- 9:30 am - Wed, Feb 1, 2012
- 25 notes
What could be better than being a British rock icon? Being British rock royalty, of course.
After the British government recently released a list of deceased people - including many musicians - who had rejected the chance to become knights and dames between 1951 and 1999, we were left to wonder who out of the U.K.’s new generation of rockers would be foolish enough to decline such an awesomely superfluous title from the Order of the British Empire. From Pete Doherty to Adele, see our gallery of guesses for who would accept a knighthood and who’s just rock-&-roll enough to reject the Queen of England at RollingStone.com.
-Julia Buchmiller
- 5:07 pm - Mon, Jan 30, 2012
- 211 notes
It’s Oscar season, and guess who isn’t pleased with the Academy’s nominations this year? Yep, our very own Peter Travers. In a special edition of Damn You, Hollywood!, Travers rants about the selections for Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role and Actress in a Leading Role.
According to Travers, the biggest snub of the year was Drive. Not only was the film ignored for Best Picture, but its leading actor Ryan Gosling was also passed over for Actor in a Leading Role. And it doesn’t end there. Travers argues that Bridesmaids, Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton were snubbed this year as well.
To hear more criticism on this year’s Oscar nominations, either watch the video above or visit RollingStone.com.
—Ben Murray
- 4:34 pm - Wed, Jan 25, 2012
- 134 notes
Lady Gaga has swept countless awards ceremonies over the course of her relatively short career. Zooey Deschanel has been in the news lately with her impending divorce and successful new sitcom. So how did lesser-known composers from The Muppets and Rio beat out these leading ladies (as well as superstars like Elton John, Willie Nelson and Elvis Costello) for the sole two spots in the 2012 Academy Awards’ “Best Original Song” category? Simple math, apparently. Out of the initial 39-song short list, only “Man or Muppet” and “Real in Rio” made the cut – but not for the reasons you might expect.
Find out how the Academy chose the Best Song nominees on RollingStone.com.
— Parry Ernsberger
- 3:00 pm
- 295 notes
It’s been a long time since we’ve heard new music from Fiona Apple. Luckily, the wait is almost over. In a recent tweet, Epic Records chairman and CEO L.A. Reid announced that the followup to her 2005 album Extraordinary Machine will be released sometime in early 2012.
It seems that Epic is at least partly responsible for the large hiatus. At a concert in Los Angeles in November, Apple admitted to her fans that she couldn’t remember how to play her new songs because they had been done for a year.
To read more about the new Fiona Apple album, visit RollingStone.com.
—Ben Murray
- 2:32 pm - Tue, Jan 24, 2012
- 76 notes
Happy Birthday #NeilDiamond!! Here he is on the cover of #RollingStone on September 23rd, 1976! #RSRandoms (Taken with instagram)
- 11:02 am
- 120 notes
Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is a household name across the world for his dealings in government exposes and secrets, as well as his run-ins with the law in several different countries. He’s currently at an undisclosed location in the English countryside, awaiting a February 1 extradition appeal. But he may never truly be a free man ever again. Assange speaks at length to Rolling Stone’s Michael Hastings about his childhood, what inspired him to start Wikileaks, how he feels The New York Times downplayed their relationship in order to avoid a federal investigation, and how he’s “not terribly impressed” with celebrity.
Read the entire story and interview with Julian Assange at RollingStone.com or in the February 2, 2012 issue of Rolling Stone.
—Meredith Olson
- 4:19 pm - Fri, Jan 20, 2012
- 386 notes
Etta James, the legendary Blues and Gospel singer who brought us timeless hits like “At Last” and “All I Could Do Was Cry,” died today at the age of 73. Since beginning her recording career in the mid-Fifties with Modern Records, she became one of the most influential singers of all time, constantly reinventing herself and covering styles across all genres. She is revered as one of the pioneers who helped to bridge the gap between R&B and rock & roll, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
James, who struggled with drug addiction soon after her career began to flourish, suffered from bad health for several years before being diagnosed with leukemia in early 2011.
She’ll be missed. RIP, Etta.
- Jasmine Stein
- 1:10 pm - Thu, Jan 19, 2012
- 341 notes
Happy Birthday #JanisJoplin!! Here she is on the cover of #RollingStone on August 6th, 1970. Today, this legendary singer would have been 69 years old. We miss you Janis! Your spirit and music will live on forever. #RSRandoms (Taken with instagram)
- 5:59 pm - Wed, Jan 18, 2012
- 361 notes
David Bowie once thought Satan was living in his indoor swimming pool. He also cohabited with Iggy Pop in West Berlin in 1976, during which time he became consumed with Third Reich history and Nazi mythology. Bowie, like many rock stars before and many more to come, struggled with drugs and faced somewhat of an identity crisis in attempts to reinvent his sound and eclipse the popularity of his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust.
But there was a light at the end of his tunnel, and Bowie created “a new language of music from fragments, accidents and dreamed-up textures,” that sparked a comeback and influenced a future generation of musicians.
For an excerpt of our latest cover story, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust”, check out RollingStone.com.
— Parry Ernsberger
- 5:04 pm - Tue, Jan 17, 2012
- 427 notes
Bruce Springsteen played a surprise set at a benefit concert in Asbury Park, NJ over the weekend. Although his appearance was officially unplanned, he has been to nearly every one of the annual Light of Day concerts - which fund research on Parkinson’s disease - since they began in 2000.
David Bromberg, Garland Jeffreys and Southside Johnny also played sets at the benefit, but there is no denying that Springsteen stole the show. He left the crowd stunned after a solo acoustic performance of “Incident On 57th Street,” which he has only done one other time in his career.
To read more about Springsteen’s surprise set, visit RollingStone.com.
- Ben Murray
