Table of contents for December 04, 2014 in Rolling Stone

The Gov’t Mule singerguitarist – who’s preparing several live albums, including the Pink Floyd-themed Dark Side of the Mule – tells us what he thinks of five songs, old and new. OLD Neil Young “Don’t Cry No Tears” Zuma was a cool period. I love the fact that Neil is all about capturing first takes. It makes the music more timeless. Bruce Springsteen “Adam Raised a Cain” I love the angry Bruce, the minor-key Bruce when he’s really intense. All the deep stuff, when he flexes his muscles. Pink Floyd “Echoes” Those 16 minutes of music go in so many different directions. I love that it creates all those moods and grooves and textures. NEW The Black Keys “Fever” I think distortion is very underrated in the magnetism of rock…

BACK WHEN JOE NEWMAN WAS an art student at the University of Leeds, he set about methodically photocopying a photocopier. “I got a photocopier and dismantled it, piece by piece,” he recalls, grinning. “Then I took each component and photocopied it in a different photocopier. I wanted to put together all the photocopied components and build a new photocopier entirely out of copies. But I only finished the top part.” Newman’s interest waned because he was less passionate about making art than about making extremely arty music. With several classmates, he formed a rock band whose songs featured jarring shifts in direction and tempo, sampled dead poets, and had oblique lyrics that referenced Maurice Sendak, prescription drugs and Alien. They called it Alt-J, which is the keystroke for rendering a…

THINK THE NFL IS HUGE now? Wait a few years. It’s going to make the monster of today look like college bowling. Here’s a number for you: In September 2014, the same month commissioner Roger Goodell was being publicly shamed for his handling of the Ray Rice domestic-assault case, 58 million fans accessed content through the league’s digital platforms, the largest single month in history and a 40 percent year-overyear increase. This fall, 26 of the 30 highest-rated shows on TV were NFL games. A few years ago, Goodell set a goal of tripling the league’s income from $8.5 billion to $25 billion – not bad for a nonprofit. They’ll do it through licensing and sponsorship deals, increased stadium revenue, new TV contracts and the creation of their own digital-video…

SHE HAS SEXUAL FANTASIES about zombies, she writes brilliant “erotic friend fiction,” she’s got more crushes than Eskimos got words for snow, she’s the most lovable sitcom geek since Arnold Horshack and the most compelling TV heroine since Liz Lemon – she’s Tina Belcher, the 13-year-old buttand boy-obsessed star of Bob’s Burgers. Tina fires off lines like “If we see any mermaids, I’m gonna ask them where their merginas are” and “My heart just pooped its pants.” Bitch magazine called Tina’s four-season run a “Sexual Revolution,” and they’re right on the nose, especially in how she owns her proudly geeky horn-dog urges. Tina is voiced by comedian Dan Mintz, and originally the character was written as a boy. But when Fox asked for a change, the writers realized they had…

PATRICI A LOCKWOOD’S “Rape Joke” begins with a thunderclap: “The rape joke is that you were 19 years old.” Based on her own experience, the unsettling, ferocious poem, collected in her book Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, made Lockwood a brash literary star. Now, living in Lawrence, Kansas, she is celebrating at literary festivals while killing it on Twitter with absurdist riffs on everything from Gar field to Phil Collins. (“The only acceptable sex rhythm is the drum break from ‘In the Air Tonight.’ ”) Next up, Lockwood – whose father was a naval-seamanturned-priest and who writes poignantly about a brother who served in Iraq and Afghanistan – will write a memoir. A pop star in a highbrow world unaccustomed to celebrity, she says she is prepared for a backlash. “In poetry,…

YOUNG THUG CAN’T STOP laughing. Just after midnight in a bunkerlike studio in midtown Atlanta, two or three dozen dudes mill around under bright-red lights, many of them flagrantly disregarding the posted rules prohibiting smoking and guns inside the building. At the center of the party stands the 23-year-old star whose expensive new video is looping on a screen overhead: six feet three, ridiculously skinny, blond dreads pulled back in a bun, black T-shirt matching his skintight jeans. Thug sips codeine-laced soda from a Styrofoam cup and puff s on a blunt as he dances to his own lyrics. Every few minutes, something new sends him into hysterics. It could be virtually anything: a whispered comment from a friend, a random selfie as he scrolls through Instagram on his iPhone,…

AC/DC Rock or Bust Columbia AC/DC ringmaster Brian Johnson may be approaching 70, but that won’t stop him from yowling like a young lech: “Mistress, mistress, all night long/Keep on comin’ hot and strong,” he shouts on “Rock the House,” a bluesy cut from the Aussie power-chord monsters’ latest LP. This is a band that has never so much as detoured from its highway to hell over the past four decades. In 1980, AC/DC built their biggest album ever, Back in Black, with Johnson stepping in after the death of founding frontman Bon Scott. Now they’ve pummeled out another disc that fits right into their discography, even without rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who has bowed out due to a debilitating illness. (Drummer Phil Rudd, who’s facing his own drama…

Bette Midler It’s the Girls! Warner Bros. The reason to make an album of girl-group covers, as Bette Midler has here, is also the biggest challenge: Everyone loves “Be My Baby,” so you’d better nail it. The good news is that Midler has a voice that’s rich enough to reanimate any pop standard – see her showstopping version of the Shirelles’ “Baby It’s You,” which she reinvents as a gospel-flavored ballad. She cannily includes some new choices, too, like a low, silky take on TLC’s “Waterfalls” – a Nineties hit that she makes utterly her own – alongside the work of the Sixties queens. “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” is a duet with one of those royals, Darlene Love, and the album’s spirit of femme camaraderie comes through…

In RS 1221, associate editor Andy Greene traveled to Bangor, Maine, for an intimate sit-down with America’s horror maestro, Stephen King [The ROLLING STONE Interview]. Legions of RS readers and King fans wrote in to comment. U2 Get Back BRIAN HIATT KILLED IT with his U2 cover story [“Trying to Throw Their Arms Around the World,” RS 1221]. It’s thrilling to read the details of how Songs of Innocence was created. They made a brilliant record that’s both new and familiar to longtime fans. Suzanne LeCompte Via the Internet THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I liked U2 a lot, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult, as their self-importance quotient seems to know no bounds. Paul Desmond Southborough, MA I DEVOURED THE ENGROSSing U2 cover story. Only Bono, the most charming rock…

THE FIRST BAD SIGN CAME even before AC/DC started recording their new album, Rock or Bust, in Vancouver last May: The group’s longtime drummer, Phil Rudd, was 10 days late for the sessions. “One minute he was coming, then he wasn’t, then he was,” lead guitarist Angus Young recalls. “We’re not a band that likes to wait around.” At one point, Young says, producer Brendan O’Brien decided Rudd had one last chance to show up. “Brendan said, ‘If he’s not here by Friday, there will be another drummer there.’ ” Rudd arrived and, Young says, “did his job.” But, the guitarist notes, “I’ve seen him in better shape. It was not the Phil we had known, after we had finished the last tour. He’d let himself go.” In October, Rudd…

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Chilis are sorting through more than 30 contenders for their first new LP since 2011’s I’m With You, Flea says. “It’s superdanceable, funky shit and some real introspective, pretty stuff,” says the bassist (above). “It feels good.” He adds that the band hopes to release the album and launch a tour by next fall. Belle and Sebastian The Scottish act’s ninth studio album, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (due out in January), features a new, electroheavy sound – which lead singer Stuart Murdoch (left) says was inspired partly by the band’s love of Eighties synth-pop acts like the Pet Shop Boys and Bronski Beat. “This time, we knew that it was time to push it,” he says.…

PHOTO PRINTS FROM ROCK PAPER PHOTO For $1,000, anyone can now buy a print of this iconic Hendrix shot; Rock Paper Photo has others for far less. from $89 LED ZEPPELIN DELUXE REISSUES Jimmy Page put together these overstuffed reissues of the first five Zep albums, which include rarities discs, handsome photo booklets and a whole lotta vinyl.$140 each AETHER CONE This elegantly designed wireless music player is perfect for people who never know what to listen to: Spin the outer rim, and it skips to the next song, drawing from streaming services and learning your tastes.• $399 WOLFGANG’S VAULT CONCERT POSTERS Wolfgang’s Vault has become the go-to spot for Sixties and Seventies rock memorabilia. Skip the coffee mugs and go for a reproduction of a psychedelicera concert poster. •…

BENJAMIN BOOKER HAS played to the biggest crowds of his life in the past few months, but not necessarily the kinds he wants. Recently, the singer-songwriter, 25, noted unwelcome attendees dotting his audiences: “Homophobes and frat guys that come to the show to drink and catcall at girls.” So at a recent Nashville show, after touring the country with Jack White, Booker wore a dress he borrowed from the wardrobe closet at White’s Third Man Records. “We were in the Bible Belt, so I thought I would fuck with people,” he says. “My mom didn’t talk to me for two weeks after.” Booker knew he would hit a nerve: He grew up in Tampa, Florida, accompanying his family to daily megachurch services. He stopped attending around age 15, around the…

IN HIS LAST YEARS AT INTERSCOPE Records, the world’s biggest label, founder-CEO Jimmy Iovine had doubts about rock’s commercial viability – which is presumably why, say, Chris Cornell recorded with Timbaland. But Iovine’s handpicked successor, John Janick, is a rock guy: He started the punk indie label Fueled by Ramen 18 years ago in a University of Florida dorm room. “If you find something exciting,” says Janick, 36, who championed fun. in his last job, “rock will do great.” At the same time, he emphasizes his comfort with pop and hip-hop – Kendrick Lamar, for instance, is a top priority. “It’s about loving all kinds of music and just understanding people,” he says. He’s intent on following artists’ leads, even if a Lana Del Rey delivers a good but radio-unfriendly…

GLAZER: I recently got lost in Transparent, which is a show about a father in his seventies who transitions to become a woman. You can tell these characters are based on real people because the show feels so real. There’s some dark comedy to it, but the show has also been making me weep – like, I’ve been crying way more than usual. The way Transparent uses flashback is unfucking-believable, and every single detail, right down to the fashion choices, is spot-on. When Jeffrey Tambor plays Mort, he’s kind of a weird dude. When he plays Maura, he acts normal, comfortable. I love that. When does Season Two come out? I want it now. JACOBSON: I’m a huge fan of [Transparent creator] Jill Soloway, because she wrote for Six Feet…

From Rugby Road to Vinegar Hill, we’re gonna get drunk tonight The faculty’s afraid of us, they know we’re in the right So fill up your cups, your loving cups, as full as full can be As long as love and liquor last, we’ll drink to the U of V —“RUGBY ROAD,” TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FIGHT SONG SIPPING FROM A PLASTIC CUP, JACKIE GRIMACED, THEN discreetly spilled her spiked punch onto the sludgy fraternity-house floor. The University of Virginia freshman wasn’t a drinker, but she didn’t want to seem like a goody-goody at her very first frat party – and she especially wanted to impress her date, the handsome Phi Kappa Psi brother who’d brought her here. Jackie was sober but giddy with discovery as she looked around the…

The Sentry Chrono Leather NIXON Nixing the status quo of what you may expect when it comes to classically good-looking timepieces, the Sentry Chrono has entered the room and raised the bar. Anything but standard, this custom-built chronograph and unmistakable crown design help strike a rugged balance of technical functionality and elevated style. $250 nixon.com Men’s Plaid Sherpa Jacket GAP Getting dressed for cold days just got a lot easier…and better looking. Gap’s Plaid Sherpa Jacket is inspired by the traditional lumberjack plaid, but uses charcoal gray to elevate its classic style to modern icon status. And, a cozy sherpa lining means it can work as outerwear or in place of a sweater. $108 gapgiftguide.com Jersey Boys Directed by Clint Eastwood, Jersey Boys is an inspiring drama featuring The Four…

FROM THE ROLLING STONE VAULT The True Life Confessions of Fleetwood Mac RS 235 March 24, 1977 In 1977, Fleetwood Mac’s breakout album, Rumours, was dominating the charts. But the band was in chaos – Christine and John McVie had split up, Mick Fleetwood was divorcing his wife, and Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s relationship was on the rocks. For their first ROLLING STONE cover story, they took Cameron Crowe inside that isolation and heartache. “Try being with your secretary at work all day, in a raucous office, and then come home with her at night,” Nicks said. Say You Love Me RS 643 November 12, 1992 Fleetwood Mac and ROLLING STONE were both marking their 25th anniversaries in 1992. To celebrate, John McVie and Fleetwood posed for the magazine’s…

iTUNES TOP 10 SONGS 1 Meghan Trainor “All About That Bass” Epic 2 Taylor Swift “Blank Space” Big Machine 3 Taylor Swift “Shake It Off” Big Machine 4 Hozier “Take Me to Church” Columbia 5 Maroon 5 “Animals” 222/Interscope 6 Selena Gomez “The Heart Wants What It Wants” Hollywood 7 Carrie Underwood “Something in the Water” 19/Sony Nashville 8 Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj “Bang Bang” Republic 9 Sam Smith “I’m Not the Only One” Capitol 10 Tove Lo “Habits” Island COPYRIGHT © 2014 iTUNES COLLEGE RADIO TOP 10 ALBUMS 1 Caribou Our Love Merge 2 King Tuff Black Moon Spell Sub Pop 3 Foxygen ._._._And Star Power Jagjaguwar 4 Flying Lotus You’re Dead! Warp 5 Alt-J This Is All Yours Canvasback/Atlantic 6 Ex Hex Rips Merge 7…

KINKS FRONTMAN RAY DAVIES WROTE A staggering number of songs during the band’s early years. For proof, look no further than The Anthology 1964-1971, a new 139-track collection that includes 25 unheard demos and outtakes. There’s also talk of a Kinks tour, which would be their first since 1995 – but first Ray would have to come to terms with his brother (and Kinks guitarist) Dave. “He’s a lovely bloke, my brother,” says Ray. “But he’s got his way of thinking about things.” In the Kinks’ early years, you may have been the most prolific songwriter in rock. The record company, and probably our manager too, thought we wouldn’t last long, so they made us record more. Every time a record got into the Top 10, they said, “You’ve got…

A bunch of L.A. skateboarders get high, mess with some cops and puke on the sidewalk – all set to the funky strains of Willie Hutch’s 1973 jam “Mack’s Stroll/The Getaway.” That’s just the first 20 seconds of Illegal Civilization 2, a 70-minute video that combines hip-hop, skating and adventurously assholic behavior. Nineteen-year-old filmmaker Mikey Alfred, an associate of rap collective Odd Future, traveled the world with a pack of buddies that includes OF stars Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt. He scored footage of the crew getting kicked off planes and fucking with security guards in cities from New York to Auckland, New Zealand. “I filmed everything, every day,” says Alfred. They also find time to pick up their boards and do some excellent ripping. “Mikey just grabbed his…

Gigi Hadid could be the new Paris Hilton – she’s Cali-girl beautiful, heiress -rich, and all over pop culture, from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (where she appears alongside her mom), to a Miguel video, to runways around the globe. But while Paris is the girl you love to hate, the 19-yearold Palestinian-American is the girl you’ll like to like. She’s unassuming and well-rounded, studying criminal psychology at the New School in New York. “School is where I don’t have to think about work,” she says.…

APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING when it comes to FKA Twigs. “I look like an anime character, but inside, I feel like a warrior,” says the 25-year-old British singerproducer-dancer (real name: Tahliah Barnett), whose LP1 is one of the year’s most compelling debuts. The album, which made the Top 30 of Billboard’s sales chart in August, is a dark, seductive study in contrasts, pushing her breathy vocals up against provocative lyrics and jarring, bleeding-edge beats. “I love things that are harsh, and things that are too loud,” Twigs says with a sly smile. “And I love lulling people into a false sense of security.” Born in rural Gloucestershire, she moved to London at 17 to work as a backup dancer in music videos for stars like Ed Sheeran and Jessie J.…

NEED SOMEONE TO DIRECT YOUR next blockbuster? Look to the indie world. Studios have been bypassing A-list directors and combing the sci-fi underground for talent. When it was time to update Godzilla last year, Warner Bros. chose Gareth Edwards, whose ingenious take on the giant-creatures genre, Monsters, was made for $500,000. Disney hired J.J. Abrams for the Star Wars reboot, but handed the next two films in the series to Rian Johnson (Looper) and Josh Trank (Chronicle). After his micro-budget mind-twister Coherence got huge buzz, director James Ward Byrkit said he “had many offers to remake the film as a bigger-budget cash grab.” And by pilfering James Gunn from the minors, Marvel got Guardians of the Galaxy, a funky combo of space opera and superhero f lick – and the…

One Direction Four Syco/Columbia One Direction have now been the biggest pop band in the world for three full years. Such longevity doesn’t exactly make them the Allman Brothers – but it’s pretty impressive for a bunch of singing-contest runners-up joined together in Simon Cowell’s laboratory. If any of these guys harbor secret dreams of going solo or becoming an actor or a fashion exec, they’ve stayed secret. They don’t appear to be jerks. (Justin Bieber’s PR team would chop off his two middle fingers for that kind of consistency.) It’s unclear whether the title Four is an actual Led Zeppelin reference, but the album is saturated with retro vibes. These songs split the difference between big, splashy Eighties pop rock and more elegant Seventies flavors – a very…