Table of contents for May-21-15 in Rolling Stone

1. The Rolling Stones “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking (Alternate Version)” It’s one of the Stones’ sweetest riffs ever – and on this early take from the upcoming Sticky Fingers reissue, you can hear how it came together, as Mick improvises alongside Keith’s guitar. 2. Speedy Ortiz “Ginger” The choicest jam from their excellent new Foil Deer is this gnarly anthem about feeling awkward at a party. 3. DMA’s “Your Low” Straight out of Sydney, this rising trio (who have an EP due soon) have enough catchy, jangly sunshine in their sound to last you all summer. 4. Jamie xx “Gosh” “Gosh” isn’t what we’d call a cool exclamation in 2015, but Jamie proved us wrong with this irresistible body-mover from his upcoming In Colour. 5. The Relationship “Oh Allen”…

CHECKING IN AS OF A FEW YEARS AGO, DAVID Duchovny had never played guitar, and he had barely sung a note in public since flunking a choir audition as a kid. So he was as surprised as anyone to find himself recording what turned out to be a likable, lyrically tart, vaguely Wilco-ish debut album, Hell or Highwater, due out May 12th. It started when his split from wife Tea Leoni left the 54-year-old actor with unaccustomed free time, thanks to joint custody of his two kids: “I thought, ‘Maybe I can learn to play guitar to amuse myself,’ ” says Duchovny, who’s starring in a new NBC series, Aquarius (premiering May 28th), and will also film six new episodes of The X-Files this summer. “That was the motivation.” One…

EXHIBITION BILL GRAHAM WAS THE MOST INfluential concert promoter in rock history, a music-biz visionary with a legendary take-noprisoners style. “When Bill said he’d take care of it, it was taken care of,” said Keith Richards. “Whether you liked it or not.” Now his three dec ades of work are on display in “Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution,” a collection of personal artifacts and memorabilia at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. “Bill’s art was the performances and the acts that he booked,” says exhibit curator Erin Clancey. Graham started in San Francisco (where his Fillmore West served as home court for bands like the Grateful Dead) and moved on to organize tours with the Rolling Stones, as well as Live Aid in 1985, before dying…

WHAT A YEAR FOR hostile old people. Louie and Veep are both in the middle of historic seasons where the bile never stops gushing, both starring comic antiheroes who’ve aged into warriors of generational conflict. Louis C.K.’s onscreen alter ego might be a struggling comedian, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer is the president. But they both keep reaching new heights, and they both do it by cranking up the nasty. They’re a new paradigm of midlife aggro. They hate young people only slightly more intensely than they hate everyone else. And they make it look like fun. Hey, why settle for having a midlife crisis – why not be a midlife crisis? Veep Sundays, 10:30 p.m., HBO Louie Thursdays, 10:30 p.m., FX The key moment in the new Louie season…

1. “I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover,” Art Mooney, 1948 The first song I ever sang for my parents. I was four years old, sitting in the back seat of our ’49 Buick Roadmaster. They were in stunned silence, then they said, “He can sing!” That was the moment I knew. 2. “Hound Dog,” Elvis Presley, 1956 “Hound Dog” is the reason we all did it. It’s Elvis at his youngest and most explosive. When I was 10, I picked up my father’s bass ukulele, and this was the first thing I learned to play – this and “Don’t Be Cruel.” 3. “Running Scared,” Roy Orbison, 1962 Absolutely stunning to this day. Roy’s voice is one in a million. This is really his version of Ravel’s “Boléro.” 4. “It’s…

1. “Put Your Finger in the Air,” Woody Guthrie, 1950 This was the first record that I owned. It always takes me back to a child’s simple delight, in following along with Woody’s commands. 2. “Heartbreak Hotel,” Elvis Presley, 1956 I remember the exact moment I heard it coming from a first-floor window while I was sitting on a stoop in the Bronx. I was totally transfixed by the lonely feeling of the recording and the eff ect that Elvis’ voice had on me. It was a bornagain experience. 3. “That Lucky Old Sun,” Louis Armstrong, 1949 His early recorded version of this song is pretty hard to top. I remember when my father took me to see Armstrong at New York’s Roxy Theater. That helped make me a hardcore…

1. “Cannonball,” Damien Rice, 2002 Seeing Damien Rice perform when I was 11 changed my life forever. After seeing him play this small club in Ireland, I was able to meet him, and he was unbelievably cool. I went straight home and started writing songs. I would not be doing what I’m doing now if he’d been a jerk. 2. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos, 1970 It sounds a bit clichéd, but Eric Clapton made me want to play guitar. I saw him perform “Layla” at the Queen’s Jubilee on TV when I was about the same age – 11 – and said, “I want to do that.” Of course, no one plays like Clapton, least of all me. 3. “Stan,” Eminem, 2000 Believe it or not, my dad was…

My Morning Jacket The Waterfall ATO/Capitol My Morning Jacket are contrarians: Southern rockers who have no truck with Nashville, jam-nation heroes who don’t really jam, classic-rock acolytes with indie-rock sensibilities. It’s made them a genre of one, and a band that can tap the past without sounding like throwbacks. The Waterfall is their latest case in point – a fusion of synth-wrapped Eighties pop, prog-rock and Philly soul that still connects like a heady MMJ record. KEY TRACK: “Only Memories Remain” A breakup LP that lands somewhere near acceptance, The Waterfall might be the band’s sunniest, and trippiest, album. Bent notes stretch the fabric of these songs like flashbacks. “Tropics (Erase Traces)” opens on an arpeggio recalling Yes’ signature “Roundabout” – it’s orchestral folk rock with a surprisingly logical…

Grunge God DAVID FRICKE’S INTERVIEW with Frances Bean Cobain was informative, and the piece treated the entire Cobain family with the respect they deserve [“Searching for Kurt,” RS 1233]. I look forward to seeing Montage of Heck even more so now. Christine Perdichizzi Via the Internet IT’S NEVER BEEN MORE clear to me that Frances Cobain is just like everybody else, wondering who Kurt was and why everything happened the way it did. Fricke did an amazing job opening up Kurt’s world. Here’s to Frances’ success. Sarah Betts Clark’s Corner, New Brunswick KURT COBAIN ONCE SAID that even though he could afford to buy whatever he wanted, nothing would ever compare to finding a little treasure in a second hand store and praying he had enough change to buy it.…

OLD Bruce Springsteen “Glory Days” The older I get, the more I can relate to this song. Everybody has their own place it takes them back to. For me, it’s high school. John Mellencamp “Jack & Diane” There probably isn’t a bar band in this country that hasn’t covered this song at some point along the way, including myself. So much energy and fun. Dixie Chicks “Not Ready to Make Nice” Natalie Maines’ voice grabs your attention and won’t let it go. It was a statement about how they were blacklisted – but probably not the best choice of a single to be reinstated. NEW Wiz Khalifa, feat. Charlie Puth “See You Again” I love this song. I’m always fascinated when two artists that seem completely di_ erent on paper…

Christopher Kirkley, a native of Portland, Oregon, was running a one-man West African record label when he thought of a novel idea: a remake of Purple Rain with Nigerian music (often called “desert blues”) in place of Prince’s hits. The film stars charismatic singer-guitarist Mdou Moctar, who had never heard of Purple Rain but quickly embraced the concept, helping Kirkley adapt scenes to a Saharan setting. Because the Tamashek language doesn’t have a word for “purple,” the title became Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai – “Rain the blues”) in place of Prince’s hits. The film stars charismatic singer-guitarist Mdou Moctar, who had never heard of Purple Rain but quickly embraced the concept, helping Kirkley adapt scenes to a Saharan setting. Because the Tamashek language doesn’t have a word for “purple,” the…

CHECKING IN THE BLACK KEYS WERE FORCED to cancel several weeks of shows this past winter after drummer Patrick Carney dislocated his shoulder while bodysurfing in the Caribbean. But his bandmate, Dan Auerbach, put the downtime to good use, finishing a solo album that he will release this summer. Auerbach, whose last solo LP was 2009’s Keep It Hid, recorded the stilluntitled album in just two weeks in Brooklyn, Nashville and other cities. It features a new band, the Arcs, which includes guitarist Kenny Vaughan (from Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives) and former Keys touring keyboardist Leon Michels (who co- produced the LP). Auerbach explores several new sounds, adding vocal harmonies and collaborating with Mariachi Flor de Toloache, an all-female New York mariachi band. “They play a huge part…

1. “You’re So Vain,” Carly Simon, 1972 It was the shot heard ’round the world that left everyone debating and wondering, “Which famous ex-lover did she write it about?” I’ve felt the ripples of that blaring public curiosity affect my own lyrics. I was a poetry-obsessed preteen the first time I heard that incredibly genius kiss-off, “You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you.” After hearing that, it was like a key had just unlocked this forbidden area of storytelling for me. You can say exactly what you feel, even if it’s bitter and brazen! Almost 10 years later, I sat in my dressing room in Boston. Carly Simon had just performed “You’re So Vain” with me in front of 65,000 fans. She leaned over and whispered…

1. “For the Good Times,” Ray Price, 1970 This might be the saddest song of all time. It really breaks my heart. 2. “Broken Things,” Julie Miller, 1999 I had a guitar teacher who introduced me to Miller. This song is one of the firsts that made me fall in love with songwriting. 3. “You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man,” Loretta Lynn, 1966 What a total sass-bucket she is! And smart, too! Loretta is a massive influence. This song has always made me laugh. 4. “Heart of Gold,” Neil Young, 1972 My dad played Neil around the house a lot. This inspired me to pick up the harmonica. 5. “Mr. Blue Sky,” ELO, 1977 This song was so ahead of its time. I used to listen to it…

1. “Let’s Fall in Love Tonight,” Lewis, 1983 The first time I went over to my wife’s place, she had this playing in the background. The album didn’t exist outside of a private pressing of a thousand copies or something – this was a couple of years before it was reissued. We would listen to it all the time, and it ended up being the song that Emma walked down the aisle to. 2. “On the Beach,” Neil Young, 1974 This song is about isolation, but ironically it’s one of the great love songs of my life. “The world is turning/I hope it don’t turn away” – I really identify with that. The whole B side of this album, you can just put it on and get lost. You can…

Boz Scaggs A Fool to Care 429 A Fool to Care may not have a concept as linear as some of Boz Scaggs’ other recent albums (2013’s Southern-fried Memphis, the jazz standards on 2003’s But Beautiful and 2008’s Speak Low), but it sure does tell a story. These 12 songs map out a concise history of American soul, with a heavy dose of New Orleans strut – including the title track (a hit for Fats Domino) and Huey “Piano” Smith’s “High Blood Pressure” – and a dollop of Chicago sweetness (the Impressions’ gorgeous “I’m So Proud”). Backed throughout by a stellar group of studio aces – guitarist Ray Parker Jr., bassist Willie Weeks and drummer Steve Jordan, who also produced the album – Scaggs’ well-worn, textured voice deftly navigates…

MANY THANKS TO GREEN for his interview with Pete Townshend. Outside of a few odd tangents about ISIS, it was great to read Townshend’s views. He’s still one of the more interesting figures in rock. Shaan Ahluwalia, Chicago HAVING FOLLOWED ONE of my rock idols for many years, I know Townshend can be a bit bristly. The RS interview confirmed my suspicions: He remains an ornery, unhappy legend who does everything grudgingly. I, for one, wouldn’t fork over $1 to see this Who tour. I’m not sure he even wants to do it. Anthony Grasso Via the Internet I SAW THE WHO IN HIGH school, in 1982. I saw them five days before my wedding in 1989. Now I’m beyond pumped to see them in Detroit in October. If Pete…

MUSE BECAME ONE OF the most popular bands in the world by going bigger than everyone else. Their concerts are laser-show spectacles, and their recent albums have incorporated everything from Queen-like guitar pyrotechnics to Skrillex-inspired dubstep. Even the band admits things got a little out of hand on the last few records. “We probably spent more time in the control room fiddling with knobs and synths and computers and drum machines than actually playing together,” says frontman Matt Bellamy. So when Muse began plotting Drones, their seventh album (due June 9th), the U.K. band decided it was time to strip things down. “We wanted to go back to how we made music early in our career,” says Bellamy, “when we were more like a three-piece rock band.” Muse self-produced their…

Q&A IN MARCH, KELLY CLARKSON’S “PIECE by Piece” became the singer’s third LP to top the Billboard 200. It’s also the final installment in the six-album deal she signed with RCA Records immediately after winning American Idol’s first season, in 2002. Clarkson says she’s loving her new freedom. “Man, I have no frigging clue what’s coming next, but it’s going to be fun,” she says, calling from her Nashville home. “I haven’t ever been able to pick who to work with as an artist, so it’s nice now that it’s a choice. It’ll be cool to ‘Breakaway,’ for lack of a better term, and see what’s out there. If I want to make a country rec ord, I’ll make a country record. If I want to make an R&B record,…

1. “Who Got Da Props?” Black Moon, 1993 In high school, I started getting into underground New York hip-hop – I would tape these radio shows late at night. I heard this song, and I had to go buy the 12-inch. That’s what led me to DJ’ing. 2. “Cult of Personality,” Living Colour, 1988 At the same time, I was playing in bands. We were five city kids – two white kids, three black kids, all of us 14 or 15. Living Colour was all we wanted to be. 3. “Cut the Cake,” the Average White Band, 1975 Their approach to rhythm guitar was so tight. 4. “Dream Come True,” the Brand New Heavies, 1990 I loved this instantly. It was sweet but funky. 5. “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.),”…

1. “To Beat the Devil,” Kris Kristoff erson, 1970 This song saved my life, pretty much. Kept me in Nashville when I wanted to quit. I was broke. I’d been in town more than a year, working at the Home Shopping Network. I remember putting in the Kristoff erson CD I had, and that’s what “To Beat the Devil” talks about: being in town and having a rough patch and being a songwriter. The next day, I got a call that ended up leading to a record deal. That one more day meant this world. 2.“Roll Me Away,” Bob Seger, 1982 Bob asked me to open some dates for him in 2006. I’d been waiting my entire life to play music that way. There’s a sense of freedom that this…

1. “At My Most Beautiful,” R.E.M., 1998 If you don’t cry listening to this song, I can’t help you. The line “I found a way to make you smile” is at the heart of what it means to love someone. 2. “Call It Off ,” Tegan & Sara, 2007 The first time I heard this song, I was in one of those regional death-trap airplanes, and it started to uncontrollably shake. I was like, “I’m dying.” This song started to play, and it took me away. 3. “Forever,” Dropkick Murphys, 2001 This doesn’t fit into their general style – it’s kind of an Irish ballad – but it’s the ultimate friendship song. 4. “Only You,” Yaz, 1982 So short and crisp. A huge touchstone for Bleachers. 5. “Beautiful,” Christina Aguilera,…

Katy Perry came up with a canny disguise on the Tokyo stop of her Asian arena tour, dressing as a Japanese schoolgirl and wearing a designer cat mask as she did some sightseeing in the city’s Harajuku neighborhood. She also spent an hour in line waiting to get into Tokyo’s first-ever Taco Bell. “You can take the girl out of America, but you can’t take the Taco Bell out of the girl,” Perry said. Buff alo Springfield Again? Neil Young showed up at Stephen Stills’ L.A. autism benefit to close out the night with nine songs, including “Long May You Run,” “Human Highway” and Buff alo Springfield classics “Mr. Soul” and “For What It’s Worth.” “Is this song 50 years old?” asked Stills before “Worth.” “Fifty is the new 20!”…

Mumford & Sons Wilder Mind Gentlemen of the Road/Glassnote BY JON DOLAN Mumford & Sons are the defining act of the past few years’ folk revival, but there’s always been more rock in their blood than that label suggests. Cathartic, heart-swelling anthems like 2010’s “Little Lion Man” and 2012’s “I Will Wait” are arena rock through and through, even if they are mostly acoustic – just ask anyone who has seen one of the band’s soldout shows. So the news that Mumford & Sons planned to use electric instruments more prominently than ever on their third studio album was no real surprise. They wrote most of Wilder Mind at producer Aaron Dessner’s Brooklyn studio, and at times, the music resembles the darkly textured indie rock of Dessner’s main gig,…

Snoop Dogg Bush Columbia Snoop Dogg’s 13th album plays like the f lip side to Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterf ly: Where Lamar used funk to dramatize the struggles of a Compton native, Bush uses the genre’s rhythmic groove to portray Los Angeles as a smoky, sexy, sunshiny wonderland where every day feels like a block party. The one and only DO-double G is back home after a minor detour to Jamaica as Snoop Lion – and he’s reunited with Pharrell Williams, his most eff ective producer since 2000, who helps him dig deeper than ever into the Seventies vibes that have peppered his career. From the moment opening track “California Roll” hits its “Drop It Like It’s Hot”-ish bass line, Bush is a pleasant stroll down memory…

Tangerine Shot on Apple iPhone 5s cameras, Tangerine is a visually innovative knockout. And Sean Baker’s raw tale of two transgender L.A. hookers (Mya Taylor, Kiki Kitana Rodriguez) grabs you from the first frame. Gritty and groundbreaking. July 10th Mr. Holmes Ian McKellen plays Sherlock Holmes like a lion in winter, retired to Sussex to care for bees. Or is he? The great McKellen teams again with his Gods and Monsters director, Bill Condon, to create something brilliant, mysterious and lyrical. July 17th Sleeping With Other People Sex comedy can be a bitch to get right. But writer-director Leslye Headland, in tandem with stars Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie, gets it right and then some. They make fucking up in bed and out seem hilarious and brand-new. Aug. 21st Grandma…