2003

• Color-Coded Rodeo

  The livestock show's heritage nights are called "outreach" by some and "de facto segregation" by others

  February 28, 2002

• Thibeaux for the Soul

  Houston songstress crafts her sounds down to the last teaspoon

  June 14, 2001

• Wyclef Jean

  The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II A Book

  September 14, 2000

• Real & Bold

  August 17, 2000

• Local Album of the Week: Leela James' Let's Do It Again

  Leela James Let's Do It Again www.leelajames.com To understand what an arresting, puzzling record Leela James' Let's Do It Again really is, look no further than the L.A. native and adopted Houstonian's cover of Foreigner's mid-'80s soft-rock/gospel-lite singalong "I Want to Know What Love Is." James takes it about as far over the top as a church-raised singer who recalls Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu can be expected to, but both her demanding vocals - she needs to know what lov

  April 17, 2009

• Idol Beat: The Top Three

  Disclaimer: Thanks to technical difficulties brought about by the crap DVR capture feature of our limp-ass new cable box/provider, I missed the first 15-20 minutes of Tuesday's episode of American Idol. Please feel free to attempt to conjecture about whatever you think I would have said - had I been able to watch - in the comment section. Or just call me a homophobe, or get all up in my grill for screwing something up! Whatever. So I have no idea what song the American Idol judges decided

  May 13, 2009

• Turning the Screw: Slim Thug, KRS-One, Robin Thicke, B.o.B., The Renaldo The Ensemble, Joe Budden, Slaughterhouse, Mary J., Scarface & Tupac, etc.

  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: "Thug," Slim Thug Wire To Wire KRS-One is going to be helping out the homeless on Thanksgiving. What's the over/under on how long it takes before he starts preaching to them about how he started hip-hop- nine minutes? Okay, we're at a crossroads. It's like, that "Shakin' It" song with Robin Thicke seem

  November 23, 2009