Rolling Stone Australia January 2016

Ginger Snap I CAN FORGIVE YOU MANY things, ROLLING STONE. I could even forgive putting the Boston Bomber on the cover. But Ed Sheeran? Sure, he’s sold a gazillion records, but since when has that been an indication of quality? Don’t forget, a million flies like shit. Stephen Hewson, Clifton Hill, Vic FINALLY! A COVER OF ROLLINGSTONEI feel proud to carry on the bus! Thanks for putting Ed Sheeran on the cover, and for taking us backstage with him in the UK. In this age of here-today-gone-later-today pop stars and autotuned pop starlets, how refreshing to find an artist who writes from the heart, and seems so unaffected by fame. Katrina Swift Clearview, SA The Vinyl Straw ONCE AGAIN THE RECORD companies have missed the mark. I refer to the…

VIDEO ANOTHER SIDE OF DAVID DUCHOVNY The first episode in our new series “Off the Clock”, about artists and their hobbies: The actor embarks on a side career as a singer-songwriter while awaiting the return of The X-Files in early 2016. “For me to get up and sing live is insane,” says Duchovny. EXCLUSIVE ON THE GROUND AT FAIRGROUND FESTIVAL We go behind the scenes at the new boutique festival with Father John Misty, Mercury Rev and Unknown Mortal Orchestra LIST BAD STARTS TO GREAT CAREERS Even the best can sometimes start out on the wrong foot. We ranked the worst-ever debut albums, by artists such as Billy Joel, George Harrison and Lou Reed GALLERY 10 ARTISTS YOU NEED TO KNOW RIGHT AWAY! When people ask you what new music…

Run, Alicia, Run Alicia Keys had already run one marathon in her life – in 2007, in Greece – and swore never again. So when her brother urged her to join him in the New York City Marathon, “My first instinct was ‘hell no’,” said Keys, “but [then] I thought, ‘Why not?’ ” As part of her training, Keys meditated, listened to Eckhart Tolle books and ran for about an hour a day. She finished in a respectable five hours, 50 minutes: “What got me through was seeing incredible runners with prosthetic legs or a man leading a blind runner. This was the surge of strength I needed!” BOWLER’S BANQUET After hanging out with Jack White at Third Man Records in Nashville, Mick Jagger squeezed in some bowling. “Don’t ask…

SITTING ON A COUCH IN THE MAS- ter bedroom of his new $33 million Miami Beach mansion, Phil Collins doesn’t look like a man gearing up for a huge comeback. The 64-year-old just had surgery to repair nerves in his back, and even sitting up is a monumental challenge. His voice is soft and groggy – that is, until conversation turns to his future plans. “I’m no longer officially retired,” he says, growing animated. “The horse is out of the stable, and I’m raring to go.” Collins hasn’t played live since 2010 – and hasn’t recorded in more than a decade. “My kids are 10 and 14, and they want to see what their dad does,” he says. “They were in nappies when I was last on the road.” Last…

“The Beatles were the forerunners of the music video,” says Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who directed many of their videos. “They made them because they didn’t want to schlep around to the TV stations miming their songs. They were so powerful, the TV stations would take their product rather than not have them at all.” The new deluxe 1+ DVD/Blu-ray collection is a treasure of Beatles footage – promo videos, TV appearances and rare clips, plus unreleased footage and commentary from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Here are four of the fabbest moments. ‘I Feel Fine’ 1965 The Beatles trooped into Twickenham Film Studios on November 23rd, 1965, to grind out five quickie promo videos. They took a lunch break for “I Feel Fine” – and instead of miming with their guitars,…

CAGE THE ELEPHANT GUITAR- ist Brad Shultz still sounds embarrassed about the night he asked Dan Auerbach to work with his band, which opened for the Black Keys last year. “I was like, ‘Let me show you some songs, dude! We gotta do some tracks together!’” Shultz says. “Typical stuff – I was really wasted.” The Kentucky group endured a traumatic period surrounding 2013’s Grammy-nominated Melophobia, with intra-band beefs resulting in the exit of lead guitarist Lincoln Parish. “The last record was a living hell,” Shultz says. “We were going through so much turmoil.” Auerbach agreed to produce Cage’s fourth album, Tell Me I’m Pretty (due December 18th), in Nashville. He ended up giving the band a fresh start and a fresh sound. In the studio, he would often play…